Let the Church Say, AMEN!

Matthew 16: 15-18) “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Let the church say, Amen! We hear it all the time, but what is the church and what is it to say, Amen. The word church was first used in the New Testament in Matthew 16: 18, by Jesus Christ himself as he asked his disciples, who do men say that I am and who do you say that I am. Peter gave his confession that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. The original term used for church is from the Greek language,”ekklesia”. In Strong’s Concordance ekklesia is explained in five terms:  "an assembly, congregation, church; the Church, the whole body of Christian believers."church as a body of Christian believers or the whole body of Christian believers. Ekklesia is made up of two Greek words: ek meaning “out from and to” and kaleo meaning “to call”. In other words, we are called out of the world and to Christ, the church. The church, a body of believers called out by love in faith to be the hope of the world. Let the church say, Amen.
 
In church, we often use the word, amen which has several meanings to consider as well. Amen is described in one article,  What does "Amen" mean? as having multiple meanings based on usage and context. Amen can mean to agree, to affirm, to praise, to have faith in, and truth or indeed. We often use, “Amen” in church to agree with the truth of scripture, affirm our praise, and to emphasize our faith. To follow our creator, Jesus used “Amen” in the scriptures, too. In the Lord’s Prayer, “amen” strongly confirms the prayer and that the Lord is “the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever,” (Matthew 6: 13) and emphasizes the command of Jesus for his disciples to go into all the world baptizing, teaching, and making disciples with reassurance that he would be with them always. In Revelation 3: 14, Jesus is the “Amen” and proclaimed to be the beginning of God’s creation. The church as one body of believers is of “One Lord, one faith, one baptism,”(Ephesians 4: 5-6). We are baptized and all made to drink of one spirit  in 1 Corinthians 12: 13. As a body of believers, we can agree and proclaim our love for the Lord, faith in the word, and hope in everlasting life. Let the church say, Amen!
 
Jesus confirms the truth of Peter’s confession and the source of this truth as the owner and builder of the church. Many church buildings are built with brick, mortar, and wood, but they are such that “...moth and rust doth corrupt...”(Matthew 6: 19). The church that Jesus tells Peter he will build is the one found in Hebrews 11: 10, “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Christ proclaims to be the builder and architect of the church through one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. We can say, amen to John 14: 6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” We agree to continue to build the church through love, faith, and hope. Let the church say, Amen!
 
Amen to love, faith, and hope. First, Amen to love and knowing that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3: 16). Jesus also commanded his disciples to love one another as he has loved them and that the world would know them by the love they have for each other (John 13: 34-35). In chapter 13 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians the teaches, “Charity never fails…” and “now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Charity or love is the essence of our Creator, Our Savior, and Lord. 
 
Secondly, Amen to faith in Jesus as the son of the living God and trusting his sacrifice of love and redemption on the cross. We must witness as Peter proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 5: 15), the rock on which the church is built. Jesus the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Bright and Morning Star, the Rose of Sharon, the Great I Am That I Am, said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
 
Third and last, Amen to hope in the mission of the church and in fulfilling the great commission found in Matthew 28: 19-20 to go to all nations teaching and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The mission to lift up the name of Jesus for he said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me,” (John 12: 32). Jesus Christ is the gift of love, the measure of faith, and the hope of the Holy Spirit that reconciled us to God and covered a multitude of sins.This includes his promise to return to gather his disciples (us), a church - body of believers without “spot or wrinkle” to a home of many mansions to be with him forever. Amen in love, in faith, in hope and agreement with Father Abraham who “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11: 10). Let the church say, Amen!

Rev. Vonncina Kirkland