The eighth sip, "Peter and the Rock," issuing from the Babylonish cup is next to be considered and tested by the Holy Scriptures. Laying aside all prejudices, let us examine cautiously what the Roman Catholic Church teaches concerning its leader. It is this doctrine, above all others, that has caused Roman Catholics to rest securely in the belief that theirs is the only true church, because it is supposed to have been founded upon Peter. To show the position the Roman Catholic Church teaches on this point, let us note a statement taken from the works of Cardinal Gibbons:
"Jesus, our Lord, founded but one church, which He was pleased to build on Peter. Therefore, any church that does not recognize Peter as its foundation stone is not the church of Christ, and therefore cannot stand, for it is not the work of God."[1]
Another well-known papal authority gives the following information relative to that church's teaching concerning the primacy of Peter:
"In especially solemn fashion Christ accentuated Peter's precedence among the apostles, when, after Peter had recognized Him as the Messiah, He promised that he would be head of His flock. ... By the word 'rock' the Savior cannot have meant Himself, but only Peter. ... His statement then admits of but one explanation, namely, that He wishes to make Peter the head of the whole community of those who believed in Him as the true Messiah. That through this foundation, (Peter) the kingdom of Christ would be unconquerable; that the spiritual guidance of the faithful was placed in the hands of Peter, as the special representative of Christ. This meaning becomes so much the clearer when we remember that the words 'bind' and 'loose' are not metaphorical, but Jewish juridical terms. It is also dear that the position of Peter among the other apostles and in the Christian community was the basis for the kingdom of God on earth, that is, the church of Christ. Peter was personally installed as head of the apostles by Christ Himself. This foundation created for the church by its Founder could not disappear with the person of Peter, but was intended to continue and did continue (as actual history shows) in the primacy of the Roman Church and its bishops."[2]
The words spoken to Peter are familiar to every devout Roman Catholic, and are often cited to support their claim that Peter is the rock. What caused the Son of God to make this declaration, to Peter? Did He intend to set a precedent by elevating a human agent to the position of head of His universal church? It is necessary in discovering the meaning of any terms used symbolically or relatively to find the antecedent. The Divine Record gives the context of the use of the term "rock" as follows:
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that Thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. 'He says unto them, But whom say you that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, 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." (Matthew 16:13-18)
On the return of the disciples, who had been out on a missionary tour, Jesus desired to know whether the people regarded Him as the Son of God or as an ordinary man. Hence He said to them: "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" How disappointed He must have been as He listened to the testimonies that they brought back, seeing that some believed 'Him to be John the Baptist, others thought He was Elijah, and still others held that He was Jeremiah. These were all good men, indeed, but they were not able to save a lost world. Were the disciples influenced in any way by the opinions of the people? Did they come back weakened in their faith as to the divinity of Christ?
Jesus, desiring an expression of their faith on this, vital question, asked them, "But whom say you that I am?" The impulsive Peter spoke for himself and the rest of the disciples, and answered: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Thus he recognized that Jesus was more than an ordinary man. Upon Christ, whom Peter confessed to be the Son of God, would be built His church. This glorious confession of faith by Peter called forth a divine benediction from Christ, who said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. "There is a tendency on the part of the human to become lifted up, particularly when words of commendation are uttered by one who is his superior. Jesus, knowing Peter's weakness and desiring to safeguard him against assuming an air of superiority, attributed the truth the apostle uttered not to his own mind but to a revelation coming directly from God.
Prior to Peter's acknowledgment of Christ's divinity, the other disciples had openly expressed their belief in Christ as the Son of God. In the night of terror when the disciples were in the boat tossed about on the angry waves, joy filled their hearts upon seeing their Savior walking on the foaming sea. After Peter had walked on the waves to meet his Lord and had returned, the eleven exclaimed to their Master: Of a truth Thou art the Son of God." (Matthew 14:28-33)
If the mere acknowledgment by Peter that Christ was the Son of God would suffice for him to be the foundation rock of the church, it would be reasonable to conclude that the same honor should be conferred upon the other disciples, for they, too, confessed the divinity of Christ. If the primacy was given to Peter, as stated by the Roman Catholic Church, because of his recognition of Christ as the Divine One, then the Lord, who is no respecter of persons, ought to have given a similar reward to the other disciples.
The Roman Catholic Church's doctrine on this important subject is entirely foreign to the thought which Christ intended to convey, when He said: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Could it be that this massive superstructure, the church of God, has for its foundation a weak, vacillating character such as was Peter? Very, very soon after the words of Christ were uttered to Peter, the Master was obliged to rebuke him for trying to dissuade Him from following the path of duty. "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offense unto Me: for thou savors not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." (Matthew 16:23) This scathing rebuke was certainly not indicative of the ecclesiastical dignity and primacy which the papists attribute to Peter.
The Romanists maintain that the terms "Peter" and " rock " in Matthew 16:18 mean one and the same thing. Let us note carefully the Lord's statement-. "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The name "Peter" in the original text is, petros, a Greek word meaning " a stone " (a rolling stone); and the Greek word for "rock " is Petra, which means "a rock" of large dimensions. For example, we have the word petra used twice in Matthew 7:24,25 to mean a foundation rock. But in Matthew 13:5,20 and Mark 4:16 we read that some of the seed fell upon ta petrode in Mark 4:5, to petrodes), the "stony ground" formed by many a petros (rolling stone). Moreover, the Greek word petros (translated in Matthew 16:18 as " Peter ") is a masculine noun, whereas petra (rendered "rock" in Matthew 16:18) is a feminine substantive.
The Book of God states that His church is made up of spiritual, living stones. (1 Peter 2:5) Consequently Peter, whose name means "a stone," was one of them, as every other Christian is. Peter, who was a rough stone taken from the quarry of the world and hewed and polished by trials and tests, found his place in that spiritual building. Everyone will have to go through this chiseling and polishing process to be fitted for a place in Christ's "spiritual house." There is quite a contrast between the words petros and petra, just as there is a vast difference between a movable stone and an immovable rock. Peter truly was a movable stone, and he was so far removed from his Lord that he denied Him by cursing and swearing. (Matthew 26:58,69-75; Mark 14:54,66-72) The Omnipotent One was too wise to establish His church solely upon such an unstable and inconstant character as Peter.
Truly, the gates of hell did prevail against Peter, and they will prevail against a church or a human being who has for its foundation such human material as was demonstrated in the life of that apostle. Even Paul, many years later, had to rebuke Peter because he and Barnabas "walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel." (Galatians 2:11-14) He was compelling "the Gentiles to live as do the Jews." But there is security in the church which has for her foundation Christ Himself, the One who set His face like a flint (Isaiah 50:7) and who was not moved, though the blasts and storms of the enemy beat furiously upon Him. Christ, the Mighty Petra, is the true foundation, and the gates of hell have never prevailed against Him. He declares: "Whosoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock [petra]. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock [petra]." (Matthew 7:24,25)
Moses, who talked with God face to face, and whose writings Jesus repeatedly endorsed, shows that the hope and confidence of pious men of old was in the Lord as their Rock, saying: "I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe you greatness, unto our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." (Deuteronomy 32:3,4) The saintly Hannah, rejoicing over her relief from deep distress, clearly stated that God was the rock upon which she anchored her soul. She said: "There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside Thee: neither is there any rock like our God." (1 Samuel 2:2) And David, who was the royal ancestor of Christ, uttered the following irrefutable and inspired testimony: " The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; the God of my rock; in Him will I trust: He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my Savior; thou saves me from violence. ... For who is God, save the Lord? And who is a rock, save our God?" (2 Samuel 22:2,3,32)
According to the foregoing testimonies, it is an established fact that the doctrine of primacy of a human being as the foundation of the church of God was not admitted during the centuries before the birth of Christ.
Did Peter understand that Christ's words made him the rock upon which the Christian church is founded? Let Peter's own writings answer the question: " Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture,
"Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believes on Him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed." (1 Peter 2:6-8; Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:22,23) Peter did not say, "He that believes on me shall not be confounded." No, he said, "He that believes on Him [that is, on Christ] shall not he confounded. "The apostle was quoting a prophecy concerning Christ, one which the Master applied to Himself, (Luke 20:16-18) and which Peter applied to Him, saying. "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him does this man stand here before you, whole. This is the stone which was set at naught by the builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:10-12) He further states in these texts that those who are disobedient reject Christ as the chief Rock.
The great apostle Paul, who classed himself a "wise master builder," adds his testimony to that of Peter and gives Christ His rightful place as the foundation of the Christian religion: "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds thereon. But let every man take heed how he builds thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:10,11) Again he clearly states that Christ was the Great Petra, or Rock, of "the church in the wilderness." (Acts 7:38) He said the Israelites " did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock [petra] that followed them: and that Rock [petra] was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:4) The Rock, the sure foundation upon which the church is built, is Jesus Christ.
"Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom you also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:19-22) Thus "the apostles and prophets" are given equal honor, and no special distinction is given to Peter over the rest, in the foundation of the church, but the greatest honor belongs to Jesus Christ Himself, who is "the-Chief Cornerstone, "for it is He" in whom the building is made secure.
The Lord gives instruction for every man to take heed how he builds, and also that each one note what he builds upon. We are nearing the end of this world's history, and we need a firm foundation to give stability and security to our faith. This place of safety can be found only in Christ. When the storm breaks, those who are building upon the human will witness their structure crumbling in irretrievable ruin. It is our privilege to have the experience so beautifully expressed by Edward Mote in these words:
"My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
"On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand."[3]
The Lord longs for the words so beautifully expressed in this hymn to be a living transaction in the lives of all who profess to be His followers. The great fountain of the Written Word is open to all, and the perfection of that life-giving stream will more than compensate for any adjustment that one may have to make in his religious belief in order to conform to God's will.
Notes: