More on the Lord Promising to Build His Church

I will build My church. (Mat_16:18)


This promise has enormous implications for every follower of Jesus Christ. "I will build My church. " Each of the five words in this brief declaration reveals an essential truth of Christian life and service.
First, this promise discloses who will build the church. "I (Jesus) will build My church. " Jesus is the builder of the church, not man. He wants to use us in the process, but He is the builder. Paul understood this arrangement. "According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation" (1Co_3:10). By the grace of God, Paul served the Lord. As he went about proclaiming Christ, the Lord was using him to lay the foundation (Christ) in lives that were being saved and individual churches that were being started.

Second, Jesus' promise reveals the certainty of His church being built. "I will (assuredly) build My church. " There is no room for doubt. Jesus will do what He is promising. The only question for us is whether or not we will be available as a part of this wondrous process. The Lord wants to make us usable for His work: "sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work" (2Ti_2:21).

Third, this promise indicates the manner in which the Lord wants to work. "I will build (construct) My church. " As with any construction project, there are both the quantitative and qualitative aspects. The Lord saves souls, adding them to His church in a quantitative increase. "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Act_2:47). The Lord also enriches those He saves, bringing to His church qualitative development. "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all" (Act_4:33).

Fourth, His promise settles the issue of ownership. "I will build My (Jesus') church. " The church does not belong to the Pastor, the Church Board, or the District Office. It is Jesus' church. He paid the price to redeem us: "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Act_20:28).

Fifth, this promise specifies exactly what Jesus is going to build. "I will build My church (His people)." The church is not a building. This word (church) literally speaks of "a called out people." "But you are . . . His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God" (1Pe_2:9-10).

God Promising Eternal Life

And this is the promise that He has promised us — eternal life. (1Jo_2:25)


We have examined a number of strategic promises from God in the Old Testament. We have also considered how a growing awareness of God's ability builds our faith in His promises. Now, let's begin to examine some of the promises that God has made in the New Testament.

The first promise that we will look at could actually be called "the promise of all promises," as far as that which impacts man the most. This promise is the culmination of all the others. " And this is the promise that He has promised us — eternal life. " As in human life, eternal life has a quantitative aspect (related to duration) and a qualitative aspect (related to substance).
The quantitative aspect of eternal life pertains to the fact that it never ends. Consequently, it is sometimes translated as everlasting. "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (Joh_6:40). As humans, who begin natural life, limited to a brief number of years, the thought of a never-ending life is overwhelming. Yet, as amazing as the quantitative side of eternal life is, the qualitative side is even more stupendous.

Jesus spoke of the qualitative aspect of eternal life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (Joh_10:10). This would be a life in which the fullness of Jesus' grace was being increasingly manifested. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. . . full of grace and truth . . . And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for (upon) grace" (John 1:14, 16). This would be a life in which the Holy Spirit was being trusted to produce Christlike characteristics in an increasing manner. "But the fruit of gentleness, self-control" (Gal_5:22-23). This would be a life in which we could not be the source of sufficiency, but God would be. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" (2Co_3:5).

Appropriately, this eternal life is offered to man as a gift. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, in Christ Jesus our Lord . . . And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish" (Rom_6:23 and Joh_10:28). Necessarily, this gift can only be received by faith: "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (Joh_3:15).

Once More on God's Ability and His Promises

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think . . . . (Eph_3:20)


These opening words from one of the most well-known benedictions in all of the New Testament offers a unique opportunity to consider God's ability, as related to His promises. How able is God? He is "able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. " Could we possibly ask for more than God has already promised? Could we properly think greater things than God has promised? Well, let's reflect upon some of the promises of God that we have already considered.
We have seen that God promised to make a mighty nation with world-wide blessings from one man, Abraham. "I will make you a great nation . . . and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen_12:2-3). God also promised to deliver His people from bondage into an abundant land. "I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt . . . to a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exo_3:17). He also promised to fight for His people. "The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you" (Deu_1:30). Additionally, God promised an eternal kingdom for his people, through the line of David. "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever" (2Sa_7:16). Further, God promised that His Messiah would sit on that eternal throne. "A Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him" (Isa_11:1-2). Moreover, God promised that Messiah would be a unique King. "A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench" (Isa_42:3). Ultimately, the Father promised that the Messiah Himself (Jesus) would be the new covenant of grace. "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will . . . give You as a covenant to the people" (Isa_42:6). Correspondingly, the Lord promised that this covenant of grace would provide forgiveness of sins ("I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more" — Jer_31:34), intimacy with God ("They all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" — Jer_31:34), and an inner work of God to change us from the inside out ("I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts" — Jer_31:33).


Certainly, we could not ask or think beyond these promises. Yet, our God is able to do far beyond these extraordinary matters. What confidence this gives us regarding God's promises, as well as every prayer we offer based on these promises!

 

Still More on God's Ability and His Promises

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (2Ti_1:12)


A growing appreciation of God's ability produces in us an increasing tendency to rely upon God's promises. In this present meditation, we will be reminded of how relationship with the Lord is always at the heart of the Christian life.
The setting for Paul's "one verse testimony" was the suffering that he was experiencing. "For this reason I also suffer these things. " The reason he suffered was related to his calling to preach the gospel, "to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles" (2Ti_1:11). When the Lord first called Paul to serve Him in the good news of grace, his future sufferings were addressed. "I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake" (Act_9:16). Suffering is inevitable while serving God in an ungodly world. Jesus Himself was our example. "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (1Pe_2:21).

Although Paul suffered, he was not shamed by his suffering. "Nevertheless I am not ashamed. " If our suffering is for godly reasons, we likewise do not need to be ashamed. "If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter" (1Pe_4:16). The faith that Paul had to endure sufferings properly came from His growing relationship with Jesus. "For I know whom I have believed. " Since he originally believed in the Lord, Paul had become increasingly acquainted with Him. A wonderful consequence of increased intimacy with Christ is that we become increasingly convinced of His ability. "For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able. " This conviction covered every matter that Paul entrusted into the care of His Master. "He is able to keep what I have committed to Him. " Also, it covered every day right up until the return of the Lord: "until that Day. " Again, Jesus left us a similar example. He committed His daily situations into the hands of His able heavenly Father: "When He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1Pe_2:23).

Even More on God's Ability and His Promises

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace . . . Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. (Dan_3:17 and Jud_1:24)


The basic subject matter in this section of our meditations on growing in the grace of God pertains to the promises of God. Living by the promises of God is just another way to consider living by the grace of God. Again, our present verses speak of the ability of God. The more our understanding grows concerning what God is able to do, the more extensively will we trust in His promises.
Three young Israelites (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) gave powerful testimony of the ability of God. King Nebuchadnezzar had ordered all the people to engage in idolatry, under threat of severe consequences. "To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn . . . you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace" (Dan_3:4-6). The three young men had a bold answer, based on the ability of God. "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace." They did not bow down, so they were thrown into the blazing furnace. Yet, the Lord demonstrated His ability on their behalf. When the king looked into the furnace, he exclaimed, "Look! . . . I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God" (Dan_3:25). Yes, God proved able to deliver them.


Hundreds of years later, Jude addressed God's ability regarding two other important arenas. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." This aspect of God's ability offers assurance that God can keep His people from stumbling while on earth and present them faultless when they reach heaven. We all know our own capacity to stumble spiritually into transgression or compromise. We also struggle with the condemnations of the enemy that rob us of expectation to eventually stand before our Lord in glory fully forgiven, cleansed, and transformed. Our God is able to work effectively in both arenas for all who humbly trust in Him.

 

God Sees You as an Individual

God created the first man Adam, not because He wanted to start a religion, but because He wanted a family. He wanted fellowship. That is why in Luke's account of the genealogy of Jesus, Adam is called the son of God (Luke 3:38), for he was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

When Adam fell, sin entered the world and brought death to the spirit of man, and at the right time, Jesus was sent to redeem us. Our redemption meant that we had to be born again--born once more in the image of God--exchanging our corrupted spirit for one alive with the life and nature of God.

In John 3:1-8, Jesus explained this redemption process that once again allowed mankind to become the sons and daughters of God:

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, He said, "What's born of flesh is flesh, and what's born of Spirit is spirit. You must be born again." A better interpretation of this last phrase is "born from above."

 

Our first birth happened when our spirit came into existence from our parents--through "flesh producing flesh." At that moment, we inherited a sin nature--spiritual death--that was passed down to us from the lineage of the first man Adam. But, since then, when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and our sin nature was put to death with Christ, we have been born again. We have risen to newness of life with Him and received a nature like His.

 

Jesus told Nicodemus, "Look, you've already been born of the flesh. To be born again, you don't enter your mother's womb a second time. I'm talking about a birth that's from above. You must be born from above. What's born of flesh is flesh. What's born of Spirit is spirit."

 

           The part of us that must be born from above is our human spirit. Of course, we have an earthly father of our flesh from our first birth, wherein we can say that we were created, but it is more accurate to say we were born. Why? Because we were born of a life that always existed on the inside of our Father God.

 

You see, when God created Adam's body and held him up, Adam was nothing but a shell. Then God breathed into him the breath of life, and Adam became a living soul.

 

Genesis 2:7 says that God breathed into [Adam's] nostrils the breath of life. But God wasn't breathing oxygen into Adam. In fact, God doesn't breathe. He created air. He is not dependent on it. This verse is simply letting us know that God reached on the inside of Himself where that life lives, and He transferred into Adam the life from within Himself, and Adam's spirit was born.

 

Now, when an unsaved person bows his knee--gives his life to the Lord--the same thing that happened in Adam when God breathed life into him is going to happen in the person's unregenerated spirit, and he is going to be born again. But this time, he will be born from above.

 

The third chapter of Luke traces the bloodline of Adam all the way down to Joseph, Mary's husband. But Joseph was no more the father of Jesus than our earthly father is the father of our born-again spirit--because what is born of the flesh is flesh, but what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit, being the first Man since Adam to be born from above--free of the sin nature--and the Firstborn of many brethren.

 

This is what Jesus says of our redemption in John 5:25,26:

 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [those with an unregenerated spirit] shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live [be born again with the life of God].

For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

The life that Jesus was born with is the same life you were born again with, but your spirit is as unique to you as is your natural body. You are not like any other person who has ever lived on this planet. If you performed DNA testing on every human being, you would not find two people who were identically the same, not even identical twins, because they still have variations in their DNA.

 

Since we are this unique in the natural, don't you think we remain unique individuals when we are born again? And now that we have been born from above in the image of God, we can fellowship with Him Spirit to spirit. More and more I'm beginning to realize that it's our individuality that God is after in our fellowship.

 

As believers, we tend to group ourselves as a corporate Body, thinking that God is sitting in Heaven looking at a large mass of people, not paying much attention to us individually. But we are wrong. God always is and was and will be, so how can we think He doesn't have time to fellowship with us personally?

 

Consider your own family for a moment, or a family that you know. How many kids do you have? Isn't each one different? Don't you make a point to spend individual time with each child? When you stop to think about it, you'll recognize that you get something different from each child and enjoy different aspects of their personalities. In other words, one child does not give you the same fellowship as the next, but one thing is for sure: Each one fills your life with something unique.

 

God has millions of children on the earth, but we can each rest assured that He desires to spend one-on-one time with us. He has always had family in the forefront of His mind, and when we were separated from Him, just as quick as He could, He brought us back.

 

The moment you surrendered your life to Jesus, you became a child of God, able to fellowship personally with your Heavenly Father. The time you spend with Him is just as important to Him as your individual fellowship with your children is to you.

 

So now your whole being can overflow with the love and joy that comes from a lifestyle of fellowship with God. Not just the kind of worship that you offer out of your adoration for Him, but a life of walking with Him as your Father and demonstrating His life within you to a world that is lost and heading for hell. God sought you out for this kind of fellowship, and you're giving it to Him every time you worship Him and trust Him as your Father.

This is what God desires from us--our personal fellowship with Him as our Father. We have been born of the Spirit, born from above, and He is our Father now.

 

           This month I have included with my letter excerpts from the Present-Day Speaking of the Lord (prophecies) that have come forth over the last year and a half. These excerpts focus on times the Lord said "I am . . ." I believe His words to us will not only encourage you in your individual fellowship with Him but will also help you understand more and more how He sees you and the great love He has for you. I know you will be blessed!

God Promising an Anointed King

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. (Isa_11:1-2)


Already, we have seen our God of promises guaranteeing to call out a people for Himself, to deliver His people from bondage, to fight for His people, and to give them an everlasting kingdom. Now, God promises an anointed king for His people.
This anointed king was promised through David's family. "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse." Jesse was a son of Obed and the father of David. "Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David" (Ruth 4:22). This king is here given a Messianic title, Branch. "A Branch shall grow out of his roots." Other prophets had made similar prophetic promises concerning this royal Branch. "Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth' . . . I am bringing forth My Servant the Branch . . . Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch! " (Jer_23:5 and Zec_3:8; Zec_6:12).

This king ("the Branch") would serve by the empowering of the Holy Spirit. "The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him." The Spirit of God would not merely come upon Him at times (as with King Saul): "Then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them" (1Sa_10:10). The Spirit would continually be upon Him for ministry: "The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him." Of course, this king, the Branch, would be Jesus Christ. Jesus applied a similar Messianic passage to Himself. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me" (Luk_4:18). Yes, Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the anointed King. In fact, Christ is the Greek term for "anointed One." Whereas, Messiah is the Hebrew term for the same.


The Messiah's ministry would be characterized by godly wisdom, heavenly understanding, perfect counsel, divine might, complete knowledge, and holy reverence for the Father. All of this was produced by the work of the Holy Spirit upon Him: "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD."