Now We See the Church

Having come to see Christ Jesus, we are now ready to see His church, about which Jesus had declared this: “I will build my [church], and hades’ gates shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18b). From this declaration we realize that the church is not the product of the work of man, but it is the Lord Jesus himself who builds the church. Hence, in Scripture, the church is called “the Christ” (I Corinthians 12:12c; Ephesians 3:4b, 8b Darby).

The New Testament book of Acts gives us a panoramic view of the churches in the first century. It also provides us with a prophetic picture of the churches throughout the centuries. As we review the histories of these various churches that are narrated for us in Acts, may we learn all the lessons God wants us to learn from them.