Upon THIS Rock I will build my Church

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epostle

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If Jesus is the rock...then how could Peter ALSO be the rock?
2 Sam. 22:2-3, 32, 47; 23:3; Psalm 18:2,31,46; 19:4; 28:1; 42:9; 62:2,6,7; 89:26; 94:22; 144:1-2 – in these verses, God is also called “rock.” Hence, from these verses, non-Catholics often argue that God, and not Peter, is the rock that Jesus is referring to in Matt. 16:18. This argument not only ignores the plain meaning of the applicable texts, but also assumes words used in Scripture can only have one meaning. This, of course, is not true. For example:

1 Cor. 3:11 – Jesus is called the only foundation of the Church,
and yet in Eph. 2:20, the apostles are called the foundation of the Church.
Similarly, in 1 Peter 2:25, Jesus is called the Shepherd of the flock,
but in Acts 20:28, the apostles are called the shepherds of the flock. These verses show that there are multiple metaphors for the Church, and that words used by the inspired writers of Scripture can have various meanings. Catholics agree that God is the rock of the Church, but this does not mean He cannot confer this distinction upon Peter as well, to facilitate the unity He desires for the Church.
 
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Enoch111

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The only one Person I would trust the Church to be built on is Jesus Christ.
And that is exactly what Scripture teaches.

CHRIST (GOD) THE ONLY MASSIVE ROCK IN SCRIPTURE
We begin with this key verse in Scripture ( 1 Cor 10:4 KJB): And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
καὶ πάντες τὸ αὐτὸ πόμα πνευματικὸν ἔπιον ἔπινον γὰρ ἐκ πνευματικῆς ἀκολουθούσης πέτρας (petras) ἡ δὲ πέτρα (petra) ἦν ὁ Χριστός (Christ)

But since Jesus is God, “the Rock” is God throughout the OT, and that Rock is a massive Rock. Therefore He is also called the Stronghold and the Fortress. (“Rock” is capitalized throughout)

Genesis 49:24
But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)
Deuteronomy 32:4
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 32:15
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
Deuteronomy 32:30,31
How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
1 Samuel 2:2 [REFUTING PETER AS THE ROCK]
There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
2 Samuel 22:2,3
And he said, 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 saviour; thou savest me from violence.
2 Samuel 22:32
For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a Rock, save our God?
2 Samuel 22:47
The LORD liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of the Rock of my salvation.
2 Samuel 23:3
The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my Rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation,and my high tower.
Psalm 18:31
For who is God save the LORD? or who is a Rock save our God?
Psalm 18:46
The LORD liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
Psalm 28:1
Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my Rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
Psalm 31:1-3
In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong Rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my Rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.
Psalm 42:9
I will say unto God my Rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Psalm 61:1-3
Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
Psalm 62:1,2
Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my Rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
Psalm 62:7
In God is my salvation and my glory: the Rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
Psalm 71:3
Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my Rock and my fortress.
Psalm 78:35
And they remembered that God was their Rock, and the high God their Redeemer.
Psalm 89:26
He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.
Psalm 92:15
To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Psalm 94:22
But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the Rock of my refuge.
Psalm 95:1
O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation.
Isaiah 8:14
And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a Rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 17:10
Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the Rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips...
Isaiah 28:16 [ESTABLISHING CHRIST THE FOUNDATION STONE]
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tried Stone, a precious Corner Stone, a sure Foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
 

epostle

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No, I am not questioning God's motives. I am questioning the motives of the Roman Church to make Peter the rock upon which the Church is built.

David may have been one to lead Israel, but he is not the one upon whom rests the promises of God to Israel. Promises which the Roman and many Protestant churches seem to forget.

Stranger
The Church didn't make Peter anything. At this point in time, the Church didn't exist. Jesus does the building, not Peter. Peter and his successors were recognized by the entire world (schisms aside) as Chief Steward until the 16th century. The reformers' motive for the grammatical gymnastics was to undermine the papacy. They had to justify to the populace their break from the historic Church and their main target was the Pope. That's why they demonized the Chair of Peter. It was politics, not a "pure/primitive" Christianity that they were seeking. The anti-authority mindset, to varying degrees, has been part of the Protestant identity from the beginning. Division, separation, and wall building. Not just from the historic Church, but non-Catholics dividing from Protestants, and Protestants dividing from Protestants. This proliferation is the result of rejecting a unifying Teaching Authority. So called reformism has no unity partly because it has no Pope. To this day, (some) of Protestantism is still struggling to justify it's separation from the historic Church, even though most of the reasons are outdated.

8-40,000 groups of/denominations/nondenominations is evidence of a need for human leadership on earth, because Jesus knew that's what humans need.




1487045639722.jpg

 

TheHolyBookEnds

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More nonsense about this subject. Matthew wrote his Gospel BY DIVINE INSPIRATION in Greek. Therefore he could not make any errors whatsoever. Matthew's Gospel is Scripture, the Word of God. There is no document with a Hebrew or Aramaic Gospel according to Matthew.

And it does not matter what may (or may not) have been written in Aramaic. The Greek text clearly distinguishes between Petros (Peter) and Petra (Christ). And this is confirmed in 1 Corinthians10:4. So please note and back off from your errors about "Peter the Rock".

καὶ πάντες τὸ αὐτὸ πόμα πνευματικὸν ἔπιον ἔπινον γὰρ ἐκ πνευματικῆς ἀκολουθούσης πέτρας (petras) ἡ δὲ πέτρα (petra) ἦν ὁ Χριστός (Christ)
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
And moreso:

The confessions, (one from the Father, the other from the devil) through Peter. Not "peter". It was the confession itself, that Christ Jesus is the Messiah the Son of God that the church is built, the Cornerstone (JESUS), not any ol' stone (peter) of the rest of the building.

A few more thoughts, in brief, though I have a detailed study on this, is:

1. that God, even Jesus Christ, is the 'Rock' all through scripture.

2. go back to Mat. 16:5-12 for greater help. Notice the disciples had just been told something important, and that which was stated is directly tied to Mat. 6:13-20.

3. read Mat. 7:24-27; Luk. 6:46-49 and see that the rock is God's word, even what Jesus taught and did.

4. understand that the rock of God's word in Mat. 7:24-27 is also a reference to the Ten Commandments, which were written upon stone from the throne of God.

5. for the 'Greeks', consider that GNT TR word for Peter (G4074 N-NSM) is differing than Rock (G4073 N-DSF). Petros (G4074 N-NSM (Noun-Nominative Singular Masculine)) and Petra (G4073 N-DSF (Noun-Dative Singular Feminine)). (they will generally go the Aramaic route (which is incorrect) at that point, but the argument is still in error, just takes more detail to show it)

6. Peter himself identifies the rock in his epistles, 1 Pet. 2:6-8. and never anywhere in scripture identifies himself as that rock.

7. Paul in Rom. 9:33; 1 Cor. 10:4 also refers to the same rock and does not identify anywhere in scripture that Peter was that rock, but instead even has to rebuke, in love, the backsliding of Peter in Gal. 2:11-14.
 
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epostle

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Daniel 2:44 – Daniel prophesies an earthly kingdom that will never be destroyed. Either this is a false prophecy, or the earthly kingdom requires succession.
Jeremiah 33:17 – Jeremiah prophesies that David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the earthly House of Israel. Either this is a false prophecy, or David has a successor of representatives throughout history.
And because the Catholic Church makes Peter the Rock, it not only blasphemes Christ (God) the Rock but it creates a false doctrine.

Here is a quote from "Catholic Answers":
The Church Fathers, those Christians closest to the apostles in time, culture, and theological background, clearly understood that Jesus promised to build the Church on Peter, as the following passages show...

However, according to Scripture, that is ABSOLUTE NONSENSE. Peter was a fallible apostle, and could never be the Rock on which the Church (the Body of Christ, not the CC) was built. The fallibility of Peter is seen several times:

1. Peter denied Christ three times, and then was restored.
2. Peter had to be shown the sheet from Heaven three times before he was willing to go to Cornelius and the Gentiles.
3. Peter had to be rebuked by Paul for failing to be a consistent Christian.

None of this detracts from Peter being a leading apostle in the church at Jerusalem. But it certainly shows that he could not possible be the Rock.

I believe I will post the numerous Scriptures which establish that God (Christ) is the Rock and no one else. This is will be for the Catholic naysayers who persist in their errors even after they see the Scriptures.
You throw that word "blaspheme" around rather recklessly. The Catholic Church does not diminish or cancel Jesus authority to appoint a Chief Stewart, so what kind of "Jesus" do you profess???

There are over 70 NT verses indicating Peter's leadership or spokesman for all the Apostles. How does the only negative verses (3-4) that you seem to know over-ride or cancel the dozens of Scriptures you can't see???
THE PRIMACY OF PETER - Scripture Catholic

2 Sam. 22:2-3, 32, 47; 23:3; Psalm 18:2,31,46; 19:4; 28:1; 42:9; 62:2,6,7; 89:26; 94:22; 144:1-2 – in these verses, God is also called “rock.” Hence, from these verses, non-Catholics often argue that God, and not Peter, is the rock that Jesus is referring to in Matt. 16:18. This argument not only ignores the plain meaning of the applicable texts, but also assumes words used in Scripture can only have one meaning. This, of course, is not true. For example:

1 Cor. 3:11 – Jesus is called the only foundation of the Church, and yet
in Eph. 2:20, the apostles are called the foundation of the Church.

Similarly, in 1 Peter 2:25, Jesus is called the Shepherd of the flock,
but in Acts 20:28, the apostles are called the shepherds of the flock.

These verses show that there are multiple metaphors for the Church, and that words used by the inspired writers of Scripture can have various meanings. Catholics agree that God is the rock of the Church, but this does not mean He cannot confer this distinction upon Peter as well, to facilitate the unity He desires for the Church.

Jesus has the power and authority to confer this distinction upon Peter, you say He doesn't, then you accuse Catholicism of blasphemy.

Please, tell me how many Scriptures listed give no indication of Peter's leadership.
THE PRIMACY OF PETER - Scripture Catholic

While you are running from that link, consider this:
John 11:51-52 – you argue that sinners cannot have the power to teach infallibly. But in this verse, God allows Caiaphas to prophesy infallibly, even though he was evil and plotted Jesus’ death. God allows sinners to teach infallibly, just as He allows sinners to become saints. As a loving Father, He exalts His children, and is bound by His own justice to give His children a mechanism to know truth from error.

1 & 2 Peter – for example, Peter denied Christ, he was rebuked by his greatest bishop (Paul), and yet he wrote two infallible encyclicals. Further, if Peter could teach infallibly by writing, why could he not also teach infallibly by preaching? And why couldn’t his successors so teach as well?

Gen. to Deut.; Psalms; Paul – Moses and maybe Paul were murderers and David was an adulterer and murderer, but they also wrote infallibly. God uses us sinful human beings because when they respond to His grace and change their lives, we give God greater glory and His presence is made more manifest in our sinful world.

The Biblical Church - Scripture Catholic

The Father didn't reveal Jesus to Simon bar Jonah because he was perfect and holy, The Father chose Simon bar Jonah because he is like us. Jesus changed his name to KEPHA, blame it on Him.
 
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BreadOfLife

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No, I am not questioning God's motives. I am questioning the motives of the Roman Church to make Peter the rock upon which the Church is built.

David may have been one to lead Israel, but he is not the one upon whom rests the promises of God to Israel. Promises which the Roman and many Protestant churches seem to forget.

Stranger
Then you're rejecting God's plan.
God's ways are NOT man's ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

It's not up to YOU or me or anybody else to figure out WHY God chose certain people for certain roles..
He chose who He chose . . .
 

BreadOfLife

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And moreso:
1. that God, even Jesus Christ, is the 'Rock' all through scripture.
And this false notion has already bee destroyed by Scripture.
As I indicated earlier - Isaiah 51:1-2 refers to Abraham as the "ROCK."

Is this a mistake??
Is this "blasphemous"??

Do your homework . . .
 

epostle

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4. understand that the rock of God's word in Mat. 7:24-27 is also a reference to the Ten Commandments, which were written upon stone from the throne of God.
Matt. 16:13 – also, from a geographical perspective, Jesus renames Simon to rock in Caesarea Philippi near a massive rock formation on which Herod built a temple to Caesar. Jesus chose this setting to further emphasize that Peter was indeed the rock on which the Church would be built.


Matt. 7:24 – Jesus, like the wise man, builds His house on the rock (Peter), not on grain of sand (Simon)
so the house will not fall.​
ark-of-the-covenant.jpg



    • The Ark contained the Ten Commandments [the words of God in stone], foreshadowing the Word of God made flesh.
    • a pot of manna, foreshadowing the Bread of Life,

77d948e3c5d95b6972b977e1a3b3cf28.jpg



The womb of the Virgin contained Jesus: the living Word of God enfleshed, the living bread from heaven, "the Branch" (Messianic title) who would die but come back to life [Luke 1:35].


5. for the 'Greeks', consider that GNT TR word for Peter (G4074 N-NSM) is differing than Rock (G4073 N-DSF). Petros (G4074 N-NSM (Noun-Nominative Singular Masculine)) and Petra (G4073 N-DSF (Noun-Dative Singular Feminine)). (they will generally go the Aramaic route (which is incorrect) at that point, but the argument is still in error, just takes more detail to show it)
The Greek transliteration of the Aramaic/Syriac word ܟܺܐܦܳܐ is κῆφα. “Cephas” is the Latin transliteration of the Greek word.

Paul refers to Peter by name ten times in his letters. Of those 10 times, he calls him Cephas eight times, but πέτρος only twice.
According to you, Paul is in error using an Aramaic name to Greek speaking communities.
 

Stranger

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Then you're rejecting God's plan.
God's ways are NOT man's ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

It's not up to YOU or me or anybody else to figure out WHY God chose certain people for certain roles..
He chose who He chose . . .

I agree it is not up to us, it is up to God. I disagree that Jesus chose Peter as the rock on which He would build His Church.

Stranger
 

Stranger

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The Church didn't make Peter anything. At this point in time, the Church didn't exist. Jesus does the building, not Peter. Peter and his successors were recognized by the entire world (schisms aside) as Chief Steward until the 16th century. The reformers' motive for the grammatical gymnastics was to undermine the papacy. They had to justify to the populace their break from the historic Church and their main target was the Pope. That's why they demonized the Chair of Peter. It was politics, not a "pure/primitive" Christianity that they were seeking. The anti-authority mindset, to varying degrees, has been part of the Protestant identity from the beginning. Division, separation, and wall building. Not just from the historic Church, but non-Catholics dividing from Protestants, and Protestants dividing from Protestants. This proliferation is the result of rejecting a unifying Teaching Authority. So called reformism has no unity partly because it has no Pope. To this day, (some) of Protestantism is still struggling to justify it's separation from the historic Church, even though most of the reasons are outdated.

8-40,000 groups of/denominations/nondenominations is evidence of a need for human leadership on earth, because Jesus knew that's what humans need.


You always want to blame the reformers for the many divisions within the catholic Church. (When I say 'catholic' I mean the universal Church of Christ consisting of all born-again believers everywhere, both Romanist and Protestant.)

Do you ever think the Church is in need of reform? Did you ever think the need of reform was the cause of the Reformation?

And the Reformation was not the first division within the catholic Church. Correct?

Stranger
 
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GodsGrace

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And moreso:

The confessions, (one from the Father, the other from the devil) through Peter. Not "peter". It was the confession itself, that Christ Jesus is the Messiah the Son of God that the church is built, the Cornerstone (JESUS), not any ol' stone (peter) of the rest of the building.

A few more thoughts, in brief, though I have a detailed study on this, is:

1. that God, even Jesus Christ, is the 'Rock' all through scripture.

2. go back to Mat. 16:5-12 for greater help. Notice the disciples had just been told something important, and that which was stated is directly tied to Mat. 6:13-20.

3. read Mat. 7:24-27; Luk. 6:46-49 and see that the rock is God's word, even what Jesus taught and did.

4. understand that the rock of God's word in Mat. 7:24-27 is also a reference to the Ten Commandments, which were written upon stone from the throne of God.

5. for the 'Greeks', consider that GNT TR word for Peter (G4074 N-NSM) is differing than Rock (G4073 N-DSF). Petros (G4074 N-NSM (Noun-Nominative Singular Masculine)) and Petra (G4073 N-DSF (Noun-Dative Singular Feminine)). (they will generally go the Aramaic route (which is incorrect) at that point, but the argument is still in error, just takes more detail to show it)

6. Peter himself identifies the rock in his epistles, 1 Pet. 2:6-8. and never anywhere in scripture identifies himself as that rock.

7. Paul in Rom. 9:33; 1 Cor. 10:4 also refers to the same rock and does not identify anywhere in scripture that Peter was that rock, but instead even has to rebuke, in love, the backsliding of Peter in Gal. 2:11-14.
I asked this before and received an answer from @Enoch111

Could YOU also tell me why you believe it's important for Peter NOT to be the rock? Jesus did call him Cephas which means Rock. Peter means Rock.

I understand that catholics would want him to be the rock upon which the church was built because of the pope reason, as has been stated.

But why do protestants care? So catholics want to call Peter the first pope, what do we care?

The church is spiritually build by Jesus, but it also needs humans - as I've said before. The cc also gives Paul a lot of credit...
 

BreadOfLife

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I agree it is not up to us, it is up to God. I disagree that Jesus chose Peter as the rock on which He would build His Church.

Stranger
Based on what, exactly??
Certainly NOT the text.
 

Rollo Tamasi

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And this false notion has already bee destroyed by Scripture.
As I indicated earlier - Isaiah 51:1-2 refers to Abraham as the "ROCK."

Is this a mistake??
Is this "blasphemous"??

Do your homework . . .
St. Jerome wrote he believes the rock is the rock of ages, Jesus Christ.
Wasn't he catholic?
 

Enoch111

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As I indicated earlier - Isaiah 51:1-2 refers to Abraham as the "ROCK."
How could you blatantly MISINTERPRET Scripture in order to designate Abraham as "the Rock"? Let's take a look at this passage and see that in order to support one false interpretation, you have resorted to another.

THE ROCK IS THE LORD
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the Rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

As I have already posted dozens of verses (above), "the Rock" in the OT is consistently God. Hence I have capitalized it. Believing Israel ("ye that follow after righteousness") is "hewn out of" or created by God, and only God can dig sinners out of the pit of Hell.

ABRAHAM IS THE EXAMPLE OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE ON THE LORD
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. Israel must look at Abraham as the example of those who are justified by grace through faith (and therefore blessed).

The Rock is Christ, who is God, and is repeated called the Rock in the Bible. Therefore Peter cannot be be Rock on which the true Church is built.
 

Stranger

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Based on what, exactly??
Certainly NOT the text.

Yes, if the text you are speaking of is (Matt. 16:16-18).

Plus, Peter never made claim to any such position.

You gave the example of Moses earlier as to his position. Yet he knew he was in that position and acted accordingly. Peter never did.

Stranger
 

BreadOfLife

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St. Jerome wrote he believes the rock is the rock of ages, Jesus Christ.
Wasn't he catholic?
Show me the quote from St. Jerome where he states that Matt. 16:18 is referring to the "Rock of Ages."
CAN
you do that??
 

BreadOfLife

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How could you blatantly MISINTERPRET Scripture in order to designate Abraham as "the Rock"? Let's take a look at this passage and see that in order to support one false interpretation, you have resorted to another.

THE ROCK IS THE LORD
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the Rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

As I have already posted dozens of verses (above), "the Rock" in the OT is consistently God. Hence I have capitalized it. Believing Israel ("ye that follow after righteousness") is "hewn out of" or created by God, and only God can dig sinners out of the pit of Hell.

ABRAHAM IS THE EXAMPLE OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE ON THE LORD
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. Israel must look at Abraham as the example of those who are justified by grace through faith (and therefore blessed).

The Rock is Christ, who is God, and is repeated called the Rock in the Bible. Therefore Peter cannot be be Rock on which the true Church is built.
Isaiah 51:1-2
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
and who seek the Lord:
Look to the ROCK from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
look to Abraham, your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.


Abraham is being referred to as the "ROCK" here - and the following PROTESTANT Biblical commentaries agree . . .

Isaiah 51:1-2

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(1) Look unto the rock.—The implied argument is, that the wonder involved in the origin of Israel is as a ground of faith in its restoration and perpetuity. The rock is, of course, Abraham, the pit, Sarah.

Benson Commentary
These, his true people, he exhorts to look unto the rock whence they were hewn, &c. — To consider the state of Abraham and Sarah before God gave them Isaac, from whom Jacob and all his posterity sprang. He compares the bodies of Abraham and Sarah unto a rock, or pit, or quarry, out of which stones are hewn or dug;

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
look unto the rock &c.] The ancestors of the nation are compared to a quarry, the Israelites to the stones hewn from it,—a peculiar image found nowhere else.

Adam Clarke Commentary
Ye that follow after righteousness - The people who, feeling the want of salvation, seek the Lord in order to be justified.
The rock - Abraham.
The hole of the pit - Sarah; as explained in Isaiah 51:2.


 

BreadOfLife

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Yes, if the text you are speaking of is (Matt. 16:16-18).

Plus, Peter never made claim to any such position.

You gave the example of Moses earlier as to his position. Yet he knew he was in that position and acted accordingly. Peter never did.

Stranger
Peter didn't have to make any claim about his office.

Eve never claimed to be mother of ALL the living - yet she WAS (Gen 3:20).
Abraham never claimed to be the father of a multitude of nations - yet he WAS (Gen 17:5).
Peter didn't have to claim that he was the earthly head of the Church - but that is what Jesus made him (Matt. 16:18-19, John 21:15-19).
 

Harvest 1874

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Matt 16:15-18

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

After the Apostle Peter had borne this witness that our Lord was the Messiah,

Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter [petros--a stone, a rock] and on this rock [petra--a mass of rock--the great fundamental rock of truth, which you have just expressed] I will build my church.”

The Lord himself is the builder, as he himself also is declared to be the foundation, "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid--Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 3:11) He is the great Rock, and Peter's confession of him as such was, therefore, a rock testimonial--a declaration of the foundation principles underlying the divine plan. The Apostle Peter so understood this matter and so expressed his understanding. (1 Pet. 2:5, 6) He declared all truly consecrated believers to be "living stones" who come to the great Rock of the divine plan, Christ Jesus--to be built up as a holy temple of God through union with him--the foundation.

Peter, therefore, disowned any pretension to being the foundation-stone himself and properly classed himself in with all the other "living stones" (Greek lithos) of the Church-- though petros, rock, signifies a larger stone than lithos, and all the apostles as "foundation" stones would in the divine plan and order have a larger importance than their brethren. Rev. 21:14

Thus it is quite evident what Jesus meant when he said “upon this rock (this truth) I will build my church,” was the statement Peter made, “Thou art the Christ the son of the living God.”

Christ was the foundation rock upon whom the church would be built, not Peter nor any other.
 

Stranger

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Peter didn't have to make any claim about his office.

Eve never claimed to be mother of ALL the living - yet she WAS (Gen 3:20).
Abraham never claimed to be the father of a multitude of nations - yet he WAS (Gen 17:5).
Peter didn't have to claim that he was the earthly head of the Church - but that is what Jesus made him (Matt. 16:18-19, John 21:15-19).

Of course Eve believed she was. See (Gen. 4:1).

Yes, Abraham did believe he was. See. (Heb. 11:17-19)

You admit that Peter never acknowledged such a claim.

Stranger