Turner Chapel

Church House “Rock”

“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

Can you imagine being Peter, the one Jesus called the “rock?” The disciple who Jesus said His church would be built upon. Wow, wouldn’t that be a (no pun intended) heavy responsibility? But then, how would that possible? How can the church be built on just one person? Moreover, ‘What is the church?

Some believe the church is a physical structure made by man. Some say the church is a collection of individual believers, like you and me, while others say it’s a gathering of God’s people. You be the judge.

“Church” is derived from the Greek word ‘ekklēsía’ which means to “call-out”. In the New Testament ‘ekklēsía’ is referred to as a gathering of people in some kind of assembly, whereas in the Old Testament ‘ekklēsía’ was use for the people of God who gathered together for an important message.  But if you put the two together, we can pretty much say, ‘church’ is a gathering of people or rather the ‘called-out ones’ of God.

In the book of Exodus (3:10-12), God instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh to free His people, and for Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt to Mt. Horeb where they will worship God and where He sealed his covenant with them. Once they fled from Egypt, they became the Israelite community (Exodus 16:1), a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex.19:6).  After their exodus, God set forth laws to the Israelites, one of which they were to seek the place the Lord God will choose among all their tribes to put His NAME for His dwelling, and it is that place, they must go with their families, to be in the presence of the Lord where they would bring their offerings, eat and rejoice, because the Lord God has blessed them (Deut. 12) This would become the Temple, in the City of David, in the Holy City of Jerusalem - the heart of the Israelite community.

Yet, it was Jesus - who in preparing the way for the New Covenant took this Old Covenant symbol of the Temple, and while in the temple structure itself he said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19). Jesus alludes as the New Covenant’s decree that God does not dwell in a temple made by hands (Acts 17:24) but rather God erects his people as a sanctuary by choosing to dwell among them (2 Cor. 6:16).

However, when the day of Pentecost came, they were all gathered in one place, including God fearing Jews of every nation when the Holy Spirit fell afresh on them, three thousand in total. They devoted themselves to the teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer, and they did this - together. This was ‘Church” This was the beginning of Christ’s Church.

So, is the church a building, individual people, or a gathering of God’s people. I’ll let you be the judge.