What's Wrong With The Church?

Earl Gillespie

A Study Of The Church

Matthew 16:18  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.

Verse 18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter. The word Peter, in Greek, means a rock. The name was given to Simon by Christ when he called him to be a disciple, John 1:42. Cephas is a Syriac word, meaning the same as Peter--a rock, or stone. The meaning of this phrase may be thus expressed: "Thou, in saying that I am the Son of God, has called me by a name expressive of my true character. I, also, have given to you a name expressive of your character.  I have called you Peter, a rock, denoting firmness, solidity; and your confession has shown that the name is appropriate. I see that you are worthy of the name, and will be a distinguished support of my religion.

To keep the context and prospective in true focus In Revelation 3: 14-22 Jesus issued a shocking condemnation of the church.

And upon this rock, etc. This passage has given rise to many different interpretations. Some have supposed that the word rock refers to Peter's confession; and that he meant to say, upon this rock-- this truth that thou hast confessed, that I am the Messiah--and upon confessions of this from all believers, I will build my church. Confessions like this shall be the test of piety; and in such confessions shall my church stand amidst the flames of persecution--the fury of the gates of hell.  Others have thought that he referred to himself. Christ is called a rock, Isa 28:16; 1Peter 2:8. And it has been thought that he turned from Peter and looked upon himself, and said: "Upon this rock, this truth that I am the Messiah--upon myself as the Messiah--I will build my church." Both these interpretations, though plausible, seem forced upon the passage to avoid the main difficulty in it.  Another interpretation is, that the word rock refers to Peter himself. This is the obvious meaning of the passage; and had it not been that the church of Rome has abused it, and applied it to what was never intended, no other would have been sought for. "Thou art a rock. Thou hast shown thyself firm in and fit for the work of laying the foundation of the church. Upon thee will I build it. Thou shalt be highly honored; thou should be first in making known the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles." This was accomplished. See Acts 2:14-36, where he first preached to the Jews, and Acts 10:1 and following, where he preached the gospel to Cornelius and his neighbors, who were Gentiles. Peter had thus the honor of laying the foundation of the church among the Jews and Gentiles. And this is the plain meaning of this passage. See also Ga 2:9. But Christ did not mean, as some say he did, to exalt Peter to supreme authority above all the other apostles, or to say that he was the only one with whom he would rear his church. See Acts 15, where the advice of James, and not of Peter, was followed. See also Galatians 2:11, where Paul withstood Peter to his face, because he was to be blamed--a thing which could not have happened if Christ, as the Roman Catholics say, meant that Peter should be absolute and infallible. More than all, it is not said here or anywhere else in the Bible, that Peter should have infallible successors who should be the vicegerents of Christ, and the head of the church. The whole meaning of the passage is this:  "I will make you the honored instrument of making known  my gospel first to Jews and Gentiles, and will make you a firm and distinguished preacher in building my church."

Will build my Church. This refers to the custom of building, in Judea, on a rock or other very firm foundation. The word church means, literally, those called out, and often means an assembly or congregation. It is applied to Christians as being called out from the world. It means, sometimes, the whole body of believers, Ephesians 1:22; 1Corinthians 10:32. This is its meaning in this place. It means, also, a particular society of believers, worshipping in one place, Acts 8:1; 9:31; 1Corinthians 1:2, etc. Sometimes, also, a society in a single house, as Romans 16:5. In common language, it means the church visible--ie. all who profess religion; or invisible, i.e. all who are real Christians, professors or not.

And the gates of hell, etc. Ancient cities were surrounded by walls. In the gates, by which they were entered, were the principal places for holding courts, transacting business, and deliberating on public matters. The word gates, therefore, is used for counselling, designs, machinations, evil purposes. Hell means, here, the place of departed spirits, particularly evil spirits. And the meaning of the passage is, that all the plots, stratagems, and machinations, of the enemies of the church, should not be able to overcome it--a promise that has been remarkably fulfilled.

Now Jesus's final message to the church.  We ought to study it, pray over it as seek God for more enlightenment.  Revelation 3:14-22  And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.

This epistle to the Laodiceans is the seventh and last epistle which Christ commanded St. John at this time to write; most of the churches were found faulty before, but none like this here. Formality and hypocrisy, coldness and indifference, in religion, had so for prevailed in this church, that we find nothing commended in them, nothing good spoken of them, and none of them exempted from the general charge brought in against them for that lukewarmness and hypocrisy.

In this epistle now before us, Observe, 1. A description of Christ in his deservedly glorious titles: thus saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, that is, he that is verity and truth itself, both in his promises and his threatenings, who is holy, and cannot lie; righteous, and cannot deceive; wise, and can never be deceived; therefore Christ takes upon him this name here of the faithful and true Witness, to awaken these drowsy hypocrites, to see and consider that he knows their state and condition, and will testify and witness against them.

There is no such effectual remedy against hypocrisy, lukewarmness, and indifference in the matters of religion, as a firm belief of Christ's omniscience and veracity. The other title given to Christ, is the beginning of the creation of God; that is, the beginning of the creation of God, the original and first cause, by which all the creatures of God had their beginning. Christ is not only principium principatun, but principium principians; not the passive beginning, or he that first created, but the active beginning, or he by whom the creation was begun, both the old and new creation.

Now Christ takes upon him this title, to encourage the Laodiceans to come unto him, (according to the invitation, given v. 18.) to recover them from their formality, seeing he is omnipotent, and can give a being and beginning to grace in the new creation as he did to nature in the old and first creation.

Observe, 2. The reproof here given to this church of Laodicea, I know thou art neither hot nor cold; thou art not for open heresy or infidelity, but likest well a profession of Christianity; you receive the gospel, and so are not quite cold, but you want zeal to suffer anything for it, and so are not at all hot; I see nothing in thee but a lukewarm indifferency, for which I disown thee, nay, disdain thee.

Learn hence, 1. That Christ loathes lukewarm persons, who profess Christianity with reserves for worldly safety. These Laodiceans were neither enemies to Christ, nor true friends, but served God and gain, Christ and the world, a combination that Jesus called spiritual fornication. 

Learn, 2. That though God abominates lukewarmness and want of zeal, yet he will not disown those who have any spark of true zeal, though defective and culpably remiss; he will not quench smoking flax, but blow it up into a holy flame; but all that have not so much zeal as to prefer Christ before the world, shall be accounted his enemies, and disowned by him.