My Journey to Life, Step 23—The Church

2. What is the Rock upon which the church is founded?

Christ Jesus is the Rock upon which the church is founded. The church is not a human institution; it is not led by a human being or founded by a human being. The imagery of Christ as a Rock runs through Scripture (Deuteronomy 32:3, 4; Psalms 62:7; Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:4) Thus the church was built, not on frail human wisdom and ingenuity, but on the Rock of Ages. JTL23 4.1

When Jesus declared to Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18), He spoke of Himself, the Living Rock. The apostles understood Jesus to be the enduring Foundation of the household of God and its Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-22), not a faulty, finite human being. The church belongs to God because He called it into existence, lives in its midst, and rules over it with love, justice, and mercy. JTL23 4.2