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“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH…” (Matthew 16:18).
Controversy surrounds the scriptural verse above. Some Bible scholars and preachers argue that Jesus, per the statement, meant that He would build His Church upon Peter. Is their interpretation right?
Now it is necessary that we carefully look at the relationship between the preceding clause: “you are Peter,” and the phrase: “on this rock” in the verse. That will help us to know the particular rock the Lord said He would build His Church on.
It is true that Christ referred to Peter as a stone but He never said He would build His Church on a weak, mortal man who was later labelled as Satan for being earthly-minded (Matthew 16:23).
Even before the Lord Jesus made that statement, He had earlier sought Peter’s opinion on who He was. Peter confessed to Jesus, “THOU ART THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD”.
This confession is the basis of the rock Christ referred to. So, our Saviour told Peter that upon his confession that He (Jesus) was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, He would build His Church.
Peter, therefore, could not be the cornerstone strong enough to carry the weight of the Church. In fact, when you look at the Scripture carefully, you will realize that many people have misunderstood the words of the Lord.
Our Saviour never said, “You are Peter, and upon you I will build my Church.” No! He never said that. He said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church…”
It is important to observe here that “Peter” and “this rock” are not related. They are not synonymous. In other words, they are not the same.
The Lord was rather showing Peter a different kind of rock upon which He would build His Church. And that rock He referred to was He Himself.
Christ is the foundational rock or cornerstone upon which His Church is built. The apostle Peter himself, later in his first epistle, confirmed this fact. He said:
“As you come to him (Jesus), A LIVING STONE REJECTED BY MEN but in the sight of God chosen and precious…” (1 Peter 2:4).
Peter described the Lord Jesus as the living stone to which Christians come for salvation. The apostle Paul made the allusion even clearer and emphatic when he wrote:
“…For they drank from the same spiritual ROCK THAT FOLLOWED THEM, AND THE ROCK WAS CHRIST” (1 Corinthians 10:4).
Who drank from a spiritual rock? The congregation of the people of Israel drank water from the rock at Horeb as Moses struck it with his staff (Exodus 17: 6). While speaking prophetically about the Lord Jesus, David also said:
“THE LORD IS MY ROCK and my fortress and my deliverer, MY GOD, MY ROCK, in whom I take refuge…” (Ps. 18:2). (Psalm 18: 2).
“For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a ROCK, EXCEPT OUR GOD…” (Psalm 18:31).
“The stone that the builders rejected has BECOME THE CORNERSTONE” (Psalm 118:22).
The Bible makes it abundantly clear that Christ is the Rock. He is the cornerstone and foundation of the Church. Peter, a mere man was not, is not and cannot be the stone upon which the Christian Church is built.
Christ is the foundational rock of His Church, making His love strong and immovable, his righteousness everlasting and salvation eternal.
“For no one can lay a foundation other than which is laid, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST” (1 Corinthians 3:11).
Christ is the foundational rock on which the Church is built and rests. This makes The Lord Jesus the supreme Owner and Head of the Church. It was He who died and shed His blood for the Church.
As the cornerstone and foundation of the Church, the Lord, says that He will build His Church. He says He will do it Himself. Listen to Him: “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH.”
By James Quansah
