Virtual Service February 12, 2023
The Church of The Living God Pt 5
…upon this rock I will build My church…The Lord Jesus Christ
Matthew 16:13-18 …He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “What about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven. I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock (the apostolic confession) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
MacArthur Commentary on Matthew 16:13-18
This passage is the climax of Jesus’ teaching ministry. It was, in effect, the apostles’ final examination, consisting of but one question, the ultimate question that every human being must face: Who is Jesus Christ? Your answer to it determines eternal destiny. It is a question that no one can avoid. For some two and a half years Jesus had been moving to this moment—teaching, affirming and demonstrating the truth of Who He was in order to establish it completely and securely in the minds and hearts of the Twelve.
It was not on the apostles themselves, much less on Peter as an individual, that Christ builds His church, but on the apostles as His uniquely appointed, endowed and inspired teachers of the gospel. The church in Acts did not give homage to the apostles as persons, or to their office or titles, but to their doctrine, “…they continually devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42).
Therefore, whether one interprets Matthew 16:18 as referring to Peter as a small stone placed on the mountainous stone of his confession of Christ or as referring to his being one with the rest of the Twelve in his confession, the basic truth is the same: The foundation of the church is the revelation of God given through His apostles;
and the Lord of the church is the cornerstone of that foundation.
…it is His Word, that the apostles taught and that the faithful church has always taught, Jesus Christ Himself is the true foundation, (He is) the Living Word to Whom the written Word bears witness; (John 5:39) and “No man,” says Paul—not even an apostle—”can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ”(1 Cor. 3:11).
We are inviting you to become a member of the Church of the Living God Through Jesus Christ not through membership at Grace Church or any other church or some religious experience…
Matthew 16:16 “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”
No One Enters The Church Of The Living God Unless They Truly, From Their Own Hearts, Confess The Same Confession.
As the protestant reformer Martin Luther said, “All who agree with the confession of Peter are Peters themselves setting down a sure foundation on Christ.”
Jesus Christ Is The Only Way Into His Church
John 10:7-9 Therefore, Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me (anyone else claiming Messiahship) were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate (not Peter); whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
Acts 4:12 …there is salvation in no one else (but Jesus Christ), for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is One God and there is One mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…
The Church That Jesus Builds Has Limited Membership
John 10:1 I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Admittance Into His Church Is At The Door…The Cross Where He Died For You
John 6:51 I Am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
John 6:53-56 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him.
Personal Rejection Of Jesus Christ’s Death For Personal Salvation Results In Exclusion From The Church Of Jesus Christ
John 6:60-66 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him.” From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.
Revelation 20:11-15 I saw a great white throne and Him Who sat upon it. Earth and sky fled from His presence; there was no place for them. I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and books were opened. Another book was opened, the BOOK OF LIFE. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, each person was judged according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, they were thrown into the lake of fire.