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Allied to this figure is that of a chief corner stone of a building (Eph.ii.20; I.Pet.ii.4-6)
and this again is a picture of the Lord Jesus as the foundation of His Body, the church. It
has been said that in Matthew Christ cannot be part of the building because He is the
Builder (16: 18). Why not? He can call, save and build up those whom He has chosen,
and at the same time be their sure foundation.
Peter was only a stone resting upon this mighty rock foundation of Christ, and in
himself, in spite of his earnestness, was the weak vessel who denied his Saviour and Lord
three times and later on had to be rebuked by Paul for his weakness in witness (Gal. 2:);
certainly not a very sure foundation to rest on!
We come now, in our consideration of Matt. 16: 18 to the words, "My church".
From this it is clear that this assembly does not belong to Peter or any other human being;
Christ claims it as His property. Reams have been written as to who constitute this
church, but we must keep one thing in mind all the time, and that is to avoid reading
modern conceptions of the church into this passage of Scripture.
The word ekklesia, church, means any called-out assembly of people, whether for
religious purposes or not. It is even used of the Ephesian mob in Acts 19: 32, 39, 41.
One great hindrance to spiritual knowledge of the plan of God revealed in His Word is
the idea that the word "church" in the Bible can only refer to the Body of Christ. Many
talk about `the one church' which is an unscriptural expression. There is "one Body" but
that is a different matter. Stephen does not hesitate to call the nation of Israel "the church
in the wilderness" (Acts 7: 38).
Dr. F. 5: Filson has words to the point here:
"The word `church' has deep roots in its Old Testament use to designate the
congregation of Israel. Jesus does not think of a church which rejects all ties with Israel,
but of a congregation within Israel which represent what all Israel should be and seeks to
win all Israel. It accepts Jesus as the Christ and tells all Israel that He is their Christ"
(Commentary on Matthew, p.187).
We should realize that the word "church" as related to Israel was a fact well known to
the Jew. The Greek translation of the O.T., the Septuagint, was in common use in the
N.T. era and was freely used by the Lord and the Apostles. In it the word occurs no less
than 96 times. It is usually the translation of the Hebrew qahal, rendered "congregation"
in the A.V., and is used also for four other Hebrew words.
We give several examples of the Septuagint usage:
"And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the church of
Israel" (I Kings 8: 22).
"And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great church . . . . ."
(I Kings 8: 65).
"And David said unto all the church of Israel . . . . ." (I Chron. 13: 2).
"Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the church of the Lord"
(Micah 2: 5).