Bible Reading: Exodus 4-6; Matthew 16
“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 (KJV)
The church of Christ has been ordained by God to grow irrespective of the attacks against it. The reason behind the attacks against the church is that the world loves darkness whereas the church is the centre of light where God enlightens His people and from there brings about the changes we see in the world today. Moreso, the church is made up of called-out ones; those who used to be in the world, but now in Christ. For bringing their evil works to light the world is enraged against the church.
The bible tells us how enraged they are in Psalms 2:1-3 (KJV), “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? [2] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, [3] Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” But God, from His sitted position in the heavens, laughs at them because He made Christ the head of the church. Psalms 2:4 (KJV), “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.”
One mistake the world makes is that they look at the church as just an organization. Yes, it is an organized setting but goes beyond that. The church is the body of Christ; it is a living organism. And Christ, the head of the church, is still in heaven, very much alive. His body cannot be taken away from Him just like that. No matter the persecution and attacks, the church will remain till the end of time.
All through history the church has outlived it’s haters and will continue to because of Jesus’ word in 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.” The gates of hell represent all the demons and evil strategy that Satan can marshal to withstand the church or its mission in the world. But as long as the church continue to work with the revelation knowledge of who Christ is it will outlast and outlive all it’s enemies.
Prayer: Father, engrace Your people with Continous revelation knowledge of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Bro Worthmore Aghanenu