When Peter, filled with the sudden recognition of Jesus' true identity and his unparalleled, God-given mission, exclaimed (Matt. 16:16), "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus answered: "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." It is interesting to note that here the word "church" is used in the Bible for the first time, and that it is coincident with Peter's recognition of the Christ.
It is this recognition of the Christ, Truth, which penetrates the darkness of human ignorance, leads men out of darkness, and reveals to them man's heritage of health, joy, freedom, and dominion. It was on this enlightened, spiritual understanding that Jesus built his church. Throughout his entire three years' ministry he was building this church, not with bricks and mortar, but with the truth about God and man which he understood and established in the hearts of his disciples. He knew that when they understood his mission and their responsibility in perpetuating his words and works, the steps necessary to that end would unfold to them. First, however, it was imperative that they recognize and become conscious of the tremendous import of his teachings.
Nineteen centuries later Mary Baker Eddy became so conscious of the ever-present light of Truth that she was immediately healed of a physical disability which the physician in charge expected to prove fatal. She then consecrated her life to the work which she knew God had called her to do, and in the year 1879 she and some of her students organized the Church of Christ, Scientist, to reinstate the Master's teaching and re-establish Christian healing.
