Jesus said in Matt 16:18 “I will build My Church” what was he meaning?

We need to understand His meaning so that we don’t fall into the trap of looking at an organization thinking this is Jesus’ church. Here Jesus is talking about all born again believers of all nations and all generations, The one Universal Church.

The word church is derived from the Greek “ekklesia” which simply means “A CALLED-OUT ASSEMBLY”. Now assembly is a group of people, you cannot call out a building or a Denomination.

Matt 16:18 “I will build My Church”

Q1/ Jesus is speaking about the local church. (True or False)

Q2/ Jesus is going to build His own building. (True or False)

Q3/ Jesus is talking about all born again believers of all nations and all generations. (True or False)

Q4/ If you are a born again believer you are in the Universal Church. (True or False)

God sees the church on earth only in two forms. The Universal Church and The Local Church.

Since the Reformation we often think in terms of many different denominations. Denominations is mans way of giving a name to the different branch of the faith. Denominations are chiefly the result of successive rediscoveries of truth based on a revelation of the Word of God.

Q5/ The Universal Church is comprised of all born-again believers of all nations and all generations. (True or false)

Q6/ Local churches are in many different geographical locations.   (True or False)   

Q7/ All local churches all have the same forms of government and doctrine and practice.  (True or False)

A disappointing fact is that the Men of God who have brought these revelations never wanted to be a breakaway group from the Church. It has been the inability of the leaders of the previous generation of Christians Church who in actual fact caused the new denomination by pushing away the one with the new revelation.

Q8/ Every time God brought a revelation to the Church, man made a denomination out of it.  God wanted men to move on and put it all together, and have a good healthy church.  But each denomination opposed the next move. (True or false)  

Q9/ One become a member of the Universal Church by a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (True or false)  

New Testament Church

We have covered the Universal Church above now we will look at the local church and the part it plays.  

The local church is a group of born again believers coming together in the name of Jesus in a particular local or region or home regularly. The local church has a particularly vision for the people in a there local. It is the vehicle that God uses for the regeneration process, which takes place in every believer. That is to say as we deal with issues in our Christian life we can call upon our brothers and sisters to help us in our development in Christ.

Mat 18:15 But if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear you, take one or two more with you, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he neglects to hear the church, let him be to you as a heathen and a tax-collector.  (MKJV)

Examples in Scripture:

*   Matthew 16:18 “I will build My Church” Here it is the Universal Church

*    Matthew 18:15-17 “Tell it to the Church” Here it is the Local Church

*   Ephesians 5:25“Christ loved the Church” Here it is the Universal Church

*   Acts 2:47 “added to the Church daily” Here it is Both Universal and Local Church

*   Acts 12:5 “But earnest prayer was made to God for him by the church” Here it is the Local Church

Q10/ The body of Christ is made of many local Churches which could be independent in their management and administration but common if Faith. (True or false)  

Many small home churches may not have the finance to be able to have a full time Pastor but that should not be a reason for them not receiving sound teaching. God has given gifts to the Church, Local and universal and all we need to do is except the gift from God and use these gifting to bring our people to a place of maturity. A home group leader who does not use other ministries is in negligence of his duty to serve the people; no one has all the gifting.

Q11/ One man can have all the Gifting. (True or false)  

Ephesians 1:22 And He has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (MKJV)

Q12/ Jesus is not the head of the Church, a man is. (True or false)  

Ephesians 4:11 And truly He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 13 And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 so that we no longer may be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the dishonesty of men, in cunning craftiness, to the wiles of deceit. 15 But that you, speaking the truth in love, may in all things grow up to Him who is the Head, even Christ; 16 from whom the whole body, fitted together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of each part, producing the growth of the body to the edifying of itself in love. (MKJV)

Q13/ The job of the ministers is to edify the body of Christ. (True or false)    

The Five fold Ministry gifting are a gift from God to the body of Christ, for the purpose of teaching and training the Church to do the work of the ministry. No one can say I am just an Evangelist I will only evangelize “they are called to teach” to how to evangelize. No one can say I am just a Prophet I will only Prophesied “they are called to teach” to how to do prophecy. A Teacher is to teach teachers a Pastor to teach pastors an Apostle to teach everyone how to start Churches.

Q14/ The five fold ministry is a gift from God to us the church. (True or false)  

Q15/ The five fold ministry is to bring the Body to maturity. (True or false)

Q16/ Full-grown men are tossed to and fro. (True or false)    

Q17/ Teaching in all fields of study is important. (True or false)

A leader who is not afraid of calling on help to train his people, will build a strong church, it shows his maturity in the LORD.

Q18/ Home Leaders can call on the five fold Ministries? (True or false)

Q19/ The believer is called to do the work of the ministry to the world. (True or false)

Q20/ All believer are called to seek and save the lost. (True or false)