Christ's Unstoppable Movement: What is the Church?

In Matthew 16:13–20, Jesus asked His disciples what the people thought of His identity. The disciples gave different answers as to who the crowds thought that He was. But Peter responded to the question with surprising accuracy. He confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, and the Son of the Living God.

Jesus responded that only God could have revealed this truth to Peter. Christ followed that statement with a play on words—that upon Peter, meaning “little rock,” He would build the rock-solid Church. This is the first instance in the New Testament in which the word Church (ekklesia in Greek) is mentioned. Not only was the Church established by Christ, but it was built on Christ. He is the perfect foundation.

Ultimately, [The Church is God's Plan] for taking the gospel to the entire world. By building up its members in Christ’s likeness through the instruction of God's Word, fellowship, service, worship, and prayer, the Church becomes an unstoppable force when it comes to glorifying God. It is crucial to look at it not just as a local institution (church) but as the global body made up of all believers (Church). Only with Christ as the foundation can a church and the Church be effective.

This lesson also focuses on the Essential Truths that Jesus is God and Savior and that Salvation is by Faith Alone.

Matthew 16:13 Referring to Himself as the Son of Man, Jesus asked the Twelve, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Apparently Jesus posed the question to the disciples after they had crossed the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 16:5) and had come to the area of Caesarea Philippi.

Matthew 16:14–15 Jesus was quite popular. The disciples mentioned that some people thought that Jesus was John the Baptist, while some thought that He was Elijah, the supreme Old Testament prophet. Still others thought that Jesus was the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, a messenger of God’s judgment who had been rejected by those in his day.

In verse 15, Jesus went right to the heart of the matter, asking the disciples what they believed about Him. In the original language, there is an emphasis on the words you and I. Jesus wanted to hear from the disciples about whether they understood His true identity.

Matthew 16:16–17 Peter, who was never at a loss for words, spoke up by saying that Jesus is 1) the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, and 2) the Son of the Living God. Although it was unlikely that Peter or any of the other disciples understood the full nature of His life and work, they did comprehend that Jesus is the Messiah and truly the Son of God.

Jesus responded by blessing Peter for his wonderful insight. Since Peter called Jesus the Son of God, Jesus called him “the son of Jonah,” or Simon Bar-Jonah, his original family name.

Matthew 16:18 The Bible affirms that Jesus Christ alone is the head and the cornerstone of His Church. Paul, however, wrote that the Church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets and that Jesus is the cornerstone of that foundation (see Ephesians 2:19–22). By identifying Jesus as the Son of God, Peter essentially became the first member of the Church (as defined as the body of believers in Christ Jesus). Just as you were welcomed into the Church by confessing Jesus as Lord, so was Peter. When Jesus labeled Peter as the foundation, He may have implied that Peter was the first in what would throughout history become an incalculable number of believers.

In Acts, Peter was a chief preacher, leader, and worker of miracles, obviously a vital element in laying the foundation for the Church’s success. But the Church was founded on the revelation of God given through His apostles. Jesus Himself is the cornerstone of that foundation. Without Jesus, there is no Church.

Jesus also proclaimed that the gates of Hades would not be able to overcome the Church. In other words, death’s gates do not have the strength to overpower the people of God—the Church—or to keep them imprisoned.

Matthew 16:19 Jesus promised Peter the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” as well as the authority to “bind” and to “loose.” In essence, Jesus said that whatever is forbidden on earth will be forbidden in Heaven, and whatever is permitted on earth will be permitted in Heaven. This implies that Christians have the authority to declare what is acceptable or forbidden to God because they have His Word. While Christians cannot simply decide what is right or wrong or what is forgiven or unforgiven, they can proclaim what God has determined as right or wrong based on the authority of His Word.

Matthew 16:20 Jesus then told His disciples not to tell anyone else that He is the Christ. It can seem confusing as to why Jesus would say something like this. Most Jews thought that the Messiah would be a political or military ruler. When considering the spiritual nature of the Kingdom that Jesus would usher in, it makes sense for Him not to tell the people His true identity.

Acts 1:1–3 These first few verses serve as the introduction to the entire story of the New Testament Church. It is an amazing story full of incredible miracles, uplifting spiritual growth, and wonderful fellowship among believers. It is also full of persecution, imprisonment, and murder. These verses serve as a launching pad for the yearlong study of the New Testament Church.

College football dynasties end sooner or later. The pendulum of political dominance by one party or another eventually swings away toward somebody else. Whole empires rise and remain for centuries, but they all get conquered by some other empire at some point. An institution can last for a long time, so long that it seems that it will last forever. But the only things that will endure forever are those established and sustained by the almighty hand of the everlasting God. This is the case for the Church. When Christ promised to build His Body of believers on Peter’s confession of Him as Messiah, He essentially set forever in stone what He began building right then and there upon “the rock.” Quite simply put, the Church has been, is, and always will be because Christ said so.

The existence of the Church is as passive as it is temporary. In other words, the Church is a living, breathing, vibrant, colorful, colossal, active, energetic, and unstoppable force in the world today. Many laws have been written to suppress the Church—but the Church keeps on growing. Many countries have adopted a system of government ferociously hostile to the Church—but the Church progresses right under their noses. Many members of the Church have been killed for their participation—but their enemies became their allies when they see their witness in the face of suffering and death. The Church cannot be held up or halted. It will only grow as it gathers more souls into the Kingdom for which it stands. It will do so because of the authority behind it: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.