Who or what is the rock?
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Description of the Rock in verse 4
Deuteronomy 32
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
32 Give ear, O heavens, and I [Moses] will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
3 For I will proclaim the name [and presence] of the Lord. Concede and ascribe greatness to our God.
4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are law and justice. A God of faithfulness without breach or deviation, just and right is He.
I say --The Rock in Matthew 16:18 is used metaphorically to describe ----- the Man of Christ who is like a rock by reason of His Firmness and and Strength of Soul -----this is what the church is built on ----
Deuteronomy 32
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
32 Give ear, O heavens, and I [Moses] will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
3 For I will proclaim the name [and presence] of the Lord. Concede and ascribe greatness to our God.
4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are law and justice. A God of faithfulness without breach or deviation, just and right is He.
I say --The Rock in Matthew 16:18 is used metaphorically to describe ----- the Man of Christ who is like a rock by reason of His Firmness and and Strength of Soul -----this is what the church is built on ----
I appreciate you taking the time to answer.Description of the Rock in verse 4
Deuteronomy 32
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
32 Give ear, O heavens, and I [Moses] will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
3 For I will proclaim the name [and presence] of the Lord. Concede and ascribe greatness to our God.
4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are law and justice. A God of faithfulness without breach or deviation, just and right is He.
I say --The Rock in Matthew 16:18 is used metaphorically to describe ----- the Man of Christ who is like a rock by reason of His Firmness and and Strength of Soul -----this is what the church is built on ----
I am convinced that the definition of the rock is provided in that chapter. It is the Holy Spirit revelation of Jesus as the Messiah. This is the rock the Church is built on.
Peter means Rock, Jesus gave him that name.
However much we may object to the RCC doctrine concerning the papacy and we do, never the less the words of Jesus are beyond question. "thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build My church"
Peter laid the foundation and the foundation is "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" no other foundation can be laid. Jesus Christ Himself is the Foundation.
But there cannot possibly be any successor to Peter, for there can only be one foundation and only one rock upon which it is built.
P
pottersclay
Guest
I beg to differ....jesus was asked the very same question by the Pharisees. Understanding the times and cluture along with the early beleifs helps in understanding of the gospel.
Its truth to us as we now know that which is revealed but back then it was another story. Very dangerous times.
Jesus wasn't as understanding as you are concerning the nation of Israel and their unbelief. A good example is found in John chapter 3 in his conversation with Nicodemus as He explains the second birth. In verse 10:
"And Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?"
In fact throughout the gospel of John Jesus is continually correcting the nation of Israel for its poor understanding.
Chap 2...they wanted to make Him king of an earthly kingdom but He refused
Chap 3...we already mentioned the spiritual birth vs the natural birth.
Chap 4...the woman at the well who asks about the location of worship and Jesus teaches her about the who and how of worship.
Chap 5...He shares with the disciples about spiritual food vs earthly food.
Chap 6...He tells the crowd that the work of God is found in faith and believing not the law.
None of this was new. It was all found in OT scripture. They simply had missed it.
Even that we are to love our neighbors is found in the OT in Leviticus 19:17-18.
So while it was a dangerous time to be a Christian in a Jewish culture, it was only so because they had so polluted the teaching of the scriptures with their own version of it.
Jesus did say to Peter, " And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,* and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."
And in the next sentence, Jesus designates His authority to Peter"
"I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.* Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
So, why did Jesus designate this authority to Peter?
And in the next sentence, Jesus designates His authority to Peter"
"I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.* Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
So, why did Jesus designate this authority to Peter?
It was Apostolic authority to authenticate the ministry of the Apostles. You find it also with the Apostle Paul
Actually, Jesus was speaking directly to Peter and not to the Apostles as a group. And please show me where Jesus designated the same authority to the other Apostles or Paul. Thanks.
.
Continued From No.10
People penned up in the fiery section of Hades may or may not be fully
aware of all they've lost. Many are doubtless aware of at least their loss of
immortality; but I'm not so sure they know about the bulk of their loss
because not even that many Christians are aware of all they've gained by
their association with Christ.
We today are living in what's sometimes called the church age; which is an
era that began with the day of Pentecost per Acts 2:1-2 wherein Christ has
been busy assembling the "my church" he spoke of in Matt 16:18.
The "my church" is very fortunate because it is a joint-heir (a.k.a. heir in
common) with God's son in his Father's estate. (Eph 1:11 and Rom 8:16 17)
A joint-heir is different than a regular heir. Regular heirs are apportioned an
individual percentage of their benefactor's estate. But joint-heirs inherit, not
a percentage, but the entire estate, as community property, i.e. whatever
the Father bequeathed His son, He bequeathed everyone associated with His
son.
For example: supposing a benefactor's estate totals 60 acres of land, 18
gold bars, plus a hedge fund worth 200,000 US Dollars; and he left it all to
six heirs in common. In that situation; the heirs are corporately one
beneficiary instead of six; viz: all six inherit all the land, all the gold, and the
entire fund as if each one were the only heir.
The extent of the Father's estate is astonishing. It encompasses not only all
that is in Heaven, but also whatever pertains to the new cosmos spoken of
in Isa 66:17, 2Pet 3:13, and Rev 21:1; and I don't know what else.
• John 3:35 . .The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his
hand.
• John 16:15 . . All things that the Father has are mine
• Heb 2:5 . . It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come
It's a good thing that God's son has been appointed chief executive officer of
his Father's estate because I don't think anybody else among men could
ever be relied upon to manage it properly.
Point being: disbelievers in today's era who fail to be accepted into the "my
church" will end up as deprived paupers in the afterlife, whereas those
associated with God's son will be members of a powerful oligarchy-- wealthy
and privileged beyond imagination.
_
Continued From No.10
People penned up in the fiery section of Hades may or may not be fully
aware of all they've lost. Many are doubtless aware of at least their loss of
immortality; but I'm not so sure they know about the bulk of their loss
because not even that many Christians are aware of all they've gained by
their association with Christ.
We today are living in what's sometimes called the church age; which is an
era that began with the day of Pentecost per Acts 2:1-2 wherein Christ has
been busy assembling the "my church" he spoke of in Matt 16:18.
The "my church" is very fortunate because it is a joint-heir (a.k.a. heir in
common) with God's son in his Father's estate. (Eph 1:11 and Rom 8:16 17)
A joint-heir is different than a regular heir. Regular heirs are apportioned an
individual percentage of their benefactor's estate. But joint-heirs inherit, not
a percentage, but the entire estate, as community property, i.e. whatever
the Father bequeathed His son, He bequeathed everyone associated with His
son.
For example: supposing a benefactor's estate totals 60 acres of land, 18
gold bars, plus a hedge fund worth 200,000 US Dollars; and he left it all to
six heirs in common. In that situation; the heirs are corporately one
beneficiary instead of six; viz: all six inherit all the land, all the gold, and the
entire fund as if each one were the only heir.
The extent of the Father's estate is astonishing. It encompasses not only all
that is in Heaven, but also whatever pertains to the new cosmos spoken of
in Isa 66:17, 2Pet 3:13, and Rev 21:1; and I don't know what else.
• John 3:35 . .The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his
hand.
• John 16:15 . . All things that the Father has are mine
• Heb 2:5 . . It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come
It's a good thing that God's son has been appointed chief executive officer of
his Father's estate because I don't think anybody else among men could
ever be relied upon to manage it properly.
Point being: disbelievers in today's era who fail to be accepted into the "my
church" will end up as deprived paupers in the afterlife, whereas those
associated with God's son will be members of a powerful oligarchy-- wealthy
and privileged beyond imagination.
_
H
1 Corinthians 1:1 relates his Apostolic calling. 1 Corinthians 5:5 and 1 Timothy 1:20 are exercises of his Apostolic authority.
I don't deny that the Apostles, to include Paul, weren't key teachers and authority figures in the Church Jesus founded. But still, Jesus only addressed Peter in giving him the keys/authority with the kingdom of heaven.
I've read the passages you quoted above and 1 Corinthinians 5:5 and 1 Timothy 1:20 don't seem to be relevant to the point we are discussing.
1 Cor 5:5
you are to deliver this man to Satan* for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
1 Timotthy 1:20
among them Hymenaeus* and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
This is where I appreciate the KJV's idiosyncrasy of utilizing the plural form of "you" in light of the same authority given in Matthew 18:18:
"Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
"I will give you..."
The "you" is neuter which can readily and easily be understood as a plural "you". In the South they say "Y'all" but since this is translated Aramaic or Hebrew it's not understood that way often.
Meaning that the lesson Jesus was teaching wasn't just for Peter but all the 12 Apostles. And we seen this to be true with Paul who used the keys and binding and loosening moreso than the 12 at this particular lesson in person.
The keys to the kingdom is the gospel. The rock (christ)
Only through Christ can one enter the kingdom.. Peter had no power to save people.