Christ, in another place, speaking by parable of a man who built his house upon the sand, adds the explanation: that the same was a foolish man; because such a foundation, and, therefore, also the building which is founded upon it, cannot stand before the floods, rains, and storms, which beat against it.
On the other hand, he commends him as wise and prudent, who built his house upon a rock; since the same, being well-founded, is able to withstand all dangers.
But the foundation of which the Lord speaks here, that he will build his church upon it, is much firmer than any material rock, for these must all pass away with time; but the foundation which is Christ himself, remains, shall remain, and shall never decay: for “the foundation of God standeth sure,” 2 Tim. 2:19.
Yet not only the foundation, but also the building of the church shall not decay, though in nature it is otherwise; for a house, church, or tower, resting on an immovable foundation, but being not sufficiently firm or strong in itself, finally decays, yea falls to the ground; but here it stands so that no opposing agencies, not even the devil himself, can prevail against it, which is evident from these words: “And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
In or under the gates councils were wont to be held; and the gates were the strength and power of the cities. Compare Zech. 8:16 with Ps. 147:13. Hence, by the words, “The gates of hell,” etc., we are to understand the council and power of the hellish fiend. Yet, according to the last mentioned place of Scripture, these shall not prevail against the church of Christ;[37] and, consequently, no other opposing agencies; for these are the most powerful and worst enemies.
[37] If Christ is so firm a foundation that not even the gates of hell can prevail against that which is built upon it, how very foolish, careless and imprudent are they who forsake this foundation, and build upon, and trust in, the vain things of this world! Certainly, everything under the sun, yea, all which our eyes behold, is vain and transitory. “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher,...all is vanity,” Eccl. 1:2, understand: earthly things. But how much more vain are the sinful and evil things which God has forbidden, and concerning which he has warned us in his word, that we should have nothing to do with them! How great will be the fall of those who build upon these forbidden vanities! If we suffer damage, and complain, when a material house or building falls, because its foundation is not firm, how much greater loss will they sustain, and what greater reason will they have to lament, who will fall both in soul and body, without ever being able to rise again!
We pass on to other Scripture testimony written for the same purpose. Matt. 28:20: “And, lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the consummation of the ages.” Nearly all translators, in order to follow therein the Dutch way of speaking, render the last words of this sentence: “unto the end of the world.” But we have, for good reasons, preserved the Greek mode of expression, inasmuch as it serves better and more clearly to the end we have in view. For we have found that, after the common translation, the words, “unto the end of the world,” have been misinterpreted, and stretched beyond their meaning, by some inexperienced persons, so that these expound that which has been spoken of the consummation of time, as referring to the end of locality; even as though Christ had not here promised his apostles, to remain with them till all time should have come to an end; but only until, for the promulgation of the Gospel, they should have traveled unto the uttermost parts of the earth, which, because it is not possible to travel farther by land, are called the end of the world.