Matthew The Church Made of Living Stones

Matthew

The Church Made of Living Stones

 

If you have the revelation like Peter, that Jesus is the Son of the Living God

Then God wants to build around you

Other living stones below you for support

Stones on the sides of you as friends

And stones you support above you

You cannot be a part of the church of Jesus

Unless you live in community with other living stones

Jesus said 

And I tell you that you are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my church,

and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Matthew 16:18

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Church Made of Living Stones

 

 

Peter received revelation from the Father in Heaven

that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ,

the Son of the living God.

 

This revelation unlocked and

opened his mind to life with purpose.

 

Not only does Peter see into heaven

but was given heavenly responsibility.

 

“I also say to you that you are Peter,

 and upon this rock I will build My church;

and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 

 

The statement…

 

 “I also say to you that you are Peter”

 

In the Greek would read like this…

 

I also say to you that you are Petros,

 “A piece of rock”

 

The next statement reads…

 

And upon this rock I will build My church

and upon this Petra “mass of Rock”.

 

So, from the Greek

 Jesus’ statement to Peter would read…

 

"I also say to you that you are a piece of rock,

and upon this Massive Rock I will build My church.

 

The foundation of the Church is a Massive Rock,

which is Jesus Christ.

 

On this Massive Rock are pieces

of rock, like Peter.

 

Jesus says…

 

 I will build My church

 

And from the text we see…

 

 It is made of a Massive Rock

and pieces of rock that Jesus

will build His church upon.

 

Jesus Christ and those pieces of rock,

who have the revelation of Jesus Christ,

 the Son of the Living God.

 

Peter gives us a picture of this in 1 Peter 2…

 

As you come to him, the living Stone —

rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—

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.

1 Peter 2:4-5

 

I love to look at rock and stone

architectural structures.

 

River rock is one of my favorites.

 

From a mountain of rock come smaller rocks.

 

When they break off from the mountain,

they have sharp edges.

 

As gravity and rivers tumble them down the mountain

they get washed and the edges become smooth.

 

At the bottom of the massive rock they came from…

 

They are collected and brought to a building site

where they are cemented back together

with other rocks from the mountain.

 

 In order for one stone to become a part of a wall…

 

 It must be connected by 5, 6, 7 other stones.

 

 

The church is the same way.

 

You and I like…

 

 Living stone, are being connected

to other living stones.

 Built upon the foundation Jesus Christ…

 

 The Solid Rock.

 

If you have the revelation like Peter,

 that Jesus is the Son of the Living God…

 

Then God wants to build around you others…

 

Living stones below you for support.

 

Stones on the sides of you as friends.

 

And stones you support above you.

 

You cannot be a part of the church of Jesus

unless you live in community

with other living stones.

 

Jesus said…

 

And I tell you that you are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my church,

and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Matthew 16:18

 

 

 

Scripture Reading

 

Matthew 16:13-20

 

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

 

14 "Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."

 

15 Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?"

 

16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

 

17 Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock'), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven."

 

20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

 

Matthew Church

 

Matthew

Church

I will build My church

 

What Jesus was building was

to withstand the gate…

 

The entrance of Hell.

 

Hell…

 

 The grave or place of departed souls.   

 

The gates of hell,

the grave, is described as prevailing, overpowering.

 

Only one person escaped…

 

 Enoch who walked with God 365 years.

 

Enoch walked with God;

then he was no more,

 because God took him away.

Genesis 5:24

 

All others from Adam and Eve

were overpowered by the grave.

 

The wadges of Sin is death Romans 3:23

Church

 

 

Once Peter received revelation

from the Father in Heaven

that Jesus was the Messiah,

the Christ, the Son of the living God…

 

The reality of it is opened to him.

 

Not only does Peter see into heaven…

 

 But is given heavenly responsibility.

 

“I also say to you that you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build My church;

and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

 

The statement…

 

 I also say to you that you are Peter.

 

In the Greek would read like this…

 

I also say to you that you are Petros…

 

“A piece of rock”

 

The next statement reads…

 

And upon this rock I will build My church

and upon this Petra “Mass of Rock”.

 

So, from the Greek,

 Jesus’ statement to Peter would read…

 

"I also say to you that you are a piece of rock,

and upon this Massive rock I will build My church.

 

The foundation of the church is a Massive Rock…

 

 Jesus Christ

 

And on this Massive Rock are pieces of rock like Peter.

 

Jesus said…

 

 I will build My church.

 

From the text we see it is made of

 a Massive Rock and pieces of rock…

 

Jesus Christ and those pieces of rock,

who have the revelation of Jesus Christ,

 the Son of the Living God.

 

But let’s stop a moment and look at the word “Church”

2000 years after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection....

 

 We define the word “Church” as a building,

where people gather to learn about Jesus.

 

Is this what Jesus was saying when He said…

   

I will build My church.

 

We can look up the Greek word for church

and find the Greek word ekklesia…

 

 Which means a calling out, an assembly.

 

The word ekklesia was not coined by Jesus.

 

Jesus did not come up with a new term

that we would later use to describe a building.

 

So, if Jesus used a word already used

in the culture of His day…

 

How would His disciples view the word, church?

 

First, we need to remember Matthew

was writing to Jewish people unlike Luke

whose gospel is focused on Gentile.

 

So, it would have made more since

for Jesus to have said, I will build my Temple

instead of, I will build my church.

       

Next, we should look at what the word ekklesia

or church, meant to the people of His day.

 

 621 BC, years before Christ,

detailed records tell us the ekklesia was…

 

 “The meeting of the people”.

 

The Athenian Ecclesia were male citizens

18 years and older and had final control over policy.

 

The Ecclesia had regular meeting

to set policy, enforced it,

set foreign policy, including treaties…

 

And issues of peace and war, as well as,

questions of secession of the throne.

 

They also appointed military commanders,

elected the elders and ephors.

 

Jesus’ choice of words…

 

 I will build My church

would have been seen much differently

at the time Jesus said it, then now.

 

Jesus was not saying…

 

 I will build an assembly of believers.

 

 He was not saying…

 

 I will build a building

and call it a church instead of a temple.

 

Jesus was talking of something much bigger

and something tied more to Gentiles

than Jews who would reject Him.

 

With this in mind…

 

 You can see why the Jewish leaders

and Roman leaders resisted Him.

 

You can see why His followers thought

He would rule like King David,

 a new kingdom on earth.

 

What Jesus was building was not to withstand

or conquer Romans, Jews or Gentiles.

 

What Jesus was building was

to withstand the gate…

 

The entrance of Hell.

 

Hell…

 

 The grave or place of departed souls.    

 

The gates of hell,

the grave, is described as

prevailing, overpowering.

 

Only one person escaped…

 

 Enoch who walked with God 365 years.

 

Enoch walked with God;

then he was no more,

 because God took him away.

Genesis 5:24

 

All others from Adam and Eve

were overpowered by the grave.

 

The wadges of Sin is death

Romans 3:23

 

 

 

 

 

Scripture Reading

 

Matthew 16:13-20

 

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

 

14 "Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."

 

15 Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?"

 

16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

 

17 Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock'), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven."

 

20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Matthew Where Do Your Answers Come From?

 

Matthew

Where Do Your Answers Come From?

We have connection to Heaven

We have connection to God

This is not to say we should get weird

We still have the responsibility to follow the instructions of 

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

So be blessed that your Father in Heaven wants to give you revelation

How would you answer the question

"But who do you say that I am?"

If you have the same answer as Peter, this statement from Jesus is true for you

"You are blessed,

because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you,

but my Father in heaven!

Be blessed my friend

Your Father in Heaven has many things to reveal to you

 

 

Where Do Your Answers Come From?

 

 

Jesus asked the question…

 

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

 

Then Jesus asked…

 

"But who do you say that I am?"

 

Peter’s answer revealed a turning point

in the journey of the disciples

understanding of their teacher.

 

Simon Peter answered,

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

 

Peter’s amazing answer opened the door for Jesus

to share some incredible things in the next 3 verses…

 

And Jesus answered him,

 "You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah,

because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you,

but my Father in heaven!

 

Think about how you come to know things.

 

What does it take to reveal something

to you that you never knew before.

 

Jesus says…

 

 My Father in Heaven revealed this.

 

I think it is amazing that

God the Father who you cannot see,

revealed from Heaven,

a place Peter had never been.

 

But maybe it is not as amazing

as we might think when we think of all

that has been revealed to men and women

throughout the Old Testament.

 

Yet, I am still amazed that

God the Father has the ability to reveal

unknown mysteries to people like you and I.

 

When we think of Heaven,

a place seemingly so far from us…

 

When we think of God the Father

who rules over the universe…

 

You have to think…

 

 How could God

and

Why would He

reveal anything to us?

 

But He does!!!

 

Just like Peter…

 

 You and I are blessed because Jesus’

Father in Heaven reveals mysteries to us.

 

We have connection to Heaven.

 

We have connection to God.

 

This is not to say we should get weird.

 We still have the responsibility

to follow the instructions of

  

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22…

 

Do not put out the Spirit's fire;

do not treat prophecies with contempt.

Test everything.

Hold on to the good.

Avoid every kind of evil.

 

So be blessed that your Father in Heaven

wants to give you revelation.

 

How would you answer the question…

 

"But who do you say that I am?"

 

If you have the same answer as Peter…

 

This statement from Jesus is true for you…

 

"You are blessed,

because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you,

but my Father in heaven!

 

Be blessed my friend…

 

Your Father in Heaven has

many things to reveal to you.

 

 

 

Scripture Reading

 

Matthew 16:13-20

 

13 When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 They answered, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven! 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven." 20 Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. 

(from The NET Bible®, Copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C., Dallas, Texas, www.bible.org. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)