The Foundation of the Church

I have some questions for you - but I will not ask them until the end of this post.

I used to love to play with Legos. Since I have children that enjoy them, I again have an excuse to play with them. They are the kind of simple toy that has passed the test of time and continue to inspire young minds. I am convinced that both of my brothers became engineers because of the use of Legos as children. They would create the most amazing devices and structures: snowmobiles with independent suspension, bridges that would bear an amazing amount of weight. I am still amazed by their use of Legos.

A few years ago my son, Anthony, was constructing a tower with Legos but it kept falling down. The problem was in the foundation of his tower.

Physics dictated a wider base for the structure but he did not know this. I sat down on the floor and began showing him how a good foundation would make his tower strong.

The foundation upon which God chose to establish His church is strong. He is a master builder that knew that the foundation had to be a rock instead of soft sand.

The foundation of the church is built by God's sovereign plan.

What is the foundation of His church?

Matt. 16:13-18 gives us our first clue:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

From this passage it is clear that Jesus is up to more than trying to find out what people think of Him. There is a bigger reason why He was probing Peter.

First, notice that Peter confesses what he believes. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." How did Peter know this? Jesus explains how - Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Peter's confession of Christ was based on what he believed regarding the revelation of Christ. I find it interesting that Jesus draws a sharp contrast between Peter's earthly father (Bar-Jonah, or Son of Jonah) and where Peter REALLY received this knowledge of God, namely the Father who is in heaven.

Remember Peter's calling! He was a fisherman. He would not usually talk of such lofty religious ideas while pulling up smelly fish. (Disclaimer - I know some very smart fishermen. This is not a slam on fishermen). This was the kind of language that the Scribes and Pharisees would use.

Peter was affected by the direct revelation of God regarding the Christ, Jesus our Lord. And Peter's confession was based on that revelation. It was natural. It was the outpouring of Peter's heart.

And then comes one of my favorite verses in scripture - Matthew 16:18 - Jesus nicknames Simon. Please allow me to paraphrase: "Simon, you?re going to be called 'the Rock' because the My Father has revealed who I truly am to you and that revelation is going to be the foundation of My church." It is probably not right that this conjures up images of Peter as a professional wrestler. Actually, based on Peter?s passion for things, maybe that is not far off.

The foundation of the church is the revelation of God to His people. The living Word, Jesus Christ, was revealed in person to Peter. The Living Word is revealed to us through the Gospel in the Bible.

After Peter preaches the Gospel at Pentecost to the gathered people in Jerusalem, we find the formal establishment of the church in Act 2:41-42.

So those who received his word were baptized, and there
were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

The Apostles' teaching to which Luke (the author of Acts) was referring was the same revelation that Peter received when Jesus nicknamed him. The foundation of the church is the revelation of God in the Bible to us. It is the Good Message of Jesus Christ to which the whole of Scripture points. The people that compose the church are to be people of The Word. They are people of the revelation of God that can confess with Peter, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The hymn writer says it this way:

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith, in His excellent Word
What more can He say, than to you He hath said
To you, who for refuge, to Jesus have fled?

It is one thing to recognize that the revelation of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church, but what are we to do with this information? If we simply sit back and admire the fact that this is the case, we miss the point entirely. This should be a call to action. This should call the troops to battle array. We have commands from the Lord, what now will we do?

The natural reactions of God's people to this call will be detailed in later posts but for now I would like to show the reaction of the people in Acts 2:43-47.

And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

This is a radical shift that can only be explained by a supernatural occurrence. The God of the universe founded His church by revealing Himself to His people.

He revealed Himself to me through Ephesians 5:25 - "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."

Through this verse I learned of and believed in Jesus? atoning death on a cross for me and my relationship (then) with Him. He also saved my marriage with it. It is indeed a precious verse for me.

Here are the questions I have for you:
What is your verse? If you are a Christian, what part of God's revelation did He use to call you into His church?