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The production, existence, relationship, and issue of the testimony of the church are shown in Matthew 16:13 through 17:8. The church is clearly spoken of in the Bible beginning in Matthew 16. Although many persons typify the church in the Old Testament, there was no mention of the church in plain words. The church was hidden in the Old Testament. It was not until the Lord Jesus came in the flesh and worked on earth for nearly three years that He revealed the church in plain words.
In the region of Caesarea Philippi, the Lord asked His disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13). They answered that people spoke differently concerning Him, some saying that He was this person and others saying that He was that person. Then the Lord asked, “But you, who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). Peter, who was the disciple who usually rushed to speak, answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Although Peter often was the first to speak, he did not speak from himself this time; rather, God gave him a revelation which enabled him to see things incomprehensible to men. Because he received a revelation from the heavens, he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” These words were tremendous! From the dawn of history many spiritual forefathers and prophets have spoken for God, yet none of them ever spoke such words. Peter’s words were extraordinary and completely inconceivable to man. We cannot find such words in the entire Old Testament.
These two statements that Peter uttered are so extraordinary because they reveal the person and the work of the Lord Jesus. Christ, which is the title of the office of the Lord Jesus, declares His work in the universe. The Greek word for Christ means “the anointed One.” The Anointed of God is the One commissioned by God to do His work, the One sent by God to accomplish His will. Therefore, the title Christ speaks of all of the Lord’s work in the universe.
What is the Lord’s work in the universe? When we read through the entire Bible, we can see, without exception, that every item of God’s work in the universe is committed to Christ and accomplished through Christ. Creation was accomplished by God in Christ; all things were created by God through Christ. Redemption was accomplished by Christ under God’s commission; salvation is also carried out by Christ according to God’s desire. Rather than carrying out the future judgment Himself or appointing an angel or archangel to carry it out, God has fully committed this to Christ. It is also God’s desire that Christ would inherit all things in the future. In the past Christ was the Creator of all things. Presently He is the Upholder of all things. All things exist today because of Christ’s upholding and bearing; all things cohere in Christ (Col. 1:17). In the future He will be the Heir, inheriting all things. All that God wants to do in the universe has been committed to Christ. Therefore, the statement “You are the Christ” means that “You are the One anointed by God to do all the work God intends to do.” The title Christ is very inclusive; it includes all the work of the Lord in the universe, and it speaks of the fact that the Lord is the One who accomplishes all the work of God in the universe.
In addition to saying, “You are the Christ,” Peter said, “You are the Son of the living God.” This statement refers to the person of the Lord. No doubt, the Lord was the anointed One of God, but who was He as the One anointed by God? No doubt, He was the One commissioned by God to carry out God’s work, but who was He as the One commissioned by God? For example, we may appoint someone to be in charge of our bookroom, but what kind of person have we appointed? Is he a noble or a lowly person? This relates to his status. Thus, who was the Lord Jesus whom God anointed to accomplish all of His work? He is “the Son of the living God.” As the Son of God, He became the anointed One of God. As the Son of God, He received a commission from God to fulfill His will and carry out His work in the universe. Peter’s two statements reveal two aspects concerning the Lord Jesus. One aspect concerns His work, and the other aspect concerns His person; one aspect shows what He does, and the other aspect shows who He is.
We should know the meaning of the Son of God. The Son of God is the One who expresses God. As the Son of God, the Lord expresses God. All the fullness of the Godhead was concealed in Him and expressed through Him. Apart from Him no one can touch God, and apart from Him no one can see God. God is in Him, and He is the expression of God. The One who is the expression of God is the One who was anointed and commissioned by God to accomplish His work.
Since He, as the Son of God who expresses God, was anointed by God to do His work in the universe, then everything He did surely expressed God and testified of God. In addition, the result of His work also expressed and testified of God. Therefore, when He was resurrected from the dead and dispensed His life into thousands and thousands of people, these multitudes of people became sons of God to express God. These sons of God became a corporate Body, which is the church as the corporate expression of God.
The meaning of the words spoken by Peter at this time is extremely deep and broad. On the surface they seem simple, but it takes the entire Bible to explain them. Before the birth of the Lord Jesus, an angel told Mary, “The holy thing which is born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). After the Lord was born, the angel told the shepherds, “Today a Savior has been born to you...who is Christ the Lord” (2:11). In the course of the birth of the Lord Jesus, these two names were revealed from the mouth of an angel. When the apostle John wrote concerning the things that occurred in the life of the Lord Jesus, he said, “These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). These two titles, Christ and the Son of God, are the central meaning of the entire Bible. On the one hand, they speak of the Lord’s work, and on the other hand, they speak of the Lord’s person. He is the Son of God, the One who expressed God and who came to do the work of God. In all of the work that He accomplished there was a crystallized product, a central issue, an ultimate goal—the production of a group of sons for God who would become His Son’s corporate Body, which is the church, so that He would have an enlarged expression, a full expression.
Therefore, when Peter spoke to the Lord in this way, the Lord immediately said to him, “You are Peter,” because Peter means “a stone” (Matt. 16:18). The Lord was indicating that knowing Him was related to Peter’s being a stone. In the beginning Adam was made out of clay. Every one of Adam’s descendants is a piece of clay. As a descendant of Adam, Peter was a piece of clay, not a stone. But by knowing Christ in this way and by believing in Christ, he received the life of the Son of God. He received another element into him which caused him to be transformed. Whereas he was formerly a piece of clay, now he was transformed into a stone.
It is an amazing fact in the Bible that all of God’s buildings, whether the holy temple, the holy city, or ultimately the New Jerusalem, are built with stones, not with bricks. In contrast, those who were against God, whether at Babel, Egypt, or elsewhere, always built with bricks, never with stones. Bricks are the result of human labor and earthen materials. According to the spiritual meaning in the Bible, bricks signify anything produced from man’s natural being and with man’s labor. This is the story of the tower of Babel, the two cities of Egypt, and the city of Babylon. Stones, however, signify things that have not been produced from human labor with human hands but from God’s labor with God’s hands. To this day, bricks are man-made, made by human labor; they are produced with natural materials plus human labor. Stones, however, are altogether made by God without the addition of any human labor. Before we were saved, we were all made from clay. We were earthy, and we were pieces of clay. Some may ask where this is spoken of in the Bible. There is a very clear biblical basis for this in Genesis 2:7, Romans 9:21, and 1 Corinthians 15:47. When we received the Lord, knowing Him as the Christ and the Son of God, we were redeemed and received His life. Another element was added into us, and we were transformed from a piece of clay into a piece of stone. Every saved person should hear the Lord speaking to him in his spirit, “You are Peter; you are a stone. Previously you were Simon; now you are Peter. Formerly you were a piece of clay; now you are a stone.”
According to 1 Peter 2:5, these stones are living stones, because they have the life of God. Once there are living stones, the Lord can build the church. Therefore, the Lord immediately said, “Upon this rock I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18). What is this rock? It is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Do you know the Christ? Do you know the Son of the living God? He is the rock. If you know Him, then you will be changed from a piece of clay into a stone. He is a huge rock, and we are small stones. You and I, as small stones transformed from clay, are the materials for Christ to build the church upon Himself as the large rock. Therefore, we must see how the church is produced. The church is produced through knowing Christ. The more we know Christ, the more the church is produced. Furthermore, when the church is produced, the testimony of the church is also produced. Therefore, the testimony of the church is also produced by knowing Christ.
How does the church exist after being produced? Please note the words of the Lord: “Upon this rock I will build My church.” The church being built upon this rock means that the church exists upon this rock. The church collapses as soon as it leaves this rock. Without a foundation, there is no way for a structure to exist. The producing of the church is out of Christ, and the existence of the church depends on Christ. Therefore, the testimony of the church is also completely dependent on Christ. To be dependent on Christ means to be joined to Christ, to hold Christ, and to live in Christ (Eph. 4:15; Col. 2:19). If the brothers and sisters daily are joined to Christ, hold Christ, and grow up into Christ in all things, the testimony of the church surely will be very strong. If the brothers and sisters are not living in Christ, not joined to Christ, and not holding Christ, the testimony of the church will be very weak. It will be like a lamp whose light is dying and is not brightly shining. Therefore, the existence of the testimony of the church depends completely upon the church being joined to Christ.
The existence of the testimony of the church also depends on receiving the cross, that is, on denying the self and taking up the cross, as spoken of in Matthew 16:24. To be joined to Christ is to allow the content of Christ to be expressed. Receiving the cross means that we allow the old creation, our self, to be terminated. Whether or not the testimony of a local church is strong depends on two points. First, are the brothers and sisters joined to Christ? Are they in Christ, do they live in Christ, and do they grow up into Christ in everything in their daily life? Second, are the brothers and sisters willing to let the cross do a work of terminating the desires of the flesh, their old creation, and their self? Do they have the mark of the cross upon them? Do they bear the cross daily? These two points determine whether the testimony of the church is strong or weak, bright or dim. Therefore, we must not merely pay attention to the truth concerning the testimony of the church. We must see that the existence of the testimony of the church in a locality altogether depends upon the believers’ being joined to Christ and receiving the cross.
Let us look at the relationship of the testimony of the church. This relationship has many aspects.
The first aspect of the testimony of the church is related to Christ. According to Matthew 16:18, the Lord will build the church upon Himself as the rock. Therefore, as the rock, He is the foundation of the church and also the base of the testimony of the church. Christ, the rock, is the foundation laid by God (1 Cor. 3:11), the One on whom people can believe (Rom. 9:33), and a “living stone” (1 Pet. 2:4). He grows in those who believe into Him to be their everything so that they may be built up as the church. Therefore, He is not only the foundation of the life of the church; He is also the base of the living, the testimony, of the church.
While Christ is a rock, the church is an aggregate of stones built together upon Him. He is a living rock that grows in those who believe into Him and trust in Him. The church is an aggregate of living stones that grow up in Him and grow together because of Him. In this way they can be built together upon Him, being joined and knit together, to become a spiritual house, a dwelling place of God in spirit, which is the church (1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 2:20-22; 4:16). This speaks not only of His relationship with the church in its life but also of His relationship with the church in its testimony.
In Matthew 16:18 the Lord spoke of the gates of Hades immediately after saying, “Upon this rock I will build My church.” Whenever the heavens are mentioned, we are reminded of God, and whenever Hades is mentioned, we are reminded of the devil, Satan. The heavens are the dwelling place of God, whereas Hades is the realm of Satan. God’s authority is in the heavens, and Satan’s power is in Hades. Therefore, Hades refers to Satan.
When the Lord spoke of Hades, He mentioned the gates of Hades. What does this mean? The gates of Hades are for shutting and holding people in Hades. This can be compared to the gate of a prison. When a criminal is arrested and brought to the gate of the prison, an iron gate is opened to receive the criminal. When the gate is shut, it holds the criminal inside. Therefore, the gate of a prison receives a person into prison and then shuts him in and holds him in the prison. Similarly, the gates of Hades are for bringing the church into death and for shutting and holding the church in death.
The gates of Hades is plural. This means that Hades affects the church in many ways. Satan uses many different ways to bring the church into death. From the day the church came into being, the gates of Hades have been dealing with the church through various stratagems and in many ways. As soon as the Lord began to build the church on the day of Pentecost, the gates of Hades were shaken. These gates, however, began to actively try to drag the Lord’s church into death, to shut it in death, and to hold it in death.
In the early stage of the church, the gates of Hades utilized the Jewish religion, the Roman Empire, and Greek culture, uniting these three great powers to affect the church. When the Lord Jesus was crucified, the sign put on the cross was written in three languages—Hebrew, Latin, and Greek (John 19:20). The presence of these three languages signifies that the Lord Jesus was crucified by the Jews, the Romans, and the Greeks. Moreover, after the Lord Jesus began to build the church, these three groups—the Jews, the Romans, and the Greeks—joined together to deal with the church. Do you know who opposed the church in the early days? It was the high priest of the Jewish religion. Who put the apostles into prison? It was the rulers of the Roman Empire. Those who read church history know how much the Roman Empire persecuted and ravaged the church. At the same time, Greek philosophy also caused a great disturbance to the church. The opposition from Jewish religion, the persecution of the Roman Empire, and the disturbance caused by Greek philosophy were all used by the gates of Hades to deal with the church.
However, the Lord said that the gates of Hades would not prevail against the church. The church is something in resurrection. People may try to hold the church in death, but the church will come out of death. The church is in resurrection and can overcome death. It is not possible for the church to be held, detained, by death. After the Lord Jesus was put in the tomb, people thought they had accomplished their job, yet He came out of the tomb in three days. It is the same with the church. Throughout the generations people have tried to put the church in death and hold it there, and seemingly some succeeded. But little did they know that the church would rise up again after a little while.
Hades does not have only one gate; it has many different kinds of gates. When Satan was not able to defeat the church through the persecution of the Roman Empire, he changed his tactics to welcome the church. This is the reason that the Roman Empire accepted Christianity as its state religion in the fourth century. This was a gate of Hades. Nevertheless, even though it seemed that the gate of Hades dragged the church into death, history tells us that after a period of time the church emerged from death, according to its true nature.
The things spoken of above are great matters. Now I would like to speak of some small matters. I believe that Hades has small gates as well as big gates. Hades utilizes not only big things but also small things to deal with us. It uses small things such as our family, our career, and our physical body to deal with us. When a person rises up for the testimony of the church, dealings immediately come to him from every direction. A while ago some brothers talked with me concerning the matter of serving the Lord full time. Some asked if it would be best to serve the Lord full time, and others asked if it would be preferable to serve the Lord while holding a job. My feeling was that regardless of the way that was taken, the gates of Hades would be waiting. If we serve without holding a job, the gates of Hades are waiting; if we serve while holding a job, the gates are also waiting. It is the same with marriage. Some say it is best not to be married. We need to be careful, however, because a few gates have been prepared to deal with the unmarried. Some say it is best to be married and have a family. We need to be careful as well with this because a number of gates have also been prepared to deal with the married. One gate is called the wife gate; another is called the son gate. Still another is called the daughter gate. These are all gates of Hades. Those with experience know what I am speaking of. Dear brothers and sisters, if we do not have the power of resurrection within us, the gates of Hades will press us until we have no way out. When we serve without a job, we may think that it is better to have a job. Yet it is possible to be held even more by a job. Before some were married, they thought that everything would be fine once they were married; they thought that they would be able to serve the Lord with peace of mind and have a good family to bear a good testimony for the Lord. After they were married, however, they sensed that there are more gates of Hades. While there may be only one gate holding us prior to marriage, there may be three or four gates trying to hold us after we are married. When we served the Lord alone, we felt lonely and hoped that the Lord would give us one or two co-workers for coordination. We thought that this would be wonderful. However, after being with a co-worker or a companion for a long period of time, we may run to our room, sighing and saying, “I wish I had no co-workers. I wish I could be alone.” Oh, dear brothers and sisters, there is no place without a gate of Hades, and there is nothing that is not a gate of Hades. Any place and anything can hold us in death. The question is not where we are outwardly but whether we are living inwardly. If our inner nature is resurrection, nothing can imprison us. Even if it seems that we are being imprisoned, we can rise up again. The church cannot be held by the gates of Hades.
Many people think that it would be wonderful for someone who serves the Lord to have a spiritual wife. But I can tell you that very often a wife can turn out to be a gate of Hades. John Wesley, a well-known figure in church history, was truly a powerful man. Two centuries ago he not only brought a revival to the churches in England but also a great turn to the English society. However, he had a very unreasonable wife who was a gate of Hades to him, a gate which always tried to hold him down. Sometimes she would even humiliate him publicly while he was preaching. Without the resurrection life, John Wesley would have been imprisoned in Hades in no time by his wife.
Satan tries his best to destroy the testimony of the church, to damage the testimony borne by the church for Christ. But praise the Lord, even though the church may have a dark age, may enter the tomb, and may seem to be shut in by the gates of Hades, after a while the church will come out again in resurrection. The church, built with living stones, has the resurrection power, the resurrection life, and the resurrection nature, which cannot be overcome by the gates of Hades. It may seem as if the church has fought many losing battles throughout the centuries, but the church is still here. Even though the church appears to be finished, the church is still here when everything else is finished. We may be defeated, but the gates of Hades cannot prevail against the church. We may be in desolation, but the church is still here.
Why is it impossible for the gates of Hades to prevail against the church? Why are the gates of Hades unable to successfully hold down the church? This is because the church is built upon a living rock, which is Christ, who is the Son of the living God, the Lord of resurrection, and the almighty Lord. The church built upon Christ can never be defeated by the gates of Hades. Therefore, the testimony of the church can never be destroyed by the gates of Hades.
Since the church is built upon the resurrected and victorious Christ, it cannot be defeated by the gates of Hades. Instead, it is able to overcome the gates of Hades and release sinners held by them. For two thousand years, countless sinners who have been held by the gates of Hades have been released by the church. This is what the church does in preaching the gospel. Preaching the gospel frees sinners who have been captured by Hades and liberates the souls who are oppressed by Satan (Luke 4:18). This plunders the goods of Satan (Matt. 12:29). The church is able to do this because it is joined to the Christ who overcame Hades and Satan and because it bears the testimony of Christ’s victory. It is impossible for the testimony of the church to be destroyed by the gates of Hades; the testimony of the church will always deal with and overcome the gates of Hades.
The testimony of the church is related not only to the gates of Hades but even more to the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. In Matthew 16:18-19, after the Lord said, “Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it,” He went on to say, “I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.” The keys were given to Peter, but they were given to him as one who knew Christ and had become a living stone. Therefore, the keys were given to all who have become living stones through knowing Christ. In principle, all such persons have received the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.
The kingdom of the heavens is the ruling of the heavens. This is absolutely related to the testimony of the church. Wherever there is the testimony of the church, there is the ruling of the heavens. When a group of brothers and sisters are joined to Christ, live in Christ, and receive the cross to deal with themselves, they have the power of resurrection and the gates of Hades cannot prevail against them. Moreover, they also have the authority of the reign of the heavens. The kingdom of the heavens manifests its ruling through them. They can bring in the ruling of the kingdom of the heavens. On the one hand, the church affects the gates of Hades, and on the other hand, it is related to the kingdom of the heavens. On the one hand, the church cannot be held down by the gates of Hades; on the other hand, the church opens the door for the kingdom of the heavens to come in. The church really is a great matter. Whenever and wherever there is a group of people standing in the position of the church and manifesting the reality of the church, that is, the testimony of the church, the gates of Hades will be affected, and the kingdom of the heavens will be involved.
What is the meaning of the keys of the kingdom of the heavens? The keys and the gate are closely related. A gate is for shutting; a key is for opening. Do you want to enter the kingdom of the heavens? Here is a key that can open the gate to the kingdom of the heavens. The church cannot be shut out by the gates of Hades, but the church has a key that can open the gate of the kingdom of the heavens and bring people into the kingdom of the heavens. Both of these matters depend upon the church and are made possible through the testimony of the church.
The testimony of the church is also absolutely related to the cross. Wherever the testimony of the church is, there believers will surely receive and bear the cross.
Without the cross, the church will never have a testimony. If a local church is full of the things of the old creation, it is a church without the testimony. Conversely, if a local church is willing to receive the dealing of the cross and terminate all the things of the old creation, it will be a strong church with a testimony. Therefore, when the Lord spoke of the building of the church, He immediately revealed the cross, telling us to take up, to receive, the cross.
There is a sequence to the Lord’s word. First, He passed through the cross and accomplished the work of the cross. Now the church receives the cross from Him and bears the cross He accomplished. The cross that the church takes up is the accomplished cross of Christ. On the cross Christ terminated all the things of man, the natural things, the things of the old creation. The cross of Christ has already terminated all of these things; now the church needs to receive the cross, acknowledge the cross, and take up the cross. We must acknowledge that we cannot avoid the cross, because we have already passed through the cross. Rather, we have received the cross and must bear the cross. We cannot allow our flesh, our old man, and our natural life to have any place. The work of the cross has been accomplished; now we need to acknowledge it, receive it, bear it, and put it upon us. If such a situation exists among us, there is the testimony of the church. If such a situation exists among us, the gates of Hades cannot do anything. If such a situation exists among us, the keys of the kingdom of the heavens will be effective. However, if the believers avoid the cross rather than bear it and if they set their mind on the things of men rather than on the things of God, there will be no testimony of the church. Then the gates of Hades will prevail, and the keys of the kingdom of the heavens will be ineffective. The testimony of the church depends upon the dealing of the cross.
Therefore, while we are serving God, we must ask ourselves some fundamental questions. Do we have the cross upon us? Are we those who bear the cross? Christ has already accomplished the cross, but have we received it? Have we put it upon us? Are we bearing it daily? Do we refuse to give any place to our flesh and our mind? If this is the case, the testimony of the church will be shining brightly, the gates of Hades will be helpless, and the keys of the kingdom of the heavens will be powerful.
Once the cross is received, resurrection is manifested. All of the things related to resurrection are part of the elements of Christ, the riches of Christ. All of the riches of resurrection will be manifested in the church because of the cross. Today the main reason we are short of spiritual riches in our meetings and in our service is that we have not sufficiently received the cross. Many brothers and sisters know that they should receive the cross. Knowing this is one thing, but experiencing the cross by truly putting ourselves under it and bearing it is another thing. We should always remember that the testimony of the church depends upon our receiving the cross. Only the cross can enable the things of the old creation to be terminated so that we can live out the riches of the resurrection of Christ. Only the cross can cause the church to have a testimony.
The issue of the testimony of the church is to bring in the kingdom of Christ, the reign of Christ
The issue of the testimony of the church is also to glorify Christ and to express God. In Matthew 16, after speaking of the building, the kingdom of Christ is spoken of in verse 28. Furthermore, verse 27 of chapter 16 and the first section of chapter 17 refer to the Lord Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain. This was a miniature of the Lord’s manifestation in His kingdom in the glory of God. When the Lord manifests the glory of God in His kingdom, God will have a full expression. When the church receives the cross, overcoming the gates of Hades and opening the entrance to the kingdom of the heavens to testify concerning Christ, the result will be the bringing in of the kingdom of the heavens and the glorification of Christ. In other words, Christ will be able to reign and to manifest God’s glory so that God will have a full expression in Him.
