Eternal Impact

The Passion of Kingdom-Centered Communities

Ken Hemphill

• Publisher: B&H Books
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9780805446609
• eBook ISBN: 9781433675379
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Greatly respected church strategist Ken Hemphill believes the only process that will radically transform the mission and structure of today's community of believers is the Word of God applied by the Holy Spirit. Toward that goal, Eternal Impact presents to readers a biblical study of the New Testament Church, focusing on the founding principles of the church in Matthew 16 and the birth of the church in Acts 2. Also included are chapters on the eight key characteristics of kingdom-centered churches and discussions on leadership and giftedness among church members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 1

From Foundation
to Mission

1

The Founding Confession

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ,

the Son of the living God.’”

MATTHEW 16:16 NASB

It's hard to overestimate the significance of a confession.

The earliest confession known to be widely used among Christians was simple but profound: “Jesus is Lord.” New believers uttered these words as they made their public declaration of faith through baptism. Yet as simple as it may have been for these few little words to trip from their tongues, the implications were immense, and the harsh reaction often swift. Some of those who made this confession were immediately disinherited by members of their own families. Others lost all means of livelihood. Many early believers were put to death when asked to declare, “Caesar is Lord,” to which they would proudly and defiantly restate, “Jesus is Lord.”

Then as now, this confession—”Jesus is Lord”—is much more than a passing phrase. It has weight. It has meaning. It holds eternity in its hands.

As pastor I have always enjoyed asking believers to declare their confession of faith as they are being baptized. I thrill to hear them say, “Jesus is my Lord!” But I wonder how bold we would be to make such a declaration if we knew persecution and even death could follow—the way it still does for many in the world, even though most in America are sheltered from this reality. Would people still publicly profess faith in Christ if they knew their job was at risk for making such a bold statement of confession?

What does it really mean when we say Jesus is Lord?

This is a critical question—one we must carefully consider if we are to understand what it means to be a follower of Christ today and a member of His body, the church.

It all starts here. Everything else hangs on it.

Jesus is Lord.

UPON THIS ROCK

You certainly remember Peter's initial confession when Jesus declared His intention of establishing the church. Peter's confession that Jesus was “the Christ,” and Jesus' subsequent declaration that He would “build My church” are inextricably bound together. Jesus. The church. They always belong in the same sentence.

But not in today's way of thinking, quite often.

Most Christians would probably assert that although Jesus is an exciting topic, church seems rather boring. Yet no other entity on the face of the earth has the church's unique authority, power, mission, or potential. Nothing is as vital to the survival of humankind and the reaching of the nations as the church. It is that important and imperative. The church is that big of a deal.

If this seems like a vast overstatement, I invite you to continue reading with an open mind, because I am totally convinced from Scripture that the role of the church is paramount in Jesus' kingdom mission. Your church. Every church. Don't think of it only in terms of your personal experience. Don't limit your understanding to the prevailing mood of the day. Think bigger. Think broader. Think biblically. And I believe that before we're through, you'll see there's more to the church than usually meets the eye.

Even as I declare both the earthly and eternal significance of the church, I am forced to admit that perhaps no other organization exists today where membership is valued so little. For many of its members, church is no more significant than their involvement in a civic organization or sports club. It often receives less of their time, talents, and resources than many other priorities that beg for their attention.

But we must reverse this trend—starting right now, starting with us. To do so, we must come to a full biblical understanding of the nature of the church as God designed it to be!

THE CONFESSION, IN CONTEXT

It's important to keep the context of Matthew 16 clearly in focus, because Jesus' question “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter's daring confession “You are the Messiah” form the climax of a long section of Gospel material that begins with the inauguration of Jesus' public ministry. We must not see Matthew 16 as merely an isolated event. In many ways, it sums up all the chapters that precede it.

We know that Jesus had earlier called out the disciples to join Him in ministry. They had watched along the way as He healed the sick, commanded nature, and taught with authority not seen in the other teachers of His day. Yet it's worth noting that at this point, Jesus had not yet publicly declared His messianic identity.

Nonetheless, His teaching and activity had led many to suspect—even to hope—that He was indeed the long-anticipated messiah. Since much of the messianic expectation of this period in history centered on nationalistic pride and political might, any declaration that Jesus might have made could have easily been misunderstood. A messianic statement on His part was sure to come with huge societal ramifications.

For example, Matthew 12:22-37 gives the account of Jesus healing a demon-possessed man. The crowd who gathered around the scene speculated whether Jesus might truly be the “Son of David,” a messianic title from the Old Testament. The Pharisees, however—a major religious party of the day— accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, to which He responded, “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you” (v. 28).

Wow! The kingdom of God has come to you! These words could hardly have been misunderstood—especially by the Jewish leaders, who certainly picked up on His messianic overtones. So they demanded of Jesus a miraculous sign, something He might offer as authentication of His implied claim (12:38).

Never satisfied, of course, by Jesus' unwillingness to play by their rules, it's no surprise that we later encounter the Pharisees and Sadducees demanding the same thing at the beginning of Matthew 16. This time Jesus responded, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red’” (v. 2). In other words, if these men could predict the weather by looking at signs in the sky, why were they struggling to read “the signs of the times” (v. 3)? They certainly had plenty of evidence from Jesus' ministry to know the truth about His identity.

It's after this encounter with the religious leaders that we come to the dialogue containing Peter's daring confession, which seems to occur in the midst of a private conversation involving only Jesus and His disciples. This was a natural setting for Him. He often took His disciples aside to ensure that they understood what they were hearing and seeing and to give them further instruction.

And like any good teacher, He began by asking questions.

QUESTION AND ANSWER

Jesus' first question was a simple one: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (v. 13)—”Son of Man” was a favorite self-designed—of Jesus. It was a title with clear messianic implications, especially when seen against the prophecies of Daniel.

Consider this question an “icebreaker.” It didn't actually require any personal risk or commitment on the disciples’ part. All they had to do was repeat what they had been hearing from the crowd. So their response came back more in the form of an opinion survey, sort of a man-on-the-street report.

They stated that there was a growing consensus that Jesus was a prophet. One popular suggestion was that He was perhaps even John the Baptist. On the surface this seems hard to imagine, since John had already been beheaded. But it may well have reflected the conviction of Herod the tetrarch, who had developed a fear bordering on paranoia over this prophet who had dared challenge his lifestyle. According to Matthew 14:2, when Herod heard a report about Jesus, he told his servants, “This is John the Baptist!… He has been raised from the dead, and that's why supernatural powers are at work in him.”

Others speculated that Jesus was Elijah, the prophet who was to come as a forerunner of the messiah (Mal. 4:5-6). Some suggested “Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” The fact that many agreed that Jesus was a prophet should not be overlooked, seeing as there had been no prophetic word in Israel since the days of Malachi, more than four hundred years earlier.

But just like today, the truth concerning Christ's identity was far more radical than most dared imagine. He was not simply a prophet. He was no mere spokesman from God. He was and is God in the flesh. When He speaks, God speaks. Thus, Jesus proceeded to the next question:

“‘But you,’ He asked them, ‘who do you say that I am?’” (Matt. 16:15).

The word “you” in this verse is emphatic and plural, addressed to the disciples as a group. They had walked with Jesus. They had heard Him teach. They had witnessed His miracles. They had enjoyed the benefit of His personal tutoring. Their understanding should have been far more mature than that of the general public or the Jewish leaders. So with this question Jesus wasn't probing for public speculation. He was interested in hearing personal confession and commitment.

“Who do you say that I am?” It's a question as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago—a question that will not go away. It must be honestly confronted by every individual, because our answer will not only determine where we spend eternity, it will also determine the purpose and priority of our lives.

“But you…who do you say that I am?”

ONE DARING CONFESSION

Whenever I read this text, I try to recreate the scene in my imagination. Perhaps the disciples were sitting by a campfire when Jesus posed His initial, nonthreatening question. But after hearing their various findings and op...

Table of contents

• Front cover
• Halftitle
• Fulltitle
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Table of contents
• Preface
• A Road Map for the Kingdom Journey
• Section 1
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Section 2
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Section 3
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Section 4
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 24
• Chapter 25
• Section 5
• Chapter 26
• Chapter 27
• Chapter 28
• Chapter 29
• Chapter 30
• Notes
• Appendix