NETTIEOLOGY: CHURCH

Matthew 16:18 (KJV)
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. 

Yeshua said he would build His church but He was not speaking of a physical building. The rock in this sentence referred to a type of foundation and the church was specific group of people. What Yeshua was telling His disciples: I am the Son of the Living God those who believe this is are my followers and will be recognized as this.  Yeshua continues in verse 19 by revealing: The key, the way, to accessing what is in heaven is through Me and I give it to those who choose to follow me.

Matthew 16:13-20 (KJV)
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?   And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.  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.  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. 

What is the church? Is it what we see today: fancy buildings, a place where people get together and talk about life? Is the church created to meet cultural needs? Is the church based on statements of faith, doctrine or Bible interpretation?  The Orthodox Jewish Bible translates verse 18 of Matthew 16 as follows:

And I also say to you that you are Shimon Kefa [Petros] and upon this TSUR I will build my Kehillah, my Chavurah (the Community of Moshiach) and the shaarei Sheol (gates of Sheol) shall not overpower it.

It is important because Peter a stone and the foundation of faith The Rock are not one and the same. According to Strong’s: Peter is translated from the Greek word petros which means stone. When Yeshua stated that He would build a church upon a rock, which is from the Greek word petra, He was declaring: “Christ, the Son of the living God” is the foundation of the church. Man is not the basis for the church, no one church leader- regardless of his or her title - should be the primary influence for a person’s understanding of YHWH.

John 14:5-7 (KJV)
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 

People are far more hung up on “the assembling” in a formal building, based on Hebrews 10:25, than understanding His will.

Proverbs 4:5-7 (KJV)
Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 

James 1:5 teaches: if we lack wisdom we can get it from YHWH. Many people seek wisdom, the ability to appropriately apply knowledge, others depend on someone else to tell them how to think. Today there are people who memorize Bible verses and quote their church leader, this is not wisdom. The method in which YHWH’s word is to be applied to ones’ life is presented to the individual by the Ruach HaKodesh, Spirit of God. So why go to church?

We gather together as one body to hear YHWH’s word not man’s opinion. We assemble together with others to ask questions of other believers to help in our understanding. We get together to discuss what we have learned from our own studies; confirming or correcting our understandings.  It is within the confines of like believers that we are able to learn of our errors and misunderstandings.

2 Timothy 3:14-17 (KJV)
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 

Most importantly we gather together to remember that we are one body united by the love of YHWH through His only begotton Son Yeshua Hamashiach. I submit to you, a church can be composed of 3 people.

Matthew 18:20 (KJV)
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. 

written by Marsha L F Randolph
NETTIE-OLOGY /NETTIE-ISM reflects the opinions of and is the soul property of the author MARSHA L F RANDOLPH. All rights reserved- do not use without permission. Disagreeing with what is written is not offensive to the author a disagreeable comment will be deleted.