CONCLUSION

On this rock I will build My church.

~ Matthew 16:18 (HCSB)

God has always preserved His people.

When we read the Old Testament, we clearly see God preserving Israel, His covenant people. Two Jewish celebrations are beautiful reminders of His special relationship with His people: Passover and Purim.

Passover remembers God’s amazing deliverance of His people from Egyptian slavery. God struck down the Egyptians through awe-inspiring plagues revealing that He alone is God. He parted the Red Sea and ensured His people’s liberation. Purim is the Jewish holiday remembering God’s provision for His people through ordinary events chronicled in the book of Esther. The book of Exodus chronicles the foundation for Passover, and Esther, the foundation for Purim. In the book of Esther, God guides the heart of an evil human king to place Esther in the role of queen who will one day stand up for her people.

In the book of Esther, God’s name is not mentioned. And intentionally so. The author was using a literary device to teach God’s people that often God works in the ordinary details of life. Often His work is not pronounced with plagues and parting of seas. Sometimes, He is silent. But His silence must not be mistaken for absence. He is always working, always involved in the preservation of His people.

Regardless of a believer’s view of eschatology, he holds to the conviction that Christ’s Church will prevail. His plans will not be thwarted. The gates of Hades will be pushed further and further back until people from every tribe, tongue, and nation are included in the glorious Creature of the Word.

And why will His Church prevail?

His Church is built on the rock—the reality that He is the Christ. The Church is formed on the gospel, God’s righteousness given to us in Christ. The Church finds her power in the gospel and penetrates the kingdom of darkness through the grace and mercy found in the gospel.

The Creature thrives because the gospel is sufficient. Just as the gospel is sufficient for both an individual’s justification and maturation, the gospel is sufficient for the Church’s birth and sustenance.

The Church will thrive despite the floundering of some churches. Some churches and church leaders will flounder because the gospel will no longer be of first importance, will no longer be that on which they take their stand. They will move to another gospel, another set of beliefs, which is really no gospel at all. Subsequently, they will lose their first love, their power, and their foundation.

As we face struggles, trials, criticism, persecution, and difficulties, be assured that in the grand story, the Creature is victorious with Christ. Christ delivers on His promise to protect and prosper His bride, His Creature.