"UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH"
“[p. 351] UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH”
When the Lord comes into the coasts of Caesarea-Philippi, He questions the disciples as to what the people said of Him, and then as to what they said of Him, and Peter confessed, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”. No one could have told what change was coming in; the confession of Peter determined it. The Father had revealed something to Peter, and that revelation determined what was to come in consequent on the rejection of Christ: not only that Christ was rejected, but He had rejected them, “He left them and departed”. We come then to Peter’s confession, which brought to light what was to supplant all that existed. Hence He says: “Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. Now, the thought of the church is very familiar to us, though many people associate very wrong ideas with it, and look upon it as either a material building, or an organisation of men; but here it means ‘assembly’. I have no doubt that, as to the main idea, Christ was going to build for the day of His glory, not for this world. We find the present application of the truth of building in chapter 2 of Peter’s first epistle; but in this chapter I think the day of His glory is in view, and the idea of the assembly was determined by Peter’s confession. Nothing would have been adequate to that confession but the building of the assembly, nothing else would suit it than that there should be a [p. 352] body which should reflect Himself — be descriptive of Him, in which He would be displayed. The heavenly city in Revelation 21 shows what it will be in the day of His glory. There is that here that answers to it, but it could not come out here fully. It is now a spiritual house, a holy priesthood; but that does not come up to the full idea. He was about to construct a building in which every stone was to be a reflection of His glory. Peter’s confession was an indication that the foundation was laid on which He could build, though the time had not quite come for building. Peter’s confession proved him to be a stone: the building is going on now. Christ rejected of His people, is declared to be the Son of God by resurrection, and He builds what is according to Himself. Temples made with hands are no longer the House of God — they are not Christ’s building at all. His assembly is not a material building. Here the Lord sees the foundation; it was the Father’s revelation in a living soul, and He says: “On this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.
Here was a stone. What constituted Peter a stone was the confession of Christ as the Son of the living God; and it is the same as to every one of us — we have to come to that. It is more than the apprehension of Christ as Saviour, it is as One who came not from Mary or Joseph or from Israel, but from heaven; and that confession is a proof that a stone is there. There are two thoughts as to building; there is building in and building up. The stone is built in: it thus forms part of the structure. The confession is very elementary, though it is the effect of the Father’s revelation, and the soul has then to be built up. I might be asked, What do you mean by ‘building up’? I mean, built up in the divine nature. Christ is going to lead that soul on to the enjoyment of what He Himself knows. It is an immense thing for us to [p. 353] apprehend the glory of His Person, for He then leads us into what no one but Himself knows — the Father’s heart, and He imparts what no prophet or law-giver could impart. He dwells in the Father’s bosom, and He delights to impart to us the love which He alone knows, that we may respond to that love: that is what I mean by being built up in the divine nature. What I am brought into by the Son of the living God is companionship with Himself. He has relieved me from what was upon me, that I may enjoy what He enjoys and may respond to it. Every Christian has to be built up in the divine nature. In heaven none of our natural peculiarities will be left, not even natural memory: we shall recall only what the Spirit brings to our remembrance. In heaven affections will be spiritual, divine affections reign supreme there. The Son is the object of the Father’s affections, and He delights to bring us there. He puts every stone in place, and builds up every one in the divine nature. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, and we are formed by the place in which we are set through grace.
In the glory every stone will reflect Christ; no angularity, no obstruction there, not a bit of us will be left — nothing left but what grace has formed in us. Every stone in that building will reflect Himself and be descriptive of the Builder. There is nothing like the church in eternity: the glory of God is there — no natural light, no need of sun nor moon — no need of the most distinguished luminaries, the glory of God lightens it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof.
The Lord seizes the moment here (He always did seize the moment) of this confession of Peter’s. It is wonderful to see what He works. It is of the utmost importance for us to get the idea of His assembly, and not to be content merely with being saved. No doubt Peter entered much more afterwards into all that the revelation meant — that Christ was not simply Messiah,
[p. 354] Son of Abraham and of David, according to promise, but Son of the living God.
May God give us great interest in these wonderful revelations, that our faith may be sustained and energised by them.