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When the Lord said “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”, what He really meant was that He will build up those who come to Him we have come.
[Matthew 16:18 KJV] “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”.
As a matter of fact, we are the church. The church of God is built out of people. The concrete, and timber, and aluminum glazing is not the church, we are the church. So when God says “I will build my church” , He meant He will build us. When God said “the gates of hell shall not prevail it”, He meant that the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. We are the church and hell cannot stop us. Nothing can stop a church. The only thing that can stop the church is the church itself. That is why the devil often moves us to fight each other.
When you study 1 Peter 2:5, 9, 11-13, you will understand that we are built into the church. He is committed to build us into an invincible church. He is building us into an End-Time army, that is marching through the land to win over darkness and evil.
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
We have come to the rock, and God is committed to building us into a spiritual house. It is important to remember that God is building us up. He will do everything to build each of us when we stay at His feet. He will bring on board all the things that pertain to life and godliness. He will do for us all it takes to excel in life. He will help us; He will change us; He will breathe into us the breath of life. God is building His church, and we are the members of the church. He will raise us as members of His body and change us into a formidable army.
He is doing all this for us so that we will become a royal priesthood, living and serving Him. We are being built up for the following reasons;
1. To offer spiritual sacrifices:
We are called to offer the sacrifice of prayer, the sacrifice of praises (which is the fruit of the lips), the sacrifice of giving, and the sacrifice of our bodies. The Bible calls on us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.
2. To show forth His praises by word and by deed:
That our lives will reflect His glory and honour. We are built to re-present Christ to the world. We are built to reflect His glory. We are called to show forth the praises of God.
3. To abstain from fleshy lust and to live honestly:
Our call is a calling to abstain from fleshy lust and to live honestly. We are called to live honest lives among unbelievers. We are the royal priesthood and the holy generation. We are called to live the life of God in human bodies.
4. To submit to authority;
We are called to submit to godly authority. We know that it is God who establishes all authority. Any Christian who rebels against godly authority is not in the will of God. We are exhorted to pray for people in authority. To pray for kings and all in authority. We are called to submit to godly authority.
We are built up into a spiritual house to that effect. The Bible tells us that God has one purpose – to build us into a spiritual house. You will not miss the will of God. You will go far as you walk in the will of God. Be rest assured that God is building His church. Nothing will stop Him from building us.
Be blessed, I love you!
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