Jesus is the Rock!

LET THE BIBLE SPEAK FOR ITSELF: JESUS IS THE ROCK!

"From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2

"For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me." Psalm 31: 3

"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." 1 Corinthians 10:4

"He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock." Luke 6:48

"And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed." 1 Peter 2:8

"For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?" Psalm 18:31

"As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." Rmans 9:33

IS PETER THE ROCK?

Lots of people like Saint Peter. Why? Perhaps because he made so many bad mistakes, and yet Jesus still loved him and used him to feed his sheep, along with the other disciples. But to think that Peter is the Rock that the church is built upon shows a lack of understanding of The Word of God. It is a charecteristic of a person who is doing only superficial bible study, and of someone not in contact with God properly in both prayer and relationship. Let s look at what Jesus actually said to Peter, and the CONTEXT of the words.

A STUDY OF MATTHEW CHAPTER 16.

FIRSTLY: the thing that Jesus is pleased with about Peter, is that Peter says this to him:

" Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16:16

SECONDLY: Jesus then replies and says:

" That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:19

If we look at this verse in the orginal Greek language it was written in, Jesus says this:

"That you are Petros (A STONE) , and upon this Petra (ROCK) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

So what is actually occurring is Peter is saying "YOU ARE THE CHRIST!" and Jesus is replying: "And you are a STONE, and on the ROCK (the Christ, the subject of the discussion) I will build my church!"

"And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone." John 1:42 KJV.

"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;" Ephesians 2:20. So ALL the disciples are simply stones, not Peter as some big foundation of

The Faith. So even if you believe Peter is a rock in the sense of a piece of rock broken from a cliff, his part is very minimal, and is based on him writing scripture later on by inspiration.

PETER SIMPLY CANNOT BE the "ROCK".

How can Peter POSSIBLY be the Rock upon which the church is built, when his name means "a stone" not a rock, and when in the very same incident Jesus says to him only a few verse later:

"Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Matthew 16: 22-23

Some Rock! Only a few verse later Jesus rebukes him and calls Peter SATAN! In other words within MINUTES the devil had prevailed against Peter, in one sense, but JESUS was infallible. Peter was really a humble man who would want you to be helped by his mistake, showing us all his fallibility and frailty. He would want you to see from this that he could not possibly be called The Rock upon which the church is built. According to the many bible verses provided at the beginning of this study, the word of God clearly says GOD ALONE can be the Rock, as our life can only be built on him! Peter was even reproved and corrected for the sin of hypocrisy by the Apostle Paul later on in his ministry (Galatians 2:11).

Peter denied Jesus 3 times! And then the cock crew! He cannot possibly be The Rock. That Jesus is The Rock is yet another proof of his Godhead, as "who is a rock save our God"? If you make Peter (petros) into the Petra (Rock) the church is built upon, in other words the body of Christ, the believers, you are in fact undermining the deity of Jesus! You are taking away one of the CLEAR PROOFS that by being our Saviour and The Rock of our salvation Jesus must be God himself in the flesh, just as the prophecies say he would be and is! Amen.

ROCK OF AGES

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy wounded side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands

Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,

When my eyes shall close in death,

When I rise to worlds unknown,

And behold Thee on Thy throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee.