Sunday, March 16, 2025 AM
WHO AM I? Foundation of the Church 2
Mike Teel Pastor
FOCAL PASSAGE:
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by 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 overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. —Matthew 16:13-20
TRUTH
FROM THE FATHER
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. —Matthew 16:17
1. GOD
—God the Father has given us the revelation about His Son, Jesus Christ.
—How have you been made aware of who Jesus is?
—However it happened, the truth about Jesus was certainly a divine revelation, and it still is today.
—You don’t come to Jesus by figuring it out. You come to Jesus by faith.
—This is why we are to preach the truth, teach the truth, and try to reach others with the truth.
—But only God can reveal truth.
—Only God can open the eyes of the spiritually blind; Only God can open the ears of the
spiritually deaf; Only God can give life to the spiritually dead.
1a Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. —Psalm 127:1a
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. —Matthew 11:25
2. TRUTH IS
IN OUR HEARTS
—The truth about Jesus Christ comes from God Himself and is aimed at our hearts, the center of who we are.
—Preachers, teachers, and witnesses can get the message into your head, but only God can get truth into your heart.
—You are saved through your heart. Not by agreeing with certain facts about Jesus.
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your HEART,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your HEART that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your HEART that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” —Romans 10:8-13
JESUS IS THE
OF THE CHURCH
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. —Matthew 16:18
Not only is Jesus the foundation of our Salvation He is also the foundation of the Church!
1. THE
OF THE CHURCH
—God’s will! “I will build my church …”
—All true Christians are part of God’s Church because of our God-given FAITH.
—This is the first occurrence of this word in the New Testament.
—The Greek word for church is the word ekklesia from which we get our English word ecclesiastical and literally means “a called-out assembly” and later the phrase “of baptized believers” was added to clarify.
—Earlier Ekklesia was a generic word used to describe any type of assembly, but now Jesus was narrowing the definition.
—But most of the time it refers to the local assembly (90 of the 114).
—I feel it is very important to be a member of a local assembly you can attend on a regular basis, and it can provide for you the Spiritual protection you need.
—When you become a member of Cameron Baptist Church you are submitting to the Church Authority and Pastoral Staff God has place here in this church.
—The church is under the authority of Jesus (The gates of hell will not prevail against it); —The Pastor is under the authority of Christ; Members are under the authority of Christ, the Church, the Pastor and so on.
2. SPIRITUAL
—One of the things Jesus said to the disciples is about Spiritual protection.
—He said that the “Gates of hell (hades) would not overcome it”.
—Jesus knew how Satan was warring against Him and that He would also war against His established assembly the church.
—Spiritual protection is important in this day we see Spiritual Warfare all around us.
—Some of you today are unfortunately not protected.
—We are to use our talents and spiritual Gifts to build up the local body of Christ where God has placed us.
—I am proud to be a believer in Jesus Christ; I’m proud to be a Baptist (able to trace doctrine back to the 1st Century Church); I am proud to be a member of Cameron Baptist Church.
—Are we perfect – No! Our church is made up of humans who continue to sin and experience the grace and mercy of our heavenly Father upon whose Son the church is founded.
—If you are not a member allow me to strongly encourage you to consider joining today.
—-You can join by a profession of faith and baptism…
—-You can join by the transfer of your membership from another Baptist Church (by letter) …
—-You can join by baptism if you have never been scripturally baptized by immersion…
—-You can join by baptism if you are coming from another denomination.
JESUS
ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by 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 overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” —Matthew 16:17-19
—There is much misunderstanding in today’s world pertaining to these verses of scripture.
1.
- And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, (Matthew 16:18)
—These Jewish men, steeped in Old Testament Scripture, recognized the rock as a symbol of God.
4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. —Deuteronomy 32:4
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. —Psalm 18:2
31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? —Psalm 18:31
—Let’s investigate the Greek words the Holy Spirit led Matthew to use.
“you are Peter (Petros His spiritual name meaning a stone), and on this rock (Petra – a large rock suitable for foundation) I will build my church.
—Jesus had given Simon a new name of PETER (John 1:42) which means “a stone.” The Aramaic form is Cephas, which also means “a stone.”
—Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ and confesses Him as the Son and God and Savior, is a “living stone” making up spiritual house.
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by people, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. —I Peter 2:4-5 (NASB)
—Jesus is the foundation rock on which the church is built.
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; —Psalm 118:22
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. —Isaiah 28:16
—In other words, when the evidence is examined, the total teaching of Scripture is that the church, God’s temple (Ephesians 2:19-22), is built on Jesus Christ—not Peter as some would have you believe.
2.
- I will build my church, (Matthew 16:18)
—We have already spent some time examining the Greek word for church which is Ekklesia and means “a called-out assembly”.
—Jesus spoke about “MY church” in contrast to other assemblies.
—This was to be something new and different, for in His church, Jesus Christ would unite believing Jews and Gentiles and form a new temple, a new body (Ephesians 2:11-3:12).
—Jesus Christ would be the Builder of this church, the Head of this church.
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. —Ephesians 1:22
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. —Colossians 1:18
—Each believer in this church is a “living stone” (I Peter 2:5)
—Believers would meet in local congregations, or assemblies, to worship Christ and to serve Him, but they would also belong to a universal church, a temple being built by Christ.
3.
OF HELL/HADES – and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:18)
—Recall where Jesus and His disciples are at this moment. They are in Caesarea Philippi where all types of pagan worship took place.
—A better translation would be “gates of Hades.”
Hell is the final destination of all unsaved people after the judgment of the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15.)
—Hades is simply “the realm of the dead or the abode of the dead.” It was thought that before Christ died on the cross, was buried and resurrected all the dead went to hades – believers to a paradise portion to await the payment for sins and unbelievers to a punishment portion to await the final judgment.
—“Gates” represent, in the Bible, authority and power.
—“The gates of hades” then would symbolize the organized power of death and Satan.
—By His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ would conquer death, so that death would not be able to hold any of His people.
—The word “overpower” means to have mastery over.
—For those who have Faith in Christ and trust Him as Savior death and hell no longer have mastery over us and we will not be held captive.
4. KEYS OF THE KINGDOM
Will finish next week!
5. BINDING AND LOOSING
LIVE IT OUT
Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God?
Have you shared this with a church so they could affirm your profession?
Have you united with this local New Testament church by either baptism or transfer of membership from another Baptist fellowship?
What prevents you from doing this today?