COGaIC: Peter Knew Jesus Was the Foundational Stone

Keys at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City (June 2009)

In the latest issue of its Vision magazine, COGaIC’s David Hulme wrote:

On one occasion, when Jesus spoke of His impending death, “Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men’” (Mark 8:32–33, New King James Version). Jesus saw Satan behind Peter’s response. Thankfully, the apostle had come to understand many things since those days, including the depth of the archenemy’s work of deceiving humans.

GOD’S ELECTION

Peter had also recognized that Jesus is the living foundation stone for the house God is building from specially called and chosen human beings (1 Peter 2:4–5).

But I want to go into this is a bit more depth than David Hulme did as that article did not quote the verse or go into more detail.

As most know, the Church of Rome claims that Jesus made the Apostle Peter the foundational stone of the church based upon a misunderstanding of Matthew 16:18. They also teach that they have the “keys to the kingdom” which is why they have the mosaic of keys at the entrance of Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican (shown at the beginning of this post).

Anyway, notice what the Apostle Peter himself taught:

4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”
8 and
“A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” (1 Peter 2:4-8)

The Apostle Peter knew that Jesus is the chief cornerstone, the foundational rock, of the Church:

10 Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)

Jesus also referred to Himself as the chief cornerstone in the Gospels (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17).

Since Jesus and Peter knew that it was Jesus, and not Peter, who was the rock, the chief cornerstone, of the Church, that is what all need to realize today.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Was Peter the Rock Who Alone Received the Keys of the Kingdom? How should Matthew 16:18-19 be understood?
The Apostle Peter He was an original apostle and early Christian leader.
Apostolic Succession What really happened? Did structure and beliefs change? Are many of the widely-held current understandings of this even possible? Did you know that Catholic scholars really do not believe that several of the claimed “apostolic sees” of the Orthodox have apostolic succession–despite the fact that the current pontiff himself seems to wish to ignore this view? Is there actually a true church that has ties to any of the apostles that is not part of the Catholic or Orthodox churches? Read this article if you truly are interested in the truth on this matter!
Early Church History: Who Were the Two Major Groups Professed Christ in the Second and Third Centuries? Did you know that many in the second and third centuries felt that there were two major, and separate, professing Christian groups in the second century, but that those in the majority churches tend to now blend the groups together and claim “saints” from both? “Saints” that condemn some of their current beliefs. Who are the two groups?
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Living Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? Which group best represents true Christianity? This documented article answers those questions. Português: Qual é fiel: A igreja católica romana ou a igreja viva do deus? Tambien Español: Cuál es fiel: ¿La iglesia católica romana o La Iglesia del Dios Viviente? Auch: Deutsch: Welches zuverlässig ist: Die Römisch-katholische Kirche oder die lebende Kirche von Gott?