And *I* also, I say unto thee that *thou* art Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and hades' gates shall not prevail against it.
Read Full Chapter →Commentary for this Verse
Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Lord answers by announcing something new: He will build a church of His own. Two questions have divided readers ever since. What is the rock? And what is this church He promises to build?
"This rock" — Peter or Christ?
The Lord's words turn on a difference between two Greek words that English hides. One writer sets them side by side:
A J PollockThe Lord now speaks to Peter by the name He had given him. Peter is petros, a stone. The rock He builds on is petra, the great rock foundation. And the gates of hell — the schemes and plots of Hades, the underworld — will not prevail against it.
So the new name is a gift of grace tied to what Peter had just said, while the foundation itself is the truth he confessed:
J. N. DarbyBy grace Peter had confessed what no one ever had: that Christ was the Son of the living God. The Lord acknowledges the grace given to him. He gives him the name Peter, a stone. So by grace, through his confession, Peter shares in the very thing he confessed. For it was on that truth — that Christ is the Son of the living God — that He would build His church.
"I will build" — a future thing, not an existing one
The tense of the verb matters. The Lord had not built anything yet:
William KellyNotice the expression. It is not, I have been building; but I will build My Church. He had not built it yet, nor begun to build it: it was altogether new. I do not mean that no one believed in Him before, or was born again of the Spirit. But it is a mistake to call all believers from the beginning to the end of time "the Church."
If the building had not started, something first had to happen:
A J PollockWhen the Lord spoke, He had not begun to build. "I will build" is future. That building could not begin until Christ had finished the work of redemption, until He had risen and gone up into heaven, and until the Holy Spirit had come.
"My church" — His own work, not ours
The Lord calls this building His own. That ownership decides what it will be like:
An Outline of Sound WordsHere we see what the church is for Christ. He says, "I will build my church." Many other Scriptures speak of the church as belonging to God. But here the Son of God speaks of it as His own, as something He Himself is building… Men can spoil, break and ruin what they build. What Christ is building stays perfect, and nothing can break into it.
"The gates of hell" — the power of death
Commentators read "the gates of hell" as the power of death, and they tie the promise back to the confession it rests on:
J. N. DarbySo the gates of hades — the power of death, held by Satan — will not prevail against the church. For the resurrection declared Christ to be Son of God with power, above all the power of Satan. The church is built on this rock, on His being the Son of the living God. So Satan's power, the power of death, could not overthrow it.
The exact word the Lord uses matters:
The Bible TreasuryNote, it is His church, and He is still building. No wonder then that the gates even of Hades shall not prevail against it. They shall not "prevail." The Lord does not say that His church will escape heavy and painful blows. He says the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. This should comfort us; for His church must stand.
The personal question it raises
Knowing the doctrine is not the end of it. One writer presses the verse home:
The Bible TreasurySo it is not enough to say, "I have Christ," however blessed that is. If I know that He is the Son of God, I must also believe that He is now building the church. Do I know my place in His church? Am I walking in the life of Christ, a living stone in my proper place in the house He is building?"
Summary
- Confession — Peter names who Jesus is first. Only then does the Lord announce the building.
- Foundation — Grace gives Peter a name meaning "stone." But the rock underneath is the truth he confessed: Christ, the Son of God.
- Future — "I will build" is future. The work waited for redemption, resurrection, ascension, and the coming of the Spirit.
- Ownership — He calls it "My church." Men can ruin what they build. Nothing can break what Christ builds.
- Outcome — Death and Satan may strike heavy blows. They cannot prevail, because the risen Son of God is the foundation.