We love church, but don’t know about the church.
We will try to unpack the A-Zs of the church today. First of all, what is the church?
1. The church is a people, not a building.
Paul defines the church by saying that the church is a people, not a building. 1 Corinthians 1:2 says, “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours.” The words “those who are called to be saints in Christ Jesus” means a church is not a building, but people of God. This community of people here is the church.
Is a praise team a church? It is also a church because it is a gathering of people who have been called by God.
In fact, in the Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit did not dwell in people.
The Holy Spirit dwelled in only a few people and only stayed until His mission was over.
But after Jesus Christ died for us, we are now a temple where the Holy Spirit resides within us, according to 1 Corinthians 3:16, which says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” We are the church and the temple, showing that the church is a people, not a building.
Then, how does Jesus Christ view this church? The answer can be seen by looking at the conversation between Jesus and Peter in today's text. In Matthew 16:15,
Jesus is with his disciples and asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter gave a good answer to His question. Matthew 16:16 says, “Simon Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus makes his first declarations about the church after Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:18: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
In the Old Testament era, gatherings for religious purposes were called churches. Therefore, for Jews, church was not a brand-new word. But Jesus is talking about something completely different from these gatherings now.
He says, “On this rock I will build my church.” What does this rock mean?
“Peter” and “rock” in Matthew 16:18 have the same meaning, the same etymology. But Peter is a man, Πέτρος, ου, ὁ (Petros) in Greek, while rock is πέτρα, ας, ἡ (Petra), a feminine noun. Peter and the rock are different from each other. The Lord will build the church on the “rock,” but that rock is not Peter.
Then, what was in the previous verse? Do you remember Peter’s confession?
Matthew 16:16 says, Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
What does “I will build the church on the rock” mean, then? The rock is Peter's confession.
Therefore, what is a church? The church is a gathering of people confessing that the Lord is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Then, how much does Jesus love His church? The phrase “my church” clearly shows how much Jesus loves His church. Matthew 16:18 says, “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.” He said I will build “my own church,” not just any church. We use “my”
for things we really value such as “my friend,” “my girlfriend,” “my parents.” That He called the church “my church” shows how much He cherishes it.
2. The church is the body of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” What Paul said regarding the church is that we are the body of Christ and each one of us is a part of it.
This community is the body of Jesus. When the Apostle Paul persecuted people who believed in Jesus and went to Damascus, Jesus asked Paul why he persecuted him.
The apostle Paul persecuted the people who believed in Jesus, the church community. However, Jesus didn’t say Paul persecuted “my church,” but used the word
“me”! Because the church is the body of Jesus! He regards His church as His body.
Who should be the head of a healthy church? Only Jesus Christ. Some are His arms; some are His legs. It’s not all separate; it’s a body. The body is governed by the head, Jesus Christ. And the person next to you is also the body of Jesus as well. I am the church and you are the church!
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
He says, “as you did it to the least of your brothers, you did it to me.” Because the person next to you is Jesus’ body.
Therefore, what should we do? I believe that we should always love the body of Jesus, this community.
3. The church is one diverse body.
What do you say when you say you are a church?
1 Corinthians 12:27 “You are the body of Christ, each part of it.” Each one in the community is part of the body, which means each one of you is Jesus’ arm, leg, nose, or shoulder. We are body of Christ.
When the brain gives commands, the hands move and the feet move, because they are connected. Once Jesus Christ, the head of the church, commands it to go, the whole body starts to move. 1 Corinthians 12:20 explain this: “As it is, there are many parts, but one body.”
Also, this church includes a variety of people. 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts forms one body, so it is with Christ.” The church is diverse, but itis one body. Therefore, we should love, share, and pray for each other, because we are all connected to one body.
1 Corinthians 12:26 says, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” When our stomach hurts, our whole body hurts. The community that rejoices and weeps together is a good body of Christ.
Recently, Korean churches have had big struggles in Korea. But we have hope that the world doesn’t hate Jesus but the people who believe in Jesus. If we, the church, are transformed to show the light of Jesus, we have hope of a coming revival.
Jesus says in Matthew 16:18, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”