My Church
“On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples a vital question, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” They said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In response, Jesus said to Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:13-18).
Jesus promises to build His Church, and He is the person on whom it is built. He is the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). The cornerstone (or foundation stone) was the first stone laid, and it determined the vertical and horizontal aspects of the entire building. All other stones were placed in reference to this one great stone. As Peter describes in 1 Peter 2:4, we come to Christ, to be built upon Him as the living cornerstone. He was rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious.
We read in 1 Kings 6:7 about Solomon’s Temple: “And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the Temple while it was being built.” This is a remarkable illustration in two ways: Christ died at Calvary, and afterwards we read, “When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb…” (Matthew 27:59-60). Out of a tomb of newly hewn rock, Jesus emerges in the power of His resurrection as the living cornerstone of His soon-to-be-built Church. Also, the process of shaping Temple rocks before they were put into the building is an illustration of God’s work in us. We fit perfectly into Christ’s glorious Church: “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5). There is nothing more inanimate than a stone – and we are described as living stones. It is a powerful description of how we were taken out of death and made alive, possessing glorious life in our Living Head (Ephesians 2:1-10).
Christ loves each and every one of His people. And He loves the Church into which we are formed. The two words “My Church” convey the depth of that love. He teaches us this in the short and simple parable of the merchant seeking beautiful pearls, “who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:46). It is this wonderful love we now, as a holy priesthood, remember this new morning. And we express our love for the Saviour, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8, NIV). May His love empower us to live for Him as we come to the threshold of another New Year.
