THE GATES OF HELL
I have always thought that the gates of hell in Jesus' words were attacks from Satan. How I thought that and also so many others I don't know; but when I've heard a pastor spoke of it, it should have been taken a little more plainly. The gates of hell are not the fiery arrows of Satan and his minions, but the defenses, of.
That means, that whatever objective the church aimed to take the objective will fall. The strongest defenses Satan and his minions can set will not long prevail against it.
If the Lord wants that person, that home, that town, that city, or that people, even the state, He will have it for His glory. He will send His church and by them (Matthew 5:16) through His words (2 Corinthians 10:5-6) He will utterly destroy any resistance and strongholds (Psalms 33:10) from the person (John 6:44),
THE NATURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE CHURCH.
The Church (Gk: Ecclesia) means to be "Called out", and in the Bible, the church is made up of sinners called out from the world and it's darkness (Ephesians 2:2-3 & 1 Peter 2:9) to be His own (Ephesians 1:5 & 13).
The Church is also called the "Body of Christ" is made up of only saved believers (Matthew 13:18-23 & 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). It is not a physical building or an organization put together by man.
In addition, the Church functions like an army with a myriad of roles and duties (1 Corinthians 12:12:14) for the edification of the body (Ephesians 4:11-16) and to be the upholders and disseminators of truth (1 Timothy 3:15).
Lastly, the church is like an army: it works and fight as a unit. It encourages (Colossians 3:16), exhorts (Proverbs 27:6), and support each other (Romans 12:15).
And, just like the moon in the night sky reflecting the sun's light to the earth, the Church is to reflect the righteousness of God and share life saving truth of the Gospel into the dark world (Matthew 5:16 & 28:19-20).
