3. ► However, this call to personal conversion was not conceived in an individualistic context; rather, he was continually looking to reunite a scattered humanity into the People of God whom he had come to save. From these proofs, it is easy to see that Jesus did not say He would build His church on Peter, a mere man, but on Himself, and because of that, the church would endure and prevail. This is a good point. Jesus Christ said that He would build His Church and that it would never die out. ► The number 12 is a reference to the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew's Gospel records Jesus saying to Peter, in front of the other disciples, "I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). Did He envision a continuous line of “successors of the apostles” who would govern the institution and issue infallible decrees on matters of faith and morals for all the faithful? Acts 8:4- "Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word." He accused them of making faith harder than it had to be. 16:18) He obviously had some purpose in mind. This article appeared in the February 2011 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. While they are obviously connected, the link between Jesus and the church as we know it today isn’t exactly clear. Jesus taught His followers that revelation from God was the rock on which He would build His Church. Questions about Jesus Christ and the Church, © Prelatura del Opus Dei, Fundación Studium, Scriptor, Stronger Families: Key to Recovering from the Pandemic, New eBook – Vocation: Something Great that is Love, Year of Saint Joseph Begins: "With a Father's Heart", Romana, Bulletin of the Opus Dei Prelature. Jesus Christ proclaimed, almost 2,000 years ago, "I will build My church." As Luke’s gospel shows, Jesus begins proclaiming the Good News of God’s kingdom by reading Isaiah’s words, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luke 4:18). This is Emmanuel “God with us.” Jesus never promises that with size or organization that there would be more of His presence. Jesus proclaimed the good news that man is a child of God, and the resultant truth that all men are brethren. A clear sign, in fulfilment of the promises made to his people, is the institution of the Twelve apostles, with Peter at the head. Acts 5:42- "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." A church building, church house, or simply church, is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. He picked an oddball assortment of disciples, deliberately allowed Himself to fall into harm’s way, left no writings of his own (an essential if you ever want to start your own religion! Jesus’ vision is that we will be one with each other and one with God. Isn't this "building on another man's foundation?" The Jesus movement of the first century was a group of mostly Jewish followers who were of little social importance and who often met in homes—a far cry from the cathedrals we know and love today. All Rights Reserved |, In times of suffering, choose hope to find Christ’s healing, Jeannie Gaffigan: Faith, motherhood inform my vote. Motivated by a lust for power, he understood so little about the church that he attempted to buy the power of God. Unlike other thinkers and founders, Jesus left nothing in writing; what we do find is a stated intention to establish a church. Each time Jesus commissioned him to feed his lambs and sheep, that is, the members of the Church. Instead, Wright argues that… “Jesus did not intend to found a church because there already was one, namely the people of Israel itself. Rather a person is called by God and answers that call, like a person answers a call on the phone. 76, No. 23 Questions & answers about Jesus Christ, prepared by a team of catholic theologians of the University of Navarre. When Jesus said, “I will build My church ...” (Matt. That being said, there are particular attributes that characterize false religions or become the norm during religious decline in a true faith such as Christianity. It’s also, according to the Second Vatican Council, a sacramental community announced by Jesus who “inaugurated his church by preaching the . 3:1) surely applies to … He didn’t leave building instructions or establish an organizational structure or provide liturgical templates. The term is used to refer to the physical buildings where Christians worship and also to refer to the community of Christians. Revelation 2:1-3:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. People have often asked whether Jesus intended to found a church. On the night before He died, Jesus earnestly prayed to His Father to keep all His future believers one and united. He affirmed that his people and his presence were the only necessary ingredients. Solomon’s well known statement, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Eccl. The church in the first century was an evangelistic church. Paul did not found the church in Rome, so why did he intend to go there to preach, and why did he write them such a lengthy letter? Copyright © 2021 US Catholic. Can non-Catholic Christians and non-Christians belong to Opus Dei? We do this in part by making sure we faithfully represent Him and become who He has called us to be. 1. Every church and/or organization has a corporate culture with norms, rules and expectations that pressure participants to conform. Jesus wasn’t fooled by their outward show of religiosity. The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment. Jesus’ tells us that members of his church community should love God and love each other. God never intended for any of us to live the Christian life alone. As difficult as it is to believe, Jesus wasn't starting institutional churches, nor was he creating a new religion. Is today's Christianity, with its hundreds of denominations with widely differing beliefs and practices, the Church Jesus promised that He would build? ● Open to all of humanity, Jesus intended to reunite the people of the Covenant. Some cultures are good and some bad. He had just left Magdala, which was on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, where he had just debated with the Pharisees and Sadducees who wanted him to produce a sign from heaven to verify ● The preaching of Jesus was directed in the first place to Israel, as he himself said to his followers: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt 15:24). Sign up for The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. By Daniel Nessim. Matthew 16:18-20 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church and all … Answer. This is based on Matthew’s gospel (16:18) where Jesus says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” He not only establishes his church but gives primacy to Peter among all the apostles. It is a must if the whole world is to believe in Him. They fear that you're going to tell them they have to sell all they own, move to a farm, wear bib overalls, and raise peanuts. If Yeshua (Jesus) intended to create a new religion, He went about it all wrong: He aroused the suspicion, and then the hostility, of the religious establishment. Roman Catholics have tended to understand the church as institution under the primacy of Peter’s successor as synonymous with the “kingdom of God” proclaimed by Jesus. The pope today claims universal ecclesial authority, and because the Vatican is a nation-state, he is a head of state and even has diplomats. He did indeed found it on the rock of Peter, but Peter and the apostles are to be always guided by, strengthened by, and accountable to the Holy Spirit of Jesus the Christ. Some scholars see his statement in 15:20 as a fixed policy and also have trouble with his plans to preach at the church in Rome. Simon was on an … ● The Twelve apostles are the most evident sign of the will of Jesus as regards the existence and mission of his Church, the guarantee that between Christ and the Church there is no opposition. Denominations as we know them did not exist till centuries later. ► So they made it their concern to find successors. In this way he transmitted to the whole Church, in the person of those Twelve who were at her head, the responsibility of being a sign and instrument of the meeting begun by Him, which is to be offered up to the end times. ► His self-giving on the cross, anticipated sacramentally in this supper, and made present every time the Church celebrates the Eucharist, creates a community united in communion with Him, a Church called to be sign and instrument of the task begun by Him. People cannot simply build a building and call it the church, as so many try to do. This is question 22: "Did Jesus really mean to found a Church?". At the end of His life, Jesus Christ suffered and died for the sins of everyone who has lived or who will live on earth. God did intend for there to be one united Church led by leadership that Christ set forward before and after His death and resurrection. The problem with the question, “Did Jesus intend to found a ‘church’?” is that it cannot be answered with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. Did Jesus Intend to Found a Church? Jesus had just arrived with the disciples at Caesarea Philippi, about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. This is based on Matthew’s gospel (16:18) where Jesus says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” He not only establishes his church but gives primacy to Peter among all the apostles. 2, page 46). Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Day 1, 18 January), Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Day 2, 19 January), Letter from the Prelate (28 October 2020), Saint Josemaria and the Role of Saint Joseph in Christian Life. He then instructed His disciples. Christ is only the saviour of His one body, His one church. There, Jesus called Peter to be the rock of the Church. These are still the two main categories of people who afflict the church. Jesus was certainly not a head of state and did not have diplomats (and neither did his disciple Peter). On its own, this view is no longer the dominant understanding because the church is more than an institution. Here, Christ summoned Peter to be a shepherd who loves Jesus and the Church’s people. In John’s gospel, where Jesus speaks of the coming of the Paraclete in many places, the Holy Spirit takes a leading role in founding and sustaining the church. ► They are inseparable, despite the sins of the people who make up the Church. ● It is not possible to meet Jesus without the reality which He created and in which he is communicated. So while the church may live on in a much different form than its early beginnings, the Spirit remains the glue between Jesus and his church. 1 Peter 2:5 ESV / 129 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ), and after making a good start, generally … In St Paul’s letters, the members of the Church are considered as “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone.” (Eph 2:19-20). B. ► The Church is born, then, with the complete self-giving of Christ for our salvation, anticipated in the institution of the Eucharist and consummated on the Cross. They are the foundations of the new Jerusalem. We read in Ephesians 5:23, "Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body. " But from the beginning of his active life he invited everyone to conversion: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). There is no nobler purpose for the church than to introduce others to Christ. This is the basis for the old maxim, “no salvation outside the church.” In this view, Jesus directly founded the institution, the offices, and procedures within the church. On the one hand, we have the wolves who were never converted—never “one of us.” It is implied that their motives were wrong from the start. It is God, through Jesus Christ, who adds to His Church (John 6:44). When Jesus said, “I will build my church,” and promised that His church would not be destroyed (Matthew 16:18), was He thinking of an ecclesiastical institution, such as the Roman Catholic Church? Perhaps he did wish to form a church but the church that he formed would not have been that of Caesar which is after all the Roman church. The only answer is they were built by men, so men could "attend the church of their choice", and not God's choice. What creates such men? In this continuation of a study of His church, we will now study what the Bible teaches about why His church came into existence, what function and place it is to serve in this world. Still, Jesus did not found a mere bureaucratic institution but a life-giving community that is sustained by the presence of the Holy Spirit. No. Jesus in Matthew 16, “I will build my church.” Jesus in Matthew 28, “Go and make disciples.” Both are true. There are two statements in Matthew’s Gospel that seem to suggest that he did. Jesus sent the Spirit, and the Christian community called the church was born. When Jesus established His Church, He received instructions from Heavenly Father. . ► Through their apostolic ministry they left behind them a structured community, under the guidance of recognised pastors, who built and sustained it in communion with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, in which all people are called to experience the salvation offered by the Father. coming of the kingdom of God. Traditionally, Roman Catholicism has understood the church to be instituted by Christ. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. To say the least, there are considerable difference between the original Jesus movement and the Catholic Church in the 21st century. Externally, the purpose of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:18-20. The Spirit is the ongoing presence of Jesus on earth and is the mover, sustainer, teacher, and guide of the church. Three basic motives: ego, money, and power. In Ephesians 4:7-16, Paul teaches specifics about God’s plan to build his church so we can get involved and do our part—but also so that we don’t build … And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Jesus left no instructions about organizing our churches or church activities. ” The church is not identical with the kingdom of God, but its purpose is to announce the kingdom while also making it present, albeit in fragments. When Jesus builds His church, He does the building by using disciples just like you. 2. So how is our church the same one that Jesus founded? On a number of occasions over the last few years, I have heard the complaint and critique against the Christian church of the history books, who with abusive liberty took the moral teachings of Jesus and created a separate church in his name. Sometimes it is used as an analogy for the buildings of other religions. ● In St Paul’s letters, the members of the Church are considered as “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone.” (Eph 2:19-20). Related articles: What did Jesus say about obeying God? He prayed for unity and rebuked division. . But if we build according to Christ’s principles, we get what God can build—a church that the gates of hades will not prevail against. In The Urantia Book, we learn that Jesus' mission on Earth was one of revelation—revelation to mankind of the loving character of God, the goodness of God, and the love and mercy of God as spiritual Father. It shows the significance of this initiative to gather together the holy people of God, the ekklesia Theou. Simon Magus fell into this category (Acts 8:18). At the mere mention of the word community, people often eye you as if you had dropped in from another world, smile tolerantly, and hope you change the subject.Good, sensible, Christian people. ● A new sign of this intention of Jesus is that during the Last Supper he entrusted to them the power to celebrate the Eucharist, which he instituted on that occasion (see the question, What went on at the last supper?). A true Christian is a person God has selected and “called out.” The gospel of Jesus records that He built one church and that all saved people were in that church. The answer is yes. This scene complements the one in Matthew. After nineteen centuries, things haven’t changed much. Yet today hundreds of denominations exist in the name of Christianity, claiming to be Christian. ► “The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” (Matt 10:2-4; cf Mark 3:13-16; Luke 6:12-16). ► Between Jesus and his Church there is a profound continuity, inseparable and mysterious, and through which Christ is made present today in his people. Let me show you some Scriptural proof for these statements, which are very much in favor of the Catholic position. Traditionally, Roman Catholicism has understood the church to be instituted by Christ. This is very different to the way the world behaves. 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