On What Foundation Is the True Church Built?

What the Scriptures say will surprise many. The answer is vital to you.
PRIESTS of the Roman Catholic Church like to point to Matthew 16:18 when questions arise about identifying the true church. This scripture simply says: “You are Peter, and on this rock-mass I will build my congregation, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” The Catholic Douay version Bible phrases this text this way: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” From those few words of Jesus, the Roman Catholic Church has concluded that there Jesus made Peter the rock foundation on which the church of God and Christ is built, that Peter became the first pope and successor of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that there the Roman Catholic Church had its beginning, making it the first church and the only true church.

Cardinal Gibbons in his book The Faith of Our Fathers, page 100, makes this statement: “Jesus, our Lord, founded but one Church, which He was pleased to build on Peter. Therefore, any church that does not recognize Peter as its foundation stone is not the Church of Christ, and therefore cannot stand, for it is not the work of God. This is plain.” A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1953, says: “By this revelation the Father had singled out Peter as the natural foundation for his Son’s society.”

But is that what Jesus meant by the words “upon this rock I will build my church”? Was he referring to Peter when he spoke those words? Was Peter to head the congregation of God?

First note, the word “church” appearing in many Bible translations does not have reference to a literal building of stone. The Bible tells us that God “does not dwell in handmade temples.” (Acts 17:24) The original Greek word translated “church” at Matthew 16:18 is ecclésia. It has reference to a congregation or an assembly of people and not to a building of wood or stone made by men’s hands. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, page 881, makes this comment: “The ‘church’ (ἐκκλησία, the customary LXX rendering of the Hebrew qahál, i.e. religious assembly, congregation) is the new society of Christ’s faithful answering to, and supplanting, the OT qahál. Simon is to be the ultimate authority on earth of this society.”
From this Catholic authority it is evident that God had a church or an assembly or a congregation long before the time of Christ. That assembly was the Jewish nation. The martyr Stephen referred to the nation of Israel in the wilderness as an ecclesia or church or an assembly of God. Nor does this word apply strictly to religious assemblies. It can apply to any assembly duly summoned. Luke, in telling of the mob that gathered at Ephesus in protest to Paul’s preaching, refers to it as no regular ecclesia or assembly. (Acts 7:38; 19:29-41) At Romans 16:5 (AV) Paul says: “Likewise greet the church that is in their house.” Again at 1 Corinthians 16:19 (Dy) he writes: “The churches of Asia salute you.” It would be ridiculous to conclude that Paul was speaking of greeting a building inside another building, or that certain religious edifices were saluting these of Corinth. Rather, Paul is indisputably speaking about gatherings of Christians, an assembly or congregation of people.
Now, with this in mind, of whom was Jesus speaking when he said: “On this rock-mass I will build my congregation,” or “my church”? Note carefully, Jesus does not say “Peter’s church,” or “Paul’s church,” but “my church.” Jesus is here speaking about his footstep followers. The Catholic Commentary makes this point clear when it refers to them as “the new society of Christ’s faithful.” These faithful footstep followers Jesus calls his body, his bride, his congregation or church, and he has prepared a place for them with him in heaven. Revelation gives the number of them as 144,000.—Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 12:12-28; Eph. 1:22, 23; Rev. 14:1, 3.

THE ROCK OR ROCK-MASS

Who or what is the rock or rock-mass or foundation upon which the Christian congregation is built? As previously noted, Roman Catholic theologians say that the foundation is the apostle Peter. Thus The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XI, page 746, says: “By the word ‘rock’ the Saviour cannot have meant Himself, but only Peter.” Are these Catholic theologians correct in their conclusion?
Bible scholars will note that Jehovah the Almighty God is often referred to in the Scriptures as “the Rock,” because he is the eternal foundation of his holy universal organization. At Deuteronomy 32:3, 4 we read: “Do you attribute greatness to our God! The Rock, perfect is his activity.” Jehovah God Almighty is a foundation that can never be moved. Samuel’s mother Hannah in prayer said: “There is no rock like our God.”—1 Sam. 2:2.

Jesus Christ is also identified in the Scriptures as a rock. In fact, Jesus identifies himself as the rock or cornerstone that the builders rejected. (Matt. 21:42) In his writings the apostle Peter testifies to this fact, saying: “Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected, it is true, by men, but chosen, precious, with God, you yourselves also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house for the purpose of a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 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.’ It is to you, therefore, that he is precious, because you are believers; but to those not believing, ‘the identical stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner,’ and ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock-mass of offense.’” (1 Pet. 2:4-8) Thus stones or rocks are used in an illustrative sense, representing individual faithful members who become a part of the Christian congregation built on the foundation cornerstone Jesus Christ.
Note how this view is also supported by the apostle Paul. He writes: Israel “stumbled on the ‘stone of stumbling’; as it is written: ‘Look! I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock-mass of offense, but he that rests his faith on it will not come to disappointment.’” (Rom. 9:32, 33) Now over whom did ancient Israel stumble? Was it over Peter or over Jesus Christ? Paul shows the stone of stumbling and foundation to be Jesus Christ, not Peter.—1 Cor. 10:4.

Further, when Paul mentions “apostles and prophets,” which certainly would have included Peter, he, nevertheless, refers to Christ as “the foundation cornerstone.” (Eph. 2:20) Why this if Peter headed the church? Again, at Revelation 21:14 all twelve apostles of Christ are designated as twelve foundation stones. Peter is not singled out. But it says that these twelve apostles are of “the Lamb,” who is the chief foundation and precious cornerstone.