Matthew 16:18a says, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.” The Father’s revelation concerning Christ is just the first half of the great mystery, which is Christ and the church (Eph. 5:32). Hence, the Lord needed “also” to reveal to Peter the second half, which is concerning the church.
In 16:18a the Lord says that He will build His church on “this rock.” The words “this rock” refer not only to Christ but also to the revelation of Christ, which Peter received from the Father. The church is built on this revelation concerning Christ. First, the rock refers to the wonderful person of Christ, the Son of the living God. Second, it refers to the revelation of this person as seen by Peter. When we see this revelation, the revelation becomes the rock. Thus, the church is built not only on the person of Christ but also on the revelation of His person.
Roman Catholicism claims that the rock in verse 18 refers to Peter, whereas most fundamental Christians say that it refers to Christ. Although it is correct to say that the rock denotes Christ, not even this understanding is adequate. The rock here refers not only to Christ but even the more to the revelation concerning Christ. In this chapter the Father reveals something from the heavens to Peter. This heavenly revelation from the Father is the rock.
It is not an insignificant matter that the church is built both upon Christ and upon the revelation concerning Christ. The denominations are not built upon this rock. For example, the Southern Baptist denomination is built upon the revelation of baptism by immersion, not upon the revelation of Christ. In the same principle, the Presbyterian denomination is built upon the doctrine of presbytery. Likewise, the charismatic churches or groups are not built upon this revelation concerning Christ; they are built upon their knowledge of the charismatic things and on their experience of them.
The church that is built upon the revelation concerning Christ is the genuine church, and it is not sectarian. The problem today is that Christians like to form groups or so-called churches according to their concept and viewpoint. But their concept is not the revelation concerning Christ. The church must be built upon “this rock,” that is, upon the revelation of Christ. If we see this, we shall be saved from division. Only one thing is built upon the revelation of Christ, and that is the church. Any group that is built upon doctrines, views, practices, or concepts is not the church built upon the revelation concerning Christ. The revelation concerning Christ is the rock upon which the Lord Jesus is building His church.
In order to have a complete view of God’s way to bring forth the church and to build up the church, we need to realize that the rock in Matthew 16:18 is not merely Christ but also the revelation concerning the Christ, the Son of the living God. The church is built upon the revelation of Christ. This is the reason the apostles and prophets who have received this revelation and who have passed it on in their teaching to the believers have become the foundation of the building of the church (Eph. 2:20). This means that the church is built upon the teaching of the apostles and this teaching is the revelation concerning the Lord Jesus as the Christ and as the Son of the living God.
If we see that the revelation of Christ is the rock upon which the church is built, we shall understand why Paul told Timothy to “charge certain ones not to teach differently” (1 Tim. 1:3). We should teach only what the apostles taught, because the apostles’ teaching was the revelation of Christ and the Son of the living God, the revelation which became the unique rock upon which the church is built. Today we should not minister anything other than the revelation of the Lord Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Teachings that are different from this revelation eventually become the “rocks” upon which the various denominations and independent groups are built. Whatever a person teaches becomes a “rock” upon which a so-called church may be built. The situation is different with the teaching of the apostles. The apostles taught the revelation concerning the Christ and the Son of the living God, and this revelation is the unique rock upon which we should build the church.
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