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- When Christ Built
The Church
Wellington H. Smith, Jr.
The church of the Bible with all its beauty and
grandeur was at one time only a thought in the mind of God! It
certainly did not just happen as an afterthought because God was
unable to carry out His original plans to establish His kingdom.
We are interested today in looking at what the Bible tells us
about the establishment of the church or God's kingdom on earth.
Who did build the church? Why was it built? Who is its founder?
Moreover, even more interesting could be the question, what was
the dream of the founder?
When Christ Built The Church, It Was According
To Prophecy
God likely had in mind the foundation of the church
in Gen. 3:15 when He said to the serpent, "And I will
put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and
her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His
heel." Satan had tempted Eve and brought about the fall
of man, but God sent His Son, the seed of woman to reconcile man
to God. Satan was able to bruise His heel by the physical death
on the cross, but the Lord dealt a deathblow to the head of Satan
by delivering us from the power of Satan by that death (Acts 26:18).
God still had the foundation of the church in
mind when He told Abraham in Gen. 22:18, "In your seed
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have
obeyed My voice." We learn whom God had in mind as we
look at a passage in the New Testament: "Now to Abraham
and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And
to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed,"
who is Christ." (Gal. 3:16). Abraham's seed was multiplied
many times and great earthly and temporal blessings came because
of this great promise of God, but because Israel broke the covenant
of God through sin and transgression, the promise failed concerning
earthly blessings. The ultimate and complete fulfillment is found
in Christ, the one seed of Abraham. It was in Him that the spiritual
and everlasting blessings would be found. No doubt, Abraham did
not see this when the promise was made, but Paul points out that
the coming of Christ is the fulfillment of that great promise
to Abraham (Gal. 3:17,18). All spiritual descendants of Abraham
would now find "all spiritual blessings" in Christ
(Eph. 1:3).
God had His kingdom or church in mind when Nathan
speaking for the Lord, said to David:
"When your days are fulfilled and you rest
with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will
come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall
build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever" (2 Sam. 7:12,13).
David may have only seen the building of the temple,
which was done by his son, Solomon. This was a great and exciting
thing to be accomplished by God's people, but God had much more
in mind with all mankind in view. The ultimate and complete fulfillment
came in the establishment of the church and Christ taking His
place on David's throne in heaven at the right hand of God. Let
Peter explain it:
"Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing
that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his
body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to
sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection
of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His
flesh see corruption." (Acts 2:30,31).
We are not waiting for God to establish His kingdom
and set up the throne of David on earth. He has already done what
He promised and Christ is on the throne reigning over His kingdom.
There is no indication anywhere that God did not prevail in His
plans to set up His everlasting throne and one will wait in vain
for God to do something different than He has done.
Isaiah had much to say and some beautiful prophecies
about the coming kingdom or church. We learn a number of significant
things from the following verses:
"Now it shall come to pass in the latter
days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established
on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say,
"Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the
house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall
walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Isa. 2:2,3)
This prophet tells us that the Lord's house is
to be established in the last days. We also learn that this great
beginning is to be at Jerusalem for the law and the words of the
Lord were to go forth from that great city. We learn from Paul
that the house of the Lord is the church. He says: "but
if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to
conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the
living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." (1 Tim.
3:15).
From these passages, we can learn that God prophesied
that He would establish His church in the last days. From another
prophet, we can pinpoint the time even more. Daniel tells us:
"And in the days of these kings the God of
heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and
the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever"
(Dan. 2:44).
Now in addition to knowing that God's house is
to be established in the last days beginning at Jerusalem, we
also learn that the kingdom is to be established in the days of
these kings which would have been in the days of the Caesars.
It was to stand forever and would never be destroyed. There is
also a prophecy in Isaiah that gives us more specific information
about the foundation of the church. Isaiah said: "Therefore
thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for
a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily." (Isa. 28:16).
It is evident from the passage that God was planning
a sure foundation for his kingdom. It is great when you are able
to go to a New Testament writer and learn exactly what the Lord
was talking about and we are able to do that with this passage.
The apostle Peter said:
"Therefore, laying aside all malice, all
deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes,
desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if
indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Coming to Him
as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God
and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a
spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also
contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief
cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will
by no means be put to shame." Therefore, to you who believe,
He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone
which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,"
and "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. "They
stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were
appointed." (1 Pet. 2:1-8).
Thus, we have inspiration giving us an explanation
and leaving no doubt that the Christ was the chief corner stone
of Isaiah's prophecy. The psalmist also said, "The stone
which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone"
(Psa. 118:22). Jesus applies this verse to himself as he teaches
the parable of the vineyard let out to unthankful husbandmen in
Mark 12. He quoted it in verse 10 as He said, "Have you
not even read this scripture" (Mark 12:10). One of the
sad chapters in the life of our Lord was the rejection by even
His own. John said, "He came to his own, and his own did
not receive him" (John 1:11). We read where He wept over
the city. He came with such a great mission to seek and save the
lost (Luke 19:10) and to be rejected had to be heartbreaking indeed.
They were not only rejecting Christ, but were still lost in their
sins. You can almost feel his pain as He says:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills
the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I
wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matt.
23:37).
Those of us who grew up on a farm have no trouble
getting the picture that Jesus presents here. An old mother hen
will gather her chicks together at the slightest sign of trouble.
In a rainstorm, she will protect and keep her chicks dry even
if it means getting soaked herself. It is a picture of real care
and concern. Jesus wanted to gather them up and care for them
by giving them the abundant life and eternal hope, but they refused.
He tried different approaches to convince them. He used the Old
Testament scriptures. "You search the Scriptures, for
in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which
testify of Me" (John 5:39). He raised Lazarus from the
dead and they almost immediately wanted to kill Him. He fed the
hungry, made the blind to see, the lame to walk, healed the sick,
and still was not accepted by His own. Only prejudice could cause
people to be so hard hearted. Jesus pointed it out when He said:
"For the hearts of this people have grown
dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have
closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their
ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them." (Matt. 13:15).
Isaiah said that God would lay in Zion a stone
for a sure foundation that would be rejected by the builders and
Peter said that stone was Christ. We would need no more evidence
to understand Isaiah's prophecy, but one can clearly see the painful
rejection that Jesus endured from the record of His life.
When Christ Built The Church It Was According
To Promise
Jesus Christ did many wonderful things in His
personal ministry as we have already mentioned, but He also promised
to build His church. He lived and died under the Mosaic Law before
the church was established. He gave many of the "laws of
the kingdom" and laid the foundation. Some were so eager
to have an earthly kingdom that they could not conceive of something
as wonderful as a spiritual kingdom with Christ as king. He knew
how wonderful it would be and promised to build it on the stone
rejected by the builders. May we now consider a discussion between
the Lord and His disciples in Matt. 16?
"When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea
Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say
that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say
John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the
prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that
I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him,
"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has
not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And
I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will
build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against
it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matt.
16:13-19).
It is significant that Jesus only promised to
build His church and the Bible only reveals one church. This is
not an easy thing for the religious world to accept, but if we
are only interested in accepting what the Bible teaches, then
that is what we must accept. To hear some in the religious world
today, you would think that Jesus promised to start a movement
to build many churches. He had no such movement in mind and started
no such movement. He said, "I will build My church"
(Matt. 16:18) and that is singular. Paul tells us that the church
and the body of Christ are the same for he said: "And
He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over
all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him
who fills all in all." (Eph. 1:22-23).
Paul further tells us: "There is one body"
(Eph. 4:4) and "But now indeed there are many members,
yet one body (1 Cor. 12:20). In Ephesians where he says there
is one body he also says there is one God. There are those in
the religious world who would contend for many churches, but would
argue that there is one God. It makes as much sense from what
the Bible teaches to argue for many gods as it does to argue for
many churches. The truth is many man-made churches have been started
and do exist, but there is one church that Christ built just as
He promised. Instead of man thinking in terms of starting another
church, he should think in terms of restoring the church that
Christ built. He gave us His plan and blueprint. The Word of God
is the seed of the kingdom according to Luke 8:11 and if we will
simply sow the seed of the kingdom, it will produce more Christians.
The material for the building of the church is Christians (1 Pet.
2:5). The person who hears the Word, believes and obeys it, is
saved, born into God's family or becomes a Christian. He is added
to the church in the same process (Acts 2:41,47). We can be a
member of the Lord's church, if we will follow His teaching. Did
you notice that we do not join, but the Lord adds us to His church?
It is wonderful that this process is not left up to humans to
vote us in or out, but is completely in the control of the Lord
Himself. He knows who has been saved, and He is able to add the
saved to the church without error.
Jesus asked a simple question in Matt. 16:13 and
received a number of answers all of which were wrong (Matt. 16:13,14).
All the answers that came from men were wrong! I think it is significant
that these answers are recorded for us as an example of where
not to look for religious answers. Much of the confusion could
be avoided today if we would always go to the right source for
information. Men are quick to give us answers, but the correct
answers are found at the same place that Peter had found the right
answer.
Jesus then asked, "But who do you say
that I am?" (Matt. 16:15) and Peter said, "You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16).
Now notice that Jesus said: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jona:
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father
who is in heaven" (Matt. 16:17). Men did not give Peter
his answer. He had the correct answer because it came from heaven.
May we learn from this that religious answers come from the Word
of God and it is reliable because it has been revealed from Heaven.
Jesus not only told Peter that his answer came
from heaven, but He said, "That you are Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18). Upon
what did He promise to build His church? Certainly not Peter,
as some would contend. We have already learned from Isaiah and
Peter that the rejected stone that God laid for a foundation in
Jerusalem was Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus proposed to build
His church upon the confession that Peter had made that so pleased
the Lord. What did Peter confess? He confessed, "You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16).
Therefore, the foundation of the church is the divine Son of God.
Listen to Paul as he tells us in no uncertain terms when he said:
"For we are God's fellow workers; you are
God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of
God, which was given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid
the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take
heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay
than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor.
3:9-11).
The matter is completely settled for those of
us who believe and accept the Bible. Jesus is the foundation of
the church of the Bible, but in this passage, we have the church
in promise. When does it become a reality?
When Christ Built The Church It Was A Reality
In His Time
Jesus not only promised to build His church while
He was here in His personal ministry, but he said, "...Assuredly,
I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste
death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."
(Mark 9:1). It was to come or be built in the lifetime of some
of His listeners. Before He ascended to be with the Father, He
told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem and wait for the promise
of the Father, which was the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts
1:4-8).
On the day of Pentecost following the resurrection
of Christ, the apostles were waiting in Jerusalem as the Lord
had given them instructions. The Holy Spirit descended with a
sound from heaven, like a mighty wind and filled the entire house
where they were sitting (Acts 2:1-3). "And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:4). Here was
the fulfillment of the promise of the Father. They are suddenly
experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit just as He had been
promised. When the multitude heard these men speak in their own
tongues, they accused them of being full of new wine. Peter said,
"For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is
only the third hour of the day" (Acts 2:15). He then
points to Joel 2:28,29 and tells them that what they are experiencing
is a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. He went on to point out that
Christ had been raised up and was now on David's throne in heaven.
He further said, "Therefore let all the house of Israel
know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36). This cut some to
the heart and they wanted to know what they could do. Peter said,
"...Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38). There
was a great response to this first gospel sermon in its fullness.
In Acts 2:41, it says, "Then those who gladly received
his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls
were added to them." Then we are told, "And the
Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved"
(Acts 2:47). Therefore, the church was established on the first
Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. From here on
in the New Testament, we read of the church in the present tense.
One might ask, what is significant about the church
being built on the divine Son of God? It means that the tomb of
its founder is empty! You may go to the tombs of the founders
of other churches and other religions and find the bodies of their
founders, but not so with Christianity. The tomb of the founder
of the church of Christ is empty. He was "...declared
to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4). Since
He was raised up from the dead, we can have a valid hope of the
resurrection. Our hope is not based upon some wild claim made
by some power hungry leader, but it is based upon the mighty demonstration
of the power of God (Col. 2:12).
The church originated in the mind of God and was
built by Jesus the founder. It was built as a refuge for the lost
and Jesus promises to save those in it (Eph. 5:23). The dream
of our Lord was to "...redeem us from every lawless deed
and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good
works" (Titus 2:14). Instead of "special people,"
the ASV says, "a people for his own possession." Jesus
wanted a mighty marching army to take the gospel to all the world
(Mark 16:15). May we all as members of this great church rise
up in the strength of Israel's God and be about the great task
of taking the gospel to all the lost. Yes, Christ did build His
church and the old song is correct that says, "The church's
one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord."