Matthew 16:18

Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church Cp. Isaiah 28:16, from which passage probably the expression is drawn. There is a play on the words "Peter" and "rock" which is lost in the E. V. It may be seen in a French rendering, "Tu es Pierre et sur cette pierre je bâtirai mon Eglise."

On these words mainly rest the enormous pretensions of the Roman pontiff. It is therefore important (1) To remember that it is to Peter with the great confession on his lips that the words are spoken. The Godhead of Christ is the keystone of the Church, and Peter is for the moment the representative of the belief in that truth among men. (2) To take the words in reference: (a) to other passages of Scripture. The Church is built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Ephesians 2:20, on Christ Himself, 2 Corinthians 3:11. (b) To history; Peter is not an infallible repository of truth. He is rebuked by Paul for Judaizing. Nor does he hold a chief place among the Apostles afterwards. It is James, not Peter, who presides at the Council at Jerusalem. (c) To reason: for even if Peter had precedence over the other Apostles, and if he was Bishop of Rome, which is not historically certain, there is no proof that he had a right of conferring such precedence on his successors.

my church The word ecclesia(Church) occurs twice in Matthew and not elsewhere in the Gospels. See note ch. Matthew 18:17 where the Jewish ecclesiais meant. From the analogy of the corresponding Hebrew word, ecclesiain a Christian sense may be defined as the congregation of the faithful throughout the world, united under Christ as their Head. The use of the word by Christ implied at least two things: (1) that He was founding an organized society, not merely preaching a doctrine: (2) That the Jewish ecclesiawas the point of departure for the Christian ecclesiaand in part its prototype. It is one among many links in this gospel between Jewish and Christian thought. The Greek word (ἐκκλησία) has passed into the language of the Latin nations; église(French), chiesa(Italian), iglesia(Spanish). The derivation of the Teutonic Churchis very doubtful. That usually given Kuriakon(the Lord's house) is abandoned by many scholars. The word is probably from a Teutonic root and may have been connected with heathen usages. See Bib. Dict.Art. Church.

the gates of hell Lit. "the gates of Hades." The Greek Hadesis the same as the Hebrew Sheol, the abode of departed spirits, in which were two divisions Gehennaand Paradise. "The gates of Hades" are generally interpreted to mean the power of the unseen world, especially the power of death: cp. Revelation 1:18, "the keys of hell (Hades) and of death."

shall not prevail against it The gates of Hades prevail over all things human, but the Church shall never die.