The Christ, Son of the Living God

Who Is Jesus?

A prophet?

Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man

A messianic reference

Daniel 7, in the furnace

to Ezekiel

Appears 93 times in Ezekiel

The Christ, the Son of the living God

What Jesus was really concerned with is who the disciples believe Jesus to be.

Peter speaks up and answers for the group

Χριστός Christŏs: The Annointed One: Messiah

Christ specifically points to two things

He Was From God

He Had a purpose

The living God, as opposed to dead ones

The Church of Jesus

What is the Church

ἐκκλησία ĕkklēsia: an assembly

Some say it has a meaning of “the called out”

Has been used in reference to those called out of the general population for a political purpose; often a military or to declare war in ancient Greece

3 Uses of The word “Church”

A group meeting together

1 Corinthians 11:18 “18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,”

The Body of Believers in a Geographical Area

1 Corinthians 4:17 “17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.”

The church in...

Jerusalem

Corinth

Thessalonica

The Universal Body of Believers

The Catholic (universal)

Colossians 1:18 “18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”

What Do We Learn About the church?

It is Built Upon Jesus

Upon this Rock

The rock is Peter

The Catholic interpretation is the papal lineage, but that is nowhere to be seen here

The day of pentecost

The rock is the apostles

The apostles are the foundation

Ephesians 2:20 “20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,”

Revelation 21:14 “14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

The Rock is Jesus

The true foundation of the Church is Jesus

The most important doctrine is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God

It is Jesus’ Possession

He refers to it as His church

The fact that He possesses it, gives us an understanding of our place…we are His possession

We have no value other than that He possesses us.

It is His Work

We cannot build a church, Christ must

No skill, gifting, talent or ability will grow a church unless Christ does!

No lack of skill, gifting, talent or ability will prevent the church from growing when Christ works!

It Will Prevail

The gates of hell was an idiom of the day referring to death.

Gates are a defensive structure

They are designed to keep enemies out

The gates of hell cannot prevent the church from victory!

To Bind and Losen

A reference to Pentecost

When we share the Gospel we have the ability to set people free

If we share and they accept they are freed

If we share and they do not, they are bound

Our goal isn’t to see people join the Grove, it is to see people join the Kingdom