PRESENTING THE LORD’S CHURCH
Those who have read through the pages of the New Testament know one thing for certain: YOU READ ABOUT
THE LORD’S CHURCH. In this brief article, we wish to simply let the Bible speak about the Lord’s Church.
The Lord Jesus stated in Matthew 16:18, “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.” There are several important truths contained
in this passage of scripture:
1.) Jesus made the promise to build His church. Notice the future tense – “I will.” Hence, the church was
not yet a reality when Jesus spoke these words, but would become a reality.
2.) Jesus stated that He would build His church “upon this rock.” What does “this rock” refer to? Certainly,
Jesus was not looking at some literal rock when He stated this. Earlier, in verse 16, Peter made this great
confession: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The “rock” that Jesus would build His church upon
is the great truth that Peter confessed, and that is, Jesus is indeed “the Son of the living God.” It would be
upon this “rock” or foundation that Jesus would build His church. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 3:11, “For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” The foundation is “Jesus Christ.” There is
no other foundation.
3.) Notice the singular nature of the church Jesus would build. The word “church” is singular. Note what
Jesus did not say: He did not say, “I will build one of my churches.” He did not say, “I will build a church.”
He simply stated, “I will build my church." The church would belong to Christ. It would be the church of the
Christ.
The question is, “When did the Lord’s church actually come into existence, that is, when was it established?”
Every time before Acts 2, the church is spoken of as still in the future. Every time after Acts 2, the church is
spoken of as actually being in existence. Acts 2:47 says, “. . . And the Lord added to the church daily such as
should be saved.” The saved ones were added to the church by the Lord. This is the church Jesus promised
to build in Matthew 16:18. A very important point to be made from Acts 2:47 is the fact that the saved are in
the church -- not out of it! In order to be saved, I, therefore, must be in the church. How many of the saved
are in the church? Well, all of them! There are no saved outside of the Lord's church.
In Ephesians 5:23, Paul affirmed that Christ “is the savior of the body.” The body is one and the same as the
church, according to Ephesians 1:22-23 and Colossians 1:18. Since it is the case that Jesus is the Savior of
the body, and since it is the case that the body is the church, then it follows that Jesus is the Savior of the
church. And, according to Ephesians 4:4, “There is one body.” Again, if the body is the church, but yet, there
is one body, then it follows that there is one church. Jesus is the Savior of it. Doesn’t it follow, as well,
that I must be in that one body -- that one church -- in order to be saved? This coincides perfectly with Acts
2:47 that teaches the saved are in the church.
The question is, “What did these people do to be saved?” If we can answer that question, then why can’t we
do the very same thing and that result in us being saved and the Lord adding us to His church? [Please See
Article "What Must I Do To Be Saved?"].
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