THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH--MATTHEW 16:13-20

THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH

MATTHEW 16:13-20

BY ART DAVISON

Key verse: v. 18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Introduction:

There is more than one idea regarding the definition of what a church is. There are at least two ideas about who started the church and when it was started.

We are not concerned with what men say or what they think about the origin of the church, but rather, what the Word of God says and teaches in relation to the church and its origin. So let’s consult the Scriptures and accept what we find there as the truth about the Lord’s church.

I. THE MEANING OF THE WORD “CHURCH”

A. The English word “church” is an Anglo-Saxon word. According to one dictionary’s etymology of the English word “church”, it originated from the Greek word meaning “of the Lord.”

B. The Greek word translated “church” is the word “ekklesia.”

1. “Ekklesia” means a “called out assembly.”

a. Acts 7:38, “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:”

b. Acts 19:32, “Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.”

2. “Ekklesia” is found 115 times in the New Testament.

a. The generic sense [synecdoche = “a figure of speech, by which the whole of a thing is put for a part, or a part for the whole.”]

b. 109 times it refers to the churches of the Lord Jesus that are local.

II. THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH

A. Jesus refers to the church as “My church,” Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

1. Here we see Jesus, the One who builds the church.

a. He is the very foundation of the church, 1 Corinthians 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

b. He is the “builder” of the house of God, for He says, “I will build my church,” Hebrews 3:3-4, “For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. 4-For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.”

c. There is not one verse of Scripture that declares that the Holy Spirit built or founded the Church of Christ.

2. Jesus is the Head of the church, Ephesians 1:22-23, “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23-Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”

3. The church is His GLORY, Ephesians 3:21, “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”

a. He bought it with His own blood, Acts 20:28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

b. His church is “the pillar and ground [stay] of the truth”, 1 Timothy 3:15, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

1) The problem today is that His churches are not fulfilling their responsibility. We are NOT STAYING WITH THE TRUTH.

B. Jesus founded His Church DURING HIS PUBLIC MIHISTRY.

1. It was an important decision, Luke 6:12, “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

2. He chose twelve men from His disciples, Luke 6:13-16, “And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 14-Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15-Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16-And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.”

3. These were the first members of His Church, 1 Corinthians 12:28, “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

a. First in position.

b. First in responsibility.

III. THE PROMISE OF PERPETUITY THAT JESUS MADE TO THE CHURCH

A. Jesus promised that He would perpetuate His church.

1. “I will build my church” was a promise that Jesus gave that day and continued from that day, Acts 2:47, “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

2. “The gates of hell shall NOT [the absolute negative used here] prevail against it” is the promise that He would perpetuate His Church,