Jack Hibbs : The TRUTH About the Church

“When the Church Stands, Hell Trembles: Rediscovering God’s True Family”

If a church exists and darkness doesn’t tremble because of it, then something is terribly wrong. A true New Testament church shakes the gates of hell simply by standing in the truth. Yet today, so many believers walk without confidence, as if spiritual weakness were normal. It’s not. And it must stop.

We are part of a family—God’s family. In Scripture, church and family are inseparable ideas. Wherever God’s people gather in truth, the Spirit forms a household, a spiritual home. And if earthly blood ties hold meaning, how much stronger is the bond created by the Spirit of God?

Paul understood this deeply. When he wrote to the believers in Rome, he wasn’t sending theological notes—he was speaking to his family in Christ. He longed to see them, imagined traveling with his ministry team, arriving freely and joyfully. But God had a different route prepared. Instead of arriving as a preacher, Paul arrived as a prisoner. Instead of a ministry tour, he received a government-paid journey in chains.

Why? Because he declared that Jesus—not Caesar, not politics, not rulers—was Lord. And because he preached resurrection, salvation, and the exclusive authority of Christ in a world ruled by fear.

But even in chains, Paul proved something eternal:
Every earthly leader is temporary. Christ alone is Savior.

Jesus Himself said He would build His church—not on a man, not on tradition, but on the unshakable truth that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And because the church belongs to Him, the gates of hell will never prevail. There may be many buildings, many denominations, many gatherings—but there is only one Church, purchased with His blood and sustained by His Spirit.

The tragedy is that many people attend church buildings without ever becoming part of the Church Jesus is building. Membership doesn’t save. Ritual doesn’t save. Only Christ does. And when you walk into a service, the building doesn’t come alive until you—the living stones of God’s family—fill it.

In the early church, Paul carried an unimaginable burden. He suffered beatings, prison, hunger, sleepless nights, betrayals, shipwrecks, and hatred. Yet nothing broke him. Why? Because his greatest concern was always for the Church—the redeemed people of God scattered across the world.

And today, that same call rests on us. We are living in a time when biblical teaching is scarce and spiritual drought fills many communities. People all over the world are starving for the Word of God. And yet, in every generation, Christ’s true Church stands victorious—not because of buildings or programs, but because it stands on the truth that Jesus is Lord.

As Paul neared the end of his letter to the Romans, he reminded them of who they were: a family filled with goodness, knowledge, and the power to strengthen one another. He knew God had filled them with everything needed to be the Church in a broken world.

And today, you are called into that same family.
You are invited not only to attend church—but to be the Church, to carry the truth, to walk in confidence, and to shine in a world that desperately needs God’s love and power.

This is the family Christ died to create.
This is the Church hell cannot overcome.