Because Jesus Is It's Builder And Foundation
With so many different churches existing in the world today, with conflicting
doctrines, you may be wondering why it's important that Jesus Christ should be
the builder and foundation of the church.
In Matt 16:18 Jesus said, "I
will build my church." The church belongs to Christ. If the church
belongs to Christ, then why do we have so many different religious bodies in the
world? The answer is simple: "Somebody has been building churches when they had
no right to do so!" Many religious organizations owe their existence to common
men and women, not to the Son of God. Many religious organizations teach
doctrines that are often foreign and contradictory to the gospel of Christ. If
Christ is not the builder of the church, then the church is not the one you find
in the Bible.
Some people have mistakenly taught that
John the Baptist built the church. But this cannot be true for several reasons.
First of all, John the Baptist referred to Jesus Christ as "the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world." - John 1:29. In Matt
14:10 John the Baptist was beheaded. Later in Matt 16:18 Jesus declared to build
His church. If John the Baptist was dead when Jesus made this statement, then
John the Baptist could not have built the church. Also, John the Baptist said
this of Jesus Christ in John 3:29-30,
"He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom,
which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's
voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must
decrease." Jesus, the bridegroom, is married to the church, and
He must increase. John, the friend of the bridegroom, was to decrease. John the
Baptist did not build the church, and so it should not wear his name. Please
note that the name "the Baptist" given to John is a surname, because he baptized
or immersed people in water. The angel said to Zacharias, his father,
"thou shalt call his name John."
- Luke 1:13.
No less important than the building is
the foundation of the church. No building is stronger than its foundation. What
then is the foundation of the church? In I Cor. 3:11 we are given the answer,
"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ." However, let us read Matt. 16:18 where Jesus says,
"upon this rock I will build my church." What is this
"rock" to which Jesus
refers? Whatever it is, upon it the church was built by Christ. In order to get
the complete picture of the text, notice verse 16, "And Simon Peter
answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Then in verse 17 the Lord blesses Peter for the confession which he had made,
and in verse 18 the Lord promises to build His church. It is clear from the text
that Christ planned to build His church upon the truth of Peter's confession:
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Some have mistakenly interpreted this
passage to mean that Christ built His church on Peter. However, a closer look at
the wording will show that this is not, and cannot be true. When Jesus said,
"I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter", Jesus used the
Greek word for Peter which is (petros) meaning a stone, a rock, a small pebble,
etc. But when Jesus said, "upon this rock...", Jesus used the
Greek word (petra) meaning a huge mass or ledge of rock. The two words are as
different as their meanings. The church is therefore founded upon the fact that
Jesus is the Christ, God's infallible Son, and not upon Peter,
a fallible, erring creature.
In Isaiah's prophecy, chapter 28 and
verse 16 it reads, "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in
Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." In Matt. 21:42
Jesus applies this prophecy to Himself: "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye
never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is
become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in
our eyes." Later in Acts 4:11 the apostle Peter by the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit applies this same prophecy to Jesus: "This is the stone
which was set as nought of you builders, which is become the head of the
corner." Jesus, and not Peter, is the head of the church as well as its
foundation. The apostle Paul also writes in Eph. 2:20, "And are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner stone:" The "chief corner stone" is the basic, essential,
and most important part of a building...it's the foundation.
It's important to note that the Church
is built upon a divine rather than a human foundation. Christ is deity, eternal
and immortal. In John chapter 1 and verse 1, the apostle tells us of Christ:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning with God." The apostle Paul says
this of Christ in Philippians 2:6, "Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God."
Therefore, as the foundation of the Church, Christ will endure forever. Death,
decay and depreciation cannot harm the church, for Christ who is its builder,
head and foundation shall live forever.