Of what material is the Church built, and what serves as its foundation? If we are a holy temple, then are we all stones, and who or what is the cornerstone? On what rock is this house built so that it will not be destroyed by wind or waves?
These questions have particular relevance when it comes to the matter of Church authority. Do we as individuals stand upon anything but Christ himself? Are our contributions to God’s great building project equal in stature, or have some been more critical than others? And most controversially, what did Jesus mean when he said that Peter was the rock on which he would build his Church?
The New Testament contains many rock and stone based metaphors. By examining them closely, we can gain some insight into how the Church is constructed and what our role in all of this is.
Peter’s Confession, Christ’s Prophecy
Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus of Nazareth visited the city of Caesarea Philippi with a group of his disciples. The settlement was originally built by the Greek Ptolemaic rulers and rested at the base of Mount Hermon. A cave from which a spring of water gushed forth to create the Jordan River was associated in those days with the worship of the pagan god Pan. These details may or may not be relevant to our story.
Chapter sixteen of the Gospel of Matthew reveals the details. At some point during their visit, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Now, the title “Son of Man” was associated with a kind of messianic figure in the biblical Book of Daniel, and Jesus had been using it to refer to himself. The disciples dutifully reported, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
Jesus then pressed the disciples for their own opinion, asking, “But who do you say that I am?” As was so often the case, it was Simon who rushed in where angels feared to tread, proclaiming boldly, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It is the first recorded time that one of Christ’s disciples openly acknowledged his divinity, a powerful example of faith. Jesus then said the following. “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 16:18) How should we interpret these words?
The first verse is fairly straightforward. Jesus states that Simon could not have known he was the Christ unless the Father had revealed it to him. The debate begins with verse eighteen. Jesus gives Simon a new name: Πέτρος, usually transliterated Petros and Latinized as Peter. This is a masculine naming form of the feminine noun Πέτρα (petra), the very noun that Christ uses in the next phrase: “you are Πέτρος, and upon this Πέτρα I will build my church.” The Greek noun is used to refer to a rock or cliff, so to put it in common English terms, Jesus is saying, “You are Rocky, and upon this rock I will build my church.”
Some scholars have suggested that the words translated as “Peter” and “rock” represent two different sizes of rock, so that Peter is a small, detached portion of rock and something else is the larger, primary rock. I certainly am not an expert in biblical Greek. However, it seems to me quite clear that Peter and the rock on which the Church is built are one and the same thing. Christ simply made the noun masculine so it could be Simon’s new name. Another Greek word, λίθος (lithos), is typically used in scripture to refer to a smaller stone, while Πέτρος is never used elsewhere in this manner.
Moreover, the phrasing of the sentence suggests that Peter is the rock in question. If he is not the rock, then what is? Jesus refers to “this rock”: not an unidentified, general rock but a specific one. He did not say “upon a rock I will build my Church”, nor did he say “upon that rock I will build my Church”. He did not even say “upon the rock I will build my Church”, but “this rock.” We are therefore left to assume that the identity of the rock is indicated elsewhere in the immediate context of his words. What could be a more likely candidate than the person who Christ had just referred to as a rock? Again, a straightforward reading of the passage suggests that Peter should be identified with the rock on which the Church is built.
A popular suggestion among Protestants is that it was Peter’s statement of faith on which Christ would build his Church. This means that Peter is not the rock, but rather faith is the rock. Personally, I have always felt this interpretation is rather forced and unnatural. I fear that in at least some cases it is the result of coming to the text with a certain assumption and seeking out an interpretation that will confirm that assumption. By no means do I accuse all people who hold this view of such bias, but even as many Catholics want Peter to be the rock, many Protestants do not want Peter to be the rock. An observant reader must realize that simply stating that Peter is the rock does not confirm papal primacy, and we must never be afraid of the message God gives us. If the Lord says it, we must follow it, even if it means changing our underlying assumptions.
When the New Testament uses a cornerstone or foundation as a metaphor, it always seems to refer to a person. Why would we assume that this passage is an exception? And as I said, the grammatical structure of the sentence naturally suggests that Peter should be identified with the rock. If I said, “William the Conqueror was ruler, and upon this rule the Norman Empire was built,” would you not assume that the rule in question was William the Conqueror’s? If I said, “The chocolate that the conquistadors found was gold, and with this gold they purchased the hearts of their countrymen,” would you not assume that the gold was chocolate? This is why I believe that we should naturally conclude that Peter is the rock unless there is some compelling scriptural reason that it cannot possibly be true. I personally find no such reason in scripture, but neither is this single statement the end of the scriptural story: not by a long shot.
So if Christ prophesied that the Church would be built upon Peter, what did that mean? Where does Christ himself fit into the structure of the Church, and where are we in this scheme?
The First Layer of Stone
It would be a mistake to read Matthew 16:18 in a vacuum. The whole counsel of scripture must be taken into account. The biblical authors often appealed to masonry related metaphors, and if you are going to construct a building out of stone, you must begin with a cornerstone. It plays the primary role in supporting all the other stones. It is also the beginning—the basis from which everything else proceeds. You might say it is the foundation’s foundation. Long before Christ walked the earth, the Lord predicted that such a stone would be laid for his people.
“Therefore thus says the Lord God,
‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.’”(Isaiah 28:16)
Of particular interest is the final line. How does one believe in a stone? It is possible, I suppose, to have faith in the quality of a stone or in its supportive role, but one rarely speaks of “believing in” an inanimate object. No, we are meant to infer that the stone mentioned here is actually a person. This person will serve as the cornerstone of Zion’s foundation, putting fears to rest. How so, and who is the cornerstone? Another clue is provided in the Psalms.
“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.”(Psalm 118:22-23)
In this age of perfectly cut cement blocks and beams of steel stretching to the sky, we have little appreciation for the old work of masonry. Quarrying stone was much more difficult without modern explosives, and how on earth could one move the stone across great distances? Masons were usually forced to work with what God gave them in the near vicinity, and this oftentimes meant scavenging stones off old buildings. The Colosseum in Rome was not reduced to its present state by the elements of nature alone. The stones were torn down and moved to other parts of the city to construct new and dazzling edifices, most notably St. Peter’s Basilica.[1]
Building projects would often begin with a heap of stones gathered from here and there. Masons would test their quality, keeping the best and discarding those that were deficient. This is what is meant by “the stone which the builders rejected”. The person signified is one judged unworthy by men, but who is chosen by God to provide the foundation of Zion.
The Gospel of Matthew recounts how Jesus Christ identified himself with the individual in Isaiah’s prophecy. After telling the Parable of the Vineyard, in which the metaphor is clearly that the Jewish religious leaders had killed the prophets and would kill God’s Son, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees as follows.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Did you never read in the Scriptures,
“The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone;
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes”?
Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.’”(Matthew 21:42-44)
We are meant to understand that Christ is the stone on which men will fall and be broken to pieces. The Pharisees interpreted his words in this manner and therefore desired to arrest him. (vs. 45-46) Jesus is the stone that they rejected, but he became the cornerstone of Zion. Mount Zion is none other than the Temple Mount on which God instructed the ancient Israelites to worship him, and figuratively it stands for the city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel, which is to say the city of God and the people of God.
It is interesting, in light of Christ’s words to him at Caesarea Philippi, that the cornerstone is also mentioned by Peter. Speaking before some of the same Jewish leaders who had condemned Jesus earlier that year, Peter boldly proclaimed, “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)
As the cornerstone of Zion, Christ is the cornerstone of the people of God, which is to say the Church, also referred to as the household of God. This doctrine is taught by Peter while appealing to Isaiah’s prophecy.
“And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture:
‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,
And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.’
This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the very corner stone,’
and,
‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’…”(1 Peter 2:4-8)
Peter tells us that Christ is the cornerstone for a “spiritual house” in which his readers are “living stones”. (More on that still to come…) By implication, I believe Peter also identifies this spiritual house with those who believe, for he notes in verse 7 that the cornerstone is of “precious value” for “you who believe”. Compare this with what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
(Ephesians 2:19-22)
Again, there is talk of a house: God’s household. It is made up of those who are “fellow citizens with the saints”. It is also referred to figuratively as a “holy temple in the Lord” and a “dwelling of God in the Spirit”. These are clear references to the Church, which has “Christ Jesus Himself” as a “corner stone”.
I believe this is sufficient evidence to state that Christ alone is the cornerstone of the Church. However, we are also clearly talking about an entire building and not a single stone. We must continue examining scripture to discover what it has to tell us about further aspects of spiritual construction.
The Second Layer
Let us return to that moment in Caesarea Philippi when Christ said of Peter “upon this rock I will build My church”. I think it is safe to assume that the word church could be capitalized there, for Christ does not refer to a single building or congregation but to the universal, catholic Church made up of all believers. The choice to capitalize or not is left up the translator.
If Jesus is the Church’s cornerstone, why would he refer to someone else as the rock on which the Church is built? Is Peter the foundation or is Christ?
Based upon the evidence of the rest of scripture, we must acknowledge that Christ is the cornerstone and not Peter, as the apostle himself attested. The person and work of Christ comes first and everything else after that. As Paul wrote about Christ, “He is also head of the body, the church…” (Colossians 1:18) No mere human can usurp this role, nor could anyone work the works of God without Christ.
Nevertheless, Christ’s words to Peter meant something. There is a Jewish tradition that speaks of the ancient Temple’s foundation stone, upon which the house of God was built and which stood over a “Well of Souls” connected with the underworld or realm beyond.[2] I have tracked this tradition back to the early days of Talmudic Judaism but cannot pinpoint an exact origin, so it is possible that it was known in Jesus’ day and he was thinking of this tradition when he spoke of Peter being a kind of foundational stone. It is also possible that he was looking upon Mount Hermon and the cave of Pan, which he associated with Hades. Maybe it is a double metaphor and there were two alternate connections to the underworld.
Whichever option is correct, it is clear that Christ intended Peter to play an important role in the Church. However, it is also important to note the pivot that he makes from talking about Peter to talking about the Church itself. Jesus did not say that the gates of Hades (here likely figurative of death and/or the forces of evil) would not prevail over Peter, but that they would not prevail over the Church. Likewise, he does not call it Peter’s Church, but “My Church”. This points to the real power upholding the Church. Peter himself rests upon the One who saved him and appointed him as an apostle.
It is my opinion that if Christ is the cornerstone in the great building of God, Peter represents the first layer of stone that is set down after it. It would be appropriate to refer to this as the foundation. Remember what Paul said to the Ephesians: the Church was “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone”. (Ephesians 2:20)
Those words of Paul also point to the fact that it is not simply on Peter’s apostleship that the Church is built, but all twelve (or thirteen, or fourteen) apostles. I believe Peter is the “rock” because he is first among the apostles, not because the other apostles played no role in establishing the Church. The apostles helped to establish the Church in three primary ways: 1) taking the gospel throughout the world, 2) serving as chief authorities in the Church’s early days, and 3) writing the books that would become the New Testament.
Peter was the first person to preach the gospel on the day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit had descended on believers. This could be seen as the foundational sermon of the Church. Perhaps Christ had this in mind when he said he would build the Church upon Peter, but the work of taking the gospel into the world was carried out by all the apostles. Many churches trace their foundation to an apostle: Peter is usually associated with Jerusalem and Rome (though he certainly was not the first person to bring the gospel to the latter), Paul with many locations in modern Greece and Turkey, Mark with the Egyptian church, Thomas with the Indian church, etc.
The authority aspect of apostleship was likely referenced by Christ when he told Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19) This verse is commonly connected with another statement Jesus made to his disciples following his resurrection. “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” (John 20:23) Assuming that both verses speak about the same authority over the earthly Church, then it was possessed by all the apostles and not just Peter.
Finally, there is the element of scriptural authorship. The books of our New Testament were preserved as part of our biblical canon in large part because they were all written by an apostle or a close associate of an apostle. Our New Testament represents the authoritative teachings of the apostles, which are inspired by God. Not all words the apostles spoke were worthy of being preserved as sacred scripture, but only those breathed out by the Holy Spirit. More importantly for our purposes, it was not only the writings of Peter that were canonized, but also those of other apostles and apostolic associates.
While the Lord’s words to Peter at Caesarea Philippi do not mention the other apostles, I believe that Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:20 and the roles played by all the apostles in the first days of the Church make clear that the Church is indeed “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets”. Among the apostles, scripture suggests that Peter had a primary role of leadership. He is always mentioned first in lists of Christ’s disciples, he was specially singled out by Christ at Caesarea Philippi, he was one of the first two men to witness Christ’s resurrection, (John 20:3-6), and he was specially restored and commissioned by Christ to feed God’s lambs. (John 21:15-19) Peter was the first to preach on Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40) and among the first to be dragged before the Jewish religious leaders and imprisoned. (Acts 4:1-6) He was instrumental in bringing Gentiles into the Church, (Acts chapter 10) and played a key role in the Council of Jerusalem. (Acts 15:6-11; Galatians 2:6-10)
However, there is no suggestion in scripture that Peter lorded it over the other apostles. On the contrary, he was joined by his brother apostles in many of his great acts. It was James who had the final word at the Council of Jerusalem. (Acts 15:13-21) Paul did not hesitate to oppose Peter to his face. (Galatians 2:11-14) John, James, and Paul all had roles in the Church that were in some way equally or more important. Peter was a first among equals when it came to his fellow apostles, not a superior. Therefore, the second layer of the great building of the Church is composed of the apostles, of which Peter is foremost but certainly not a king above all.
The doctrine of papal primacy is based not only on the belief that Peter is the rock mentioned by Christ in Matthew 16:18, but also on these logical steps:
1) Peter was bishop of the church in Rome. (tradition)
2) Since Peter was in Rome last (tradition) and/or Rome was the capital of the empire in Christianity’s early days, it is the most important bishopric in Christendom. (logical assumption)
3) The authority that Christ granted to the apostles extends to their successors—that is, the bishops of the Church. (some appeals to scripture, some logical assumption)
4) The bishop of Rome is therefore the titular head of the Church on earth, with certain authorities over other bishops. (some tradition, some logical assumption)
I have written in parentheses what I believe to be the basis for each of these logical steps. “Tradition” can mean either the writings of the Church Fathers in the first few centuries A.D./C.E. or decisions of early Church councils up through the Council of Chalcedon. You cannot arrive at the doctrine of papal primacy as it stands today from scripture alone without any knowledge of later writings, decisions, and events. Scripture never mentions a visit of Peter to Rome, although I do personally accept the testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea that Peter ministered in Rome and was martyred there. Matthew 16:18 is therefore an insufficient proof text for this doctrine. I believe most Roman Catholics would admit as much and argue for the logical steps mentioned above.
The apostles are the second layer of the Church building, joined in their work by the prophets. The third layer is where we become involved.
The Third Layer
In his first epistle, the Apostle Peter reveals to us what he thinks about the Church’s construction. He is clear that Christ is the cornerstone, but he also sees a place for all who believe. Remember what he wrote: “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5) The “you” in question here is the audience of the letter. To whom did Peter address his words?
Peter writes in the opening verses that his readers “are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood.” (1 Peter 1:1-2) These are the “living stones” that make up God’s “spiritual house”. Back in chapter two, Peter says to them, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
These are none other than the members of Christ’s Church: the body of believers called out in love. Every believer plays a role in the great building of the Church. Again, remember the words of Paul.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
(Ephesians 2:19-22)
Believers are the living stones built on the foundation of apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. This building is a temple of God in which he will dwell forever, as prophesied in the Book of Revelation. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them…’” (Revelation 21:3)
Each Christian contributes in their own way to this building, and though some roles may seem more glorious to us in to the here and now, Paul stresses that they are interconnected and dependent on one another, with all working toward the same goal.
“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ…Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”
(1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17)
The word temple is used in different scripture passages to refer to the physical Temple in Jerusalem, the entire body of believers, and apparently in this case individual believers. All have something in common: they are places where the Spirit of God dwells, or in the case of the old Temple of Jerusalem, where God used to dwell. The Holy Spirit now takes up residence both in the hearts of each believer and in the Church as a whole. It is the mortar that binds the living stones to one another and to the chief cornerstone.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all…And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
(Ephesians 4:4-6, 11-13)
The three layers of this holy temple are a spiritual perfection that will last into eternity, removing the need for a temple of literal stones. Believers are headed for “the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10) Perhaps this is why John saw no physical temple in the New Jerusalem, for God’s presence was dwelling with all believers. “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:22-23)
We
thank God for this most glorious construction, the Church, which is being built
up in the Spirit, and which the Lord Jesus purchased with his blood.
[1] https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-01/youd-better-watch-where-you-walk-next-time-you-visit-vatican
[2] https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/10/the-mysteries-of-the-legendary-well-of-souls/