Matthew 16:18 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. (KJV) In order to understand the meaning here, we must start reading from Matt. 16:13. Christ asked the disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Peter answered, “ You [Jesus] are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (vs. 16). Then Christ responded, “You are Peter [petros, which means little rock], and upon this rock [petra, means very great rock, referring to Christ Himself] I [pointing to Himself] will build My church” (vs. 18). Most people assume here that Christ is building His Church on Peter. But this is not the case. Christ is the great “Rock” upon whom the Church is built (Deut. 32:3-4, 15, 18; I Cor. 10:4; Eph. 2:20; I Pet. 2:6), not Peter (Eph. 1:22; 5:23; Col. 1:18). Peter never identified himself as the rock or the foundation of the church, yet he obviously identifies Christ as the chief cornerstone of Psalms 118:22 in 1 Pet. 2:4-8 and Acts 4:10,11. The teachings of Paul also point to Jesus as the rock. (1 Cor. 3:11: Jesus identifies Himself as the Rock of Ps. 118 (Mt. 21:42). The teachings of Paul also point to Jesus as the rock. (1 Cor. 3:11: For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.) In Eph. 2:20 Paul uses the apostles and prophets as a figure of the foundation - teaching that it is their inspired teaching concerning Christ (not their person or office) on which the church rests. Jesus identifies Himself as the Rock of Ps. 118 (Mt. 21:42). Psalm 18:2 New International Version The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 14:52:25 +0000
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