It is very noticeable that the only record of our Lord when on earth, speaking of His church, should be found in the Gospel of Matthew, which presents Christ as the King of Israel, the Messiah of His ancient people. This record shows that He anticipated His rejection by His earthly people, and how He would build on the confession of His name, that which would be indestructible, even His church.
At the time that our Lord spoke thus, He and His disciples were at Caesarea Philippi in the very far north of Palestine, far removed from Jerusalem and the Temple service. Ichabod was written over the Temple with its gorgeous ritual. The system, which would refuse the advances of our Lord, was surely doomed.
Our Lord asked His disciples a deeply important question, " Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?" (Matt. 16: 13.) The men of that day were sorely puzzled where to place our Lord. His wonderful miracles, His precepts, His speaking with authority and not as the scribes, the gracious words that fell from His lips-all marked Him out as greatly outstanding. The guesses that were made were extraordinary, involving the resurrection of the great men of past. Was He John the Baptist, risen from the dead? Was He Elias or Jeremias, or one of the old prophets? Such guesses ascribed a very large place to our Lord, but immeasurably lower than the real truth as to His Person. Nay, does not the sad history of the great schisms of the church down the centuries from apostolic days reveal that this question is the rock upon which shipwreck has continually been made?
Our Lord again asked this stupendous question, this time of His own disciples: " But whom say YE that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matt. 16: 15, 16.) The whole of Christianity is wrapped up in this question and answer. Our Lord asked this question as the Son of Man. Of His Manhood there was no doubt, for He stood before them in flesh and blood. But was there no more than that? Listen to the noble confession of Simon Peter. How profound was His answer, far beyond the power of human nature to make. Such a stupendous truth concerning the Person of our Lord could only be a matter of revelation, brought home in the power of the Spirit of God. So our Lord said, " Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaVen." (Matt. 16: 17.)
" THE CHRIST " means the Anointed, that is the One to whom God has entrusted the carrying out of His will upon the earth. This involved our Lord going to the cross, and dying an atoning death in order that man might come into blessing. So our Lord from that time forth began to tell His disciples how He must be crucified and rise again the third day. (Matt. 16: 21.)
" THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD." Here we have the acknowledgment that our Lord was more than Man, the acknowledgment that He was from all eternity the Son in the unity of the Godhead-Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God. He was " God... manifest in the flesh." (1 Tim. 3:1616And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16).) Not the creature, however exalted, but " God blessed forever. Amen." (Rom. 9:55Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 9:5).) He was God, the Son; as the Father is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Not three Gods, but one triune God, One in Three, and Three in One-one God, One in purpose, will, and knowledge, One from all eternity to all eternity. This is the sublime faith of the Christian.
Upon this rock, the confession of His glorious Person, Christ would build His church, and the gates of hacks should not prevail against it. Here we get the invincible foundation of the church of God. What a relief to turn from church history with its unutterably sad story of declension, divisions, schisms, sects, worldly assumptions, and to know that what Christ builds will abide forever, and be beyond the power of the enemy to destroy, and that the church will emerge in all the glory of God throughout the eternal ages.