AP

If the saying is true that statistics never lie, it would be reasonable to assume that the Christian Church in the West is in trouble. The data seems clear, it’s on the demise.

Or is it?

As Christians, should we panic? Should we scramble to make adjustments that will make the church seem more relevant in today’s culture? Should we become more doctrinally malleable so as to not offend? More entertainment perhaps?

These human responses certainly seem logical, if we are indeed responsible for the building of Christ’s church. But God’s word has a more comforting message about such things.

‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it’ (Mt 16:18).

Simon is responding here to Jesus’ question concerning not who people in general are saying he is, but rather, who does he (Peter) say that he is. Simon Peter’s response is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Hearing this confession, Jesus gives Simon a new name: ‘Peter’ (Πέτρος) which means ‘rock’.  This truth, spoken by Peter, is the rock that Jesus will build his church on, and nothing, not even the gates of Hades, will stand in its way.

Is it no wonder that in Matthew 7:24 Jesus also links the truth of his Word to the idea of solid rock:

‘Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.’

Let’s not miss what Jesus says here. It is he, the Christ, who builds his church, a church that will be built on rock, the solid foundation of his truth which will not be overturned or compromised, even by so-called good intentions of becoming more relevant in the eyes of the world.

The fact that Christ builds his church is not surprising in light of what God had been revealing throughout the Old Testament scriptures. While there are many examples, for the sake of space, a brief look at Isaiah 65:17-19 will reveal God’s sovereign hand over the formation of his people and his plans.    

¹⁷ “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
    nor will they come to mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
    and its people a joy.
¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem
    and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
    will be heard in it no more.

Here in Isaiah, we find an announcement of God’s ‘radical new vision of the future’.

The root of the Hebrew word בוֹרֵ֛א meaning ‘to create’ in verse 17, is a verb used exclusively in the Hebrew Bible in reference to God. It attributes all divine creative action to God alone. This relationship between the LORD, and the verb ‘to create’ is highly significant. It reveals the creative activity of God as something ongoing or continuous. You could say: His creative wheels are constantly turning. They were then, and they are now!  

Surely, only the one who spoke creation into existence in the beginning has the power to create the heavens and earth anew.

And surely this God who speaks all creation into being has the power to build his own church today, a church that is a continuously growing and living entity, but one whose foundation never changes.    

The Hebrew language of Isaiah 65:17-19 has much to teach us about God’s creative intentions for his people. Indeed, Isaiah, in just three verses, reveals that everything created in the beginning will be made new in the end.

The question of the possibility of God and humanity living joyfully together for eternity, rests on the divine creative intentions of the LORD, a recreation of Jerusalem and its people, the heavens and the earth, and the ongoing creation of his church.

If we look at the Christian church today through human eyes, through the lens of human prerogatives and success criteria, we might be forgiven to think that it is in dire straits. Our tendency to attempt to take the reins from Christ and create the church in the world’s image has left dirty fingerprints all over it, not to mention a lot of burnt-out clergy and lay people.  

Thanks be to God, however, that the success of the church and the building of God’s Kingdom is not in human hands. It never has been and never will be. God is sovereign and Christ will continue to build his church on the rock until he comes again. Yes, it’s true that in building his church God works through his people, but let’s not be deceived into thinking he needs us to build it.

May we in the church experience the freedom and shalom that comes from knowing that God has everything under control. Christ builds his church!

– Ben Swift