On this rock I will build my assembly

Ernst-August Bremicker

‘And Simon Peter answering said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering said to him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens. 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’ (Matt. 16:16–18).

The words forming the title of this article are part of the response of our Lord Jesus to Simon Peter after the disciple confessed Him as ‘Christ, the Son of the living God’. In His response, the Lord spoke, for the first time ever,[1] about His assembly, which He would build on this sure foundation. His words contain seven key points about the assembly.

A revelation

In verse 16, Peter confesses the revelation which He had received from the Father concerning His Son. In verse 18, the Lord confirms that He Himself is now speaking: ‘And I also, I say unto thee’. The one who speaks is none other than the Son of the living God, and He speaks with complete authority and omniscience.

The Lord goes on to speak of something new: the assembly, which is composed of all believers in the dispensation of grace — all who believe in the gospel of their salvation and are consequently sealed with the Holy Spirit. While the assembly has always had a place in God’s heart and counsels, it was not revealed in the Old Testament. As it is described elsewhere, it was a great ‘mystery’ (Eph. 5:32). Of course, we see types of the assembly in the Old Testament, but without the light of the New Testament we would never be able to understand them.

The building material

After referring to the disciple by his natural name when blessing him (‘Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona’), the Lord added: ‘thou art Peter’. While the Lord had authority to change names, He always exercised this authority with good reason. Here, it was to provide an initial indication of the material which He would use to build His assembly.

Simon was now ‘Peter’ (or ‘Cephas’), which means ‘stone’ (John 1:42). He was a living stone. Without having new life, it is impossible to be a stone in God’s house. Although he uses a different word when taking up this thought in 1 Peter 2:5 and speaking of ‘living stones’, the teaching is clear: Christ builds His house, and He does so with those who once were dead but have now become living stones. Moreover, those who become part of His assembly have the same life as He does: eternal life.

The foundation

The stability of a house depends not on the quality of the materials used but on the foundations (see Luke 6:45–49). The foundation of the assembly is none other than Christ Himself (1 Cor. 3:11). Hence, it stands on a firm foundation. In Matthew 18, the Lord Jesus refers to Peter’s particular confession that He is the Son of the living God. There could be no better or more solid foundation than the Son of the living God. It can never be destroyed or even damaged.

We should not confuse the ‘rock’ with a ‘stone’, notwithstanding that the Greek words look alike (petra and petros). Petra describes a mass of a rock, and indicates stability and firmness. Petros is a detached part of a rock. The different words used by the Lord for Peter’s new name and the foundation of His assembly makes it clear that Peter is not the foundation of the church.[2] Any suggestion to that effect is a false doctrine which must be rejected. Peter is part of the assembly, like us, but the foundation is Christ Himself.

The builder

While other passages of the New Testament speak of our responsibility, here the Lord says ‘I will build’. He alone builds His assembly.

Note that He does not leave it to anybody else to build that habitation of God that will last forever. Everything which the divine builder builds must be perfect. When it comes to our responsibility, we may see weakness and imperfection. However, when Christ builds, everything is beautiful and perfect. He builds according to God’s eternal counsel and the result will be seen in eternity after this present age.

The building period

The Lord’s use of the future tense demonstrates that He was speaking of His intention to build His assembly. That He used the word ‘will’ also denotes the certainty that He would carry out what He foretold.

At the time Jesus spoke these words, the building of His assembly had not yet begun. There were three conditions which were still to be fulfilled:

Christ had to lay down His life for His assembly. The church is purchased by the blood of God’s own Son (Acts 20:28).
He had to rise from among the dead and return to glory. He is the glorious head of the church.
The Holy Spirit had to come down to earth because He is the one whose presence on earth established the assembly.

These conditions were not fulfilled until the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Then, and only then, Christ started to build His assembly.[3]. His work continues to the present day, and will continue until the last stone has been added and Christ returns to receive the assembly to Himself.

The owner

Unlike most earthly buildings, there is no difference between the builder and the owner in this case: the Lord Jesus is both builder and owner of His assembly, hence He says ‘my assembly’. The assembly in its eternal aspect according to God’s purpose (i.e. all believers from Pentecost until the rapture) is always called the ‘assembly of God’ or the ‘assembly of Christ’.[4] Moreover, He purchased the assembly by His death, and therefore the assembly is precious to Him. By the way: there is no contradiction between the ‘assembly of God’ and the ‘assembly of Christ’ because Christ is God. The different expressions simply reflect different viewpoints.

Christ’s ownership of His assembly also has great practical bearing. First, we should have a high esteem for the assembly because it belongs to Him, and we should never speak condescendingly about it. Second, we should not forget that the owner of a house has the right to set the rules and regulations as to what takes place within it. It is not for us to do that in connection with Christ’s assembly.

The security

The Lord’s closing words are very encouraging: ‘hades’ gates shall not prevail against it’. The assembly is not only eternal, but also entirely safe. It is impossible to damage what Christ has built or to stop the building process. The Acts of the Apostles records many attacks against the assembly in its early years. But the result even of fierce persecution was not that the work stopped but rather that it prospered.

‘Hades’ gates’ speak of a mighty enemy, namely death. The assembly belongs to another sphere of creation where death is unknown. Christ’s death and resurrection were necessary to establish the assembly; therefore, death can never touch it. Whatever Satan tries, he will fail (in seeking to destroy the assembly).

Again, our responsibility is not the focus here. As committed into man’s responsibility, we may well describe the church as being ‘in ruins’. However, from God’s point of view, it is His habitation (Eph. 2:22), and it will be the ‘tabernacle of God’ in the eternal state (Rev 21:3). God’s purpose and counsel will never fail. Hades’ gates shall never prevail against the assembly of Christ. Glory be to Him!

[1] The Lord spoke about the precious pearl, which is a picture of the assembly, in Matthew 13, but without using the term ‘assembly’ (eds.).

[2] This is also confirmed by the following: the words ‘and on this rock’ introduce a new thought; and the Lord does not say ‘on you’, which He would have done if He had meant Peter, but ‘on this rock’.

[3] This clearly shows that it is not correct to say that there is a church ‘as of Adam’ or that the church is a spiritual continuation of Israel. On the contrary, the church is something entirely new. God’s promises to Israel given in the Old Testament are by no means fulfilled in a spiritual way in the church. They will be fulfilled one day in a literal way in the coming dispensation which is called the ‘fulness of times’ (Eph. 1:10), namely the millennium (eds.).

[4] Of course, this also applies to local assemblies (e.g. Rom. 16:16, 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1).

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From: Truth and Testimony, 2022