Meaning of Church Built On A Rock In Matthew 16: 18

[tulsa 2011]

Meaning of Church Built On A Rock In Matthew 16: 18

"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17.And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18. 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.
19.And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16: 16-19

Two key words in understanding Matthew 16: 18 are rock and church. If you get them wrong, you can end up with false doctrine and fables. On "rock" the main question is what or who is the rock?

The “rock" is the foundation upon which the Lord says He will build his “church,” and the Gates of Hell shall have no power over those who belong to Him. Most people in the Capital C Churches do not understand that the "Church" is the called out ones the Lord is talking about as his little c church. But more are aware this is the very verse which the “Church” that became Roman Catholicism interpreted to mean that Peter himself, being the “rock” upon which Christ was to build His assembly, was the first Pope and head of the Capital C Church.

But the real Peter says in I Peter 5: 2-3 says "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3. Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock."

There was a problem in the Capital C Church as Roman Catholicism re-defined the little c church into a man made organization of supposed authority and control over the beliefs and behavior of men.

The Greek for Matthew 16: 18 says καγω δε σοι λεγω οτι συ ει πετρος και επι ταυτη τη πετρα οικοδομησω μου την εκκλησιαν και πυλαι αδου ου κατισχυσουσιν αυτης

πετρα or petra is rock,and petros is Peter. εκκλησιαν or ekklesian, from ekklesia, is translated as little c church in the Geneva and King James Versions, but not in the earlier William Tyndale New Testament of about 1526.

William Tyndale in his 1526 New Testament translated ekklesia consistently as congregation, except for Acts 14: 13 and Acts 19: 37 where he used churche, meaning a pagan place of worship.

Any doctrine is established by the original meaning of the Hebrew or Greek words used to express that doctrine. A translation into English should not change that doctrine. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance defines ekklesia, number 1577, as "a calling out, i.e. (to) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation..." The calling out part of the meaning of ekklesia did not mean a calling out of the world to God, but meant a calling of the people or certain people to a meeting.

See: Ecclesi...ient Athens) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The ecclesia or ekklesia (Greek: eκκλησία) was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens during its "Golden Age" (480–404 BCE). It was the popular assembly, open to all male citizens with 2 years of military service. In 594 BC, Solon allowed all Athenian citizens to participate, regardless of class, even the thetes. The assembly was responsible for declaring war, military strategy and electing the strategoi and other officials. It was responsible for nominating and electing magistrates, thus indirectly electing the members of the Areopagus."

See: Page Not Found

"The most common classical usage of ekklesia and its cognates was as a political term, meaning an assembly of citizens. In the Greek city-state the citizens were called forth by the trumpet of the kerux (herald) summoning them to the ekklesia (assembly).........It should be noted that in ordinary usage, ekklesia meant the assembly, and not the body of people involved..........Ekklesia occurs 80 times in the canonical books of the Septuagint translation (LXX) of the Old Testament.....Two important Hebrew words were used in the Old Testament to denote a gathering or assembly: qahal and edhah..........Though ekklesia is nearly always a translation of qahal, on the other hand, qahal is also translated by other Greek words, especially by sunagoge."

In the New Testament, for the Book of Acts "In every case, with one possible exception, ekklesia. is explicitly or implicitly used in a local sense: it is the assembly (assembled or not) at Jerusalem (11:22; 12:1, 5; 15:4, 22), at Antioch (11:26; 13:1; 14:27; 15:3), at Caesarea (18:22), and at Ephesus (20:17,28). This local use is emphasized by the use of the plural, ekklesiai, when referring to churches in a larger area: in Syria and Cilicia (15 :41) and in areas of Asia Minor (16:4). The one possible exception to the local use is the statement in 9 :31: "So then the Church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, having been strengthened."

In using ekklesia in Matthew 16: 18 Matthew is referring to Christ's assembly, his congregation or his gathering.

The Tyndale Bible for Matthew 16: 18 says "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter. And upon this rock I will build my congregation: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

The Capital C Roman Church made the word ekklesia or Latin ecclesia into the Body of Christ which was said to replace Old Covenant Israel. The Capital C Church, as a translation of ekklesia, meaning the meeting, assembly, congregation or gathering, was re-defined by the Catholic Church to mean a spiritual Body of Christ like Old Covenant Israel.

Israel is a proper noun. But ekklesia, or congregation, is a common noun. The church as a meeting or assembly called out from the people cannot have the status of a proper noun and be equal to the proper noun Israel, or replace Israel. Israel was transformed in Jesus Christ, as he told Nicodemus in John 3: 3, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." This transformation of Old Covenant Israel was predicted to happen in II Kings 21: 13, Isaiah 29:16, and especially in Jeremiah 18: 1-6. No names of the people born again in Christ are given in the New Testament except the elect, the Body of Christ, the saints or those in Sion.

Those who are transformed or born again come to have Christ formed in them. Galatians 4: 19: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,"

Philippians 2: 5: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? " II Corinthians 13: 5

You become spiritually alive by a transformation, and this transformation is your receiving Christ in you. Christ begins to be formed in you, by the Holy Spirit. You receive something of the mind of Christ.

So, in Matthew 16: 18 Christ is not talking about the re-defined Capital C Church of Roman Catholicism which was continued by the Calvinists, especially by Theodore Beza who used church in his translation of the Textus Receptus, rejecting the earlier translation of ekklesia as congregation by Tyndale. The Geneva Bible, which was created in Geneva, Switzerland by English protestants, followed the lead of Beza and translated ekklesia as church.

To make the assembly, congregation of regular meetings of the Christians into a proper noun Capital C Church, as the Body of Christ and as the elect of God, would be to diminish a number of New Testament scriptures. These would include Matthew 13: 24-43 where the field is said to have both wheat and tares. This acknowledges that in the assemblies there will be tares, or those not of the Body of Christ and of the elect. II Thessalonians 2: 3-4 on the falling away is a very important scripture predicting a departure from sound doctrine. Paul has several other texts that support the falling away, especially in I Timothy and in II Timothy. Matthew 24: 11, and II Peter 2: 1-3, as well as some more metaphoric texts in Revelation, are about a huge number of false prophets who will arise within the assemblies, now called the Church. The false prophets lead people away from the kingdom of God.

What then does the word "church" mean, or did it mean before it was re-defined.

The link to the longer definition of church in the Oxford English Dictionary is: Y: The English word "CHURCH" comes from CIRCE!! - §1. ÊÎÍÑÈËÈÓÌ

"CHURCH: FORMS: (a) cirice, cyrice, chiriche, churiche, chereche, (b) CIRCE, cyrce, chyrce, cirke, etc., etc.,

"The ulterior derivation has been keenly disputed. The L. circus, and a Gothic word kйlikn 'tower, upper chamber' (app. originally
Gaulish) have both been proposed (the latter suggested by the Alemannic chilihha), but are set aside as untenable; and there is now a general
agreement among scholars in referring it to the Greek word, properly kurion adj. 'of the Lord, dominicum, dominical' (f. Kurios lord), which
occurs, from the 3rd century at least, used substantively (sc. doma, or the like) = 'house of the Lord', as a name of the Christian house of
worship. Of this the earliest cited instances are in the Apostolical Constitutions (II. 59), a 300, the edict of Maximinus (303-13), cited by
Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. ix. 10) a 324, the Councils of Ancyra 314 (Canon 15), Neo-Caesarea 314-23 (Can. 5), and Laodicea (Can. 28).
Thenceforward it appears to have been in fairly common use in the East: e.g., Constantine named several churches built by him Kuriaka
(Eusebius De Laud. Const. xvii),"(Oxford English Dictionary).

CIRCE was a Greek goddess who turned men into PIGS!!"

The Oxford English Dictionary mentions the Greek goddess circe, and also says in caps in its list of spellings of church, the word CIRCE. The Catholic Encyclopedia lists circe as one spelling of church, but does not mention a possible origin of circe from the Greek goddess circe.

By misinterpreting Matthew 16: 16-19 the Catholic Church created a false seniority for the office of Peter as the guardian of the gates of heaven from this passage. The Roman Church made up a fable as a succession of "Peter-like" Popes. This fable is also the origin of the tradition that has Peter at the pearly gates, the keeper of the gates to heaven and it has become a universal component of popular lore and many jokes.

The theological entity that became the organized “Church” was continued in Protestantism at the Reformation, especially by Calvinist Therodore Beza, and under dispensationalism and other false doctrines continues to assert its rule over Christian doctrine. But not having the holy spirit, and being "Babylon," Christ is no longer in it. "And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived." Revelation 18: 23

"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2.And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Revelation 18: 1-4

God is calling those who are his out of the Capital C Church after the falling away has happened.

The "rock" in Matthew 16: 18 is not Peter himself. The "rock" is Christ, and he promised he would build his congregation, his assembly, upon himself. In fact, Ephesians 2: 19-20 says "ye," meaning the Gentiles joined to Israel, "...are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone."
In Ephesians 2: 12-13 the Gentiles are said to have been aliens from Israel, but are made close (to Israel) by the blood of Christ. There is no ekklesia, translated in the King James as church, here. But the Israel to which the believing
Gentiles are made close to is not Old Covenant Israel, but Israel reborn in Christ. There is no church to replace Old Covenant Israel as the Catholics might teach, nor is there two peoples of God, Israel and the Church, as dispensationalism tries to teach.

 

[B-A-C]

Matt 16:15; He *said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Matt 16:16; Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Matt 16:17; And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Matt 16:18; "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

The rock that Jesus built his church upon, was not Peter. In fact Peter was the apostle to the Jews, not the Gentiles. ( Gal 2:7; )
The rock that Jesus is building His church upon here in the verses is the fact that Peter recognized Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.
In fact Jesus tells him that flesh and blood didn't reveal this to Peter, but the Father in heaven revealed this.
The church is built upon the fact that they recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
The church is not built upon the fact that Jesus calls Simon "Peter". Peter means rock, but even Peter failed after this time (shortly after this he denies Jesus
three times in one day). The rock was not Peter, the rock was Peters belief in who Jesus was.

 

[james1523]

I think Jesus said he was building his church upon Peter. Jesus is not building his church with a doctrine or belief, Jesus is building his church with and upon people who have a certain belief - the church is the people.
Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple, and this is the true meaning of Matt 16:18.
The church is a spiritual temple made up of living stones, Peter was the first, but not the last of these living stones.
Peter was the one to recognize Him as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, being revealed not by flesh and blood, but by the Heavenly Father.
Jesus is building His church with people who know Him as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, being revealed not by flesh and blood, but by the Heavenly Father.

 

[tulsa 2011]

"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." Matthew 16: 18

Note that in the King James church is not capitalized. This is a <cite class="_Zd">grammatical indication that church is a common noun, a translation from the common noun ekklesia, meaning people called out to a meeting, a gathering, an assembly or a congregation as Tyndale and others after him translated it - until the Geneva Bible used church.

The King James translators used church instead of Tyndale's congregation. But a doctrine of scripture must be established by the meaning of the original Hebrew or Greek words used to explain that doctrine. This means that a word like church, which did not mean a meeting, assembly, gathering or congregation, cannot be used to translate ekklesia and then church is re-defined to mean the Body of Christ, and the elect of God, The meeting is not the elect of God.

The church that Christ is talking about in Matthew 16: 18, from ekklesia, cannot be the Roman Catholic Church, which is the capital C Church that is said to have replaced Israel.

The church that Christ is talking about in Matthew 16: 18 is not that capital C Church which in dispensationalism somehow stands alongside Israel, meaning Old Covenant Israel.

</cite>Charles C. Ryrie (born 1925) says:
"basic promise of Dispensationalism is two purposes of God expressed
in the formation of two peoples who maintain their distinction
throughout eternity." Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism Today,
1966, pp.44-45.

The classical dispensationalists - John Darby, C.I. Scofield, Lewis
S. Chafer and Charles C. Ryrie - insist that "Israel" in the Old
Testament
always means physical Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. With that interpretation of Israel, they then go on to say
that the Christian church is not found in Old Testament prophecy.
In part their view that "Israel" must always refer to Old testament
Israel, comes out of their belief that Scripture should always be
interpreted literally.

In his book, Dispensationalism (1966), Charles Ryrie says "The
essence of Dispensationalism, then, is the distinction between Israel
and the church."(page 3, "Dispensationalism")
"The nature of the church is a crucial point of difference between
classic, or normative, dispensationalism and other doctrinal systems.
Indeed, ecclesiology, or the doctrine of the church, is the touchstone
of dispensationalism(and also of pretribulationalism)."
(page 123, Charles Ryrie Dispensationalism (Chicago: Moody Press,
[1966], 1995)

J. Dwight Pentecost is another dispensationalist theologian who in
his book Things To Come ( 1965) says "The church
and Israel are two distinct groups with whom God has a divine plan.
The church is a mystery, unrevealed in the Old Testament. This mystery
program must be completed before God can resume His program with
Israel and bring it to completion. These considerations all arise from
a literal method of interpretation." (page 193, J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come, Zondervan, 1965).

Saying that God now has two peoples is another Gospel. That God now has two peoples, contrary to what Christ says in John 10: 16, that there is one fold, and what Paul says in Romans 12: 4-5, that there is one body in Christ, is one of the foundational errors of dispensationalism and it is this error that helps makes it another Gospel teaching another Jesus (II Corinthians 11: 4, Galatians 1: 6-9)

Scripture does not identify an identity in Christ as an entity called the church which is the same as the Body of Christ, or the elect of God. The ekklesia is a gathering of the Body of Christ, and that gathering often includes people who are not of the elect, the Body of Christ.

In fact Ephesians 2: 11-21 says that the Gentiles, being alienated from Israel, are made close by the blood of Christ. Close to what? To Israel, but this is not old Covenant Israel. It is Israel born again in Christ (John 3: 1-7), a spiritual body in I Peter 2: 5, 9 and a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

The identity of those in Christ, who is in them, is in born again Israel, not in the assembly redefined as the church, which claims to be the group the people belonging the Christ have their identity in. But those in the church often cannot hear this because they have been taught that they have their identity in Christ in the Church. Many have also been taught that Jews have their identity in Israel and Gentile Christians cannot have an identity in a born again Israel.

Paul uses ekklesia in Colossians 1: 24, for example, in a way which might be interpreted to mean he is equating the ekklesia with the Body of Christ. "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:"

But is Paul really teaching that all who are in the collective ekklesia - made up of many local assemblies - are of the elect and are saved? If he were teaching this, it would contradict what Christ teaches in Matthew 13: 24-43, saying that the "field" is made up of wheat and tares. Luke 13: 19-21, on the leavening of the kingdom of God, the falling away of II Thessalonians 2: 3-4 and several other texts predict that the ekklesia or church will experience a falling away from sound doctrine, so that many or most in it will not be of the elect.

 

[B-A-C]

Usually in the Bible,when the word "rock" is used it is pointing to Jesus.

Matt 7:24; "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matt 7:25; "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ( Also see Luke 6:48; )

Rom 9:33; just as it is written, "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." ( Also see 1 Pet 2:8; )

1 Cor 10:4; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

Even in the Old Testament, this term was used for Christ.
Deut 32:4; "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
Deut 32:15; "But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked-- You are grown fat, thick, and sleek-- Then he forsook God who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation.
( Also see Deut 32:18; Deut 32:30-31; 1 Sam 2:2-3; etc... )

 

[rag4aCrown]

Greetings in the Lord Jesus, brethren.

As for me, my Rock is Jesus the Christ of God. Amen.
I believed without seeing; and behold, I see. I believed without hearing, and behold, I hear.
Only because I seek HIM, fervently, diligently, wanting Him to come into my life;
I knew the world and what it consisted of; I knew what I was in the world; I was pathetic, naked and full of shame. I disgusted myself.
Jesus drew me to Him; I did not even do this; He pulled at me for quite sometime before I fell to my knees. Amen.. God is in control; not us. He knows whom He has chosen. Amen.
He seeks those with a broken contrite spirit; Amen. In order for Him to increase, I must decrease.
Many sit on the pews to proud and high minded (self righteous) to go to a lost soul they see in bondage and grieving, they will pass them by. Very sad. The Word does not lie.

Jesus told them when He walked the earth; they best "come out" of there, turn your backs on the traditions of your fathers and doctrines of men, because you will not find Him there.
And, many did not listen; the doctrines of men appeasing their itching ears, and never reproving the spirits. So they continue to be a piece of stale bread and stagnate water, not fit to eat or drink.
The preacher does not step on toes, or risk losing his pay. I believe God is speaking to that preacher a message; but I also believe that the preacher is not relaying the messages that God has given; he tones it down where it becomes to no effect. Amen. Thus, making it doctrines of men; not God.

Those who have tasted the old wine; say that the old is better; They are comfortable with it; they know what it taste like; it does not reprove my spirit, convict my heart, step on my toes, it is comfortable. So they continue to sit there unfed, naked, and full of shame. Hypocrisy comes from inside to outside; not outside to inside. Amen.
Common folk will not go in because of the hypocrites; and the hypocrites will not go out because they know their hearts are evil. They are no different then the rest "of the world"; but they will preach we are not "of this world". Every sin known to man is within those places; backbiting, gossips, busy bodies, high minded, double minded, proud, self righteous.
In Revelations, God calls this cluster of self righteous followers "the great *****".

Well, anyway, Jesus is my Rock. Now, He is in me, I am in HIM, and we go unto the Father. Amen.
He is building his church within me, rooted and grounded and built up IN Him, BY Him, FOR Him.
My building was torn down and destroyed when I came to my knees; He picked me up and started reconstructing it using HIS tools; being His way and His will.
This temple is a house made without hands. Amen.
All praise, glory and honor be to God. Amen.

 

[james1523]

The Church is built on a Rock (Christ, the living cornerstone), but does this mean the church is made of straw? Of course not. The church is also made of rocks (believers as living stones).
Both the building foundation and the building material is rock. The foundation is Christ and us being rocks is who we are in Christ, that is, our old man being crucified and living according to the new creation. We are not rocks if we are not in Christ or crucified with Him.
In typology referring to God's building/temple, both Christ and the believers are rocks/stones.
Christ is the special stone, the cornerstone: 1 Peter 2:4, 2:6.
We are the stones (1 Peter 2:5).
Not all believers are stones, only those who mature by going through the process like Peter did. We are all becoming stones, which means we are growing into Christ and looking more like Him.
Originally we are clay (Romans 9:21), but God shapes and forms us into stones, normally through the fires of trials and tribulations.
This is all for a purpose which is God's spiritual building/house/temple.
The significance of a building is thus:
A building/house/temple is something that is build on a foundation and grows over time, getting bigger and bigger, stronger and stronger.
A building/house is for comfort/rest and protection/security:
Comfort /rest- God wants a house/building/temple - a realm where He and mankind can dwell together - this is the homely and comforting nature of the Church, Christ's loving Bride (see Song of Solomon). The Church should be a place where God and man finds rest.
Protection/security - But God does not want a house made of straw or a weak building, God wants a strong building, a fortification, made of stone, by which He can defeat His enemies, and which will withstand the gates of Hell. This is the war-like nature of the Church, the warrior Bride, God's army. Church should be a place which engages and defeats Satan. This will be the rock (Daniel 2:34) which smashes the beast.

Unless we see that God aims to have a building/home/temple on this Earth, for comfort and for security/warfare, we will miss the true significance of Christ being our rock, and us being living stones in God's house. This has greater meaning and significance than merely a personal and individual viewpoint. We must realize that Christ is not the rock or foundation just for ourselves or individually, but for all the believers corporately, the Church, and for a purpose, which is to defeat and judge God's enemies, and bring about the New Heavens and New Earth.

From this follows a number of points:
- To multiply and spread over the Earth and defeat God's enemies is God's original purpose for mankind (Gen 1:28). But mankind fell and was defeated, and could not fulfill its original purpose. Since Christ, a Church of living stones is the realization and culmination of God's original purpose for mankind. (by Church I don't mean the worldly denominations, they form part of the Babylon/Beast in Revelation, and are not the overcoming and chaste bride of Christ). Some refer to this church as a "remnant".
- we cannot please and satisfy God fully as individuals, but only as a church. God wants to bring many sons to glory (Heb 2:10). A building with only one stone in it is not a building.
- we cannot defeat the enemy as individuals, but only as a church of stone. A reason why churches/denominations become defeated and fall or run away when the enemy comes, is because they either do not have Christ the rock as their foundation, or they themselves build upon this rock with wood or straw (worldly things, things not of Christ), and not gold, silver, precious stones (Christ).

 

[tulsa 2011]

Jesus said that He would build his assembly on the belief that he is the Saviour of Israel, promised by God the Father. “And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ” Mark 8:29.

Jesus was not sent to the lost sheep of the church, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15: 24).

“These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5,6).

The assembly of Jesus Christ was to be identified as Israel, but an Israel reborn in him, an elect Israel, or a saved Israel. As it turned out the larger part of Old Covenant Israel rejected him and a smaller group that Paul calls the remnant in Romans 11: 5, by the election of grace, became saved Israel. The believing Gentiles in whom Christ is formed, who have the mind of Christ, are grafted in to this remnant of Israel, as seen in Romans 11: 15-20, which has Jesus Christ as the root (Romans 11: 16).

Then, in Ephesians 2: 11-20 the Gentiles who were previously alienated from Israel are made close by the blood of Christ. The Gentiles who have Christ in them become part of Israel, that is the remnant of Israel, or saved Israel.

“For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” Romans 9:6. "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly...But he is a Jew which is one inwardly....in the spirit, and not in the letter..." Romans 2: 28-29

The Roman Catholics made the assembly - the ekklesia - into an institution of man to control the beliefs and behavior of people by the elite clergy class, the priests. Then Theodore Beza who took over Calvinism in the period of about 1550 to 1560 continued the imperial church as a protestant man made institution of control. But Peter in I Peter 5: 2-3 says

<tbody>
[TD="align: left"]"Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock."

And the church as a man man institution of control makes up some of its own doctrines, such as saying, contrary to New testament scripture, that Old Covenant Israel now remains the chosen people of God. A large part of this controlling church teaches that God now has two peoples, contrary to what Christ says in John 10: 16 that there shall be one fold and Romans 12: 5 that we, being many, are one body in Christ. In many churches they teach that the two peoples of God are Israel and the church. But by Israel the church means OId Covenant Israel, and the church as the assembly in many locations is just the congregations of born again Israel, if most in it are born again. After the falling away of II Thessalonians, which is not future from 2014, that assembly called the church likely has within it few who are born again.
[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]<bdo dir="ltr"></bdo>. [/TD]
[TD="align: left"][/TD]

</tbody>

 

[rag4aCrown]

Blessings;
This just came to me reading through the post.
We were created out of the dirt (minerals) of the earth; what are rocks made of? dirt (minerals of the earth).
The Holy Ghost told me this some time ago; Israel is any land in which a church house sits, Jerusalem is the city within her walls.
God is a Spirit. One must read the Word with a spiritual heart.
God uses carnal ways to teach us His ways or how He will.
Example: How Jesus loves the church made with hands, He talks about the unity of husband and wife being entwined into one flesh. We are ONE; not separate.
He loved the church so much He died for it, even at their own hands.
Devils and sinners have taken it over, they continue to treat the Lord's people shamefully and cast them out.
The union of the churches made with hands is the "great *****" in revelations.
The first several chapters in Isiah is talking about nothing but the gathering of the synagogues (churches).
All praise, glory and honor be to God. Amen.