The True Church (Ps. 87)

The book "Am I Real or Fake?" by Pastor A. W. Tozer warns against the hypocrisy of faith and serves as a guide to restoring true faith in order to become a genuine Christian. The author criticizes what he calls “fake faith,” which is a faith distorted by modern church materialism, such as a faith that is unbalanced, experiences without theology, or a faith that clings only to dead orthodoxy without the passionate experience of meeting God. Tozer calls for a return to a true faith—one that is like the faith of a true follower of Christ, willing to take up the cross and be the salt of the earth. A true Christian believes in the victory of Christ and, because of this belief, does not shy away from any suffering in order to participate in that victory.

On the other hand, distorted Christians tend to emphasize certain Bible passages that they like, often to an excessive degree. In doing so, other passages are inevitably underemphasized. Tozer also presents eight characteristics of a “fake” Christian in his book:

We must listen to the words of 1 John 4:1: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” As believers, we must be able to distinguish between spirits. There are the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, who guides believers rightly and justly from God, and the evil spirit, a false spirit that deceives believers and leads them to corruption. In particular, we must be able to distinguish between false prophets, false churches, false believers, and true prophets, true churches, and true believers. How can we distinguish them?

“A person who is led by the spirit of deception, the evil spirit, and leads the church is a false prophet; a church that receives the teaching of a false prophet is a false church; a believer who follows the teachings of a false prophet is a false believer. On the other hand, a person who is led by the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, to lead the church is a true prophet; a church that receives the teaching of a true prophet is a true church; a believer who follows the teachings of a true prophet is a true believer.” (source: internet)

Today, I want to reflect on what constitutes a true church based on the teachings of Psalm 87, considering four aspects. My prayer is that our church will be seen as a true church in the eyes of God.

Let us look at Psalm 87:1: “His foundation is on the holy mountain.” This verse points to the firm spiritual foundation of the true church (Park Yun-seon). In other words, the true church is firm. How can the true church be firm? It is because the Lord, who is the head of the church, has established His church "on the rock" (Matthew 16:18). Here, "rock" refers to the faith confession of the apostle Peter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). In other words, the church built on the rock is a community of people who make the correct confession of faith about Jesus, just like the apostle Peter did. Furthermore, the church built on the rock is not only a community that makes a correct confession of faith, but it is also a community of disciples of Jesus who live according to that confession.

To be more specific, the "rock" here refers to Jesus Christ. Let’s look at Ephesians 2:20: “You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” As the apostle Paul said, the solid church built on the rock is the church built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. The expression "cornerstone" can also be found in 1 Peter 2:6 and Ephesians 2:20. The Greek word for "cornerstone" is akrogoniaios, meaning "high" or "elevated," and it refers to a "rock placed in a high place." All buildings in Israel were begun with the cornerstone, and the direction of the building was determined by the orientation of this stone. Therefore, Jesus must be the cornerstone for the church's building, and all churches must move in the direction of Christ. Thus, we are all being built together on the foundation of the word the Lord gives us, on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ who stands at the center of the word, and when God dwells in this house being built by the Holy Spirit, this temple becomes a beautiful and true church (source: internet).

So, why did the Lord establish His church on a firm rock? The reason is given in Psalm 87:2: “The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.” The Lord has established His church firmly because He loves His church. My prayer is that our church will be a true church in the eyes of God. May our church be loved by God, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone, and may it be a solid church, built upon the foundation of God's word proclaimed through the Lord's servants, becoming a true church.

Secondly, the true church is glorious.

Look at Psalm 87:3: “Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God” (Selah). Why is the true church glorious? The reason is that the true church is “the city of God” (v. 3). In other words, the true church is glorious because God is present in it. It is not because the city of God itself is beautiful, but because the glorious Lord loves it (Park Yun-seon). The city of God, which the glorious Lord loves, is glorious because God esteems it highly, and therefore the true church is glorious.

This verse reminds us of Augustine’s book The City of God. Augustine lived during the time when the Western Roman Empire was collapsing. The fall of the Roman Empire led him to write his famous work The City of God. The original title of the book, “Even if the greatest city in the world falls, the City of God will dwell forever,” well explains the intention behind his writing (internet). In 313, Rome recognized Christianity as the state religion, and eventually established a great empire where politics and religion were united. People of that time thought of Rome as the kingdom of God and called it the Holy Roman Empire. They believed that Rome would never fall and would be an eternal nation. However, this very Rome was attacked by the barbarian tribes (the Goths) and fell. People began to question, “How can the kingdom of God be destroyed by the barbarians?” Augustine also meditated deeply on this issue. After much contemplation, he concluded: “The earthly nation of Rome is not the kingdom of God. Therefore, Rome can fall at any time. The true kingdom of God is a nation ruled by the Lord, and this kingdom will be completed at the Lord’s second coming. This kingdom of God will never perish and will endure forever” (internet).

Our church is the church that the glorious Lord builds firmly. The glorious Lord loves our church, rejoices in it, and is faithfully building it according to His promise in Matthew 16:18. Therefore, our prayer should be that our church may be built as a “glorious church” (Ephesians 5:27) by the Lord. We pray that the Lord will sanctify our church with His word, purifying it to make it holy (Ephesians 5:26).

Third, the true church is built by the Lord Himself.

Look at Psalm 87:5: “Of Zion it will be said, 'This one and that one were born in her; and the Most High Himself will establish her.'” The phrase “the Most High Himself will establish Zion” is a promise that the Lord, the Most High, will personally establish Zion, that is, His church. This verse holds the same meaning as the words in Matthew 16:18: "...I will build My church..." These two passages clearly tell us that the true church, the body of Christ, is built by the Most High, who is the head of the church. Moreover, as the Lord builds His church, even the Gentiles will repent, return to the Lord, and together become the people of Zion (v. 4) (Park Yun-seon).

The glorious church that the Lord Himself builds is a multi-ethnic and universal church made up of the people of all the nations He has chosen. The church that the Lord builds will never have walls between Jews and Gentiles, as was the case in the past when Jews did not accept Gentiles. It does not deny multiculturalism and diversity within the body of Christ. The church that the Lord builds is a firm church, and it is a glorious church. This glorious church is being built by the glorious Lord Himself. Let us remember: it is the church of our Lord. And whether we are holding on to Matthew 16:18 or the passage from Psalm 87:5, let us not forget that the true church, the body of Christ, is built by the Lord Himself. Therefore, let us not commit the sin of trying to build the church with our own strength and methods. If we build the church by our own strength, its foundation will not be firm. It will inevitably shake and collapse. Furthermore, that church will not reflect God's glory but the glory of men. Let us pray that our church will be the one that is built by the Lord Himself.

Finally, fourth, the true church is a community of citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

Look at Psalm 87:6: “The Lord will count when He registers the peoples, 'This one was born there.'” The phrase “The Lord will count when He registers the peoples” refers to the enrollment of all nations into the kingdom of heaven, that is, a prophecy concerning the New Testament era when people will enter salvation by believing in Christ (Park Yun-seon). Among the nations mentioned in this prophecy are Rahab, Egypt, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush (v. 4). These nations, though enemies of Israel, will one day be brought to repentance by God, and they will return to Him, as the psalmist prophesies. That is why the psalmist says, “Among those who know me” (v. 4). In other words, all those who acknowledge God, whether Jews or Gentiles, will be regarded by God as citizens of heaven (Park Yun-seon). Therefore, all those citizens of heaven respond to God's grace with praise, as expressed in verse 7: “Those who sing as well as those who dance will say, ‘All my springs are in you.’” In other words, they offer praise to God because they are thankful for His grace.

Let us all hold firmly to the words of Philippians 3:20-21 with faith:

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."

Our citizenship is in heaven, not on this earth. We must never forget that we are citizens of the eternal kingdom of heaven. Therefore, as we live on this earth, we must live as true citizens of heaven. We must live with a firm faith built on the rock. We must live for the glory of God. We must advance toward the city of God.

How can we distinguish the true church from the false church?

The true church is the one built on a firm foundation (on the rock). The true church is a glorious church. The true church is built by the Lord Himself. And the true church is a community of citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

However, the false church is built on an unstable foundation or on sand. The false church seeks human glory. The false church is built by people. And the false church is a community of citizens of the world. Our church must be the true church.

Serving at Victory Presbyterian Church, which is built by the Lord,

Pastor James Nam
("Lord, please build Your church, the body of Christ, Yourself")

The True Church

[Psalm 87]