Please e-mail me with any comments or if you use any part of this at your church at Mail4ChrisR@aol.com. I would love to hear about it. God Bless! - Chris
To define the church there is no better place in the Bible to look than at the 16th Chapter of Matthew and Peter’s confession at Caesarea Phillipi.
Read passage – Matthew 16:13-20
To begin with Jesus asks his disciples “who do people say that I am?” You know the world will never be able to answer this question. The world of unbelievers will never be able to comprehend the truth.
Chris Seay, pastor of a church in Dallas, tells about a time when he was invited to tour MTV studios in New York. The reason MTV invited him to the tour was because they wanted to research about spirituality and young people. MTV’s studies asked young people one particular question: “Do you believe in God?” Their results – 94 percent said they had a belief in God. 94 percent. – that’s a pretty high number. But Seay’s contention would be if MTV asked about a belief in Jesus that number would be quite different. You see we live in a post-modern society. In a post-modern society the world will tell you “There are no absolutes – God is whatever or whoever you say it is.” “You’ve got to be in touch with the universe -- to tap into the aura of some guru” “May the force be with you” -- Those are the kind of answers the world would give to Jesus’ questions. The disciples in verse 14 tell Him many people think He is John the Baptist or one of the great prophets. You see the world of unbeliever never has nor never will be able to answer that question.
SO Jesus asks Peter “who do you say that I am?” Isn’t that interesting? Isn’t it interesting that Jesus even asked that question. Jesus asked one of His closest followers this question. But really, how many followers of Christ today do we know that perhaps would not be able to give a good answer if they were asked this question. What kind of answers do you think he would get from Christians today? Perhaps, a great teacher or prophet – maybe a strange doctor, a rebel. Some might say that Jesus was not sinless or perfect but a good, moral person. Probably many would say that He is not an absolute savior. You see throughout the Gospels it was Jesus’ closest companions that continued to doubt and question. But this time the follower was able to get it right.
It is Peter’s answer that sets him apart from a world of unbelievers. It is the answer of who Jesus truly is that makes all the difference in Peter’s life. And it is this answer that helps set the foundation of the church.
Jesus is very pleased with Peter’s answer. And Jesus tells him in verse 18 that he is “Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” The definition of the church is in the details of this short passage. To best explore this text we should look at some of the original Greek language. If there is one thing that I love to learn at seminary it is the Greek language. The English language is so inadequate to translate the Greek used by the Gospel writers. What God is trying to convey in his word is in often found in an exploration of the Greek. I am often amazed at what kind of insight God can reveal to me when I study His message in the original Greek and Hebrew.
And this time is certainly no different -- so let’s translate some of this passage. The word “rock” in Greek translates to “Petra.” Rock is Petra. And we all know that The rock is Jesus – the rock of our salvation. And Peter’s name in Greek translates to “petros.” Petros means a stone or a piece of a Petra – a piece of the rock. So Jesus is saying that Peter as a confessed believer is a piece of the rock – the rock that is the foundation on which the church will be built. This is the same for all believers. In 1 Peter the scriptures say “As you come to him, the living Stone -- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” You see we are all petros of the petra – all chips off that great and mighty rock.
The final word we need to translate is “church.” To define the church we need to know what the gospel writers used to define it. The Greek word for church is ekklesia. Ekklesia means a gathering of people called out. Ekklesia is actually two Greek Words – “Ek” which means “out” and “klesia” which means “calling.” You see ekklesia is describing a group of people called out. But to be more specific the Greek word Ekklesia is derived from (listen to this) the Greek word “klao” which means to break apart – it is about separation. Klao is the word used in the Lord’s Supper to describe the breaking of the bread. It is that kind of separation. So church is also about separation.
So from this brief passage, God has given us three important principles about what and who the church is:
First, the church is a gathering of confessing people based on Peter’s confession from verse 16 "You are the Christ, the son of living God." This is the point that is a life-changing event for Peter. This confession makes him a piece of that foundation of the church. But Peter did not come to that confession on his own. So where did he get that idea from? Look at verse 17, “Blessed are you … for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my father in heaven.” YOU see Peter’s understanding of who Christ is was not something that he figured by himself. He did not sit down and do a 15 page research study on who Jesus was. Peter did not seek out the advice of the great minds of spirituality and ask them for their opinions. NO! Listen to this, the spirit of God revealed it to him. And then Jesus reveals the keys to creating the church. It was the spirit of God setting this very foundation before us in this story. And this even happens today. It is no accident that you’re here this morning. Perhaps you came this morning to check out the new preacher. Or more likely his lovely wife and new born baby. Perhaps, you come only because family comes or because you wife drags you here. But really, it is no coincidence that you are here this morning. It is the spirit of God that has brought you here. And for me -- it was not my bright idea to go into the ministry. It was not my idea to move to Indiana—2 hours away – leaving behinds all my friends and family. It was the spirit of God leading me here. I put all my trust in Him. I confessed the truth and then I let that truth lead me to become part of the foundation.
So many times when we think of the church, we think of a building of mortar and cement. We use the facility to do many great things for the community but leave out this first principle -- we leave out the confession.
But the other principles are just as important. Remembering that we can define the church as a gathering of people called out to be separated apart, we can get our second and third principle.
the second principle is that the people of the church are set apart based on the Greek word “klao” from which the word church is derived. As we have already explored the basis for that separation -- it is the confession – broke apart – like the bread of the Last Supper -- from the world of unbelievers by that confession.
The third principle is based on the idea that we are not only to be set apart from something but to be set apart to something... The church is a gathering of people set apart to Jesus and a life devoted to pursuing a calling with passion and zeal. This principle comes from the Greek word “ekklesia”—the two words directly translating to “called out” – the same word that all of our Bibles translates to “church.” To be alive in Christ that is our calling. That is our calling as a church and individually as pieces of that foundation. But again, we should ask the question… who is doing the calling. With the revelation about the truth of Christ and our decision to set our selves apart ... who is it that decides the calling. And again it is the spirit of the living God.
Our passion for our calling is what keeps our faith and the church alive and growing. Like Peter we are called to step out on faith to know and confess that Jesus is the savior. And that’s what qualifies Peter and prepares him for his calling. It is that confession that spurs this Christian and all Christians to a life transformed and conformed to Jesus.
So when I asked myself what qualified me to lead and be a leader in the church – I only need to look at Peter to see that it is the faith and obedience – the passion to step out for Jesus. I need to be true to my calling and be a piece of that rock. Each of must do this – find our calling and be passionate about it. John Maxwell says about the power of passion, “If someone came to me and said I want to achieve something great for God The first thing I would look for is that “inner fire.” What they sometimes call fire in the belly. The starting point of all achievement is desire … weak desires bring weak results just as a small amount of fire brings a small amount of heat.” You see it is our passion for that calling that makes the difference.
This is what Peter experienced and look at him in Acts chapter 2. He is preaching – bringing in 3,000 new believers. He is literally setting the foundation for the Christian church. He has pursued his call with passion and fire – the results are tremendous.
Tony Campollo, my favorite evangelist, tells the story of a mission trip to Haiti. He took a group of young people on this mission trip. While they were there they visited a hospital. The hospital was a mess. There were hundreds of people waiting outside to be helped. Once they got in they found that there were only one doctor and two nurses and the few people they could help each day were sometimes truly beyond help. One particular youth, Charlie, very was moved. While he was there he felt a calling and he said to the doctor in Haiti, “I’m coming back. I am going to med. school get my degree and come back to help in the name of Jesus.” Campollo goes on to say that just a few years ago he ran into Charlie on the streets of New York. He said “I have to hand it to Charlie. He went to med school and got his medical degree. But you’ll never guess what Charlie has done with that degree. He is doing cosmetic surgery. Not the kind that makes sense – someone gets into a car wreck and the doctor goes in to repair their face. NO, he was doing the kind of cosmetic surgery that caters to the sexist society that judges women by the size of their breasts. Charlie went on to explain that he was attending church, he was tithing every week and sits on several committees.” Campollo just had to stop him – he said “Stop! Stop, I can’t take anymore of this. Charlie, you had a dream … you had a calling. But You sold out. You sold out your dream for a Porsche and Jacuzzi.”
You see we are all called to do something great for God. We are called to a piece of the Rock. That is what I have tried to compel to the young people in the church I just left, in the short time that I had to work with them. Go to school – be a doctor, be a plumber, be a teacher, Be a better doctor, a better plumber, a better teacher. What ever you do, do it for Christ. This is the same for all of us. If you are called to go down to the area rest home and help those people – do it for Christ. If you are called to tutor poor illiterate children – do it for Christ. If you are called to pursue anything – do it for Christ.
The Good News … God’s Grace saves us. We should pursue our calling – YES -- that is our part of the deal. It is our gratitude for all that God has done for us. So often we can get caught up in this third principle and forget the first and second. It is not our works that saves us. No matter what great and good things we do, unless we confess the name of Jesus, the first principle, we do not have salvation. It is not our work but the work done on the cross 2000 years ago that saves us. You see, the principles are in the order in which they are presented to us in the scripture for a reason – the confession first. Isn’t God’s inspired word fantastic?
SO now that we have a definition for the church can’t we all see that the church is so much more than what we have made it to be. We think of a place to come together for fellowship and spiritual time. The place we come for sweetheart dinners, committee meetings and Sunday school. But you see it is not the building that defines the church – it is the people. It is the people who have (1) confessed the name of Jesus. The church is (2) people set apart from a world of unbelievers -- a post-modern society that needs to find the one and only savior Jesus Christ – the only way to the Father. And finally the church is (3) people who are faithful and obedient to Jesus and pursue their calling with passion – whatever that calling is.
So the challenge to us this morning is to think about what role you can play in the church. What is God revealing to you? Has the revelation that Christ is the Son of the Living God set in .. if it has, have you set yourselves apart for him? And if you have done that … you have to ask the question: What is God calling you to? What role has he set apart just for you? So that question Jesus asks Peter in the beginning of our passage is still relevant here … Who do you say Jesus is? And if you know what does that mean for you?
