Sound Doctrine, the Bible above all. by E.G - HTML preview
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WHO IS THE ROCK, JESUS CHRIST OR PETER?
Throughout Scripture we find many statements about who the Rock is, in both the Old and New Testaments, Jesus Christ Himself said in John 5:39 "Search the Scriptures; for it seems to you that in them you have eternal life; and they are the ones who testify of me;" in this verse he tells us that the same Scripture gives us the testimony about Jesus and that is the testimony that leads us to the eternal life that He has provided, which we receive by faith by believing in Him. He also spoke in John 7:38, "He that believeth in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water shall flow from within." So Scripture is what tells us about Jesus and His plan of life for us.
God's Word tells us that He Himself is the Rock, some verses are:
BIBLICAL QUOTES ABOUT WHO THE ROCK IS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT | |
BIBLE QUOTE |
VERSE |
Deut. 32:4 |
He is the Rock, whose work is perfect, for all his ways are righteousness; God truly, and without any iniquity in him; It is fair and righteous. |
Deut. 32:15 |
But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked (You got fat, you covered yourself with fat); Then he forsook the God who made him, and despised the Rock of his salvation. |
Deut. 32:18 |
You forgot about the Rock that created you; You have forgotten God your creator. |
Deut. 32:30-31 |
How could one pursue a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, If his Rock had not sold them, and the Lord had not given them up? For their rock is not like our Rock, And even our enemies are judges of it. |
2 Samuel 22:2 |
He said, "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; |
2 Samuel 22:32 |
For who is God, but Jehovah alone? And what rock is there besides our God? |
2 Samuel 22:47 |
As the Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation. |
2 Samuel 23:3 |
The God of Israel has said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: There will be a righteous one who rules among men, who rules in the fear of God. |
Psalm 18:2 |
The LORD, my rock and my castle, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, I will trust in him; My shield, and the strength of my salvation, my high refuge. |
Psalm 18:31 |
For who is God but Jehovah alone? And what rock is there besides our God? |
Psalm 18:46: |
"As the Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation;" |
Psalm 19:14: |
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing before you, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer." |
Psalm 28:1 |
"To thee I will cry, O Lord. My rock, do not neglect me, lest it be me, forsaking me, like unto those who go down to the grave." |
Psalm 31:2-3 |
"Incline your ear to me, deliver me quickly; Be thou my strong rock, and strength to save me. For you are my rock and my castle; By your name you will guide me and guide me." |
Psalm 42:9 |
"I will say to God, 'My rock, why have you forgotten me? Why should I go mourning over the oppression of the enemy?" |
Psalm 62:2: |
"He alone is my rock and my salvation; It's my refuge, I won't slip too much." |
Psalm 62:5-7 |
My soul, rest in God alone, for my hope is his. He alone is my rock and my salvation. It's my refuge, I won't slip. In God is my salvation and my glory; In God is my strong rock, and my refuge." |
Psalm 71:3: |
"Be for me a rock of refuge, to which I continually turn." |
Psalm 73:26: |
"My flesh and my heart faint; But the rock of my heart and my portion is God forever." |
Psalm 89:26: |
"He will cry unto me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation." |
Psalm 94:22: |
"But the Lord has been a refuge for me, and my God for a rock of my confidence." |
Psalm 95:1: |
"Come, let us cheerfully acclaim the Lord; Let us sing with joy to the rock of our salvation." |
In the Old Testament we can see the figure of the Rock representing God, for example, in the book of Deuteronomy we find Moses declaring that Jehovah is the Rock, God of truth and without any iniquity in Him. It is also seen that it is this Rock that gives salvation and how the people had forgotten Him. Then in the book of Samuel we see again the figure of the Rock, when David declares that a righteous man will come to rule among men, we see that he refers to two things:
- David declares that his Rock is God.
- He is announcing a Messianic prophecy that points to Jesus Christ as a Righteous King who will rule.
Likewise in the book of Psalms we find a wealth of teaching declaring that there is only one Rock that is God who strengthens, liberates, heals, cleanses, fights for us and saves us.
BIBLICAL QUOTES ABOUT WHO THE ROCK IS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT | |
BIBLE QUOTE |
VERSE |
Matthew 7:24-27 |
"Whosoever therefore heareth these words unto me, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. rain descended, and rivers came, and winds blew, and beat against that house; and it did not fall, because it was founded on the rock. But whoever hears these words of mine and does not do them, I will liken him to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand; and rain descended, and rivers came, and the winds blew, and beat against that house; and he fell, and his ruin was great." |
Matthew 16:13-20 |
"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that the Son of Man is?' They said, "One, John the Baptist; others, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said to them, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Then Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven." And I also say to you, that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he commanded his disciples to tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ." |
Jesus gives us the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount in three chapters of Matthew's gospel that correspond to chapters five through seven. In this sermon we find a wealth of spiritual teaching, some of them are: he spoke of the beatitudes, he spoke of light, of salt, about marriage, divorce, oaths, prayer, fasting, anxiety and anxiety, riches, the narrow gate, the saved do the will of God, etc. At the end of his discourse he stated that there are two types of seed, in which we can build our faith depending on whether or not we pay attention to the Word of God (James 1:22-25 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
For if anyone hears the word but does not make it, he is like a man who considers his natural face in a mirror. Because he considers himself, and he goes away, and then he forgets what he was like. But he who looks attentively into the perfect law, that of liberty, and perseveres in it, not being a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, the same will be blessed in what he does.")
If we listen to the Word of Truth and fulfill it, we build on the Rock that the Bible itself speaks of as God, and those who, hearing it, do not fulfill it, build on another foundation that is not the Rock. Simply put, they don't build on God. (1 Corinthians 3:11 "For no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.")
The foundation of the Church is Jesus Christ, he is the Rock.
What is a Rock?
In geology, rock is each of the various solid materials, formed by crystals or grains of one or more minerals. On Earth, the crust is made up of rocks. (Source: Wikipedia).
This gives us to understand that the Rock is a solid, firm seed, on which we can build, ground or build something. For example, an engineer or architect looks for a firm soil or seed to be able to build. Likewise, the way God's Word declares to us that the foundation of the church on which we can build is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).
Peter's confession was, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Peter's complete confession is such that it emphasizes the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God; therefore, he retained the entire confession. By declaring "Son of the Living God," he means "Messiah." Jesus' response highlighted the importance of Peter's confession in acknowledging him as the Messiah, who is the Rock upon which the Church is Built, and that Jesus Himself had spoken of Himself after speaking/preaching in the Sermon on the Mount, declaring that he who hears these words and does them is compared to the man whose foundation is upon the Rock, but not the one who has them. a different foundation (which is not Christ) that identifies him with the Foundation of the sand, that is why Jesus highlighted the importance of Peter's confession by saying: "And I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock (speaking of himself) I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and to you (speaking of the Church, since Peter symbolizes the believers) I will give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
BIBLICAL QUOTES ABOUT WHO THE ROCK IS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT | |
BIBLE QUOTE |
VERSE |
Romans 9:30-33 |
"What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained righteousness, that is, righteousness which is by faith; 31 But Israel, who was pursuing a law of righteousness, did not reach it. 32 Why? For they were after it, not by faith, but as by works of the law, for they stumbled over the stumbling block, 33 as it is written: Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling block and a rock of falling; And whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." |
1Corinthians 10:4 |
"And they all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ." |
1Corinthians 3:11 |
"For no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." |
1Peter 2:6-8 |
" Wherefore the Scripture also contains: Behold, I lay in Zion the chief cornerstone, chosen, precious; And whoever believes in him will not be ashamed. To you therefore who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, The stone which the builders rejected, Has become the head of the corner; And: A stone of stumbling block, and a rock that causes to fall, because they stumble at the word, being disobedient; for which they were also destined. |
Ephesians 2:19-20 |
"Therefore ye are no longer strangers and strangers, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone." |
Throughout the word we find the figure of the rock representing God himself.