There’s a key word in Matthew 16:13-20 that we might overlook. It is a small but mighty word that carries much meaning. The word is ‘my’. We read that Jesus tells Peter that Jesus is going to build “my church’. The key word is ‘my’ .
The Christian church, even today in all of its various configurations, is Jesus’ church. It doesn’t belong to the clergy or the lay people, the vestry or church board, nor the denomination or jurisdiction. The church was meant to be Jesus’ church.
It seems that in any of the many churches, we sometimes forget this!