I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH

Matt 4:17 – 23: (17.) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (18.)And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. (19.) And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (20.) And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. (21.) And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.(22.)And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. (23.)And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom . . .

Mat 10:1- 5 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples . . . Now the names of the twelve apostles are these . . . These twelve Jesus sent forth . . .

Mat 18:17, 18 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church . . . Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Mark 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two . . .

Luke 9:1,2 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils . . . And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God . . .

Christ began calling out His first church members (Church = called out assembly) out in the gospels. Also, He “added to the church” which had a church roll of 120 before Pentecost. The definition of church was a “called out assembly, organized to do business” and was patterned after the Greek civil assembly as well as the O.T. congregation. The completed church’s first commission is found in the gospels in the above passages. The church in the gospels was a “Pre-Pentecostal church” because of the obvious instruction to “tell it (present tense) to the church.” We cannot abide any individual or group legitimately baptizing and partaking in the Lord’s Supper other than a local church.

The Promise to Build the Church

Mat 16:18, 19And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church . . . and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Peter had just confessed, Jesus is the Son of God, and Jesus said “IWILLbuild my church…” Some emphasize Jesus’ “I will” here to be a future event, whereas the emphasis belongs on Jesus’ determinative intent, as Jesus pointed out the certainty of the church prevailingagainst the “gates of hell.”Therefore, because Jesus said, “I will build My church,” it will continue to be built. It is the divine promise of the divine Lord and Saviour. In the gospels, Jesus had been building, was building, and continued to build His church even as He is doing now. Jesus was not saying here, as some contend, that He had not yet been building His church in the past. The idea is that He would continue to build His church just as He had always done from the selection of His disciples. Yes, it was a past, present, and a future continual building at that time, and the Lord is still building His Church now.

Even invisible churches will not claim a universal, mystical, invisible church before the cross. Jesus was not emphasizing the time of His building but its certainty and that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against what He called “MY CHURCH.” Yes, it was in existence in Matthew 18 where Jesus gave instructions to it. Since some emphasize that the Greek word in Matt. 16:18 to be 1st pers. sing. Fut.Ind. Act.and think that the words “will” and “shall” always mean a future event in English, consider this:

Shall Verbs versus Auxiliary Helpers

Mar 14:57, 58 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him,saying, We heardhimsay, Iwill destroy (G2637)this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build (G3618) another made without hands.

Mat 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bindG1210 on earth shall be (G2071) bound (G1210)in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose (G3089) on earth shall be (G2071) loosed (G3089) in heaven.

Mat 20:22 . . . Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall (G3195) drink. . .

The English words “will” and shall” are filled with ambiguity in English as well as in other languages. They are often used interchangeably but neither “will” or “shall” always indicate a future tense. There are some exceptions like Matthew 20:22). Unlike English, the future tense is often built into the Greek verb, but that is not always so, for it sometimes needs a helper or auxiliary verb (G1210) as in (Matthew 18:18). Strong’s says on G2036 in Matthew 24:23 that “shall say” (G2036) is “in the definite past” tense.I suggest a perusal of Webster’s 1828 dictionary which does not put the emphasis on the future with the words “will” or even “shall,” but tells us that they are often used as auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary or helper words are often employed in the English Bible without being found in the Greek. OIKODOMOMAOis only used in the first person of “build” in two other places, Mar 14:58 and Luke 12:17, 18 “OIKODOMASO.”Still, according to Webster, the first person future is to be distinguished from that of the second person future. You cannot rely on Strong’s generic G3618 for this but must go to Young’s for the correct tense of Strong’s G3618. However, the words "will" and "shall" are not suitable words to build a whole doctrine upon.

I WILL Builld

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rockI will build(G3618)my church; and the gates of hell shall not(G3756) prevail against it. There is a sure way of indicating future in the Greekand would be to say upon this rock shall my church be built as the “shall be’s” in scripture do use G2071 in a futuristic tense.

Mar 14:58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three daysI will build(G3618)another made without hands.

Strong’s will build (G3618) is Young’s and Berry’s OIKODOMASO

Luke 12:17, 18 And he thought within himself, saying, Whatshall I do, (G4160)because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?Strong’s shall I do (G4160) is Young’s and Berry’s POIASO

And he said, Thiswill I do (G4160):I willpull down (G2507)my barns, andbuild(G3618) greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. You will note that the “I will” is not stated here in regard to build, since it is understood. Some translations put it in there.

Since the suffix determines the tense of such passages, they are very hard to find alphabetically, but other examples do exist with other verbs besides “build.” I have submitted suffixes for "Build" and "Do" for your consideration.

– by Herb Evans