IS PETER THE "ROCK" UPON WHICH JESUS SAID HIS CHURCH WOULD BE BUILT?
Jesus said;
MATTHEW 16:13-23
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
On this dissertation of Jesus to the disciples rests the entire foundation of the Papacy, which it claims that Jesus made Peter the foundation of His Church and gave Peter the authority to rule the Church as it's head. The Popes claim to be Peter's successors and govern the Roman Catholic church in this capacity.
The Popes also claim to have the keys to Heaven, and by "excommunication" or separation from the church body, they can keep a person from entering Heaven. But let's take a closer look at a few things here.
"...you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church;"
First, the word ‘Peter’ comes from the Greek "petrus" meaning "a stone". However when Jesus made His statement in verse 18 above, He used two different words. When He said "upon this rock", he used the Aramaic word for ‘rock’ which translates into Greek word "petra", meaning bedrock.
So when He spoke to Peter, he essentially said, "You are a stone, but upon bedrock I will build my Church"
This same word for “bedrock” (petra) was used by the apostle Paul when he wrote to the Jews in Corinth, saying;
1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-4
1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,
2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
3 all ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
Note that Paul correctly calls Jesus the bedrock, using the same word (petra) that Jesus used to describe the bedrock upon which He would build His church. Paul had also previously reminded the Corinthian Jews;
1 CORINTHIANS 3:9-11
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Paul was saying that he had first preached Jesus to the Gentiles in Corinth to establish the solid foundation required for the building of their faith. From there he was able to build the necessary doctrines required for understanding the message of salvation and what is required for Christian living.
Any builder knows that a building must first be built upon a solid foundation starting first with the cornerstone or the building will quickly collapse. Jesus, trying to make a point that even the common people could understand spoke of this when He said;
MATTHEW 7:24-27
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Note: Jesus used the word "petra" (bedrock) when He said that the good house had been
built upon a rock. Jesus is again plainly expressing that HE is the bedrock foundation upon
which the church and our faith and hope is built, not Peter.
The apostle Paul reinforces this point when he told the church at Ephesus;
EPHESIANS 2:19-22
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Verse 20 is in reference to Isaiah's prophecy of;
ISAIAH 28:16
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.
Any building that is built of stone blocks must start with the cornerstone, which rests on a solid foundation. All of the other building blocks are referenced from this cornerstone, making the cornerstone the most important point of a building.
According to the Scriptures, Jesus Christ is both the foundation and the chief cornerstone
of the foundation, the rock and foundation upon which the entire building is built! Jesus is
the foundation upon which all of the prophecies and promises of God to His church rest,
not Peter!
Throughout the Bible, you will find many references to the fact that God is referred to as "a Rock", denoting an unmovable foundation. And this being the case, why would God build His church on sinful Man who perishes, in violation of His own word to build his church on sinless Jesus Christ who is eternal?
And if you note what Paul is saying in Ephesians 2 verse 20, the foundations are not the apostles and prophets themselves, but their doctrine, teachings and prophecies.
Therefore the Catholic church is greatly in error in proclaiming that Jesus made Peter the "rock" upon which His church is built. God built His church foundation on Jesus Christ in
accordance with His prophetic word, making Him also the foundation and chief cornerstone on which the Christian church is built.
And claiming that Peter is the "rock" that Jesus spoke of is to make Peter equal with Jesus,
thereby elevating Peter to the position of God. And considering Jesus’ words to Peter in
Matthew 16:21-23 above, calling Peter ‘Satan’, Jesus hardly considered Peter to be the
bedrock upon which He would build His church!
"And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven"
This is an interesting verse. The Papal "coat of arms" or crest if you will, shows a pair of keys symbolizing that the "keys to the kingdom" were given to Peter, and supposedly to his successors, the Popes after him. But what are these "keys"?
Jesus made the issue quite clear when He publicly rebuked the lawyers and doctors of the Old Testament Law concerning the fact that the common people, most of whom were illiterate and could neither read or write, depended on these doctors and lawyers to teach correct doctrine. These people had difficulty entering the kingdom of heaven because of the corrupt teachings by the very ones who should know the Law better than anyone else.
Jesus said to them;
LUKE 11:52
52 “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”
Jesus says that the keys to the kingdom of Heaven is knowledge! The apostles were given Jesus' teachings to spread to the world as only through the knowledge and understanding of God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible can we hope to enter heaven!
And as we all have access to the Scriptures and it's teachings, we all have the keys to the kingdom of heaven. No man or organization holds the keys alone. Therefore no human being can keep another from entering the kingdom of heaven by "excommunication" or by any other means. Only Jesus, the righteous Judge can keep a person from entering the kingdom of Heaven.
As He Himself said, when speaking to the apostle Thomas;
JOHN 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
No man can come to the Father in Heaven, except through Jesus Christ. And the Catholic doctrine of "excommunication", or separating believers from the fellowship of the Church thereby denying them access to Heaven is in direct violation of Jesus words, when He said;
JOHN 6:37, 44-45
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
Jesus plainly states that God the Father (not the Catholic "Holy Father") determines who will come to Jesus to be saved. And those sent to Him by the will of the Father (not the Popes) He will not cast out, or turn away.
The Catholic church has no authority over the destiny of believers.
And while the Catholic church teaches there is no salvation apart from the Church, the Scriptures teach that there is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ. The church is a body of believers and has no authority to pick and choose who will or will not go to heaven. And any such claim to do so, usurps the authority of Jesus Christ who alone has authority to do so.
"and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
This is a much-disputed piece of Scripture, and I have heard many interpretations. But I will explain two meanings which I feel this fits, as it is both a blessing and a warning.
Jesus has given us power over Satan and his works here on Earth. And if we bind and break Satan’s power here on Earth, it is also broken in Heaven where he accuses the believers before the Throne of God.
Satan is a spirit and no weapon on Earth can touch or harm him. That is why God has given us spiritual weapons to use, weapons that CAN harm and defeat him. Therefore whether he is in Heaven accusing believers or on Earth wreaking destruction, we have power over him, but only if we are aware and obedient to Jesus Christ!
The second interpretation which I feel is just as valid, goes along with what Jesus told the disciples after His resurrection as He commissioned them to preach to the world. These words are also binding on us as well;
JOHN 20:21-23
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
I have seen a letter from a Catholic monastery written to a renowned Christian publisher, saying that because of his "vehement stand against the Catholic church", by their authority his sins were retained and God's grace was removed from him.
This is a blatant misinterpretation and misuse of the Scriptures. What Jesus really meant in verse 23 is that we are to be diligent to forgive those who wrong us. If we forgive others for wrongs performed against us, then we are following Jesus commandments. However, if we retain the sins of others against them, our sins will also be retained before God.
As Jesus told the disciples, and us as well;
MATTHEW 6:14-15
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
MATTHEW 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’
34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
If you do not forgive others when they sin against you, neither will you be forgiven by God.
Both cases as explained above concerning the meaning of John 20:23 are valid according to Scripture, and are equally important. And just as no man (or priest) has the authority to forgive sins that are not committed directly against them, even so no man (or priest) has the authority to retain sins of others which have not been committed directly against them. Period.
Bottom line;
In summary, we have proven from Scripture that Peter cannot be the "rock" upon which the church is built as Jesus used two different words in the Scriptural passage. He also rebuked Peter immediately afterward as being used by Satan, putting Peter in his place among men. A sinner, no different than anyone else.
The Old Testament is rife with descriptions of God as being a mighty Rock, a bedrock foundation that cannot be moved. We have also seen that Jesus is the bedrock foundation and the chief cornerstone of the church He described in the Matthew 16:18 passage.
We have also seen that the "keys of the kingdom" that Jesus described are the keys of
knowledge, both of the Scriptures and of God Himself. No one can enter the kingdom of
God without this knowledge. If they could, there would be no need for preaching the Word.
Jesus granted Peter and the apostles understanding of the Scriptures, and moved them to write His teachings so that we too could have the keys.
Therefore the Papal "excommunication", in which people are supposedly barred from Heaven by the authority of the Pope has no Biblical basis at all, and to claim to have this authority is to usurp the authority of Jesus Christ.
The fact that Jesus is the Rock on which the Church is built invalidates both the Papacy and the entire Roman Catholic Church.
We have also discussed the passage concerning the authority to bind on Earth and in
Heaven. We can bind Satan and his demons, and bind and break their power both in the
physical realm as well as the spiritual realm.
We have also seen that we dare not retain sins of others that have sinned against us, as our
sins will be retained against us by God. Again, this is authority to bind and loose here on
Earth and in Heaven.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Do not, and you will not be forgiven.
Questions? Comments? E-mail: watchmen_777@yahoo.com
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