Why I Love the Church: Three Reasons That Hold Up

Introduction

Do you love the Church? If someone asked you this morning to give just one reason, what would you say? There are plenty: because Jesus is coming back for her, because it's good to be together with brothers and sisters, because she teaches us, because she's the bride. All of these reasons are true. But in this message drawn from Matthew 16:13-18, Pastor Léandre QUIFOUMA settles on three that hold up over time: they don't depend on your mood, or on Sunday's service, or on how good the atmosphere feels. They're biblical, and they call your whole life into account.

Outline of the Message

1. I love the Church because she belongs to Jesus, and to him alone

• The starting text is Matthew 16:13-18. Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answers, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus declares, "On this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."
• The Church the Lord builds doesn't belong to the pastor. It doesn't belong to a denomination. It doesn't belong to any particular brother or sister. It belongs to Jesus. Look at the wording: Jesus says "I" (first-person pronoun. Then he says "my"), a possessive. Two markers that leave no ambiguity: the Church is his.
• Even a pastor can't claim the Church as his own, because he isn't the author of that declaration. Servants are placed in the Church to shepherd the flock. They aren't owners.
• Jesus is the builder. A builder is someone who constructs, designs, raises the structure, lays the foundation. The Church came into being on the day of Pentecost, at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Peter stood up, filled with the Spirit, preached the gospel, and three thousand souls gave themselves to the Lord (Acts 2). But Peter never claimed the Church as his own. He knew it belonged to the one who had given him the privilege of opening the door of the gospel, first to Jews and proselytes, then to the Gentiles at Cornelius's house (Acts 10).
• Since the Church belongs to Jesus, loving her isn't a pious phrase to repeat. It's a concrete practice. When there's a service, you're there. When there's the prayer meeting, you're there. When there's a fast, you're there. When the Church puts something in place, you take part. That's what loving the Church means: being present in the Lord's presence, sharing in the activities of his Body. Jesus had already warned about the lack of interest in the things of God: "Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12).

2. I love the Church because she is the body of Christ on earth

• "He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly, which is his body" (Ephesians 1:22-23). The Church is Christ's visible body on earth, and Christ is her head.
• A physical body has a visible part (what marks you out, what lets you live in this world), and an invisible part: the soul, the spirit, the breath of life God breathed into Adam's nostrils (Genesis 2:7). Without that breath, the body would be a lifeless body.
• It's the same for the Church. Jesus is no longer on earth physically, but he left us this institution (the Church), which represents his body here below. And this visible body is animated by the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the Church would be an empty, lifeless body. The Holy Spirit is the breath that makes her live.
• This body is made up of members. Paul writes, "For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12). We are many, different from one another, and yet we all belong to the same body, of which Christ is the head.
• For the body to be healthy, its members must be united. That's vital. A divided body is a dying body. A united body is a living body.
• This is where the question of John 21:15-17 becomes personal. Three times, Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" Three times, Peter answers yes. And three times, Jesus responds, "Feed my lambs… feed my sheep." Love for Jesus is proved in love for the people he entrusts to you. You can't say you love the Lord if you don't take care of his Body. That's where you can tell whether your love is real.

3. I love the Church because she has an appointment with the Lord forever

• The third reason is the hope of the rapture. "Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
• This promise rests on three undeniable truths.
• A promise made to his people. There are two kinds of promises: those of men, which stay questionable because we are fallible; and those of God, which are unfailing. "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19). "I will not break my covenant, nor alter what has gone out of my lips" (Psalm 89:34-35).
• A promise that forgets no one. Neither the dead in Christ nor the living who have remained faithful to the Lord will be left behind. The rapture gathers the whole Body.
• Eternal closeness with the one who made the promise. The goal is clear: "with the Lord forever." That's where the whole story of the Church leads. The Lord chose this very means so that his Body would be with him forever.
• This promise he can neither withdraw (since it has gone out of his mouth), nor betray, because he is faithful. He will not alter what has gone out of his lips.

Key Takeaways

• The Church belongs to Jesus, and to him alone. No pastor, no denomination, no group can claim her as their own.
• Loving the Church isn't a statement: it's a presence. It's showing up for services, prayer meetings, fasts, and service, because you belong to an actual Body.
• The Church is Christ's visible body on earth, animated by the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit's breath, she would have no life.
• Love for Jesus is proved by love for the people he entrusts to you. "Do you love me? Feed my sheep."
• The rapture of the Church isn't an opinion. It's a divine promise, beyond question, made by a God who can neither lie nor go back on his word.

Personal Application

1. When you think about your local Church, do you treat her as something that belongs to you, or as something that belongs to Jesus? What change of attitude does that produce?
2. Look back at last week's schedule. Does your presence at your Church's gatherings (service, prayer, service work) really reflect the love you say you have for her?
3. If Jesus asked you today the question he asked Peter ("Do you love me?"), where would the answer show up: in your words, or in the care you take of the people he's entrusted to you?
4. Which members of the Body do you tend to neglect, judge, or avoid? What is Jesus asking of you concerning them this week?
5. Does the promise of being "with the Lord forever" feed your daily hope, or has it become a phrase you recite without it changing how you actually live?

Verses Cited

• Matthew 16:13-18 · "On this rock I will build my assembly"
• Matthew 24:12 · "The love of many will grow cold"
• Acts 2 · Pentecost and the three thousand converts
• Acts 10 · Peter at Cornelius's house
• Genesis 2:7 · The breath of life breathed into Adam's nostrils
• Ephesians 1:22-23 · The Church, the body of which Christ is head
• 1 Corinthians 12:12 · One body, many members
• John 21:15-17 · "Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep"
• 1 Thessalonians 4:17 · Caught up to meet the Lord
• Numbers 23:19 · God is not a man, that he should lie
• Psalm 89:34-35 · "I will not alter what has gone out of my lips"

Further reading

• 50 Social Media Post Ideas for a Church
• Welcoming Newcomers to a Church: The Complete Guide
• Welcoming New Participants in a Small Group

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it actually mean to "love the Church"?

Loving the Church isn't just saying you love it: it's showing up. When there's Sunday worship, you're there. When there's the prayer meeting, you're there. When there's a fast, you're there. When the Church organizes something, you take part. Loving the Church means sharing in its life, its times of fellowship, its service, because you belong to a body you're an actual member of.

Can the Church belong to a pastor or a denomination?

No. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says, "I will build my assembly." "My" is a possessive: the Church belongs to him, and to him alone. A pastor isn't an owner, he's a servant. A denomination isn't an owner, it's a family serving the same Lord. No one but Jesus can claim the Church as his own.

What is the rapture of the Church, and why is it good news?

The rapture of the Church is the promise announced in 1 Thessalonians 4:17: believers who are left will be caught up together with the risen dead in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, so that they will be "with the Lord forever." It's good news because this promise comes from God, and God, as Numbers 23:19 says, is not a man, that he should lie. What he has said, he will accomplish.