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Basic Truth #24 - Christ's Church Built Upon Himself

Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 6:55 pm
by Littleleslie
Basic Truth #24 – Christ’s Church Built Upon Himself

Those who adhere to the Catholic faith believe that the words spoken to Peter by Jesus at Matthew 16:18 were intended to tell Peter that he would be the foundation stone upon which the Christian Congregation would be built. But as we consider other scriptures, we learn that this is not what Jesus was saying.

At 1 Corinthians 3:11, the Apostle Paul said this: "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." At Ephesians 2:20, he also said that "having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the corner stone." In both of these scriptures, the foundation stone or cornerstone is Jesus, with the apostles being subsidiary to him. He is the ‘stone that the builders rejected that has become the chief cornerstone’ as foretold in Psalms 118:22, 23. Jesus quoted this scripture at Matthew 21:42 to the Pharisees and they recognized that he was saying that they had rejected him as the ‘chief cornerstone.’ (See Acts 4:11)

Therefore the ‘rock upon which Jesus would build his congregation’ was himself and not Peter. That is why Paul also speaks of Jesus as the ‘head of the congregation’ at Colossians 1:18. This congregation is also spoken of as being the ‘body of christ’ and the ‘bride of christ.’ (Ephesians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 11:2)