DECODING THE rock ON WHICH JESUS FOUNDED HIS CHURCH

ANSWER TO WHAT IS TRUTH?, THE WAY?, ETC.   SUMMARY.

1. Parable of the wise builder (Mt. 7:24-27). The rock Jesus tucked in it is code for finding the way, the truth, and the life He is (John 14:6), and more.

• Now Christ is the Rock, a mass of rocks and is eternal (1Cor. 10:4) – insert.

 Dialogue:

• Jesus asked, who do men say I am (Mt. 16:13)?

–  Some say, John, some say, Elijah, some say, Jerimiah, etc.

To the disciples, He asked, but who do you say that I am?

• Peter said You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
• Jesus responded you are Peter, on this Petras (fixed rock) I will build My Church, etc. (Mt. 16:17-19).
• What is the rock? [A1]. Some say it is Peter. [A2]. Some say you are Christ, the Son of the living God. [A3]. Some say ‘truth’ as shown in A3.

 

A1.     Review of existing thoughts. Regarding Peter, death prevented him from continuing in office like many priests under the law (Heb. 7:23). Scripture stated Peter; is Petros – insecure stone (John 1:42), demonstrated by his action at Antioch (Gal. 2:11-21). *Also, Jesus did not commit Himself to man… (John 2:24), and Peter was a man. Therefore, Peter wasn’t the rock Jesus meant.

By the way, Jesus is the head of his church (Eph. 5:23).

A2.   For, “You are Christ, the Son of living God,” it was known before Jesus’ posed the inquiry to them.

• Therefore, it was a statement of fact and neither a revelation nor the rock (Lk. 2:11, Ps. 2:7).
• Scripture also stated Christ is the entire Rock, and not the rock.

A3. What did God reveal to Peter? * It is His raw word. It is established by two witnesses. viz:

• [i]. The word of God is truth (John 17:17) and *[ii]. The hearer of the voice of Jesus is of truth (John 18:37).
• Jesus is truth, (John 14:6), also, is the Spirit of truth, and Jesus is the Word, a mass of word.
• Also, the word of God is right, all His work is done in truth (Ps. 33:4). Thus, truth is the rock Jesus meant.

1. What is truth? Truth is work done or spoken right according to the word of God.

• Comparing Rock and Christ, rock is to Rock, what word is to the Word, who is Christ.

**So, the rock is truth as God’s word is truth.

• It is by being of truth a man is a living stone being built up a spiritual house (1Pet. 2:5).
• Conversion of the hearer(s) of the word of God to Christ-like being begins by a steady embodiment of truth (Gal. 2:20). * It is how we live, move, and have our being in God (Acts 17:28). WOW!

• Jesus is not the rock for He is not the word but the Word (Rev. 19:13). Rather He is the mass of truth

(John 14:6), like the Rock is a mass of rocks. Gospel of grace is the message of truth and is the way.

 

C. Significance of knowing what truly the rockis.

1. God looks at a thing differently from a man unless he looks at it with His lens.
2. rock as the foundation of the church of Christ is Spirit, as His church too.
3. The human body is truly the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 6:19), built in 3 days (John 2:19).
4. Not knowing the truth is church and its language causes divisions (1Cor. 1:13) and misreading.
5. Truth is universal, eternal, and is Christ’s body, His church, and is what is meditated in bread and wine intake at lord’s supper, in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

6. Church unity depends on knowing that the rock and the language of the church is truth (1Cor. 1:10).
7. Headship of the congregation is based on the gift of grace (John 21:15-17) and focuses on the gospel (Acts 6:4).
8. The right interpretation of the bible is only by God’s truth taught only by the Spirit of truth (1Cor. 1:19).

Welcome to RTGF. Am Dr Danson Ubebe, Teacher & Author. This is the 17^th episode of our teaching series. It is when a man cannot understand the teaching of Jesus that he designs his own doctrine like the Pharisees under the law. A striking example is His teaching about the rock. Unknown to man, the rock encapsulates all you need to know about the person of Jesus, the truth which came through Him, and about the salvation of the soul. Our objective of today’s teaching is to decode the rock for the benefit of the world.

Quote.

The lack of understanding of Jesus’ teaching about the rock is the root of the doctrine of worldly things, division, etc., and of partiality. People who do so have only succeeded to separate themselves and all who believe them from Jesus.     It has its consequences which will be listed later if time permits. Until you get the understanding of the rock, you are on your own.

 

Refer Summary.

At Horeb (Num 20:11) Moses struck the Rock instead of speaking to it. Then Israel drank water, a spiritual drink. Rock is made-up of rocks. Jesus referred to rock as the foundation of His church to show His church is spiritual. Let us look at the Summat for practical illustration.

 

Quote (1Cor. 10:4).

“and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” Let us look at the practical illustration.

 

Refer Summary.

As part of the beatitudes, Jesus told the parable of the wise and foolish builders (Mt. 7:24-27). The bookish interpretation is that he who hears His word and does it is wise, but if not, he is foolish. But scripture is not a storybook, but spiritual. So, the parallel spiritual interpretation is in reference to His church, the house of God whose foundation is the rock. The wise regards the church as his spiritual house built on a foundation of rock. As rock is unchangeable so nothing can sway what a wise man believes and does according to the word of God. At stake here, is to know the body of Christ whose flesh is the food we eat and whose blood is the true drink (John 6:51-57).

 

Quote (Mt. 7:24-27).

“Therefore, whoever hears these saying of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, the floods came, and the rain descended, and the winds blew and beat on the house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these thighs of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain descended, the flood came, and the winds blew and beat the house, and it fell and great was the fall.” Let us look at the Summary for practical illustration.

 

Refer Summary.

Dialogue between Jesus and disciples.

 

Quote (Mt. 16:17-19).

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you, that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

 

Refer Summary.

Read current views of people regarding what the rock is (A1 to A3). and A.1, etc.

 

Quote (Heb. 7:23) –

“And there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing.”

(John 1:42). “And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah, you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).”

(John 2:24). “Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew men”

Let us look at the Summary for practical illustration.

 

Refer Summary.

A2. People who believe the rock is “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” stated statement of fact, etc., shown in the following Quotes.

 

Quote (Ps. 2:7).

“I will declare the decree. The Lord has said to Me, You are My Son, today I have begotten You.”

(Lk. 2;11).

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Let us look at the practical illustration.

 

Refer Summary.

A3. What did Peter hear and reveal to him? He heard the word of God through spiritual ears for the word of God is spirit (John 6:63) …

 

Quote (John 18:37).

Pilate, therefore, said to Him, “Are You a king then?” And “Jesus answered, you are right that I am a king. For this course, I was born, and for this course, I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Pilate said to Him, “What is truth” (John 18:38). Let us look at the practical illustration.

 

Refer Summary.

1. What is truth? Etc. Compare Rock and Christ….

 

Quote (Ps. 33:4).

“For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth.”

So, truth is anything done right according to the word of God.

 

(Gal. 5:22-23).

Therefore, live in truth “the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Let us look at the practical illustration.

 

Refer Summary.

‘C.’ The significance of knowing what the rock really is.

 

Quote.

1. What Is the Church?
2. Jesus Is Truth, Whoever Hears His Voice Is of The Truth (John 18:37) – He Is Foundation the Church (1Cor.3:11), Chief Corner Stone (1Pet. 2:4; Eph. 2:20) and the Apostles and Prophets.
3. Jesus’ body, shown in Insert, is made-up of units of truth who hear His voice.
4. Each unit represents a living Stone being built to Spiritual House (1pet. 2:5).
5. Whoever hears Jesus’ voice Is His sheep and follows Him (John 10:27-28).

3.1. Together they form the flock or congregation of men of truth (1Cor. 12:25-

27).

4. This is the church and it is the body of Christ (Col. 1:24).
5. Members together and individually is the Church of Christ (Rom. 12:4-5).
6. A Church Is known through Godly Ethics (Gal. 5:22-23), and not by man-made structure.
7. Liars, etc., are not fit to be the Church of Christ (Acts 5:5,10), Exemplified by Ananias and wife (Acts 5:4-5, 10).

 

Quote

(1Cor. 12:25-27) – “That there should be no schism (division) in the body, but members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer it, or if one member Is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”

 

(Acts 5:4-5,10) – “While It remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold,

was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to man, but to God. Then Ananias, hearing these words fell and breathed his last. So, great fear came upon all those who heard these things. Then immediately, she fell at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.”

 

Whatever is untruth corrupt. It is a similar way corrupt substances in building blocks can make it unstable or even collapse. In a similar way, harden hearts or bad company can corrupt once devoted friends (1Cor. 15:33) – “Do not be deceived, Evil company corrupts good habits.” Not every friend or associate means well for you.

 

Quote – E.         LEARNING POINTS.

• The body of Christ is truth. so, it is the food (bread) and drinks (wine) that came down from heaven.
• To eat his flesh and drink his blood is to abide in him and he in whoever (John 6:56). So, he is the bread of life and he who comes to him shall never hunger and believe in him shall never thirst (John 6:35).
• Hence, he said, “most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you” (John 6:53).
• So, the lord’s supper is to remember Jesus for his body broken for us and the cup
•    as the new covenant in his blood, resolving to abide in him for he suffered on
•    the cross for us to be saved (1Pet. 4:1-3).
• To partake in the lord’s supper unworthily is to eat it when the heart is not of
•    truth (1Cor. 11:24-29).
• But if the heart of the partaker is of truth, the bread and wine intake would
•    suggest the real body of Christ. Let us look at the practical illustration.

 

People who are of truth dot congregations worldwide. Scripture labels them as wheat. But are mixed with weeds. The consequences of separating from Christ are devastating. So, scripture declared.

 

Quote.

“For many (of the faith) walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Jesus, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame – who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 3:19-20)

 

Demonstrating impartiality, “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, and incense on it, and offered, profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So, the fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” (Lev. 10:1-2). Remember Aaron was Moses’ right-hand man, in setting Israel free from bondage in Egypt.

 

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then, I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practiced lawlessness!” (Mt. 7:21-23)

 

Unless you know the truth about the rock on which Jesus built His church you will be in limbo.

 

(All References are from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Holy Bible. All Rights Reserved).

 

Finally, we thank God for His grace and the Spirit of truth for our scriptural knowledge and understanding. We encourage you to ask questions where necessary. It is one way to learn. Use our contact below. The electronic copy of this lecture is available on demand. We will treasure your partnership. God bless you for your time. Till the next episode, it’s goodbye from me, Dr. Danson Ubebe; Teacher and Author. Please listen to the next information.

 

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