ROCK OF GOD’S CHURCH?
Looking at Matthew 16:16-18, some may wonder if Jesus or Peter is the rock upon which God built his church. One’s essential theology may be affected by whether they believe Jesus or Peter is the rock of God’s church. Carefully examining the full text under consideration and other Scriptures, one could have a better understanding of who is God’s true rock (John 8:32).
Matthew 16:16-19 says: [Jesus] said to them [disciples]:” “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell[b] shall not prevail against it….”
2 Timothy 3:16-17: For “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. By “examining the Scriptures” we can know the truth (Acts 17:11).
Even though Peter’s name is said to mean “rock,” the Scriptures repeatedly speak of Jesus as the rock upon which God built his church.
SOME BELIEVE PETER IS THE ROCK OF GOD’S CHURCH
Many Bible commentators say that leaders of the Catholic Church teach that Peter is the rock upon which the Lord built his church. And they teach that Peter is the first pope, and Peter’s authority is passed on to sequent popes.
Apparently the above teachings are based primarily on what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18. And that they are taught without adequately considering many other Scriptures that reveal Jesus as the rock of God’s church.
However, one might examining other Scriptures that show Jesus as the rock. One may start by looking at what Peter himself said in 1 Peter 2:4-6: “As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For it stands in Scripture….”
SOME OTHERS BELIEVE JESUS IS THE ROCK OF GOD’S CHURCH
Many Bible scholars believe that based on the overall context of the Bible Jesus is the rock or stone upon which God built his church. They believe the rock is the truth that God revealed to Peter about Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Isaiah 28:16. God said: “Behold, I am the one who has laid[a] as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
Matthew 21:42. Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? (Psalm 118:22).
Acts 4:11-12. This Jesus[a] is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b]12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[c] by which we must be saved.”
Romans 9:33. as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Ephesians 2:20. “the saints and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God bye the Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 3:11. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:4. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-7. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says….
WHO DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE ROCK OF GOD’S CHURCH?
Acts 4:12. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
John 3:16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (Romans 6:23).
Leave a Reply