Any structure must be built upon a solid foundation. A house built upon a rock will stand while one built upon the sand will fall (Matthew 7:24-27). The same principle applies to the church. Though many use the term “church” to refer to a physical building, it is not used this way in the New Testament. Instead, the church is a spiritual building rather than a physical one. Even so, the church, if it is to stand, needs a solid foundation.
In promising to build His church, Jesus told His disciples that it would have such a foundation.
“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it’” (Matthew 16:16-18).
Jesus said that His church would be built upon a rock. It would be so strong and secure that it would not even be overthrown by the gates of Hades. But what is the rock that would serve as the foundation?
After a cursory reading of the passage, one might conclude that the rock upon which the church would be built was Peter himself. Yet this could not be the case. Though Peter was a faithful follower of Christ for much of his adult life, he was not perfect. He denied the Lord three times while Jesus was on trial (Matthew 26:33-34, 69-75). He led some of his fellow Christians to sin and had to be rebuked by the apostle Paul (Galatians 2:11-14). In fact, just a few verses after Jesus promised to build His church, He rebuked Peter and referred to him as Satan (Matthew 16:23). The church of our Lord would not be built upon such a flawed and corruptible foundation.
If Peter was not the rock, what was it? The foundation upon which Jesus would build His church was the identity of Christ Himself. It was this that Peter confessed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Only Jesus – He who is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) – could be that solid rock that could stand against the gates of Hades. Through His resurrection, He was able to “render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). Instead of being a fallible human being like Peter, Jesus was God in the flesh (John 5:17-18; Colossians 2:9). He “is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Though all men “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), Jesus “committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22) and is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). Only Christ Himself could be the foundation of His church – His kingdom (Matthew 16:19) – that would “never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44).
Rather than declaring that Peter was the rock upon which the church would be founded, Jesus was actually contrasting the church’s foundation with Peter. Jesus said, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). “Peter” is the Greek word petros, which means “a stone.” The “rock” upon which Jesus said He would build His church is the Greek word petra, meaning “a rock, cliff or ledge.” Jesus’ point was that Peter could not compare with the great rock that would be the foundation of the church. Peter was just a small stone compared with the solid bedrock of Christ and His identity as the Son of the living God.
The lesson for us is that we must recognize Christ as the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18). We must be faithful to Him rather than any man (1 Corinthians 1:10-13; Galatians 1:10). He alone is the Savior of the church (Ephesians 5:23). Therefore, we must be a part of His church – the church of Christ – if we want to be saved.
