And, where was this taking place? We have already established the time—it was “the last days.” We’ve established that “all nations” were present there. But where was “there”? It was the city of Jerusalem. So we see all of those facts of Isaiah’s prophecy come together in this one place at this one time.

And you remember that Jesus had said that the kingdom would come with “power.” The power came, we have seen, with the Holy Spirit. Remember, Jesus had promised that He would send “the Comforter,” [John 14:26: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you,” [KJV]. He didn’t say when, but He said that the Spirit would come with power. The Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. And from this, we conclude that the kingdom, the church, came on Pentecost, as it was prophesied.

On Pentecost, the people assembled there heard, and many obeyed, the Gospel. And the Lord added those who were being saved to…an organization?...an institution? Acts 2, verse 47, says they were added to “the church,” [“And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”]. No one was added to the church before Pentecost. Therefore, the church had its beginning on the Day of Pentecost.

Well, let’s note something else about the establishment of the church. We have seen, I trust, through our look at Old Testament prophecy, God’s plan for establishing His church and how that plan had been culminated on the Day of Pentecost. But let’s notice something else about the beginning of the church.

Let’s go back and refresh our memories about what Jesus said concerning the church, Matthew 16:18. On that occasion, He says to Peter, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” The most obvious point of this statement by our Lord is Who the builder of the church will be, Who the builder of the church is, Who it is that will establish, Who it is that will found the church. The language here is very clear, very direct. It really cannot be misunderstood or misapplied. Jesus said, “I will build MY church.” So, from this passage, it is very clear that Christ, Jesus the Christ, is the builder, or the founder, of the New Testament church, and that He calls this church HIS church, the church of Christ, or more exactly, the church that BELONGS to Christ.

Any “church” that is founded by someone other than Christ is NOT Christ’s church. Need we mention or identify the myriad of denominational groups who wear the title, who wear the name, of a man who was instrumental in organizing that group and founding that group, and so on? David, in the long ago, announced a great Truth when he said, “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it…,” Psalm 127:1. And in the New Testament, we learn that “the house of God” is “the church of the living God,” 1 Timothy 3:16 [“…but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the Truth.”]. If the Lord did not build the house, that is, the church, those who did build it labored in vain.

Jesus would declare, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted,” Matthew 15:13. NO ONE should be a member of any spiritual household, should be a part of any religious “plant,” if you will, or “church,” which man is responsible for starting, for that “plant” will be uprooted. One should be a member of, one should be a part of, one should be IN, the church that Christ established.

But further, let’s note that not only is Christ the founder of the church, but He also the foundation of the church. In that same statement to Simon Peter that we cited earlier, Christ said, “…on this rock I will build My church….” What was, or what is, that “rock”upon which the church that belongs to Christ, the church that Christ established, was built? Well, it is the bedrock foundation, the bedrock fact that Peter had just acknowledged.

You know, there are millions of people in this world who belong to a “church,” who belong to an organization, that believe that their “church”was established upon Peter himself. Now I said a moment ago that the language is very clear here in Matthew 16, verse 18, regarding Who will build the church. It is the church that Jesus said, “I will build….” “I will build MY church.”

Where people have gone awry is the basis upon which the church would be built. And some have misunderstood, some have misconstrued, what Jesus says in that regard. But we clarify that for you now. You see, again, what Jesus will build His church ON is not Peter, but on what Peter has said, what Peter has testified to, what Peter has acknowledged. And this is the most profound…write this down, underline it, put a star next to it! This is the most profound, the most important, acknowledgement found all of the Scriptures! You see, Jesus had asked the question, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? [Matthew 16:13]. And the apostles recited that some said that He was John the Baptist, others said that He was Elijah the prophet returned, some said others, and so on. But then, Jesus was more direct in His questioning. “But who do you say that I am?” [Matthew 16:15].