Think on These
Things
by Tom McLemore
Question: Mr. McLemore, What is the foundation of the church? I have heard that it is Peter. Is this true?
Answer: What you have heard is an erroneous conclusion based
upon Matthew 16:18: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” The name Peter means “rock,” and some have
concluded that “this rock” refers to Peter.
However, “this rock” refers to Christ, whom Peter had just confessed
(see verses 16, 17): “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter knew that he himself was not the
foundation. In 1 Peter 2:3-7, he writes
of Christ as being the foundation stone and all of Christ’s servants as being
stones built upon the foundation.
According to Isaiah 28:16, God had laid the foundation long before Peter
ever came along. Therefore, Paul
acknowledged that “no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has
been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). The apostles and prophets laid the
foundation, viz., Christ, and built upon it by preaching the word of Christ
(Ephesians 2:20).
Address questions to tommclemore@juno.com
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