I Will Build My Church
When I say the word church, what do you think? Do you think of a building with arches and a cross on it? Perhaps a place where you can go to sit and pray and think?
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, "I will build My church." Now when Jesus said, "I will build My church," what did He mean? Did He mean that He would actually build a church building with doors and windows and bricks?
On today's program, we're going to try to find out exactly what Jesus did mean when He said, "I will build My church." So we invite you to get your Bibles and join our study group today on Bible Talk as we study the idea of the Christian church.
Familiar With the Idea of Church
Well, welcome to another Bible study. We're ready for a Bible study.
Today we're going to talk about something that, again, we're very familiar with. I like to choose themes that we're all familiar with. Obscure little theological ideas are good for people who want to argue and wrangle about religion. I'm for meat and potatoes. I'm for doing things that we can relate to as people. And I think one of the things that we can all relate to is this idea of the church.
All of us, in one way or another, have had some experience of the church. We've either been raised in it or come in contact with it. Some of us hate the idea of it or don't want to have anything to do with it. But all of us know something about the church.
In the New Testament, Jesus talks a lot about the church. In the Epistles and in the book of Acts, there's a lot of information about the church. But I think we have this strange idea about the church that has cropped up in the last couple of centuries–that the church is a building.
"I'm going to the church."
"I'm inside the church."
"Look at this church. This is my church–802 Such-and-Such Street."
In New Testament times, when Jesus talked about His church, He wasn't talking about a building. He was talking about people. Because the church is people, not a building. The idea that the church is a building came many centuries after Jesus Christ.
What Does "Church" Mean?
In the New Testament, the word for church is ecclesia. The word ecclesia means a group of people.
During New Testament times, if they elected a group of people to office–to be the council for a city or village–they were the ecclesia. Just like we have political parties in our countries and we select from the masses a group of people to be our rulers or government, in New Testament times they were called the ecclesia.
When Jesus used the term, He put a little spin on it and gave it His own meaning. When He said to His disciples, "I will build My church," He meant, "I will make out of you people My group of people."
The church is a group of people selected from among the masses.
How does God select people? He doesn't go around saying, "Okay, you and you–not you and you." Some people think that's the way God does it, as if He has a big master roll and is picking and choosing arbitrarily. But that's not the way God organizes His church.
God sends out a big call: "Everybody who wants to be members of the church–over here." That call is the gospel–the good news.
Everyone who hears the good news, believes the good news, obeys the good news, is baptized, and becomes a follower of Jesus Christ becomes part of the ecclesia.
When we say Christians, disciples of Jesus, or God's children, all those words refer to this idea of ecclesia–the church.
Common Theories About the Church
There are many theories about the church. People share all kinds of strange ideas about religion.
1. "All Churches Are the Same"
Some say it doesn't matter which church you belong to because they're all the same. The key is sincerity. As long as you're sincere, you can belong to any church you want.
2. "You Don't Have to Belong to a Church"
Others say you don't have to belong to any church at all. "I play golf on Sunday. Me and God on the 17th tee." The only thing that matters, they say, is your personal relationship with God.
3. "There Is Only One True Church"
Another idea says there is only one true church, and you must be part of it to please God and go to heaven.
How do we figure out which idea is correct? They can't all be right.
The only source of information about the church is the Bible. The Bible teaches us what the church is like and helps us recognize the true church from the false.
The Bible Determines the Church
The Bible contains information given before the church was ever established. It is the Bible that determines what the church should be like–not the church that determines what the Bible should be like.
Some people think the church created the Bible. That's not true. The Old Testament existed 400 years before Jesus was born. The New Testament teachings were given by Jesus to the apostles before Pentecost.
If we didn't have the Bible, we couldn't have the church.
The Bible is the original pattern for the church.
The Pattern Illustration
Think of a mint that produces coins. As long as you have the original pattern and enough raw material, you can reproduce the same coin over and over again.
The Bible is the same way. It is the original pattern for the church. It contains all the information about how the church should be formed, organized, and function.
When you use the original pattern–the Bible–you can reproduce the church anytime, anywhere. And they will be the same because they come from the same pattern.
One True Church
I believe there is only one true church. That church is the church that resembles the pattern found in the Bible.
The only true Christians are those dedicated to reproducing God's church according to God's plan.
There is counterfeit money that looks real but isn't made from the original pattern. In the same way, there are counterfeit churches not made from the original pattern.
Why So Many Different Churches?
Why are there so many different churches?
Different groups have created their own patterns. Some base their beliefs on:
- The Bible plus tradition
- The Bible plus church leaders
- The Bible plus modern prophets
- The Bible plus new revelations
For example:
- Catholicism includes the pope, church tradition, and the Bible.
- Protestantism generally includes the Bible and traditions of its founders.
- Modern movements often include a founder and additional revelations.
But Jude 3 says the faith was delivered "once for all."
Galatians 1 warns against preaching another gospel.
I Timothy 4:1 warns of doctrines of demons.
Revelation 22 warns against adding to or taking away from Scripture.
The Bible Plus Nothing
The pattern is the Bible plus nothing. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20 to teach disciples "to observe all that I commanded you." The apostles were to teach everything Jesus taught–nothing more, nothing less.
The Bible is the only source of information for the church.
No Perfect Church–But a Clear Pattern
Does that mean there is a perfect church on earth? No. But there is a pattern to aim for. It doesn't mean we're the only Christians or the only ones going to heaven. It means we want to be Christians according to the pattern of the New Testament.
Final Thoughts
We should speak where the Bible speaks and remain silent where the Bible is silent. Like the Bereans, we should search the Scriptures daily to see if what is taught is true. Anything added to or taken away from God's Word moves us away from the original pattern. Thank you for being with us. We invite you to join us next week for another edition of Bible Talk.
