Preview of Christ's Coming Kingdom -- Part 4

Christ introduced the assembly because He would be “head over all things to the church [assembly], which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22, 23 NASB). Matthew 16:18-19 proclaims the assembly’s foundation: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The emphasis is not “you are Peter” over against Peter’s confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). As the Father had revealed one truth to Peter (Matt. 11:27), the Lord Jesus would reveal to Peter the truth concerning the assembly. The first word in the Greek text of Matthew 16:18 is kago, a combination of kai (and) and ego (first person pronoun, I), which means “and I”, “in like manner I,” “I in turn,” “I myself,” or “I also.” The word kai is a simple connective, but kago places the Lord Jesus on the level with the Father in revealing. Therefore, Christ was saying, “ I also [I as well or I likewise] will reveal to you what the assembly is that I will build.”

The following verses of Scripture should be observed in order to get the impact of kago: (1) “…My Father is working until now, and I Myself [kago] am working” (John 5:17 NASB). (2) “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also [kago] loved you…” (John 15:9 NASB). (3) “As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also [kago, I likewise] have sent them into the world” (John 17:18 NASB). (4) “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also [kago] will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10 NASB). (5) “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also [kago] overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev. 3:21 NASB). Conclusively, any person who denies that Jesus Christ is equal with the Father has no Savior because He and the Father are one: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 NASB).

The true assembly can have only one foundation: “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 3:11 NASB)—

NEGATIVELY, this foundation could not be Peter because he was just a man. When Cornelius, a devout man who feared God, met Peter at Caesarea, he fell at his feet in reverence. “But Peter raised him up, saying, Stand up; I too am just a man” (Acts 10:26 NASB). Does this sound like Peter was the first Pope? Paul never referred to Peter as a Pope. He taught against persons attaching themselves to any man (I Cor. 1:12, 13; 3:21-23). Paul never referred to the papacy when he spoke to the officers of the assembly (Eph. 4:11, 12). Even when he spoke of “the foundation of the apostles and prophets” as a revelatory foundation of the assembly, he said Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone (Eph. 2:20). The apostles ceased when the revelatory foundation was completed.

Paul’s rebuke of Peter for compromise was difficult, but since Peter’s sin was public it must be publicly exposed. In fact, his sin has become a part of Biblical history. Therefore, Christians need to be reminded that as long as they are in the flesh grace has not perfected its work in their condition before God and man. Furthermore, it proves the Roman Catholic claim that Peter was indefectible is false. The Biblical record states, “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like the Jews? We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Gal. 2:11-21 NASB).

Solomon in his wisdom said, “Better is open rebuke Than love that is concealed” (Prov. 27:5 NASB). Christians correctly cry out against the Roman Catholic dogmas of authority, infallibility, and indefectibility. By authority, they mean the Pope and bishops. By infallibility, they mean the church by the assistance of the Holy Spirit cannot err in doctrine, faith, or morals. By indefectibility, they mean the Catholic Church as Christ founded it will last until the end of time. Much of the denominational and nondenominational teaching of today should be condemned. Most of the ecclesiastical schisms for two thousand years would have been prevented if there had been the honest frankness of Paul on one side and the manly meekness of Peter on the other. Secret love can be real; but when it fails to speak out when it should, it does a disservice to both the one loving and the one loved.

Public rebuke for open sin should be the motto for every assembly. Peter’s act of sin was hypocrisy. It was not what he believed to be right, but it was an expediency adopted in a moment of weakness. The apostle had already learned from his encounter with Cornelius that God’s electing grace makes Jews and non-Jews alike in Jesus Christ. No bands of friendship should keep God’s servants from reproving sin. Public sin must be openly admonished.

Today’s appeal is that no one is perfect, and people object to rebuke for sin. No one can point to a single perfect Christian in the Bible, not even to Elizabeth and Zacharias who walked blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord (Luke 1:6). That sounds great, and it is. However, when a person reads a little further, he finds that Zacharias was punished for his sin of failure to believe God’s words (Luke 1:9-19). God sent Gabriel to announce his punishment: “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their proper time” (Luke 1:19 NASB).

A careful study of Peter’s life reveals his inconsistent conduct. Notwithstanding Peter’s inconsistence, God used him to teach all Christians some valuable lessons. Peter was the first to say, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16 NASB), and he was the first to deny Jesus Christ: “Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, You are not also one of His disciples, are you? He denied it, and said, I am not. One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, Did I not see you in the garden with Him? Peter therefore denied it again; and immediately a cock crowed” (John 18:25-27 NASB). When Christ began to wash the disciples’ feet, Peter said, “Never shall You wash my feet! Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head” (John 13:8, 9 NASB). Peter took his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave, Malchus (John 18:10, 11). Christ did not need Peter’s help: “And a certain one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, Stop! No more of this. And He touched his ear and healed him” (Luke 22:50, 51 NASB). The evil Peter did was cancelled by a miracle performed by the Head of the assembly.

All the negative things about Peter condemn the Roman Catholic concept of Peter as the first Pope. Peter could not be the unwavering foundation against Satan’s assaults. According to the following things, how would it sound for Peter to be the first head of the Roman Catholic Church? (1) Peter spoke as Satan when he “…took Him [Christ] aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You” (Matt. 16:22 NASB). How could a person who spoke like Satan and had his mind on the interests of man instead of the interests of God be the head of Christ’s assembly? (2) Peter did not know the difference between positional and conditional cleansing. The apostle had a problem with this until Christ taught him in John 13:5-10. (3) A person carrying a sword and de-earing people would be a strange Pope. (4) Peter denied that he knew Christ while he was warming himself by the fire of Christ’s enemies. This would be a terrible head of the assembly.

POSITIVELY, Jesus Christ is the only unshakeable foundation for the assembly. God the Father chose His only begotten Son to be the God-Man foundation of the assembly. Therefore, the assembly is built on the God-Man—Christ, and not on the God-like man—Peter: “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine [God-like] nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (II Pet. 1:4 NASB). This verse does not teach the deification of the Christian. It expresses the essential truth of the Christian’s God-like nature. The assembly is built on the God-Man slain, not on anyone who has been given a God-like nature: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church [assembly] of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28 NASB). Peter, the repentant slave of Jesus Christ, said “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold from our futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you” (I Pet. 1:18-20 NASB).

Scriptural evidence condemns the Roman Catholic theory that Peter was the first visible head of Christ’s church and, since the church is apostolic, that it was to be governed by a succession of apostles. The truth is that Peter did not act as the head of Christians in Acts 15 and Galatians 2. Furthermore, there is no Biblical evidence that Peter’s so-called authority was transferred to a succession of apostles. There are no extraordinary servants of God today (I Cor. 9:1; Acts 1:21).

If Peter had been the first head of the assembly, Paul would have built on the foundation of another person. However, he did not build on another man’s foundation: “And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man’s foundation” (Rom. 15:20 NASB). If Peter were the first head of the assembly, each member of the assembly would have to say, “I am of Cephas.” This would mean that Paul’s admonition in I Corinthians 1:12-13 would have to be different. He would have had to condemn all the parties except those who said, “I am of Cephas.” These are facts, which everyone either embraces or denies.