Christ is Fulfilling the Greatest Prophecy in the Bible, I will Build My Church

The greatest prophecy in the Bible concerning the continuation of Christ is in Matthew 16:18, where the Lord said, I will build My church; the building up of the church and the preparation of the bride is still going on today, and the fulfilment of this prophecy will bring the Lord back! Amen, come Lord Jesus!

If we read the Bible prayerfully, we will realise that the Old Testament prophesies about the things in the New Testament, and the same is true with the continuation of Christ as seen in Acts.

Christ came and lived the life of a God-man, expressed God, did God’s work, and accomplished the work of redemption by dying on the cross. Then, He went through death and resurrection, and in resurrection He became a life-giving Spirit to impart Himself into all those who would believe into Him.

The book of Acts shows us not only how the followers of Christ continued in His way and spread His teachings, but even more, the continuation of Christ.

Yes, Christ was no longer among people physically on the earth after His resurrection and ascension, but He was still here through His disciples, for they continued Christ on the earth.

This continuation of Christ was also prophesied in the Old Testament, in particular by two prophets – Isaiah and Micah.

How wonderful it is to see that not only Christ but also His continuation, the church as the reproduction of Christ, was also prophesied in the Old Testament!

Isaiah prophesied concerning Christ’s incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection; in particular, he said that Christ will see a seed and will extend His days.

Christ suffered unimaginable sufferings, being put to death in a merciless and cruel way, but He knew that He would see a seed, a continuation of Himself, in the church! As Hebrews says, for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross and suffered the shame! Praise the Lord!

Furthermore, Christ will extend His days; His days are extended through and in all the believers in Christ. In another portion, Isaiah said that Christ will see the fruit of the travail of His soul, and He will be satisfied.

After travailing in death, Christ in resurrection sees the result, the fruit: the church as the continuation of Christ, as seen in the book of Acts. And today we are in the continuation of Acts, for Acts never needed.

On his side, Micah said that Christ’s goings forth are from ancient times, from the days of eternity. His goings forth are still happening today, for He goes forth in all the believers in Christ, His continuation. Praise the Lord!

The Greatest Prophecy in the Bible concerning the Continuation of Christ: I will Build My Church (Matt. 16:18)

These Old Testament prophecies – see Isa. 53:10-11 and Micah 5:12 – culminate in the greatest prophecy in the Bible concerning the continuation of Christ, which was uttered by the Lord Jesus Himself.

After asking His disciples who men say that He is, the Lord went further from unveiling that He is the Son of God to unveiling the church.

He said in Matt. 16:18, And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. This is the greatest prophecy in the Bible, a prophecy that is still being fulfilled today.

Most likely, none of the disciples – even Peter – had ever realised that there’s such a thing as the church in the universe.

So the Lord unveiled not only who He is but also what the church is, and even more, He prophesied that He will build the church. This is what the Lord is doing right now: He is building up the church.

Nearly twenty centuries have passed since the Lord spoke this word, yet we still cannot see that the church is fully built up.

We can see all kinds of outward organisations and denominations within the realm of Christianity calling themselves the church, but where is the church that Christ is building today?

Some Christians say that, on the day of Pentecost, the Lord Jesus at least partly fulfilled His prophecy, for He did build up something on that day. This is correct; the Lord started to build His church, and throughout the ages, He has been doing a hidden, intrinsic work to build up the church as the continuation of Christ.

And the gates of Hades cannot prevail against the builded church! The gates of Hades are Satan’s authority or power of darkness; they attack the church from every direction, but they cannot prevail against the church.

Even more, as Colossians 1:12-13 reveals, we believers in Christ are being delivered from the authority of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love to enjoy the Lord as our God-allotted portion. Hallelujah!

Day by day, we are being delivered out of the authority of darkness, and we’re qualified for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light.

Christ is our God-allotted portion today; the Father has qualified us, and we now enjoy Christ together with the saints for the building up of the church. Amen!

The prophecy on the building up of the church started by the Lord in Matthew 16 is continued by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:13-16, where he prophesies concerning the building up of the church in a specific way; this also needs to be fulfilled.

God really wants to gain a continuation of Christ, and He will get it; Christ is working to build up the church, and we as believers in Christ are cooperating with Him for this.

We all want to arrive at the oneness of the faith, at a full-grown man, and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

This means that we need to daily grow in life by allowing the Lord to increase in us by His divine dispensing so that we may grow with the growth of God for the building up of the church.

The growth of the Body is the growth of all the members of the Body, and this growth is unto the building up of itself in love.

The Lord is operating today to sanctify the church by the washing of the water in the word (Eph. 5:26). He washes away all impurities, defects, spots, and wrinkles in order to obtain a glorious church, a spotless bride for Himself.

On the one hand, He shed His blood to cleanse us from every sin (Heb. 13:12; 1 John 1:7, 9).

On the other hand, He is cleansing the church by His living, instant, personal, cleansing word in order to purify her and make her spotless and without any wrinkles to match Him.

The fulfilment of the greatest prophecy in the Bible is seen in Revelation 19:7-8, where we are told to rejoice and exult and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready.

One day, the church as the Body of Christ will be fully built up and the church as the bride of Christ will be fully prepared; on that day, the greatest prophecy in the Bible will be fulfilled!

The fulfilment is still not here; today we are in the process, and whatever the Lord prophesied, He will fulfil.

May we cooperate with the Lord for the fulfilment of the greatest prophecy in the Bible concerning the continuation of Christ, the building up of the church.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your promise and Your prophecy that You will build Your church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Hallelujah, Christ today is building up His church, and no matter how much the gates of Hades try, they will not prevail against it! Praise the Lord, we believers in Christ are part of the church, the Body of Christ, the church, and Christ is building up the church! Oh Lord, we want to cooperate with You for the building up of Your church today. We want our life and work to contribute to the fulfilment of the greatest prophecy in the Bible! May we all grow in life unto maturity until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God! Amen, Lord, may we all arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Grow in us today. Build Yourself into us and build us into You. Build us up together in the church. Gain the built-up church, dear Lord!

When the Church is Built up and the Bride is Prepared, the Lord will Return

If we look at Ephesians 4:14-15, we see that the Lord does not build up the church directly but indirectly, by the members of the Body of Christ functioning in their measure for the building up of the church.

The greatest prophecy in the Bible is that Christ will build up His church, and today we are part of the fulfilment of this prophecy.

We need to hold to truth in love so that we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, out of whom all the Body builds itself up in love.

We need to grow up into Christ in all things; in all the daily things of our living, in all the seen things and in the things in which others don’t see us, Christ needs to grow in us.

When the church is built up and the bride of Christ is prepared, the Lord Jesus will return.

He is waiting for the building up of the church; this waiting is not passive but very active, for Christ operates in and through the members of His Body to build up the church and prepare the bride.

He will fulfil the greatest prophecy in the Bible; He will never be defeated.

Since the Lord Jesus has prophesied in Matthew 16:18 that He will build His church, this prophecy will be fulfilled. He cannot come back if this prophecy is not fulfilled, and this will be a shame to Him.

Today if we look around, we can clearly see that the church is not yet built up, and in many ways, the enemy seems to be prevailing.

But the Lord is working in His work of recovery to recover the function of all the members in the Body so that the Body may build itself up in love.

He wants to boast to the enemy that He has built up the church and prepared His bride, so He will return. The fulfilment of the Lord’s prophecy concerning the building up of the church will bring Him back.

When we grow in life today, when we give ourselves to the Lord to allow Him to grow in us (John 3:30), we cooperate with the Lord for the building up of the church.

Yes, it is Christ who builds up His church, but He does it in and through the members of His Body. Each member of the Body of Christ needs to grow in the divine life and function in its measure for the building up of the Body.

We need all the Body to cause the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. The Body is building itself up in love. This love is God as love infusing Himself into us and being the realm in which the Body is built up.

The Lord Jesus came and expressed God as love, loving those around Him and having mercy on them even when they were in a pitiful and low condition.

He did not come to condemn others or judge them; He came to love them and give Himself up for them.

Today, He lives in us, and we as believers in Christ have Christ as our love to love others, love one another, and cause the building up of the church in love.

We are not here to condemn or criticise others; we are not here to expose their failures and sins, nor are we here to judge them.

We are here to love others, love one another, and grow in life and function in our measure for the building up of the church in love. Amen!

May we cooperate with the Lord today for the fulfilment of the greatest prophecy in the Bible. May we give ourselves to Him to build up the church and prepare His bride so that He may return.

May we take the most excellent way, the way of love, to build up the church.

If we see that the fulfilment of the Lord’s prophecy concerning the building up of the church and the preparation of His bride will bring Him back, we will put everything else aside and give ourselves to Him for this.

The Lord is like a bachelor who wants to get married; He is eager to get married, so He is working to gain His bride.

It is time for us to rise up, put aside our interests, and be joined to the Lord and to one another for the building up of the church and preparation of His bride.

Lord Jesus, we love You and we want You to return quickly! Amen, come, Lord Jesus! We give ourselves to You for the building up of the church and the preparation of Your bride! Amen, Lord, fulfil Your prophecy of building Your church! Build up Your church today. We give ourselves to You for Your building. Build in us. Work Yourself into us. Grow in us. Build us up together. Perfect us as the many members of the Body so that we may all function for the building up of the Body! Amen, Lord, may the Body build itself up in love today! We want to hear that glorious call to rejoice and exult that the marriage of the Lamb has come and the bride has made herself ready! Amen, Lord, for Your building we give all that You may be satisfied! Wash us by the water in the Word. Constitute us with Yourself. Build us up with the saints. Amen, Lord, gain Your building! Gain Your bride!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, vol. 3, “The Greatest Prophecy in the Bible and Its Fulfillment,” ch. 1, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, One Accord and Crucial Aspects of the Book of Acts (2025 April ITERO), week 1, The Continuation of the Book of Acts— the Corporate Continuation of Christ.
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• Hymns on this topic:
  – “I will build My church upon this rock,” said the Lord Jesus, / And we see the building of His purpose and His plan; / Setting members in the Body as Himself it pleases, / Building us together in Christ our land. (Hymns #1236 stanza 3)
  – O Lord, against these days, / Inspire some for Your building, / Just as in David’s day— / A remnant who are willing / To come and work in Your house, / Oh, what a blessed charge! / Your heart’s desire, is our desire— / We come, O Lord, to build. / Within those whom You’d call / Put such a restless caring / For building to give all— / These times are for preparing; / The gates of hell cannot prevail / Against the builded Church! / The hours are few, the builders too— / Lord, build, O build in us! (Hymns #1248 stanzas 3-4)
  – And soon will be the coming / Of our triumphant King! / He’s coming for the churches / Where His sweet praises ring. / Come, Lord, come reap the firstfruits, / As draws the harvest nigh, / And to Thy throne do take us, / To reign with Thee on high. (Hymns #1265 stanza 4)