SCRIPTURE
“Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 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.” Matthew 16:15-18 (NIV)
MESSAGE
In the above scripture, there was a dialog between the Lord Jesus and His disciples. He wanted to know who they thought He was, and Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” The Lord Jesus then responded, “this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it”. The Lord Jesus is the rock on which the church is built. God the father, by revelation, showed Peter the divine status, quality, or nature of the Lord Jesus. The word “gates” is symbolic, in prophetic language, for “power and dominion.” This means the powers and dominion of hell shall not prevail against the church.
The church is purchased by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28). The born-again believer individually is the church, and his or her body is the temple or the house of God, because God dwells in him or her (you are a God carrying vessel). At the same time, the body of Christ, is also known as the church of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:24). The church consists of those called out of the kingdom of darkness by God into the Kingdom of His dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the head of the church, and the Church is His body, which means He and the Church are one. Ephesians 1:22 explains, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church” (NIV). Being in union with Him, the Church is above every government in this world. It is therefore impossible for the Church to be destroyed. The Church was born on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, and since its inception, the Church has triumphed over all its adversaries.
PRAYER / CONFESSION
Dear Father, I thank you for being my firm foundation and the solid rock on which I stand, I shall not be moved. Thank you for building me as your holy temple to bring you glory in the name of the Lord Jesus.
WISDOM NUGGET
“And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.” Zechariah 6:12