Jesus never said, "Upon this rock I will build my church."
Matthew 16:18
And I say also to you That you are petros but upon this THE PETRA I shall build my home, the Ek-klesia and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it
Comments: Matthew 16:18 Jesus never said, “Upon this rock I will build my Church.” He said upon this Rock I am building my home—the Out-Called.
Jesus used two compound words, which scholars only partially translate in Matthew 16:18. The phrase “I shall build” literally reads, I am building my home. This comes from the Greek compound word oiko-domEsO or oiko-domeō. The word oiko means “home.” Domeo/domeso is a verb meaning “I am building.”
Jesus claimed to be a building his home and his people would be his home. This is not just figurative. It is literal, as every believer is indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are temples of the Living God. Our bodies are literally Jesus’ home.
The compound word ek-klesia does not mean church. Church is a made up, hierarchal, word that serves the purposes of those who would appropriate the home and people of Jesus Christ for themselves.
In Matthew 16:18, virtually every Bible translation leaves out the part about Jesus building his domestic home. This is because a domestic home is not a hierarchical organization. Though complementarians disagree with this, Jesus demolished the patriarchy with his statement about building a domestic home for himself and for his people. The earliest Believers understood this and were wholly egalitarian.
What Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 should have emancipated women and men from a gender-based hierarchy God never commanded but clearly stated would happen as a consequence of sin. God warned the first woman, and by extension all women, “He” will dominate you. And “he” did.
Equality of the sexes—even commanded by God—wasn’t something fallen men would tolerate for any length of time. And they didn’t. Though might doesn’t make right, the world at large quickly became male controlled.
Jesus never created the organizations we know as churches. The word church is found nowhere in our Greek New Testaments. As far as Christianity goes, the organizations known as churches are wholly man made. Women played no part in the transition from oiko domeō the ek-klesia—the home being built by Christ and which included women as ministry gifts of leadership to his people—to the hierarchical churches that almost completely obliterated women from not only Christian leadership but from the historical record of Christianity as well.
Does God use the churches? Of course he does, because his will is for everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. But that does not mean hierarchical churches were ever his idea to begin with? No.
Jesus remains invested in oiko domeō the ek-klesia—building and building up his home in the Out-Called through The Petra, the Holy Spirit revelation of who he is.
Believers can gather together for worship and edification without hierarchy. That is the biblical model. The gifts of the Spirit can and do manifest without hierarchy. Scripture gives protocol for this. Christian leadership should always be by example, and not by hierarchy.
Hebrews 13:17 Does not command believers to obey their leaders or submit to their alleged authority. The Greek does not come close to saying either of those things. Christian leaders are given zero scriptural authority over Christian laity. Though the text indicates deference out of respect for leaders who are known to be loving, upright, and scriptural in their words and ways, no hierarchical authority is conferred upon them. This is done only through 501c3 incorporation bylaws and manipulative coercion. Biblical leadership is all about leading through love and by example.
Hebrews 13:17 Have confidence in the ones leading you and defer to them [imitate them as they imitate Christ] For they are being vigilant for the sake of your souls as they that must give account for their words that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you [if they spoke the truth and you refused to hear it]
Back to Matthew 16:18
Matthew 16:18 Petros [Strong’s G4074]: Defined by James Strong as a masculine noun that means a stone: A piece of a rock.
A chip off the old block, so to speak.
Jesus called Peter a stone—not a rock. This is significant.
Matthew 16:18 Petra [Strong’s G4073], is defined by James Strong as a feminine noun, a large mass of rock.
Now let’s look at James Strong’s contradictory definition of petra: “…pet'-ra; feminine of the same as G4074 [FALSE]; a (mass of) rock [TRUE] (literally or figuratively).” (True and False comments added).
Within the same definition, Strong contradicts himself by asserting that petra is simply the feminine form of the masculine petros, but how can that be? By his own definition, petra, the mass of rock, cannot merely be the feminine form of petros, which is but a piece of a rock.
James Strong was mistaken in saying that petra and petros are the same word. What’s worse is that, by his own definitions, he knew it.
Jesus’ usage of the words in Matthew 16:18, prove they are not the same. He differentiated between the two, indicating that the feminine petra was the preeminent mass of rock that the masculine stone petros was taken from.
Every believer—not just Peter—is the masculine petros, while the revelation of the Holy Spirit [the feminine Ruach] is Petra.
Do not let this confuse. There is no one single metaphor that can accurately portray the big picture involving a Believer’s relationship with Christ. Every believer, each individually the masculine petra, will also become the feminine Bride of Christ after the resurrection and harpazo—after which the wedding ceremony will take place in heaven, and then Believers will return to earth on white horses as the Lamb’s wife at the Battle of Armageddon. So, we see that scripture refers to the Body of Christ en toto in both the feminine and the masculine, proving there is no gender hierarchy within the ranks of Christianity.
Going beyond Strong’s definition, Jesus referred to petra as being bedrock Matthew 7:24-25. Biblical bedrock is feminine. Isn’t that something? Out goes the idea that feminine is weak and unstable. What is stronger and more stable than bedrock?
In Matthew 27:60, Jesus referred to petra as being the massive rock (sides of rock mountains) that tombs were carved out of. Petra is not a piece of anything. It is massive, stand-alone, rock. So how can James Strong assert that the stand-alone and massive petra can come from any piece of petros?
All petros come from petra.
Jesus proved that with his usage that petra is not merely the feminine form of the word petros.
The prejudice of James Strong in favoring gender-role-religion, influenced many of his comments, and this is one of them. Though he defined petra correctly, he immediately negated the definition by erroneously stating that petra and petros are the same, even though by his own definitions, and by Jesus’ usage, they are not.
The bias of virtually every other scholar comes into play when they remain silent on Strong’s inconsistent and incorrect comment.
So, respect Strong’s work, and the work of other scholars, but do not view them as infallible nor neutral. Be good **Bereans. Do your research. Do not be afraid to trust your own judgment in questioning the experts when bias appears in their work.
** The Bereans were a group of people in the New Testament who lived in the Greek city of Berea. They were known for their devotion to studying the scriptures and searching for the truth. They refused to rely on Paul’s reputation to take his word for everything but did their own research to verify everything he told them before believing him. Acts 17:10-15.
Strong defined petros is “apparently a primary word.” Assuming the male female order of creation, he presumed the feminine petra had to chronologically flow from the masculine petros. But Jesus’ usage of the words, nullifies Strong’s assumption.
Within the context of Matthew 16:18 Jesus, using two gender specific, primary words, illustrated the difference between a piece of a stone and the large mass of rock it was taken from. Because of gender-role-religion, traditional scholars struggle with the feminine petra being the strongest and dominant form of the word.
All petros come from petra. So, if only one of these words, in Stong’s opinion, was apparently a primary word, it would have to be the feminine and preeminent petra.
Jesus used the feminine word Petra in both Matthew 16:18 and Matthew 7:24 in referencing the Word of God, both written and revealed. In Matthew 16:18, the Greek reads THE PETRA. In this passage, Jesus preemptively obliterates the fallacy of feminine inferiority in any form. Thus gender-based-role-religion is debunked by Jesus.
Matthew 16:18 The Ek-klessia, the called-out believers, are the home that Christ is building for himself. The building materials he uses are the living stones of believers who build their homes upon the petra of his revealed Word –Matthew 16:18 and 7:24.
Jocelyn Andersen is the author of several non-fiction books, including, Redemption: Bible Prophecy Simplified, a Study of HOPE.
Note from the editor: I read my Bible every day, always picking up today where I left off yesterday. I call this my “on-track” Bible reading. I have been doing this for over 44 years. It was the best advice I was ever given, and it changed my life. If you are not presently doing the same, I invite you to join me. How much you read on a daily basis isn’t important. It only matters that you read, feeding your spirit with a prayerful dose of the living and powerful Word of God.
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Read more about this commentary HERE.