[Eli Soriano is the founder of the Church of God International and a
critic of the Catholic Church. This Church is primarily in the
Philippines but is growing as a result of its constant attacks on
Christ's own Church. Many are deceived into this false man-made sect
that is vehemently anti-Catholic. They do not have a Trinitarian belief
in God but instead believe that Jesus is subordinate God to God the
Father and was never a man.]
(Eli Soriano) “The teaching that Peter was the rock upon
which the church was built surely came from either an ignorant mind, or a
polluted one.
Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.”
(Cristoiglesia) This teaching came directly from Christ
so in what way do you think that Jesus was ignorant or had a polluted mind when
He taught these things?
(Eli Soriano) ”I hate to base my explanation on grammar,
because it is not what I believe as the bastion of truth, but simple knowledge
in grammar may help us see the way to logical truth.
If Peter was the rock:
1. Then it should have been “thou art Peter, and upon you
I will build my church”
2. Or “thou art Peter, and upon this rock, which is you,
I will build my church”
3. Or “I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, a rock, and
upon you I will build my church”
(Cristoiglesia) What you are ignoring here in your attack
against the Holy office ordained by Jesus personally is that this is a name
change for the disciple named Simon. In Scriptures name changes are significant
in that in this case Jesus changes the name of Simon to “rock” or in the Koine Greek
Petros which in English is spelled Peter. When Jesus changed Simons name to
Peter or Rock He was referring to the enduring office being fulfilled of the
prophecy of Isaiah in Isaiah 22. We can also see the example of the parable of
the “wise builders”:
Matthew 7:24-27 (KJV)
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a
rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon
a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon
the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of
it.
Obviously, reading the Scriptures without prejudice,
clearly teaches that St. Peter is indeed the “Rock” that Christ intended as
Jesus in His construction vernacular makes St. Peter not only one of the 12
foundation stones but also the prime minister among the 12. Historically this
appointment without exception has been recognized within the Church and the
apostolic succession of the bishops as the first among equals with the special
appointment as the first to hold the Holy office of prime minister that Christ
ordained. This teaching is part of a greater teaching of our Lord about the
Church where Jesus teaches that He is the cornerstone of the Church; St. Peter
is His prime minister and one of the foundation stones of the Church and the 12
disciples are the foundation stones built upon through apostolic succession.
My commentary on Isaiah 22 is as follows:
Certainly in Matthew 16 Jesus is referring to the
prophecy of Isaiah in Isaiah 22 and in doing so He is fulfilling the prophetic
imagery prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. The prime minister referred to by
Isaiah is a type for the appointment of St. Peter to be the leader, steward and
authority over His family or household. It further emphasizes by Christ’s
actions in His appointment that He, Jesus, having received the throne of David
by virtue of His Father is asserting His claim to the throne of David and as
the rightful successor as king of all of Judah and Israel. He fulfills this by
asserting the legal precedent necessary to fulfill prophecy and appoints St.
Peter as the steward over His kingdom. He is claiming by this action what He
came to do which was to establish a new and enduring Covenant with His Kingdom.
But was this Kingdom fully established at this time or was it just a stepping
stone to the establishing of His Kingdom in His appointment of St. Peter in
Matthew 16? Certainly, the time had not yet come for the Prime Minister, St.
Peter, to exercise the power of the keys for Christ had not yet revealed His
glory or made claim to His kingdom with the establishment of the New Covenant.
This would not happen until Calvary where Jesus would from the cross drink of
the cup of consummation from the hyssop branch and then utter the words, “it is
finished” after which He gave up His Spirit and His glory was revealed. He
would finish His redemptive work three days later when He raised from the dead.
Only then was all prophecy fulfilled and the law satisfied. St. Peter was now
endowed with the Authority of Christ to be the royal steward over Christ’s
kingdom. So great was this authority that He had the authority to bind or loose
on earth as well as in heaven and became the spiritual father of Christ’s
family. The keys represent the supremacy of the power bestowed on St. Peter and
he is fastened on a peg and carries the weight of maintaining the King’s
(Christ’s) house. So great are the parallels between Eliakim and St. Peter that
it is implausible to deny that Eliakim is a type for St. Peter. The new kingdom
is not a kingdom of land and of a people but it is the establishment of a
spiritual kingdom of God and not of men. Keeping with the typology the office
of Eliakim was an enduring office and so too is the office that St. Peter to
which he has been appointed. Only the prime minister holds the keys of supreme
authority and not only the first among equals but the special and singular
authority among the disciples and visible head of the Church.
Let us look directly at the parallels between Isaiah 22
and Matthew 16.
The prime minister in David’s household had successors:
Isa 22:15, 1 Kings 4:6, & 18:3, 2 Kings 10:5, 15:5,
18:18
We see the full authority given to the prime minister:
Isa 22:22, Mat 16:19, Rev 3:7
Further teaching of the authority of the prime minister:
Mat 24:45, Luk 12:42, Gen 41:40, Gen 43:19
(Eli Soriano) “Aware of the way the Lord Jesus Christ
constructed sentences throughout all His sessions of teaching, we will not, in
our wildest dreams, think that the Lord Jesus has a propensity of ungrammatical
and nonsensical statements.”
Take for example the Sermon on the Mount.
MATTHEW 5:1-12
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain:
and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be
comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called
the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your
reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
The foregoing sermon can be considered scholarly
constructed with utmost literary style and beauty.
No learned scholar can accuse the Lord Jesus Christ of
speaking nonsensically nor ungrammatically at any instance in the Holy
Scriptures!”
(Cristoiglesia) Again, Jesus calling His disciple St.
Peter is a name change and as such the only proper grammatical understanding is
that St. Peter is the rock that Jesus proclaims. Otherwise the statement of
Jesus would make no sense grammatically or logically.
(Eli Soriano) “Biblically speaking, Peter cannot be the
rock upon which the church was built, simply because he was part of the church,
built upon the foundation stone who is Christ.
EPHESIANS 2:20-22
21 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
unto a holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation
of God through the Spirit.
The Apostles (one of whom was Peter) were built upon the
foundation, Jesus Christ himself. There is no other foundation than Christ!
I CORINTHIANS 3:11
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.”
(Cristoiglesia) Actually Eph 2:21 says that Christ is the
cornerstone which separates and excludes this stone from the rest of the
foundation. Christ is set apart as the cornerstone and Jesus speaking in Mat 16:18
is setting St. Peter apart from the other 12 foundation stones when He makes
Him His prime minister and in doing so fulfills the prophecy of the coming
Messiah by the prophet Isaiah. This is just one more example of Christ
fulfilling all things as He came to do.
In Ephesians 21-22 it speaks about this foundation being
built upon through apostolic succession of which the book of Acts records.
Obviously, you are ignoring a great deal of biblical
teaching to support your prejudice against Christ’s own Church and justify your
own disobedience to His Church. God bless!
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
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