Daily Devotional For Thursday, July 18, 2024

One of my favorite verses in the Bible comes from Jesus’ own mouth. It is found in Matthew 16:18b, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (ESV). Meaning, no matter how we appear to the world, we Christians are part of something that will never fail. Jesus is not in any way discussing the timing of the building of His church, but the certainty of it. What started at Pentecost in Acts 2 will continue until God wraps all of this up. So, no matter how hopeless and helpless we appear to others, we are not going away. The verse is clear — we do not do the building, Jesus Christ does. 

Oh, through human ingenuity and gimmicks we can add members to our churches but only Jesus Christ through divine intervention can add disciples. Human efforts only produce human results. This is why even our vernacular must be careful. We say “my church.” The truth is it is not! It is Christ’s church because He suffered for it, started it and sustains it! The word church in the Greek is [ἐκκλησία, ecclesia] and it means “called out ones.” In Jesus’ day it was a general term that referred to any assembled group of people. This is the first use of this Greek term in the New Testament and Jesus did not give any further explanation of it. Why? He would later have the New Testament writers explain it for us.

So in this case, what have we specifically been called out to do? Make disciples. Look at Matthew 28:19-20a, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (ESV). Make disciples is the only verb in verse 19. It isn’t “go.” It isn’t “baptizing.” It is “make disciples.” 

For over 2,000 years the “gates of hell” have tried to defeat us, eradicate and exterminate us from the planet and shut us up and it has failed. Death and demons are powerless over and to us. The Greek New Testament word translated as “prevail against” is one Greek word [κατισχύω, katischuo]. It means “to have mastery over and to keep imprisoned.”

Some denominations such as the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) misinterpret this passage based on their misinterpretation of the verses prior. Look at Matthew 16:13-19:

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (14) “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” (15) Then He asked them, “But who do you say I am?” (16) Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (17) Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. (18) Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. (19) And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven” (NLT). 

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the “rock” upon which Jesus built the church is Simon Peter and therefore, Peter was the first pope. 

Let me show you why the Roman Catholic Church is wrong:

1. First, we see this in the gender of the terms used for “rock.” When Jesus refers to Peter’s new name  as  “rock—Peter,” Jesus used the masculine Greek word [Πέτρος, petros], which means “little rock or stone, ledge, cliff.” When Jesus was referring to the church, Jesus said “this rock.” In this case, Jesus used the feminine Greek New Testament word [πέτρα, petra]. What is different is gender and identity. The word “church” is often referred to with feminine pronouns because we are the Bride of Christ. So, when Jesus addressed Peter by name, Jesus rightly used the masculine Greek word. And when Jesus was referring to the church, He rightly used feminine. This would automatically exclude Peter. In some cases to make sure we get this, New Testament writers used another Greek New Testament word that referred to Jesus being that rock or stone Himself. It is the Greek New Testament word [λίθος, lithos].  It is where we get our English words lithograph, lithography and lithographic. We see this done by Peter ironically in 1 Peter 2:4-8:

“As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, (5) you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (6) For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” (7) So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” (8) and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do” (ESV).

So, if Peter thought Jesus was referring to him personally, this was time to write about it. He doesn’t and for good reasons. 

1. Jesus had a perfect opportunity to let His own disciples and Peter know in Matthew 16 that He was referring to Peter. Jesus used the terms “this rock,” which in Greek, denotes something else. If Jesus meant Peter, Jesus would have been very clear. He would have said, “On you, Peter, I will build My church.” Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll writes this:

“To paraphrase, Jesus was saying something like, “You are ‘Rocky,’ and upon this rock I will build my church.” Jesus was employing a wordplay, or a kind of pun. It seems best to see the “rock” upon which the church is built as Peter’s solid confession of faith. Because of its heavenly, divine origin, it would serve as a firm foundation to be built upon. The church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized by the Holy Spirit and sealed for redemption, was established on earth at Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4) and will continue under God’s protection until the resurrection and rapture of those “in Christ” (1 Thess. 4:16–17) — (Source: Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “Matthew 16-28,” p. 27).

So, the first promise Jesus gave His church is that He personally will be the power and the guarantor of the perpetuity of His people — the church. By doing this, Christ burst through the gates of hell to establish His church. The second promise has to do with being given the “keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Keys are for unlocking doors. Peter would do this. He would first be used to unlock the doors for salvation for the Jews. This was Pentecost in Acts 2:38-41. Then Peter would unlock the doors of salvation for Samaritans in Acts 8:14-17. Then Peter would unlock the doors of salvation for Gentiles in Acts 10:46-48.

This is why I love what David writes in Psalm 18:1-3:

“I love You, O Lord, my strength. (2) The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (3) I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies” (NLT).

God promises His people through the prophet, Isaiah, that “no weapon formed against us will prosper “ (Isa. 54:17). In this, we’ve been called to stand, and it is vital we realize God is moving in the earth. It’s an exciting time! Now, it seems we were caught in the cycle of just “playing church.” We would clean ourselves up for a couple of hours a week, load into our church buildings, sing our songs, and say the prayers. We would proclaim, “Jesus is Lord,” but where was the power and where was the action? We weren’t doing all this with malicious intent—it was the best we knew. But now God has awakened us to a new place, a new time, and a new purpose. It’s exciting! Lift up your head! The Lord is moving, and we need to be prepared and ready for action! Southside, God is on the move! Let’s move with Him to make disciples.

Questions To Consider

1. God is on the move all over the world making disciples. Are you personally a part of this movement? Why or why not?
2. In Matthew 28:19, there is one verb, which is an imperative — in Greek, this means a command. Every single believer in Christ is commanded to make disciples. It is not an option. So, who are you discipling? If not, why?
3. Just like the Roman Catholic Church teaches wrongly that Peter was the first pope, and therefore their parishioners do not have any responsibility to evangelize and make disciples — that is all up to their priests, the Bible and Jesus teach differently. There are churches where the members believe evangelism and missions and discipleship are to be done only by the paid staff. Have you ever thought this and if so, why? That is a “gate from hell” that is trying to prevail against God’s church. What do you believe now and what will you do about it?
4. We are either helping Christ in His building of the church or we are assisting the devil, his demons and hell in the demolition of the church. Which are you personally doing and why?

Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, “For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. (10) Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. (11) For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ” (NLT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I need to be an obedient disciple who makes disciples. You have promised me that not even hell itself, with the devil and his demons, will ever be able to prevail against Your church. Until You return through the Rapture or You take me home by death, I will be a person who makes disciples because I love You with all my heart, soul, and mind. I know I have the power of Your Holy Spirit in me to do this. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly