who is the rock foundation of the church

But it reads, “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” And so, whether you listen to Simon Peter, to the blessed Lord himself or to His servant, the apostle Paul, you will find that the Church’s one foundation is not a man however noble or excellent he may be, but it is Christ Himself. I am resting upon what this Book reveals as to God’s way of salvation and if it tells me that Peter is the rock on which the Church is built and that there is no salvation except for those who are in the church founded by Peter, I want to know it, but I must find out from the Book. If you have any questions, please call or email us. The best way to answer that question is to see whether we can find an explanation of remission of sins from somebody who was there. By Greg Laurie, CP Contributor Follow | Friday, July 27, 2012. We were having an open air meeting years ago out West. “I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it. We are to look to no one else as the foundation, the source, or the hope on which the church is built. Petros, Πέτρος, “a noun akin to 4073, used as a proper name; “a stone” or “a boulder,” Peter, one of the twelve apostles:— Peter(150), Peter’s(5).” (Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic, and Greek Dictionaries: Updated Edition, H8674, Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998, 1981). In a sense, Peter was the rock “foundation” of the church. First Peter 2:1-7: “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. So autonomy. A friend of mine was preaching most earnestly and a great big Irishman, half drunk, stepped out and tried to break up our meeting. Note that Peter himself in the last verse referred to petra as being Jesus! And I say unto thee, That thou art Petros and upon this petra [“Petros” is diminutive and means a piece of rock or stone; “Petra” is the great foundation rock itself] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Mormonism teaches that every one of us existed as spirit bodies in heaven before we were born here on earth. It is similar to the English words actor and actress. He had been practically rejected by Israel and was looking out upon the great world of Gentiles. Properly, πέτρα is a fixed rock, πέτρος a stone.” (Source:  Liddell, H. (1996). He wanted him to say, “I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” and he forgot that the Lord said to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan.”. The Church is built on Christ. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven” —Matthew 16:13-19. MEMORY VERSE: SAY: “This morning we’re talking about the truth that God is the rock. A Firm Foundation. 4, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker’s Greek New Testament library, 311, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2000). There must be a work in the soul by the Holy Spirit of God before people can recognize the true blessedness of our Lord Jesus. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Petros, Πέτρος, Peter, meaning stone. Only in one instance does it seem to be linked with His work. Every Christian has the same revelation. Matt. In fact, ever since the third century of the Christian era there has been a debate as to the exact meaning of the number of expressions used here. Jesus looked at him, and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas,” (which is translated Peter).” The word “Peter” here is Petros–not petra. Through faith in Christ. I thank God for his wondrous testimony and for the ministry of this great servant of the Lord; but I would not think that Simon Peter was a sufficient rock upon which the Church could be built. But Jesus said that the rock he would build his church on was not the masculine “petros” but the feminine “petra.” Let me illustrate by using the words “actor” and “actress:”  “You are the actor; and with this actress, I will make my movie.”  Do see that gender influences how a sentence is understood? Just imagine Peter supposed to be bishop of Rome, a great Gentile city, and yet it was definitely settled there that his work was to be among the Jews. The work there was commenced without any apostle. In Ephesians 2, Christ is the cornerstone with the apostles and New Testament prophets as the foundation. Then the Lord asked the question directly, “But whom say ye that I am?” Oh how we honor Simon Peter for his great confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Does the church of Rome honor Simon Peter? Peter could not have been in Rom in A.D. 58 for in that year Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans and sent greetings to a great many people, but there was not a solitary reference to Peter’s presence in Rome. The first is masculine, and the second is feminine. In other words, the church built upon Peter is an outward organization. Simon Peter holds the first place in the college of the Twelve; Jesus entrusted a unique mission to him. 2:8). Likewise, the Greek word “petros” is masculine; “petra” is feminine. “On this rock (ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ). It is assumed that Peter is the rock upon which the Church is built and that the church built upon Peter will never come to grief. Not at all, it is given to the Church of God as a whole. Is Peter the rock on which the Church is built? Jesus is the rock on which the church is built The truth is that the only foundation is Jesus. We do not arrive at this conclusion by any intellectual process alone. I have read much Roman Catholic theology, I have examined a great many volumes put out by Catholic publishers and after having compared them with the Word of God, my private judgment tells me that I dare not trust the salvation of my soul to the decision of popes or councils if they go contrary to the Book. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. But the apostle Paul did not recognize any superiority in Peter; he did not see in him the head of the Church or the rock on which the Church was built; but saw him misbehaving and said, “I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. You will be forming your own private judgment about things and making all kinds of mistakes and going off into some heresy.”, But Patrick said, “Well sure, I have just been reading here, and it’s the blessed apostle Peter says it, ‘As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby’ (1 Peter 2:2), and sure, your Reverence, I have just been born again and I am a babe in Christ and it is the milk I’m thirsting after and I am reading the Word to get it.”, “That is very good, Patrick, but you need help and instruction, and the Almighty has appointed the clergy to be the milkmen; He has given them the knowledge of the truth and when you want instruction, you should come to the church and we will give it to you as you are able to bear it. What was or is the rock on which the church of Christ is established? Peter was one of the Twelve Apostles, all chosen by Jesus to be the foundation of his Church. Surely not. Jesus is the foundation of the church (cf. Why, what do you mean?”, “It says here, ‘Search the Scriptures,’ and so I am after doing what I am told.”. A house, in this biblical parable, can refer to many things. “Some say that thou art John the Baptist.” This, you recall, was Herod’s first re-action when told of His miracles and testimony. 2:11,14 “But when Cephas [Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned . We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even as we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Here, then we see Peter failing, sinning, needing repentance; surely unfit to be the rock on which the Church is built. We are all "rocks" in God's church, but Jesus is the Rock spoken of in Isaiah 32:1-2 (NLT) "Look, a righteous king is coming! And so He turned to His disciples and interrogated them in this way: “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” And they told Him what the common report had been. I find as I read on in the Word that there was too much frailty, too much failure, too much sin in Simon Peter for me to rest my soul on him, but I do honor him as the first one who made this great confession, one in which I gladly join, “Blessed Lord, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”. Is it because their argument is not supported by the Greek, and so they must infer something from a text we don’t possess? Let one of the greatest doctors of the Church tell us if they insist that we must not use our own private judgment in determining the meaning of holy Scripture. Why don’t you tell us what the Lord said to Peter? Eerdmans. Do you mean to say that that man is left without the possibility of acquiring sufficient truth for the saving of his soul because he is beyond the reach of the visible church? There does seem to be a measure of testimony that would intimate that possibly that was true, but when they tell us that he was in Rome from A.D. 42 to 67, we have positive evidence to the contrary because those very years are covered largely by the book of Acts. 16:18, 1 Cor. (1 Corinthians 3:11) This observation by the apostle Paul warns Christians that it is possible to build either successfully or with awful failure on the foundation that Jesus Christ has laid for us. Note that Peter himself in the last verse referred to petra as being Jesus! Did not the Lord give unto His apostles as the first bishops of the Church special authority to forgive and to retain sins? 16:16). “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Neither could he have founded the church there, because Paul was to go there and he stated himself that he did not build upon another man’s foundation. If Simon Peter believed that, he certainly would not leave his disciples in any doubt regarding it; he would tell them the truth about a matter like this. Turn to the writings of the apostle Paul, the first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter three, and let us see whether we have any light as to the rock upon which the Church is built. The Church built on a hypocrite and even Barnabas carried away by the hypocrisy! In addition, Greek dictionaries and lexicons give us further insight into the two Greek words under discussion: A stone is movable, unstable; and this is exactly what we see with Peter, who doubted when he walked on water, who denied Jesus, and who was rebuked by Paul at Antioch. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. If you have any issues, please call the office at 385-246-1048 or email us at [email protected]. I have been reminded that this is not true of a great many people, people who are just as honest, I take it, just as eager to know what God’s will is, and just as desirous of doing His will as those of us who are called Protestants, but they have been taught to decide questions from an altogether different standpoint. He did say, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” But is not the kingdom of heaven heaven itself? But these Scriptures do not refer to Christ as a rock upon which the church is built. Stay informed of what’s new and what’s coming up on the air and on the web. No, not upon Peter. Christ, the “living Stone,” thus assures his Church, built on Peter, of victory over the powers of death. We have not the slightest evidence that he was ever in Rome, that he was ever a bishop of Rome but we can be very certain that the contrary is the case. He did give authority to Peter but the same authority is given to the entire Church. 19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ,” (Matt. 16:18 when they claim Peter was the rock on which the church is built. You get to studying for yourself and you are sure to go wrong.”, But Patrick said, “Out there in the shed I have a cow and when I was sick some time ago, I had to hire a man to milk her and I soon found he was stealing half of the milk and filling the bucket with water, but when I got well, I discharged him and took to milking me own cow and now I am getting the rich cream. Wherever a man honestly seeks to know the mind of God, the Holy Spirit is there to reveal the truth to him. “By the word “rock” the Saviour cannot have meant Himself, but only Peter, as is so much more apparent in Aramaic in which the same word (Kipha) is used for “Peter” and “rock.” 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 Messias; 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.” (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11744a.htm). This house is the Church of the living God. Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. The Rock Church of Fenton, Lake Fenton, Linden, and Byron, Michigan exists to preach the Word of God, Baptize, and Disciple The Rock Church: Fenton - Biblical Foundations Home The foundation is the most fundamental part of a building, upon which all else is built (Cf. Later when Jesus said He would build His church on the "rock," He used a different Greek word petra, which refers to a large rock (as in a mountain cliff). Surely not. In that same statement to Simon Peter cited earlier Christ said, "Upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. It was the rock Christ Jesus for the man who built upon that rock was the man who kept His sayings. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. In 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Paul writes, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. The foundation operates primarily in Nigeria and the West Africa region. 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