The Nature of the Church

MEMORY VERSE: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” —Matthew 16:18

I CORINTHIANS 12:12,13,27; COLOSSIANS 1:18-20; I PETER 2:4-10

THE word “church” is from a Greek word meaning a calling out, or a called-out class. The church is therefore made up of a people dedicated to the doing of God’s will who have been called out from the world and joined to Christ. In building his church it is not God’s intention to take the whole world into its membership. The Scriptures show, rather, that God is selecting and preparing the church for a future service of enlightening and blessing the world of mankind.

This thought is incidentally mentioned in our memory verse. After stating that he would build his church upon the great “rock” truth which Peter had just expressed concerning Jesus’ being the Messiah, and the Son of the living God, Jesus added, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” Many suppose the meaning of this to be that the gates of hell are endeavoring to engulf the church, but this is not the thought. “Hell” here is a translation of the Greek word hades, meaning the state or condition of death to which all mankind were condemned as a result of original sin. God promised Abraham that through his seed “all families of the earth” would be blessed. (Gen. 12:3) Paul explains that Christ, and together with him, his church, are the seed of Abraham. (Gal. 3:16,27-29) The future mission of the church, then, is to bless the people—all the families of the earth.

However, these people who are yet to be blessed are now dead. They are in hades, the state of death, the Bible hell. In order to he blessed they must be released from death. In Revelation 1:18 Jesus tells us that he has the keys of hell, and that, together with his church, he will use these keys to open the doors of hell and set its prisoners free. We rejoice in this glorious prospect for the future and that death will not interfere with the blessing of the world of mankind.

One of the illustrations used in the Scriptures to portray the unity of Christ and his church is the human body. In this illustration Jesus is the Head, and his followers are pictured by other parts of the body. It is a very vivid illustration. Just as the natural body cannot function without the head, so the church cannot function properly without Christ.

As Paul uses this illustration we are reminded that God sets every member in the body of Christ as it pleases him. To know this, and to abide by it, should help to eradicate any petty jealousies which may arise among the Lord’s people, for they should realize that it is a high honor to be in the body at all. The nature of the service we render is quite unimportant, so long as it is what the Lord indicates to be his will.

The One whom the Father has so highly exalted, and to whom he has given the pre-eminence in all things, was “disallowed indeed of men,” Peter writes. Jesus was the stone which the builders rejected. Here the church, together with Jesus as the chief corner stone, is likened to a “spiritual house, an holy priesthood.” This illustration goes back to the ancient temple in Jerusalem in which, in a symbolic sense, God met with his people and blessed them. A priesthood was a prominent part of this arrangement.

Peter reminds us that this arrangement of the past pointed forward to a “spiritual house” and a “holy priesthood.” This priesthood, just like the one in the past, offers sacrifice. Its members do not, as in the past, offer animal sacrifices. Instead, they offer themselves. (Rom. 12:1) Indeed, this is one of the principal characteristics of a priest—he offers sacrifice, and then upon the basis of the sacrifice offered, bestows blessing upon those for whom the sacrifice is made.

In the plan of God the present is the age of sacrifice. The new age, the time of Christ’s kingdom, will be the time when the spiritual royal priesthood will dispense the blessings of healing and life to all the willing and obedient of mankind.

Peter wrote, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” It is our great responsibility now to show forth the Lord’s praises by making known his divine plan of salvation; and if faithful now, it will be our great privilege in the coming age to sound forth his praises, and fill the earth with his glory.

QUESTIONS

What did Jesus mean by “the gates of hell” not prevailing against the church?

When will the world of mankind be blessed through the ministry of the church?

| Home Page | Table of Contents |