PETER ***** (1) The Apostle Peter had a mother-in-law who was sick. This explicitly shows that the real Apostle Peter was a married man, for it is impossible to have a mother-in-law and not be married. ~If the Apostle Peter was the first pope, he was also a married man! Why then does Catholicism forbid present-day popes to be married like the Apostle Peter was? (2)When Peter came to Antioch, I [Paul] opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? (Gal. 2:11-14). ~The Apostle Paul openly opposed the Apostle Peter because Peter was in the wrong. ~Paul would never have openly opposed the Apostle Peter if he was the visible head of the church. ~Can you imagine a Catholic bishop publicly opposing the Pope today? This single incident alone shows it is impossible for the Apostle Peter to be the head of the church. (3)If the Apostle Peter was the head of the church, why did JAMES preside over the first and only church council cited in the New Testament - (Acts 15:6-30)? The Apostle Peter was present, yet he did not preside over this important council dealing with circumcision and its non-role in salvation! ~This is one of the most powerful and clear proofs that The Apostle Peter was not the head of the early church! (4)Did the Apostle Peter consider himself to be the head of the early church? The following are his own words about himself: ~To the elders among you, I appeal as a FELLOW ELDER, a witness of Christs sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed (1 Pet. 5:1). ~The Apostle Peter wrote to other elders but never mentioned any primacy that he uniquely had, which was supposed to have begun at the point of Mt. 16:18! Peter merely referred to himself as a fellow elder. (The Apostle John, likewise, referred to himself as an elder, 2 Jn. 1.) (5)Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them (Acts 8:14). ~If the Apostle Peter was the head of the apostles, he would have ordered other apostles to go to various places, but instead the Apostle Peter (and the Apostle John) were sent by the other apostles! Obviously, the Apostle Peter was not the designated head of the apostles! (6) If the Apostle Peter was the head of the church (visibly), why did both the Apostle John and the Apostle Paul write more of the New Testament than he did? ~The Apostle Peter wrote 2 books of the New Testament (or 8 chapters), while John wrote 5 books (or 50 chapters) - and Paul at least 13 books (or at least 87 chapters). Both John and Paul wrote much more of the eternal Word of God than Peter did. (7) If the Apostle Peter was the head of the apostles, why did Paul work harder for the Lord than the rest of the Apostles, including him? ~But by the grace of God I [Paul] am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me (1 Cor. 15:10)? (8) If the Apostle Peter was the head of the apostles, certainly the other apostles would have known it. However, they didnt! This is apparent since they argued about which of them was the greatest, even while Jesus was still living among them! ~Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest (Lk. 9:46). Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest (Lk. 22:24). Clearly, this last passage occurred after Jesus spoke Mt. 16:18 and in Jesus presence! ~Please note that Jesus never corrected them by saying Peter was made the head at the point of Mt. 16:18! The other apostles never thought that verse uniquely exalted Peter above themselves, so why should we? ****** ****** ****** These facts bring even more clarity of what Jesus MEANT when he said “upon this rock I will build my church….” It was built on Peter‘s admission/confession that Christ was the Son of God- on THAT basis that Jesus would build HIS CHURCH. Peter was instrumental in spreading the Gospel- in expanding the church…….but he was not exclusive in this. 
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 16:24:19 +0000
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