.
The inquiry below comes along every now and then.
FAQ: At Matt 16:18, Jesus said: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against
it." What is the meaning of that verse?
A: Basically it's saying that should one of Christ's believing followers slip
through a crack and end up in the wrong place, they will be able to stroll
right on out of there like a tourist in Paris; possibly guided on their journey
by a celestial being, maybe similar to Peter's experience when he escaped
jail in Acts 12:3-11.
We should emphasize that if any one of the common Christian
denominations were the "my church" that Christ spoke of in Matt 16:18,
then not one of its members would end up stuck behind the gates of the
netherworld; but I'm pretty sure that all the common denominations expect
to lose a number of their followers; which reminds me of a line from the
movie AVATAR spoken by Colonel Miles Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang,
that goes like this:
"It is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed . . not with all of you."
But Jesus will succeed because his standing with God depends upon it.
● John 10:27-29 . . My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow
me. My Father gave them to me
● John 6:39 . .This is the will of the One who sent me, that I should not lose
anything of what He gave me.
● John 4:34 . . My food is to do the will of the One who sent me.
● John 8:29 . . I always do what is pleasing to Him.
Were Jesus to lose even one head of the sheep that his Father gave him,
just one, then it would be wrong of Jesus to say he "always" pleases his
Father. He'd have to tone it down and say "almost always" viz: most of the
time, but not all the time.
When people say that it's possible for Jesus to lose some of the sheep that
his Father gave him; they are actually casting a vote of no-confidence in the
reliability of his faithfulness to God's will.
_
The inquiry below comes along every now and then.
FAQ: At Matt 16:18, Jesus said: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against
it." What is the meaning of that verse?
A: Basically it's saying that should one of Christ's believing followers slip
through a crack and end up in the wrong place, they will be able to stroll
right on out of there like a tourist in Paris; possibly guided on their journey
by a celestial being, maybe similar to Peter's experience when he escaped
jail in Acts 12:3-11.
We should emphasize that if any one of the common Christian
denominations were the "my church" that Christ spoke of in Matt 16:18,
then not one of its members would end up stuck behind the gates of the
netherworld; but I'm pretty sure that all the common denominations expect
to lose a number of their followers; which reminds me of a line from the
movie AVATAR spoken by Colonel Miles Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang,
that goes like this:
"It is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed . . not with all of you."
But Jesus will succeed because his standing with God depends upon it.
● John 10:27-29 . . My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow
me. My Father gave them to me
● John 6:39 . .This is the will of the One who sent me, that I should not lose
anything of what He gave me.
● John 4:34 . . My food is to do the will of the One who sent me.
● John 8:29 . . I always do what is pleasing to Him.
Were Jesus to lose even one head of the sheep that his Father gave him,
just one, then it would be wrong of Jesus to say he "always" pleases his
Father. He'd have to tone it down and say "almost always" viz: most of the
time, but not all the time.
When people say that it's possible for Jesus to lose some of the sheep that
his Father gave him; they are actually casting a vote of no-confidence in the
reliability of his faithfulness to God's will.
_