A FEW QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
By G. W. A.
“1. Is Peter the rock on which the church is built? “2. What shall we understand about the church having power to bind and loose things in Heaven? “3. Was the apostle Peter the first bishop and pope of Rome?” Ans. 1. The text to which the first question relates is Matt. 16:18: “And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” In this scripture two different Greek words are used for Peter and rock. The word translated “Peter,” is petros, and according to the standard Greek Lexicon of Liddell and Scott, it means, “a stone, a piece of rock,” such as lie loose upon stony ground, and which may be used; such as were thrown by ancient warriors in war. Petros occurs as a common noun but once, John 1:42. In all other places it is used as a proper name for Peter. The adjective petrodes, “stony,” derived from petros, occurs in the following places: Matt. 13:5, 20; Mark 4:5, 16. The word translated “rock” is petra, and is defined by Liddell and Scott, and others, to be “a rock, ledge, cliff, or shelf of rock.” The classical lexicon just mentioned says, “There is no example in good authors of petra being used like petros for a single stone.” Pickering’s lexicon says the same. This would convey the idea that petros applied to a small, movable stone, while petra referred to a ledge, cliff, or huge boulder. The word petra occurs in the Greek New Testament in the following passages: Matt. 7:24, 25; 16:18; 27:51, 60; Mark 15:46; Luke 6:48; 8:6, 13; Rom. 9:33; 1 Cor. 10:4; 1 Pet. 2:8; Rev. 6:15, 16. This use of the word petra is quite explanatory of itself. The passage in Matt. 16:18 may be paraphrased thus: “I say unto thee that thou art Peter [petros101, a little stone], and upon this rock [petra, rock, or foundation-stone, referring to Christ himself], I will build my church, and the gates of hell [hades, the grave], shall not prevail against it.” 2. The power of binding and loosing, mentioned in Matt. 16:19 as being imparted to Peter, from chap. 18:18, seems to be imparted as fully to all true believers. It quite evidently refers to church discipline, and may mean this: When a church, standing in the light of truth, is led by the Holy Spirit to take action in the case of members, to receive, or to dismiss, in all probability that very action is ratified in Heaven. The same thing is taught in John 20:22, 23, where the risen Saviour having breathed on his disciples—not Peter only, but all of them—said: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained.” Some commentators understand that the reason why Christ addressed Peter as having “the keys of the kingdom,” was because he first was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and so open the door of faith to them. See Acts, 10th chapter. 3. In reference to Peter having been the first bishop or pope of Rome, many eminent writers protest that Peter never saw Rome. Certainly there is not the most distant hint in the New Testament that he was ever there, or ever addressed them a letter, inspired or uninspired. But he does write with much fervor “to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,” 1 Pet. 1:1; and he also refers to the church at Babylon, 1 Pet. 5:13. See also his travels mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. But note, in all this, there is not a single hint of Rome, and much less is there an intimation that Peter had been there, and was their first bishop! That is purely a Roman Catholic invention. The “Encyclopedia Americana,” under the word Peter, well says: “The tradition that he [Peter] went to Rome, and was crucified there, in the year 67, rests only on the legends of the Roman Church, on which, also, the pope rests his claim to be considered the successor of this apostle.” We may also add that Paul says he was “not a whit behind the chiefest of the apostles.” 2 Cor. 11:5. If the popish view is correct about Peter’s exalted place among the apostles, and being the first bishop of Rome, then Paul must be mistaken. Which shall we believe, Roman Catholic tradition, or the divinely inspired apostle Paul? G. W. A.