1. READ: MATTHEW 16:13-28
b. What did Jesus say He would build?
Answer: Jesus said He would build HIS church, (verse 18).
From Word Meanings in the New Testament by Ralph Earle:
In the four Gospels the Greek word ecclesia occurs only here and in [Matthew] 18:17 (twice). But it is found 24 times in Acts and over 60 times in Paul's Epistles. It is used for both the whole Body of Believers (the church OF Jesus Christ, the church OF Christ) and for local congregations--but never of a building, as [it is used] today.
Ecclesia comes from the verb kaleo, "call," and ek, "out." So it literally means "called out."
The word has two significant backgrounds for its NT use for "church." The first is the Greek secular use for the "assembly" of free (called out) citizens in a Greek city. We find this usage three times in the NT (Acts 19:32, 39, 41), for the city "assembly" at Ephesus.
The second, more significant, use is found in the Septuagint. There it refers to the "congregation" of Israel. This usage is reflected in two passages in the NT (Acts 7:38; Hebrews 2:12). The latter is a quotation from the Septuagint.
Ecclesia occurs 115 times in the NT. In the remaining 110 times it refers to the church, either local (87 times) or general (23 times). It is interesting to note that all 9 times in Ephesians it means the Church OF Jesus Christ (His Bride; cf Ephesians 5:25-27).
Ephesians 1:22-23: "And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills everything in every way."
Ephesians 2:19-22: "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit."
Colossians 1:18: "And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy."
Please see "CHURCH / ASSEMBLY" in the Glossary.