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“THE PRIMACY OF PETER??"

Thesis: To expose the traditions of men in light of the all sufficient scriptures unto the truth.

Text: Mt 16:13-19

Introduction;
1. This week we will be considering that which is sometimes referred to as “the primacy of Peter”, this is a very important issue, because if it is correct, then Catholicism is correct, and we need to repent and become a member of that organization, or perish eternally for it is written there is but “one Faith” (Eph 4:5).

2. The entire religion of Catholicism is founded on 3 claims . . .

(1) The primacy of Peter,

(2) Apostolic succession, and

(3) The infallibility of the pope

3. Yet when we go through the evidences we have, we can’t see why the Catholics cannot see the truth as the bible teaches, they truly believe their position to be correct. Turn to Mt 16:18-19 . . .

Mat 16:18 And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Mat 16:19 I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

4. The Catholic reads verse 18 as so . . .

a. “Peter is the rock that the church is built upon.” And when Jesus first comes in contact with Peter (John 1:42) He renames him from “Simon” “heard, or famous” to “Cephas”

5. And in verse 19 “keys” signify “authority,” thus Peter has authority, and whatever Peter decides is law.

6. We should state right here that in Mt 28:18, where it states that Christ was given “all authority” in heaven and on earth, that leaves none left for Peter, nor Moses, nor anyone else, but we will go on.

7. And to further substantiate their assertion of Peter’s authority they state that on every list where all the apostles are listed, his name is first (Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:16; Luke 6:12-14; Acts 1:13).

8. And if his name is last in a list (as in 1 Cor 9:5-6), the order of importance is ascending, from the lesser to the greater.

9. And if Peter’s name is given 2nd (as in Gal 2:9-13) what you are seeing is a pyramid arrangement with Peter on top.

10. Therefore the church is indeed built upon him, and whatever he desires is law.

I. WHAT IS THIS PASSAGE TALKING ABOUT?

A. Let us back up in our text a bit, starting with v 13 (Mt 16:13-19) . . .

Mat 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is? Mat 16:14 And they said, Some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am? Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. Mat 16:18 And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Mat 16:19 I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

1. Note that in our passage (Mt 16:13-20) the question is “who is Jesus?” not “who is Peter?”

a. Peter’s given name was “Simon” meaning “famous or heard” which Christ uses here,

b. When the Word became flesh (John 1:14), He was given the name Jesus (Mt 1:25), He was also given the name “Christ”

c. Therefore as Simon’s name is now Peter, in like manner Jesus’ name is now Christ.

d. Thus what is seen in this passage is a play on ideas, seeing that I renamed you, (Peter “petros”) you renamed Me Christ.

e. And upon this rock “petra” (feminine in gender, meaning a bed-rock, mountain or rock, an immovable ledge) I will build My church

f. Therefore does not refer to the “Peter” “petros” (masculine gender meaning a rock, pebble, stone) seeing that in the Greek language the antecedent of a word must match up in gender and number; singular or plural.

g. So it must be the fact that Jesus is the Christ, as renamed by Peter

h. The Catholic rebuttal is that Jesus spoke these words in Aramaic wherein there is no difference in gender between these two words.

i. But we need to remember that the NT is written in Greek, and when something is spoken in a different language is states such (Mat. 1:23; Mark 5:41; 15:22; John 1:38, 41; Acts 4:36; 21:40).

j. And also when we take into consideration the “Latin Vulgate” which the Roman Catholic church considers to be “an infallible version?” Also has this gender difference. (Petrus vs. Petram)

k. And most importantly the Greek NT is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16-17), it is perfect (1 Cor 13:10; Ja 1:25); therefore the gender difference within that text must be accepted as truth.

2. But even besides these facts we could look at Rom 9:33 (turn there) . . .

Rom 9:33 even as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame.

a. This is a quote from Isa 8:14; 28:16, the stone here is “lithos.” And the word “rock” again is our word that the church is built upon “Petra” this passage is speaking of Christ, not Peter.

b. Now turn to 1 Cor 10:4 . . .

1Co 10:4 and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ.

c. Here again we see our word again “Rock”, (“Petra”), Christ, not Peter, (“Petros”)

d. And look at 1 Pet 2:4-8 . . .

1Pe 2:4 unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, 1Pe 2:5 ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1Pe 2:6 Because it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. 1Pe 2:7 For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; 1Pe 2:8 and, A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

e. The stone here is “lithos,” and the “rock” again is our word that the church is built upon “Petra,” this passage is speaking of Christ, not Peter.

f. Thus in this passage, written by Peter himself (inspired of the Holy Spirit; 2 Tim 3:16), shows us that his understanding is the Christ is the “lithos” and the “Petra” which the church is built upon, not himself.

3. Now we do see figure in the Scriptures referring to the foundation being the apostles, but them as a group, not Peter alone (Rev 21:14; Eph 2:20).

Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Eph 2:20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone;

a. And those foundational apostles (which refers to the 12 at the beginning of the church; Acts 1:21-26) had Christ as their chief cornerstone, not Peter.

4. Also in Gal 2:6-14 Paul says that Peter “stood condemned, to be blamed,” not that he had some sort of primacy.

a. In 2 Cor 11:28; 1 Cor 15:9 Paul says “he” had care for all the churches, not Peter

5. Paul discusses offices of the church in 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11-16, 1 Tim 3:1-13; Tit 1:5-9, but there is not one mention of Peter nor the Papal office! If the Papal office is so important, why doesn’t he mention it?

6. The Catholic church claims that Peter was in Rome from AD 42-67. If this is true how come there was no mention of Peter by Paul in the prison epistles which were written in AD 61-63?

a. In 2 Tim 4:16 during Paul’s 2nd imprisonment in Rome, it states that all forsook Paul, if Peter was there it means he was among those that did such.

b. In the Epistle to the Romans (AD 58) Paul mentions 21 people that were in Rome by name, but no mention of Peter, if his is prominent and in Rome, surely this would be the case.

c. Also in Rom 1:11 Paul states that he desired to impart a spiritual gift to the Christians in Rome, if Peter is there, why can’t he? It seems that no apostle had been there before AD 58 (Acts 8:18).

d. In Acts 8:14 Peter is sent by the apostles, that violates Christ’s teaching on preeminence in John 13:16 . . .

Joh 13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, a servant is not greater than his lord; neither one that is sent greater than he that sent him.

e. Therefore Peter is not prominent

5. In AD 44 during the Herodian dispersion Acts 12 has Peter in prison, yet the Catholic church has him in Rome.

a. In AD 49-50 (Acts 15) Peter is at the inspired council of Jerusalem, not Rome. In which James presides over the meeting, not Peter.

b. Clearly one ought to be able to see that this doctrine concocted to justify the Catholic system of hierarchy falls far short in light of the totality of God’s Truth (Ps 119:160).

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.

c. The truth is the papal office (and the entire system of Catholic hierarchy) was something that developed over a number of years, the 1st universally recognized pope was Boniface III. The title “pope” or “universal pope” was given to him by the Roman emperor Phocas in AD 606, and this is over 500 years after the Faith was once and for all time confirmed, revealed and recorded (Jude 3)

Jud 1:3 Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.

II. THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM

A. Turn back to (Mt 16:19) . . .

Mat 16:19 I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Now it does state that Peter (“thee” - singular) will be given the “keys” in this passage. But we need to remember that the “sum of Thy Word is truth” (PS 119:160), not just “some of it.” Only part of it may not give us a correct answer.

1. This is basically what Satan tried to pull on our Lord in the wilderness where he quotes Ps 91:12 in Mt 4:6,

Mat 4:6 and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.

a. But with Deut 6:16 in view (Mt 4:7)

Mat 4:7 Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.

b. The Son of God does not jump off the pinnacle of the temple, but if He did just take that one scripture and obey it at that time, he would have been in error, and He knew it, and Satan knew it too.

2. Therefore when we consider that this binding and loosing was also given to the other apostles (Mt 18:18; John 20:23), we must consider that Peter was not prominent (look at Mt 18:18),

Mat 18:18 Verily I say unto you (plural), what things soever ye (plural) shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye (plural) shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

a. He (Peter) was the subject in Mt 16:19 because of his name change, Jesus’ name change, and the play on words being used.

b. The “you” here is plural and it refers to all the apostles, but anyone that does this in the realm of Christ’s given authority would be included, in other words, this by application refers to the church as a whole in the context of church discipline.

c. Look at John 20:23 . . .

Joh 20:23 whose soever sins ye (plural) forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye (plural) retain, they are retained.

d. Again, this is speaking to all the apostles, we see the plural “ye” in the context. And this is specifically referring to the forgiveness that people would receive when they would respond by heartfelt obedience to the preaching of the Gospel of Christ.

3. And last but not least, this verse (Mt 16:19) should be rendered as YLT and NASB has it

Mat 16:19 and I will give to thee the keys of the reign of the heavens, and whatever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens.' (YLT)

Mat 16:19 and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. (NASB)

a. And it is the same in Mt 18:18 . . .

Mat 18:18 `Verily I say to you, Whatever things ye may bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever things ye may loose on the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens. (YLT)

Mat 18:18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. (NASB)

b. What these verses are saying is that they (Peter and the other apostles) really have no authority of their own at all, they are merely men God is using as His mouthpiece, proclaiming His inspired Word by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which was forever settled in heaven (Ps 119:89)

Psa 119:89 For ever, O Jehovah, Thy word is settled in heaven.

III. IT IS THE WORD THAT CONTAINS THE AUTHORITY, NOT PETER

A. Truly it is the through the word of God, God’s revealed teaching, that Christ exercises His all encompassing authority, as clearly stated in (Mt 28:18-20) . . .

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (age).

1. You see here “teaching” the “things” “HE” commanded, and they were aided by the power of the Holy Spirit in order that “all the truth” (not just parts of it) would be given and written down (John 14:26; 16:13)

Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come.

2. And also 2 Tim 2:2 teaches us that it is the teaching that was to be passed down, not apostolic authority (2 Tim 2:2)

2Ti 2:2 And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also (and so on, and so on, and so on, ect).

a. This is perpetual, as is Mt 28:20 . . .

Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: (which includes the teaching and so on, and so on, and so on, ect).

b. Therefore with the authority being locked up in “the teaching,” and considering the fact that it is perpetual, and all encompassing, (“all things”; John 14:26; “all the truth”; John 16:13) there is none left for Papal succession.

3. The Biblical stance on where the authority lies is thus . . .

“The church is an absolute monarchy, wherein Christ rules from heaven seated at God’s right hand, the position of authority (Mt 28:18; Eph 1:22-23), through His Word, the New Testament

a. The Father gave Christ the words (Jn 12:49-50)

Joh 12:49 For I spake not from myself; but the Father that sent me, he hath given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. Joh 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life eternal: the things therefore which I speak, even as the Father hath said unto me, so I speak.

b. Christ gave them to the apostles and NT prophets (Jn 17:8, 14; Gal 1:12)

Joh 17:8 for the words which thou gavest me I have given unto them; and they received them, and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and they believed that thou didst send me.

Joh 17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Gal 1:12 For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.

c. They were empowered by the Comforter, the Holy Spirit which enabled them . . .

1) To remember without error “all the things” Christ had spoken unto them (John 14:26),

Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.

2) Also the Holy Spirit taught them “all things”, (John 14:26) the remaining body of “all the truth” (John 16:13)

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come.



3) And declared the things that were to come; prophecies (Jn 16:13)

4) They wrote them down in a manner when we read (Eph 3:4) we can understand them, and is that which we call the NT, the Gospel, and are the word, the commands of God (1 Cor 14:37; 1 Thess 2:13; 2 Thess 3:14).

1Co 14:37 If any man thinketh himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord.

1Th 2:13 And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when ye received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe.

2Th 3:14 And if any man obeyeth not our word by this epistle, note that man, that ye have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed.

5) And when obeyed from the heart (Rom 6:17) they are able make the person who does them righteous in the sight of God, and gives them the hope of eternal life (Acts 20:32).

Act 20:32 And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified.

6) For it is by that same word that each one of us will be judged by to determine where will spend eternity (John 12:48; Rom 2:16; Rev 20:12)

Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Rom 2:16 in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books (of the bible), according to their works.

d. This leaves no room for the doctrines of men which result in vain worship (Mt 15:9), being made spoil of (Col 2:8).

e. Therefore let us continue in the simplicity and the purity that is in Christ (2 Cor 11:3), as it is written (Col 3:17).

Col 3:17 And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name (by the authority) of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.


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