Gryphius@GryphiusEitel
Christ, not Peter is the rock.
God’s Word:
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked 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?" he 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 man, 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 overcome it.’” Matthew 16:13-18
The Greek for Peter is Petros, masculine singular proper noun. The word for rock is petra, feminine singular common noun. The same distinction is in the Latin Vulgate, which the Catholic church has held you must believe is authoritative, or you will go to hell.
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:10-11
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house.”
Matthew 7:24
“They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock [petra] that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”
1 Corinthians 10:3-4
“For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone (lithos) in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this stone (lithos) is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone (lithos) the builders rejected has become the capstone,’ and, ‘A stone (lithos) that causes men to stumble and a rock (petra) that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message (logos—word) ---which is also what they were destined for.”
1 Peter 2:6-8
“As you come to him, the living Stone---rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--- 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.”
What did Peter say of himself?
“To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers---not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”
1 Peter 5:1-3
Let’s end with Origen:
“And if we too have said like Peter, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,’ not as if flesh and blood had revealed it unto us, but by the light from the Father in heaven having shone in our heart, we become a Peter, and to us there might be said by the Word, ‘Thou art Peter,’ etc. For a rock is every disciple of Christ of whom those drank who drank of the spiritual rock which followed them, and upon every such rock is built every word of the Church, and the polity in accordance with it; for in each of the perfect, who have the combination of words and deeds and thoughts which fill up the blessedness, is the church built by God.”