Unlimited: The True Church
Dec 10, 2021 1108
Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18, KJV).
What a prediction! What a claim! Here we are almost twenty centuries later, and about one in three people around the globe claims membership in Christ’s church.
The picture in Matthew 16:18 is that of an advancing kingdom of God converging on the gates of hell and death, error and bloody persecution. The victorious army is clothed in righteousness. Its banner is the Spirit, lifting high the blessed Gospel of Christ.
However, we must never confuse the church invisible of Matthew 16:18 with the visible church. Scripture tells us concerning the church: “There is one body” (Ephesians 4:4, compare 1 Corinthians 12:12).
In Christ, you are a member of the true church.
Are you a member of the true church? Have you built your faith, not upon a human creed, but upon the God-human, the church’s one Foundation, Jesus Christ? Have you received the anointing of the Holy Spirit? He is yours immediately upon your committal to Christ. Do you bear the mark of the genuine disciple? Here it is: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35; Matthew 25:34,40).
In Christ, you are a member of that true church against which the gates of hell shall never prevail. – Des Ford (adapted)
Reflection: Are you a Christian first and a member of your particular church second? Or is it the other way around? Seen the right way, there’s no conflict. But like most things in life, it’s a matter of putting first things first. Whom do you follow?
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