Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-11-11

! was TO be 1OullQeu on the SFtdt
] bedrock. OF faith in Jesus as Peter
had expressed it--faith in His hui
manity, His deity. His Messiahship.
Peter took it this way himself,
which will be seen by reading what
he wrote to his disciples scattered
abroad 1 Pet. 24S.
Notice, roo, tnat lie ON not give
the keys of Heaven TO Peter, but
only the keys to the kingdom OF
Heaven He Himself still has the
keys of death and hades Rev. 1-1S).
And the authority lie delegated to
| Peter He afterwards delegated to
the other disciples equally (Matt.
1919. To Peter was granted the
privilege of opening the doors of
the kingdom of Heaven to the Jews
and later through Cornelius, to the
Gentiles. Further than that his au-
thority did not extend.
The word of Jesus to Peter is
most significant however, from an
other standpoint. This is the very
first reference to the church in the
Bible 1t is not once mentioned in
the Old Testament The prophets
and the psalms have in mind the
| kingdom, which grows out of the
Davidic covenant e Sam. ~. There
l are places in the Old Testament
where a parenthesis is necessary,
but which is not stated openly. For
example, when Jesus read from
Isaiah in the synagogue at Naza-
reth He stopped right in the middle
of a sentence-''the acceptable year
of the Lord, and the day of ven
geance of our God" The comma
marks the parenthesis. Something
comes between, because Jesus stop
ped there saying, This day is this
Scripture fulfilled in your ears. The
church is the parenthesis, the mys-
terry, the hidden secret which had
been known to God from the begin
ming, but which was not revealed
until God revealed it to Paul, who
proclaimed it.
Notice also the tense of this state
ment. 81 will build''-then it was
yet future. Jesus had come and
proclaimed the Kingdom as at hand;
the people had rejected the King so
therefore the Kingdom had to be
postponed. Now, out of the land
He had secured from the disciples
their great confession of faith in
His humanity, His deity, and His
Messiahship. He announces that
upon this He will proceed to the
building Of the Church-using them
as living stones for the erection of
the building, He Himself being the
foundation and the chief corner
stone.
Another fact about His church
which He is to build is stated. "The
gates of 'hades shall not prevail
against it, This is another pas
sage about which there has been
much confusion. 1t has been taught
that the church must be aggressive
gong out as an army of invasion.
ana with the assurance of victory
over the hosts of evil, for 1.-The gates
OF hell shall not prevail against it,"
But II this be true, is the church
tlghtlnG against hell with the oh.
lect OF taking it, as an invading
army lays seige to the gates Of a
city?
Then it has been taught that the
church shall be able to withstand
an the onslaughts Of the enemv.
But whoever heard of gates going
out on an invasion?
Evidently there was something
else In the mind of Jesus when He
spoke these words; and the kew TO
II may be found in something else
mat lie said on the same occasion
from that time forth He began to
tell them of the necessity of His on.
ing to Jerusalem, of His SUFFERING
ana death there and of His resur.
rectlon on the third day. All, there
we nave it. Hades is the nlace of
departed spirits. 1t comes from, two
Greek words meaning not seen.
invisible. The place of the invisih1n
ne pace where departed spirits go.
Whlch canont be sen. His word is
rnat Inc gates of the place of de-
parted spirits shall not prevail
against His church. And His n,,,,l
resurrection is the reason. since
lle cannot be kept in the place of
eepdrted spirits but will be raised
from the dead on the third dav
heither shall the gates iof Hades he
doie TO keep there any Of those who
coIlpose Ills church, His BODY. The
ploilllse' therefore, is of the certain
~ oL the resurrection of the members
VI Ills church. When He died He
descended into Hades, but when He
"toSe lie led a multitude of cantives
out OF captivity. Satan could keen
neither His Spirit in Hades nor His
oody IN the grave; neither shall tho
safes OF Hades prevail against tbo
church. The spirit now denarts ~
ne with Christ, and the bodv IA 1io
IN the grave until He comes. Tbon
IT, 100, shall be raised and glorified
wen were not vet able to hear
,''lS news. 1t was not vet time to
oeSlh building the church. for tho
kingdom had not as yet been finalIv
rejected. Therefore, He charoed
penn that they should tell no MN
mat lie was the Christ.
huC from that time forth lie began
10 snow them how lie must % to
~ uSaIem, and must suffer MANY
lH!ISS at the hands of the CHIEF
pl!e9tS ana elders, and be killed and
."iseo on the third day. 1t was \
pINo'al point In His experience. In.
tteaSIhSly from now on lie reveals
~ them the suffering even thouoh
omey appreciate it less and Iees
Iney know but do not enter no
Ills thought and gradually He ha
comes more and more lonely.
Peter was again the snoI,as,,,
ne began 10 rebuke Him and said.
spare myself, Lord. Don,t +o1I.
noout such thing as having to
n"ppen to you. Haven't l lust said
1 ,4aI you We're the long expected
MESSIAH and didn't you assent -
lnat as being correct? Spare vo,.r,
sen TINS; exercise your power tba+
II may not be. '''"'
sur Peter. who had spoken what
Gou mad revealed to him lust mo-.
i"ent before. is now-throueh nrjdoa
the spokesman of the devil. co.
NEE behind me, Satan" said TasI,r
Ihou m!ndest not the thinas -
De OF God but the things thar ho 40, of
m ls'e5 You are not talking now as
"od talks, but as men talk. "