When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
Matt 16:13-18
Contrary to Roman Catholic doctrine, it was Peter's statement “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” that was the "rock" on which He would build His church. Like the rest of us, Peter was a flawed individual. This is confirmed only a few verses later in the same chapter, when Matthew records this about another statement made by Peter:
From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”
But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Matt 16:21-23
So we have two statements by Peter. One earning praise, and the other rebuke. It was Peter, towards the end of his life, that clearly stated who that "rock" was and what the "church" was - "a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood":
As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:
“See, I lay in Zion a stone,
a chosen and precious cornerstone;
and the one who believes in Him
will never be put to shame.”To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”and,
“A stone of stumbling
and a rock of offense.”1 Pet 2:4-8
Now, this brings me to an important point. If we honestly compare the early church, in the Book of Acts, to the many modern church expressions we see here in the west, do they look similar?
I saw this post by a well known Christian rapper.
“Once upon a time I thought I was done with Christianity. But the reality was I was just done with the institutional, corporatized, gentrified, politicized, culturally exclusive version of it...”
"Vulnerability gets people kicked out of exclusive tribes. Jesus welcomes the outcast and seeks to bring healing.”
- Lecrae
I don't think Lecrae's comments are too far off the mark.
As I was reading Lecrae's comments, a statement from a church leader in the underground church in Iran came to mind.
Persecution keeps you clean
- Ali
In places like Iran, the institutional church is dead. But the underground church is growing and thriving despite severe hardship. I've noticed it with myself, and I can see it in the experience of others. Pressure is causing people to re-evaluate, re-examine. In many cases, we are seeing believers choose to disassociate themselves from the tribal nature of denominationalism. There is a refining process going on right now that is changing how we think about "church".
And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out:
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give Him the glory.
For the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His bride has made herself ready.
She was given clothing of fine linen,
bright and pure.”For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.
Rev 19:6-8
