From our Sunday service on November 9, 2025, Matthew 16, Matthew 28, Acts 1 and 2, and 1 Corinthians 15. This is part 1 of our Built for a Purpose series. Watch the full message: The Purpose of the Church – Built for a Purpose #1 on YouTube.
This series is called Built for a Purpose. There is no point in talking about baptism, the Lord’s Supper, deacons, and pastors if we do not know the core purpose of the church. If we do not know why we are here, how will we accomplish the goals God set for us? God wants you to know that the purpose of the church is to point people to Christ and to make people like Him.
The Church Foreshadowed and Commanded
In Matthew 16, Jesus mentions the church for the first time. He asks who men say that He is, and then the more important question: But whom say ye that I am? Nobody cares what other people think about Jesus. When you meet Him, He is going to want to know what you believe.
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 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. 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.
Matthew 16:16–18
Simon Peter, who usually messes up, says the right thing: You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus says he is blessed, because the Father revealed it to him. There is a lot of debate about “upon this rock I will build my church.” The statement is twofold. First, the church will be built on what Peter said: that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Can we all agree that is the foundation? Second, there is the person. Peter, Petros, means a rock or stone. Jesus is saying Peter is going to be foundational when the church begins, on the front lines serving Him.
After the resurrection Jesus spent time making appearances to verify that He had truly risen. Luke was a doctor, but more importantly he decided to be a historian. He interviewed the people who saw the risen Christ. Because we know Jesus rose from the dead, we have to take His teachings seriously. Before He ascended, He gave the church its charge.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:18–20
He gives three responsibilities. First, teach all nations. It was not good enough to keep working in Galilee and Jerusalem. He was sending them north, south, east, and west. Second, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, after they have converted, heard the gospel, and trusted Jesus. To repent simply means to change one’s mind, to reconsider. When people reconsider their stance on their sin, say they cannot save themselves, and trust Jesus, they are to be baptized as an outward demonstration of an inward change. Third, teach them to observe all things whatsoever He commanded.
The Church Empowered
They were called to the mission, but they were not yet equipped. They needed the promise of the Father.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8
The disciples wanted to know when the kingdom would be restored to Israel and the shackles of Rome released. Jesus says it is not for them to know that time. In fact, it was not coming anytime soon. In AD 70 the Romans would wipe out Jerusalem. What power they would have is the Holy Spirit, who enables the Christian to be a faithful witness.
Remember how many times the disciples tripped up. Jesus once said to Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. Then at Pentecost the Spirit came like a rushing mighty wind, with cloven tongues like as of fire, and they spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. A lot of people today think the gift of tongues is saying nonsense. In the Greek it is literally the gift of languages. During the Roman conquest, Jews had been spread across other lands, and they had come to Jerusalem on pilgrimage. The Holy Spirit gave the disciples the ability to preach so that every man heard in his native language. Galileans were not known to be well educated. Calling someone a Galilean would be the equivalent of calling someone a redneck in America. These men were speaking way above their education, and some assumed they were drunk.
Peter stands up and delivers the first message of the kingdom. He preaches that he has seen the Messiah put to death and raised, and that David had spoken of this. Thomas said he would not believe unless he saw the wounds, but when he saw Jesus walking, talking, and eating, he could no longer debate what had happened. With the Holy Spirit, Peter finally understands what he had rebuked Jesus for saying. About three thousand souls were added that day. These new believers went home to Egypt, Greece, Italy, and other nations as the first missionaries. Do we see why the Holy Spirit is important? Without Him, we are utterly helpless to do the work of the church.
Paul later says we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called, the power of God. The gospel sounds insane to those who do not want to hear it. To the Greeks, God becoming flesh was foolish. Yet to those the Spirit grabs hold of, it is the power of God to change them.
Teaching What Christ Commanded, and the First Creed
Once people are saved, the second purpose of the church comes into effect: teach what Christ commanded. I will name a few of the important ones. Love God and love others. On these two hang all the law and the prophets. If you can love God rightly and love your neighbor rightly, the other commands flow from those two. Repent and believe the gospel. Follow Me: deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow. We are not called to follow Christ because it is easy, but because it is right. The ultimate call of the Christian is to be conformed to the image of God. Pray and depend on God: honor His name, seek His will that none should perish, trust Him for daily bread, and forgive as we have been forgiven. Love your enemies; radical grace is the mark of true discipleship. Serve others, even when it humiliates you. How many of us enjoy washing feet? Nobody. Jesus does not call us to do what we enjoy. He calls us to do what is right, as He washed His disciples’ feet and placed Himself below them. Go, make disciples, and baptize. And observe the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Him. We have two ordinances, baptism as a sign of inward change, and the Lord’s Supper to remind us of the cost Jesus paid.
Scholars, secular and Christian, almost all agree that some of the earliest words written about Jesus are in 1 Corinthians 15. I would call it the Apostles’ Creed, but that name is already taken, so we will call it the first Christian creed. Almost all secular scholars accept that it was written no more than two to five years after the resurrection.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
1 Corinthians 15:3–7
This is what the churches had to agree on. It teaches six things. Jesus was the Christ, the Jewish Messiah, the anointed king from David’s line, the prophet like Moses, the offspring of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed, and the offspring of Eve who would crush the serpent’s head. He died for our sins. He fulfilled the Scriptures; the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. He was really buried, literally and truly dead. He rose the third day, not as a metaphor, but as a historic fact witnessed by over five hundred people. And there were many witnesses to verify it.
The purpose of the church is to point others to Christ and to help ourselves become more like Him. The church was foreshadowed in Peter’s confession, instructed in the Great Commission, empowered by the Spirit, and established through the preaching of the gospel. The church is not a building. The church is a people redeemed and sent by God. As we move through this series, remember this: the church is only the church when it reflects Christ. God wants you to know that the purpose of the church is to point people to Christ and to make people like Him.
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