Jesus firmly declared, "I will build My Church." This is the most confident and strongest statement about the Christian Church. He went on to say: “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). This statement is expressed in the old language. At first glance, it may seem that Christ intended to build a Church that would be able to defend itself from the attacks and attacks of "hell", and hell will not overcome her! But this is not the case! In fact, this statement expresses the exact opposite idea. Jesus was going to create such a community of believers (Greek ekklesia), which would become a means of His heavenly government, with the help of which He could destroy evil in all its manifestations here on earth. And the very rule of the underworld is not able to withstand the onslaught of the Kingdom of God, carried out through the Church. If you understand what is meant by this statement, then you can imagine what prospects are opening up before us! Such an understanding and such a portrait of the Church is confirmed in the next verse by the words of Jesus: "And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you allow on earth will be permitted in heaven." Unique and incomparable power was given to Peter, as the pioneer of this vocation, and subsequently to the whole Church, so that with the forces of the Kingdom of Heaven we could defeat the forces of evil on a scale unseen in the world. We will do this through realizing God's nature and His rule in people's lives, by blocking evil, freeing people from the bondage of sin and by binding this sin, depending on people's response to the call of the Kingdom. Jesus wants to establish His ekklesia as the governing body in every city and town, thus ensuring the complete and crushing defeat of Satan. Most importantly, He really planned it, and is already doing it. But how can you become a part of His glorious enterprise?
