After watching the first 3 episodes of Season Four of The Chosen, I was compelled to deal with the issue of who the Rock of the New Testament Church really is. Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter (little rock), but Christ declared himself to be the rock upon which he will build his church (ekklesia / called out assembly – Matthew 16:15-20). We know he was not speaking of the New Testament Church – the body of Christ, since it was a mystery (Romans 16:25-27, Ephesians 3:1-12, Colossians 1:25-29), he had to be speaking of the kingdom church – the called out assembly of those who endure the tribulation and are saved by the criteria Christ gives in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7. In the kingdom, the gates of hell will not prevail against the called out assembly because Satan will be in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3) and the beast and the false prophet will have been captured and cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). The only opposition the Lord will face in the millennium will come from rebellious hearts of those born in the millennium. Ekklesia / called out assembly is a common word used to speak of any group called together for a specific purpose. Stephen used it to describe the nation of Israel being called out of Egypt in Acts 7:37-38. Luke used the term ekklesia / assembly in Acts 19:39,41, to describe the the citizens in Ephesus who gathered to accuse Paul and Silas. But, as time progressed in the transition of the from Jew to Gentile, as Paul received direct revelation from the Lord himself, he shared the destination of the body of Christ to include both Jews and Gentiles through the gospel of the grace of God. Ephesians 2:13-22, Galatians 3:22-29, Colossians 3:11 The Bible is very clear that Jesus Christ is the Rock / foundation of all we are in Christ! He was the Rock of Israel in the wilderness – Deuteronomy 32:3-4, 30-3, 1 Cor 10:1-4 He is the Rock upon which we build our spiritual house – Matthew 7:24-29, 1 Cor 3:10-15 He is the chief cornerstone of our salvation – Psalm 118:21-22, Ephesians 2:19-20 This coming week we will continue to look at the difficult lessons in the gospels through the lens of The Mystery, walking through the Constitution of the kingdom of heaven – the sermon on the mount.
