[ Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. — Matt. 16:15-18
Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. — Matt. 28:19
And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. — Luke 24:49
Excerpts from book
Page 336-337: Jesus promised to build his church. By “church” he did not mean a building. That is never the meaning of church (ekj klhsiav ) in Greek. He means he will build a people. He will gather a people who trust him as their Lord (John 13:13; 20:28) and Savior (John 3:17; 10:9) and who love each other (John 13:34-35) and their enemies (Matt. 5:44). Jesus describes himself as “the good shepherd” who gathers his sheep into a flock. “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I
lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:14-16).
Page 337: Jesus knew and taught that between his first and second coming to earth there would be a lapse of time................(Luke 20:9). This is one of the clearest statements indicating that Jesus expected the time before his second coming to be substantial. He knew that he would be away from his “flock,” and therefore he made provision for them while he is gone.
Page 337-338: This provision includes the sending of the Holy Spirit, the preservation of inspired truth in the writings of his apostles and their close associates, guidelines for how to handle sin in the flock, and the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Jesus was keenly aware of what it would mean to leave his “little flock” (Luke 12:32) in a hostile world and return to the Father.
Page 338: How were they to live without his physical presence?..... Who would teach them? Who would guide and protect them? How were they to live in his absence? ...............“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18)..................he would send the Holy Spirit and that this Spirit of God would be his own presence among them........................(John 14:16-17).........
“He dwells with you, and will be in you.” .........Jesus comforts his followers with the truth that he himself will be present in the church by the Spirit whom he sends in his place.
Page 338: Jesus intends for these promises to give strong encouragement to his followers when he leaves. (John 14:27). Therefore, even though the church is destined for trouble in a hostile world of unbelief (John 15:20), they should be encouraged because Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit who will help them and will, in fact, prove to be a manifestation of the presence of Jesus himself.
Page 339: “But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). Therefore, in view of this crucial role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ absence, Jesus demands that his followers wait for the Spirit and
not blunder ahead into ministry without this gift.
Page 339: Not only does Jesus provide for his flock after his departure by sending them the Holy Spirit, but also by preparing for the preservation of inspired truth in the writings of his apostles .....The fact that there were twelve apostles—just as there were twelve tribes of Israel—and that the word apostle carries the implication of special authority to represent him suggests that Jesus intended for the apostles to be the foundation for the true Israel,the church.....This new “Israel” would have its foundation in the twelve apostles. They will represent Jesus’ authority as they lay the foundation for this new people. To secure the future truthfulness of the teaching of the Twelve,Jesus promised to send the Spirit of truth to preserve his teaching and lead them into crucial truth that he had not yet given them.
Page 340: Speaking to the eleven apostles, after Judas had left them on the night before he was crucified, Jesus said:.....(John 16:12-14).....John 14:26)
Page 341: This is Jesus’ way of caring for his flock after he is gone. He provides an authoritative band of representatives and then gives them the assurance that in their teaching office they will have divine assistance to provide the church with the truth it needs for all of life and godliness. He intends that the teaching of these authoritative spokesmen be preserved for later generations.
Page 342: In this way Jesus has provided for his church both the Spirit and the word. His Spirit and his teaching are inseparable. He would be critical of any who try to separate the word and the Spirit. The objective teachings of Jesus, brought to memory by the Spirit and recorded for following generations, are the standard for the church. Any attempt to abandon or distort this objective, historical, once-for-all deposit of teaching will go astray from what Jesus demands and teaches and promises.
Page 342: But it is also true that without the Spirit, no one will receive, or properly grasp, these historical teachings. By nature we are all simply human with no spiritual life. But without spiritual life we do not have eyes to see truly what Jesus taught. The remedy for this blindness and spiritual deadness is to be born again by the Spirit.
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