On This Rock I Will Build My Church

Is The Apostle Peter the Rock On Which Jesus Built the Church?

Many Millions of Christians believe that the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church has ecclesiastical authority over all bishops of the Church because of Christ’s statement to the Apostle Peter. Did the Lord consolidate all authority under a single apostle and his successors? This doctrinal issue remains a major divide between the ancient Churches of the East and West.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples who are the people saying that He is? The disciples replied that some say He is John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Clearly, the people regarded Jesus as a holy representative of God. When Jesus asked them whom they thought Him to be, Simon answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (verse 16). This was a remarkable attestation for a Jew to say unequivocally that the man before him is actually the Son of God, thereby equating Him with God (Daniel 3:25). He is the One Who existed from eternity and had spoken to Abraham, Moses, Elijah and others. Jesus replies that Simon’s statement of truth was divinely revealed to him by the Heavenly Father. Jesus declares: “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.” (verse 18). Jesus refers to Simon as Peter (Greek masculine gender: petros means rock), and says that on “this rock” (Greek feminine gender: petra means rock) He would build His Church. The fact that Jesus uses the word “rock” in the feminine gender the second time in the same sentence means He’s alluding to another rock besides Peter. In the Greek, the word for truth, ἀλήθεια, or, alḗtheia, is in the feminine gender. It is Peter’s divinely revealed truth of Jesus being the Son of God that would encapsulate the gospel message, and it is Jesus Himself that would be the Chief Cornerstone, or Rock, of His Church. The Apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed such: “…let it be known to 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, by Him this man stands here before you whole. “This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone” (Acts 4:10-11). The Apostle Peter in his general epistle again associates Christ with being the Rock by quoting the Old Testament: “Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6). Although Jesus had surnamed Simon as Peter or Cephas (Aramaic masculine gender: cephas means rock) at the time Andrew first brought him to Christ, as he would later become a pillar of truth, Peter emphasizes Christ as the Cornerstone or Rock of our salvation and of the Church, from where salvation is proclaimed.

The Old Testament contains many references to Christ as the Rock. In Exodus and Numbers, the rock of Horeb from which water miraculously flowed represented Christ, Who said that from Him would flow rivers of living waters. Since Moses disobeyed God in a lack of faith and by striking the rock twice rather than once, Moses was punished by God from entering the Promised Land. With the proper understanding, one can understand the significance of Christ being crucified or struck once, not twice, for our salvation (Numbers 20:11-12). In Deuteronomy 32:4: “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.” In 2 Samuel 22:32: “For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? In Psalm 18:46: “The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.” In Psalm 42:9: “I will say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” Isaiah 44:8: “You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.' ” In Habakkuk 1:12: “Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die.
O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction.”

The other statement Jesus makes to the Apostle Peter is: “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” (Matthew 16:19). Although Jesus was directing His comments to Peter, we find elsewhere in Scripture where Christ gives authority to all of the Apostles. Before His ascension to the Father, He tells them: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). They all received the same great commission. In Luke 9:1, “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.” Again, Jesus addresses the Apostles as a group in Luke 10:19-20: “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” The Apostle Paul refers to the authority given to him and the other Apostles in 2 Corinthians 10:8: “For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed—”

When the disciples got into a dispute about which of them would be the greatest, Jesus does not single any one of them as the one having the authority over the rest. Jesus explained: “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ “But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, “that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:24-30). Jesus was clear that in His kingdom the Apostles would sit on a twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Therefore, they all had the keys to the kingdom. The Apostle Paul addressed the brethren in the Corinthian church who were causing contention and division. “For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:10-13). He later concludes: “Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Corinthians 3:21-23).” When the issue of receiving the Gentiles in the Church caused controversy among the Apostles, they all gathered in Jerusalem, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle James rose and said: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things…” The matter was resolved by a council of apostles, not by any single Apostle exercising his authority over the rest. Collectively, the Church or household of God is built on the foundation of all the apostles, for as the Paul tells us: “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord…” (Ephesians 2:19-21)

The Holy Orthodox Church has always held the Apostle Peter in high honor. It is vital for all believers to understand that there was never any historical primacy of any individual Apostle over the others, but each exercised his apostleship as he was commanded and led by the Holy Spirit.