In verse 13 the Lord asked His disciples a question: “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” As a man, Christ was a mystery, not only to that generation, but also to people today.
Verse 14 says, “And they said, Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” At most, people can only recognize that Christ is the greatest among the prophets. Without heavenly revelation, no one can know that He is the Christ and the Son of the living God (v. 16).
After the Lord asked His disciples to say who they thought He was, Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). The Christ, as the anointed One of God, refers to the Lord’s commission; whereas the Son of the living God, as the second of the Triune God, refers to His person. His commission is to accomplish God’s eternal purpose through His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and second advent, whereas His person embodies the Father and issues in the Spirit for a full expression of the Triune God.
The living God is in contrast to dead religion. The Lord is the embodiment of the living God, having nothing to do with dead religion.
Verse 17 says, “And Jesus answered and said to him, You are blessed, Simon Bar-jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father Who is in the heavens.” Flesh and blood refer to man, who is composed of flesh and blood. Only the Father knows the Son (11:27); hence, only He can reveal the Son to us.
In verse 18 the Lord said, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” 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 verse 18 the Lord said, “I will build My church.” The Lord’s building of His church began at the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4, 41-42). Yet the Lord’s prophecy here has still not been fulfilled, even by the twentieth century. Christendom, composed of the apostate Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations, is not the Lord’s building of His church. This prophecy is fulfilled through the Lord’s recovery, in which the building of the genuine church is accomplished.
The words “My church” indicate that the church is of the Lord, not of any person or thing; it is not like the denominations, which are denominated after some person’s name or according to some thing.
The Lord told Peter that He would build His church upon “this rock.” The words “this rock” refer not only to Christ, but also to this revelation of Christ, which Peter received from the Father. The church is built on this revelation concerning Christ.
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. Thus, the Foursquare denomination is built upon the revelation of the foursquare gospel, not on the revelation of Christ.
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.