Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,143,247 members, 7,780,501 topics. Date: Thursday, 28 March 2024 at 03:37 PM

The True Church and the Real Rock – Understanding Matthew 16:18 - Religion - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Religion / The True Church and the Real Rock – Understanding Matthew 16:18 (423 Views)

Understanding Matthew 15:24 / Coronavirus And 5G: Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo Addresses Conspiracy Theory (Video / The Amount A Ghanaian Church And Pastor Charges For Miracles (Photos) (2) (3) (4)

(1) (Reply)

The True Church and the Real Rock – Understanding Matthew 16:18 by FaithfulServant(m): 11:07am On May 27, 2017
Jesus said to Simon Peter: “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” (Matthew 16:18).

This verse has been one of the most misinterpreted in the Bible, and consequently, has lead many astray from the truth (Luke 11:52). Many conclude that Jesus handed over mantle of leadership to Peter, urging him to carry on as the head of the Church when He had gone (John 14:3).

The words of Jesus should not be taken literally always because Jesus who was full of knowledge, knew how to use words that are different from the apparent meaning (Matthew 13:10-11).

For example, the words of Jesus in Mathew 5:30 can be easily be misinterpreted and taken literally, but it was only a figurative expression emphasizing on the urgency to “cut sin off” without delay even if we get worldly gain from it in order not to be thrown into an eternal lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).

Similarly, the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:18 shouldn’t be taken literally as well. It appears that Jesus was only playing on words and not handing over leadership to anyone, because He himself has always been the head of the Church, and was never interested in any form of leadership (Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 2:7).

When Peter who was one of the disciples of Jesus, was told by Jesus : “That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church”, Peter as a name itself, means “rock”— a very strong stone. A rock is known for it solidity, and never swayed by any adverse natural condition, but it still remains fixed standing tall in any conditions of nature (Matthew 7:24-25).

The meaning of the name, Peter is confirmed in John 1:42: “And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.”

When Jesus said He will build His church upon a solid foundation of rock, He wasn’t referring to any particular church in structure or name, but was referring to His total true believers across the globe — universal church (Matthew 16:18), or small group of His believers from the total who assemble in His name in a particular location in any part of the world—local church (Matthew 18:20).

When any group of believers come together in Christ name, regardless of the environment, building structure or population, a local church of Christ is formed because He is there invincibly in their midst (Matthew 18:20).

Few true believers among family members coming together in Christ name, sharing His word in the home, forms a local church of Christ, but if a battalion of people flock into a gigantic building structure and no true believers of Christ among them and Jesus not made the center of focus, it is isn’t ideal to call such assembly a church, but a cult (Mathew 15:9).

So, you may ask which rock do Jesus intended to build his church on? Not on the rock of Peter alone, but on the rock and foundation of all the efforts rendered by the apostles and prophets, among which Peter is among and Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone or rock, as it is written in Ephesians 2:20: “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” and Revelation 21:14: “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

And any church built upon the rock and foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus at the center focus, the gates of hell can never prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). That’s to say, no weapon targeted by the forces of darkness against such church or it membership of true believers can ever proper no matter how hard they try because at the name of Jesus, all knees bow and all tongues confess that Jesus is Lord (Isaiah 54:17; Philippians 2:9-11).

Families and relationships have been broken and disintegrated because of the erroneous idea of what church is all about. The husband and wife fight over which church to belong, and they do this because they think the church is just the building structure alone but why don’t they stop the fight(conflict) and use the right(Holy Bible) to know the right(right church to belong)?

Couple who have tried their God’s given affection for each other, decide finally to tie their both hands in marriage, but out of the bloom comes the family standing in between urging them not to go close to each other because they don’t belong to the same “church” but I tell you the truth, we ought not to belong to any church but to belong to God through Jesus Christ, and what God intends to join together, let no man put asunder (Mark 10:9).

Source: http://www.gospelandtruth.com/2017/11/the-true-church-and-real-rock.html?m=1

(1) (Reply)

Everything Works Together For Our Good / I Need A Spiritual Mentor / Where Is Tunde Bakare

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 20
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.