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NASB | Matthew 16:18 "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 16:18 "And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it [by preventing the resurrection of the Christ]. [Eph 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col 1:18] |
Subject: What/who is "the rock" |
Bible Note: Ephesians 2:19-22 "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Since Christ himself is the cornerstone on which the church is built, Jesus could not have been referring to Peter as that very rock in Matthew 16:18, so it follows that it was Peter's confession of Christ that he was referring to. Jesus never speaks of two cornerstones. This is how it was understood by the Apostles, Peter never took a position of leadership among them, and it is also how it was understood by the early bishops (popes) of the church in Rome who never accepted such a claim and in fact gently rebuked those who held the church in Rome in such high esteem. |