30.Mar.2009 God’s Building Plan

Part One of a New Series: If you build it…

Matthew 16:13-18:
13 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.

God is into building things that last; things that are eternal. The catch to that is that building something that lasts takes a long while. God is all about the process. He is not a “right now!” kind of God. Many modern Christians struggle with this concept because we have been raised in a “right now!” society. Technology allows us to get what we want with minimal wait. That is not how God works, yet we bring it into our faith. We pray for the miracle, but if it does not happen immediately, we assume it is not of God and move on. God wants us to wait on Him and let Him build us through a process.

Matthew 16:13-18 is a well known set of verses that define the Christian faith and spur the belief of many different denominations. Yet, if one takes a closer look at the dialogue, a new, even better meaning is shown! Jesus asks the disciples what the world (human knowledge and wisdom) say that he is. After they answer, he asks who they say he is. Peter answers without hesitation, “You are the Son of God.” Jesus immediately jumps on that:

“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. 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.”

Let’s take a closer look at the words highlighted (by me). First, Jesus calls Peter blessed, not because he got the answer right, but because he received divine revelation. God downloaded into him supernatural wisdom that trumped the wisdom of the world, and Peter grabbed onto it with all of his heart. God’s wisdom and understanding is higher than ours; revelation is when He revels that higher wisdom and understanding to us, allowing us a glimpse into Him. Humanity too often relies on its own wisdom and understanding to explain everything, i.e., science (Hear me, there is nothing wrong with science, but it is only part of the answer. It is not all of the answer.) Supernatural wisdom and understand from God is the true reality.

Next, Jesus names him “Peter” which means “rock.” Jesus is referring to the rock of revelation. The revelation Peter received it now the foundation Jesus will built on–the “rock” for which the building of his life will stand strong. The rock is the revelation, and the revelation is the foundation.

The last thing he says is “build my church.” In order to grasp the final measure of this new revelation, we need to look at another verse:

Ephesians 2:19-22:19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

When people read the phrase “build my church,” it is naturally assumed that Jesus is talking about the movement or the buildings that will come to house the church. But, that is not what Jesus meant. Forget the buildings. According to Ephesians, we are the building! Get that! WE are the church! God dwells in US! We are the temple of God, where he dwells “by his Spirit!” Jesus is so excited that Peter gets it that he tells them all that he is going to “build his church” on the rock of Peter’s revelation: that he, Jesus, is the Son of God.

God wants to build us all! He wants to build our lives! He lays the foundation (a revelation of who He is), He frames our world and puts on a roof (the revelation of who we are), and then He fills the house! He builds our lives; makes them into something great! That is, if we let Him. It is His desire to build us up. He brings people into our lives to help build us and bring us higher; people who have a track record and are experts at things like marriage, children, business, etc…(and this does not mean counselors, this means fellow members of the House). God builds us.

God is building His House on the earth through us. And in building us, His House will grow.