It seems most likely that the rock refers to Peter as the leader of the church (for his function, not necessarily his character.) Just as Peter had revealed the true identity of Christ, so Jesus revealed Peter’s identity and role.
Foundation:
Peter reminds Christians that they are the church built on the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone (1 Pet.2:4-6). shewing that Christ is the foundation whereupon they are built
All believers are joined into this church by faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, the same faith that Peter expressed here (Eph.2:20-21).
- Jesus praised Peter for his confession of faith.
- It is faith like Peter’s that is the foundation of Christ kingdom.
Consider for a moment each of the positions or offices mentioned:
- Apostles — chosen messengers, no longer present; (they are the people who directly spoke to the Lord Jesus Christ and appointed by Christ. They are sent to deliver the message. There is a distinct difference between Apostles and Disciples. A disciple is one who obeys, believes the Lord and would spread his belief is called a disciple. All Apostles are disciples, but all disciples are not apostles.
- Prophets — These are the spokesmen for God. Prophecy can be either Fore-telling or Forth telling or both.
Foretelling is the declaration of future events as revealed from the Lord, pertaining especially to the kingdom of God.
Forth-Telling is to utter forth, declare, a thing which can only be known by divine revelation; declare the God’s will, to interpret the purposes of God, or to make known in any way the truth of God which is designed to influence people and bring them under the saving knowledge of God.
The prophets of olden days spearheaded the advancement of God’s people and operated with a different mantle than today’s prophets. In those days, much of God’s will for His people had not yet been disclosed or revealed at all, therefore the faith of His people was founded on the word of prophecy. The role of the early church prophets was to reveal and reprove the law and foretell of the coming of the Lord with clarity, so that New Covenant believers could trust in the promises to come. The gift of prophecy, which still exists today, serves a slightly different way, but in distinct purpose as well.
God’s word is sufficient to sustain us, because it is complete. There is no need for any prediction of the future, because the Bible gave everything needed for the human beings.
The major problem that exists today, which has actually existed since the beginning of time, is that people are unaware of the depths of God’s loving intentions for His people, His overall plan and purpose, which is declared in His Word. Both individuals and the Body of Christ as a whole have displayed an unhealthy ignorance of God’s Word, which is His covenant spelled out in His Word is with us.
Therefore, the foretelling prophecy is no longer required and they are not present.
Today God wants His children to be Forth-telling leaders who can teach Bible, give the Gospel so that many people will be saved and brought into His fold.
- Evangelists — Preachers of the gospel;
- Pastors and teachers — Spiritual leaders in local congregations (also referred to as elders, bishops, overseers, shepherds);
- Deacons — servants who address physical needs in the church
Two Rules: The rules must be followed while building the church. They are Message and God’s blueprint.
- Message: the church is built on a MESSAGE, not on a MAN. Men come and go, succeed and fail, but the true revelation of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church (“thou art the Christ” – Matt.16:16).
- God’s blue print: We must build the church according to God’s BLUEPRINT if we want to have His BLESSING. The words “bind” and “loose” are perfect passive participles in the Greek language, indicating things that have already been forbidden or permitted. We can’t just do whatever we want and expect God to bless it; we must do what He wants, and the blessing will come automatically.
- If a contractor builds a house for someone, he sticks to the blueprint, which is the will of the purchaser. If we want to build a church, we need to stick to the blueprint (Bible), which is the will of the purchaser (God). Otherwise, we are not really building a church!
- Therefore, we need to discover God’s blueprint for building His church!