Matthew 16:18: And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The Catholic Church is the oldest 'denomination' of Christianity and is still around today, hence, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
What church other than the Catholic Church could Jesus be talking about?
I'm not a Catholic, I was brought up a different 'denomination' and trying to discern things for myself. Thanks for your answers.
God Bless.
2007-10-05 15:49:10 · 30 answers · asked by oysterchowder2004 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Catholics believe it does.
John 21:15-17 states:
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."
He then said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." (Jesus) said to him, "Feed my sheep.
Matthew 16:17-19 states:
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 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. 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."
The Catholic Church believes the Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.
The Pope is the senior pastor of 1.1 billion Catholics, the direct successor of Simon Peter.
The Pope’s main roles include teaching, sanctifying, and governing.
For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 880-882: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p4.htm#880
With love in Christ.
2007-10-05 17:20:41 · answer #1 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
This is because, their Pastors have led them to believe otherwise. If a flock of sheep are traveling, and the first one leads them off the cliff... so the rest shall follow. Their shepherd, while holding good intentions, are leading them astray. Clearly, Jesus established the Catholic Church... but the reality is that the truth hurts and most fundies are not ready to admit that Martin Luther was wrong. This would mean that they wasted $25 on their KJV Bible, and now noticed that they are missing 7 books out of the OT as well. GOD BLESS them all... and may they one day, be united with GOD's Ark of Salvation... The Catholic Church...
2016-05-17 07:12:15 · answer #2 · answered by freda 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question!
Up until 1054 AD there was one Church it was usually referred to as Catholic. After 1054 there were two churches, the Catholic church in the west, and the Orthodox church in the east. Later, after 1453 AD the Orthodox church in the east changed because Constantinople was captured by the Turks in that Year. Now there are 17 or so self-governing Orthodox churches in the east with branches in western nations. There is still one Catholic church in the west with branches in the east.
In 1517-1521 AD the west suffered some serious dissent, and in 1521 AD a complete break between some German speaking principalities and the Catholic church occurred under the influence of the teaching of Martin Luther, and Hulrich Zwingly, and later John Calvin as well as numerous others who took up the "Portestant cause". There were wars as a result, the area that was later to become the nation of Germany was torn apart by revolt and war for 30 or more years. Yet there remained one Catholic church in the west, though now there were several protestant denominations.
Today we have one Catholic church in the west, and hundreds of Protestant denominations. It doesn't take a lot of thought to work out that Protestant theology leads to the formation of many denominations which differ in one or in many beliefs, some of the differences are minor, some are important, and a few are major. Yet the Catholic church remains one despite all the groups that split from her over the centuries.
Truly the gates (councils and rulers) of hell have not prevailed against the Church.
2007-10-05 18:08:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Some people continue to think that "petros" means "little rock." Don't get hung up on the Greek. Go back to the Aramaic.
Jesus' words to Peter were spoken in Aramaic. In this language, the word "keptha" is the equivalent of Peter, so this must have been the word He used. "Keptha" denotes a sizeable rock, one suitable for a foundation stone. This Aramaic name is preserved as "Cephas," 9 times in the NT.
Simon's name change recalls the OT episodes where God renamed Abram as Abraham, and Jacob as Israel. Peter now stands in this Biblical tradition where new names signify new God-given roles in salvation history. Peter becomes the foundation stone of the New Covenant Church. Just as the temples of the OT were built upon a great stone (1 Kings 5:17; Ezra 3:10) so Jesus builds his NT Church upon the foundational rock of Peter.
Do you really think Jesus wanted thousands of churches that disagree and can't be civil to each other? This is why he gave one man, Cephas, teaching authority and the responsibilty to resolve doctrinal disputes.
May God bless you all.
2007-10-05 16:24:57 · answer #4 · answered by Andrei Bolkonsky 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Read the entire passage - verses 13 to 20. I'll include verses 17 and 18 here.
17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church ....
The crux of your question is identifying that rock upon which Christ's church would be built. Catholicism declares that Peter is the rock; after all, Peter was given the keys of the Priesthood (see verse 19). However, I propose that the rock is not a person but rather a concept - Revelation.
No man told Peter that Jesus was the Son of the living God, but it was revealed to him by the Father (verse 17). Upon THAT ROCK Christ would build his church. The Church of Christ should always be lead by direct communication between the heavens and the earth.
2007-10-05 16:12:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Jesus is talking about the revelation of who he is when he says "this rock."
No one can believe in Jesus Christ without receiving this revelation, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against those, who are the church, who have the revelation.
There was a Christian church before the inception of the Catholic church in 313 by the emperor Constantine, or else what was it that prevailed during the time since Jesus ascended until then.
The true body of Christ is not divided into denominations, or divisions.
2007-10-05 16:06:31 · answer #6 · answered by hisgloryisgreat 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Who was the rock that Jesus indicated at Matthew 16:18, Peter or Jesus? The context shows that the point of the discussion was the identification of Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” as Peter himself confessed. (Matthew 16:16, RS) Logically, therefore, Jesus himself would be that solid rock foundation of the church, not Peter, who would later deny Christ three times.—Matthew 26:33-35, 69-75.
How do we know that Christ is the foundation stone? By Peter’s own testimony, when he wrote: “Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected, it is true, by men, but chosen, precious, with God . . . For it is contained in Scripture: ‘Look! I am laying in Zion a stone, chosen, a foundation cornerstone, precious; and no one exercising faith in it will by any means come to disappointment.’” Paul also stated: “And you have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone.”—1 Peter 2:4-8; Ephesians 2:20.
2007-10-05 15:58:47 · answer #7 · answered by Just So 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Wow. Lots of non-Catholic hype.
As much as they wish to reinterpret scripture to mean things that discredit the Church, the facts are that the Catholic Church is the only one that can trace Her history to the time of Jesus, was founded by Him and given authority. You don't even have to be a Christian to see this.
By the way, thank you for your open-mindedness. Whether you choose the Church or not, its so refreshing to see someone taking an honest at things and not buying into the hype and propaganda. Bishop Fulton Sheen said it best when he said there are not a hundred people who hate the Church, but a million who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Church.
God bless.
2007-10-10 05:05:54 · answer #8 · answered by Danny H 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
okay if you look at the preceding verses , you can see Jesus was saying to Peter . that the thruth that Peter just announced
was the thruth that Jesus was going to build on. and that thruth is this.
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
all Jesus was doing when He stated Peter name in verse 18. is the same thing that God had done was change a persons name before something big happens in their life.
2007-10-05 16:07:03 · answer #9 · answered by rap1361 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
The church in Rome is not "THE" church. The ecclesia or "called out ones", are all of the born again believers in whom the Spirit of God dwells.
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (ἐκκλησία); and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
ἐκκλησία - From a compound of G1537 and a derivative of G2564; a calling out, that is, (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both): - assembly, church.
Here's what Peter wrote about this subject.
1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied....23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever...1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Here's how the Apostle Paul explained it to the member of the church of God in Ephesus.
Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
2007-10-05 15:57:49 · answer #10 · answered by Martin S 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Jesus wasnt talking about Peter when He said, "upon this rock I'll build my church".. because no established body of believers is to be set upon man. if it were, it would revert back to the traditions of men that Jesus found fault with in the Pharisees and Sadducees.
God did not intend man to be subject to man, but to serve God., be led by the Holy Spirit. a man may preach to us but he cant dwell inside us the way Jesus can. the Bible tells us who "the Rock" is, and that is Christ Himself, He is head of the church.
Jesus was talking about what Peter said by inspiration of the Father. that is what Jesus builds His church upon. Himself. and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. we know this because Jesus has the keys to death, hell and the grave.
the church made up of those who accept Christ as the Son of God, goes back further than that of the Catholic church.... it started with the disciples, who were all Jews, until Acts chapter 10, when God told Peter by a vision, that the Gentiles are to be included fully into the New Covenant through Christ.
and it continued up to the beginnings of the Catholic church.
i believe they went off track when they persecuted the Jews right out of the church... and accepted many pagan traditions.
but the church that follows Jesus original intent continues on through myriads of believers, both Protestant and Catholic. that includes all people from many different backgrounds and nations, including those of Jewish, Muslim background, etc.
2007-10-05 16:10:47 · answer #11 · answered by opalist 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋