God's Church: What is the Relation of the Church to Jesus Christ?
What is the Relation of the Church to Jesus Christ?
During His earthly ministry our Lord announced that He would do a new thing in building His church (Matt. 16:18). "I will build" is clearly future tense, indicating that this was something Christ had not yet done up to that time. Actually the church did not begin as a functioning reality until the Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost. So, to our question: “ What then was the Lord's relationship to the church since during His earthly life it was not yet in operation?” In one word, He was the Founder. It is His church and He claimed to be the builder (Matthew 16:18b NLT … I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. He is the foundation; 1 Corinthians 3:11 NLT For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. As Founder He:
1. Chose the disciples who would also occupy a place in the foundation of the building ;
Ephesians 2:20-21 NLT Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself. (21) We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
2. Taught the disciples about matters which would become effective when the church began to function. Most of that teaching is recorded in the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17). Some of Christ's teachings related to the Mosaic Law under which He lived, some to the future millennial kingdom, and some to the future church. The Upper Room Discourse serves as a seed-plot of that which is found later in the epistles of the New Testament. Some of the new things He revealed include a new command (13:34), a new hope in the Rapture of the church (14:1-3), a new relationship (you in Me and I in you, v. 17), and a new basis for prayer (16:24). 3. As Founder also became the Cornerstone by His death and resurrection (Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20). He purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). His resurrection and ascension made Him the Head over the church (Eph. 1:20-23) in which capacity He, among other things, gives gifts to the members of His body (4:8). 4. As Founder He also was the One who sent the Holy Spirit who activated the church into a functioning entity; Acts 2:33 NLT Now He is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the Father, as He had promised, gave Him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. What is the Rock on which the church is built? (Matt. 16:18) Some understand it to refer to Peter. If so, Christ was playing on the words petros (Peter) and petra (rock). The first word is masculine and means a stone, while the second is feminine and means a massive rock. Because of these differences in words and genders, it seems unlikely that the reference is to Peter. Sometimes one suspects that some are afraid that such an interpretation will lend support to the claim of the Roman Catholic church that Peter is the rock on which the church is built (as the Latin inscription around the base of the dome of St. Peter's church in Rome indicates, since in Latin the different words and genders do not show up). However, the apostles do constitute the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20), though Peter, as prominent as he was, certainly had no papal primacy (Acts 2:14; 10:34; (Gal. 2:11). Others understand Christ to be the Rock referred to in this passage as He is in other Scriptures (1 Cor. 3:11; 1 Peter 2:5-9). However, this seems to create a disjuncture between the two rocks contrary to their close connection in the text itself. A modification of this view sees the rock as Peter's confession of Christ (Matt. 16:16). Perhaps the truth combines elements of both ideas; that is, the rock is Peter using the keys to the kingdom (v. 19; Isa. 22:22) in proclaiming the truth about Christ to Jews and Gentiles. So what say you Pastor Mike? Is the cornerstone Peter or Christ? Without hesitation, Christ is the Founder of His church in that He chose the apostolic foundation, gave basic teaching concerning relationships in the church, gave His life to become the Cornerstone, and then sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to activate the church. Christ and Christ alone! Next week we will look at the relation of the Church to the Holy Spirit. See ya Sunday, Pastor Mike
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