The Church

One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church

Apostolic Teaching

Its Foundation: Confession of the Truth about Christ

The Gospel of Matthew bears witness to the confession of Simon Peter, a confession which becomes, as our Lord Jesus teaches, the very foundation upon which Jesus the Messiah/Christ promises to build His church:

{15}[Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” {16}Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” {17}Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. {18}And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. {19}And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:15-19 NKJV)

The confession of Jesus as Messiah/Christ (Anointed One) is given voice by the prophets (before His coming) and by the apostles (after His coming). The Apostle Paul assures us that even gentiles (non-Jewish believers) who confess Jesus as Messiah/Christ are likewise built upon the same confessional foundation.

{19}Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, {20}having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, {21}in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, {22}in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19ff NKJV).

As surely as the prophets point to the coming Messiah in prophetic utterance, the apostles likewise give voice to the same about the Messiah now come into the world, and so we can say two things about this teaching of Paul. First, it is right to confess that Jesus, as the cornerstone of that foundation, in a unique way gives shape and substance to the foundation of God’s holy dwelling, for only “in Him” does this holy structure adhere as One and have its holy and unified existence among sinful people.

And second, and no less Paul’s point, is that due to the work of the Holy Spirit applying the Word and Proclamation of Jesus (2:17f) to individuals, even the Gentiles who formerly were not God’s people are now made one “in Him” along with the prophets and the apostles and all God’s faithful people.

In other places Paul unpacks the mystery of Baptism by the one Spirit which accentuates this many-in-one reality by reference to the body of Christ. See, e.g., 1 Corinthians 12:13; cf. Ephesians 4:4-6.

And so, the “foundation of the apostles and the prophets” points to the foundation built by God through the confession of those to whom this truth about Jesus is revealed (“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”), the message of this reconciling peace (2:14-16) having been preached by Christ Himself (2:17f), and delivered to each person by the Spirit (2:18, 22), who seals us (1:13; 4:30) using the gifts of Jesus given in the Gospel (4:1-8; 5:26).

Paul clarifies the reality of this foundation in the faithful confession of Jesus Christ in his epistle to the Corinthians as well:

{11}For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. {12}Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, {13}each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. {14}If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. {15}If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. {16}Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? {17}If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Roman Catholicism at Odds with this Truth

Christ does not say to Simon Peter, “Upon you, Peter, I will build My church.” Rather, in this exchange (in the presence of the group of disciples) He tells Simon Peter:

“I also say to you (singular pronoun) that you are Peter (masculine noun), and on this rock (feminine noun) I will build My church.”

Why would Jesus switch nouns here if what He meant to teach by these words is that, going forward, the foundation of the church rests squarely upon the person of Peter, or (even more of a stretch) rests upon the office of Bishop that Simon Peter will someday hold in the city of Rome? If that is what Jesus meant, then why would He not say something like: “You are Peter, and you are the rock (fem.), and on this rock (fem.) I will build my church”?

Moreover, if we entertain such an hypothesis, that Christ envisions Peter as Pope (His future Vicar on earth) and that these were still His intended meaning to Peter and to all the disciples, then what of the Confession on Peter’s lips here? Does Jesus have nothing to say about that?

Does Jesus remain silent about the Confession itself, its substance, its import, and its role in the future life of the church?

Admittedly, Jesus does react positively to Peter’s Confession by His words: “Blessed are you…,” but the Blessedness of Peter is surely not to be found in his future role as a Pope or Supreme Pontiff in the church, but rather should be found in the enlightened and faith-filled response that Peter gives to Jesus’ query, for he, unlike his peer disciples, is first to make this bold Confession.

It seems doubtful that Jesus would keep quiet about the substance, the rectitude, and the power of what Peter is confessing before the other disciples at this particular juncture. It seems utterly improbable that Jesus would set aside His response to that Confessional Truth (placing it on the backburner) here in order to make another point about a future ecclesiastical authority Jesus purportedly is trying to give Peter here.

Not to mention the spiritual jeopardy such an action could put the church into:

• What if Peter were not to remain committed to the truth about Jesus as Messiah, a scenario made more likely by the interpretation of Matthew 16:18 in agreement those who adhere to the formulations and constitutions of the Council of Trent?
• Is Jesus further promising that all popes will be preserved from error (defection from the true confession of Jesus as Messiah)?
• Is Jesus making it clear here that Peter’s authority (and that of his successors in the office of Bishop of Rome) will rival even that of the Word of God? This is hardly probable and feels very foreign to the context.

The more natural reading, therefore, and one in keeping with all the apostolic writings (see above) in the New Testament, is simply that Jesus seizes upon the opportunity afforded by the brash, bold, and true confession of Simon Peter to make something of (call attention to) his alias “Peter” (masc. noun), which bears resemblance to the term for rock (fem. noun), and then to use that metaphorical rock to describe the same bold confession (first publicly articulated so boldly by Simon Peter) which must characterize the life and future proclamation of the church which Jesus promises to build, and so that confession must be the strong confessional foundation of that church henceforth and forever.

What underscores the truth of this interpretation of Jesus’ words in this teaching on the church is the fact that Jesus immediately after saying these words, tells them to wait to make this confession known:

{20}Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. (Matthew 16:20 NKJV)

And further, if Jesus meant for Peter solely to have the keys, then why would Jesus repeat such similar promise to the other disciples on two separate occasions?

The alternative interpretation used to prop up the Roman Catholic doctrine on the Pope (along with its fateful elevation of Tradition to the same level of authority as the Scriptures) is therefore a very shaky foundation upon which to establish the office of the Pope (the Supreme Pontiff) as the Vicar of Christ on earth.

Orthodox Claims at Odds with this Truth

Other church bodies make similar claims that the one true church must have an unbroken succession of bishops going back to the original disciples. But the same concerns apply to these as well.

If Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 16 concerns the true confession coming out of Peter’s mouth which highlights the true identity of Jesus as the promised Messiah, rather than Peter’s future right and authority to lead the church and thus to pass on authority to other bishops (whether they wield equal or lesser authority than that to be wielded by Peter or his successors as the Bishop of Rome), then the whole foundation of such claims of apostolic succession crumble.

If we want to know where the Holy Spirit is at work today, as in every age, we must know two simple things (see below), and this alone defines our true unity in the Spirit through our shared baptismal life together. Moreover, these two elements are always present in every age, so the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, in accord with His promise in Matthew 16, will go on and on throughout history as He (Christ) continues to build it into what He desires, for He Himself—not some earthly, ecclesial ruler or vicar or group of rulers/vicars—is the head of that church.

Our Bold Confession Today

Where Is the Church?

The church is the “assembly” (ἐκκλησία) or congregation of saints, in which

• the Gospel is rightly taught and
• the Sacraments are rightly administered.

Inasmuch as we can agree on those two essentials, we are truly united. And so, our unity does not consist in shared human traditions, rites, or ceremonies, nor do we insist that these must all be the same in every time and place.

Nicene Creed Descriptors

Building on the faithful confession from the Council of Nicea (the Nicene Creed) in A.D. 325, the church is further described by these words:

• One
• Holy
• Catholic
• Apostolic

One Body, Many Members

Despite what the world, the flesh, and the devil have to say about the church in all its divisions, hypocrisies and wrinkles, the church of our Lord Jesus Christ is indeed one in the unity of the true faith. The Apostle Paul teaches the members of the Corinthian church to understand their place as members in the one body of Christ, each member having been placed there with his or her unique role and purpose in the body through the Holy Spirit, who baptized each individual person into that one body of Christ:

{12}For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. {13}For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. {14}For in fact the body is not one member but many. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NKJV)

Thus our unity is God’s work through the Holy Spirit when He baptizes members into Christ’s one body. The boundaries of our fellowship therefore require that we never betray that unity through false teaching about the Gospel or the Sacraments. (See Closed Communion.)

Cleansed and Sanctified

Despite what the world may say about the church and despite what we ourselves see from day to day within the church, what we know is that Jesus has loved His church and has given Himself (on the cross) for her to make her what she is before God today and for always: holy and clean. The church is holy.

So, on the one hand, Jesus cleanses us with the washing of water by the Word (Ephesians 5:26) according to Paul, but and on the other hand, as Jesus Himself taught, we cannot see the kingdom of God unless we are “born from above” (John 3:3), nor can we enter that kingdom of God unless we are “born of water and Spirit” (John 3:5). This Baptism that Jesus gives is the gift of the Holy Spirit as well, and so the church can be said to be baptized by one Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).

This is in keeping with what Paul teaches elsewhere. We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). We also are taught in the Scriptures that when the Word of God is planted by the sower, it is God Himself by His Spirit that gives the increase as that seed yields and produces a crop in the His harvest (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). The Holy Spirit is vital to all of this growth in the Word and to the very existence of the church in the one true faith (1 Corinthians 2:9-16; 3:16). The Holy Spirit gives us that Word both in terms of its origin as well as its understanding.

No Boundaries

The church is catholic in the sense that it is without boundary in heaven and on earth. This is the true church that Jesus Himself is building and protecting from all spiritual harm, as our Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for us.

Our oneness is assured from God’s point-of-view because of the promise He has made, but in this world, we are called to love one another and show the world by that love that we are Jesus’ disciples. Being “catholic” is thus not an option for true disciples, for we are called to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:4-6). So we endeavor to be the united church that Jesus is building. This imposes certain requirements upon each person who follows Jesus.

Our life together is a big deal to Christ. So we make much of that togetherness. We do not relish living apart and separated from other Christians. We never wanted to start our own church, and we do not now consider ourselves to be superior to other Christians from other denominations.

This hunger for unity starts with our one baptism into Jesus’ death, a baptism that we share by one Spirit. It continues with our one confession of Christ (a confession both of our need for Him and of our own sinfulness before God without Him), a confession only possible by the Holy Spirit’s supernatural work within us. It is maintained by the Holy Spirit as we share in His body and blood in the holy supper which He gives us in the Mass.

We long for unity with all of Christ’s disciples wherever they may be. We desire unity among all the saints, whether they be saints on earth (the church militant) or saints at rest in heaven (the church triumphant). Our fellowship with one another is a fellowship we have in Christ. Our communion with Him and with one another binds us together with all God’s people (past, present, and future), and so we take this matter of our unity with the utmost importance.

Being “catholic” means that we take on an humble attitude in both words and actions, as Jesus taught us to do (Matthew 18:1-5). Sadly, that’s the opposite mindset that one sees in many places among Christians in many denominations today. The tendency for Christians to be plagued with group-think, with prejudices against other Christians, with arrogant self-will, etc. is so commonplace today that it is difficult to imagine a path forward that could move us toward greater unity at any point in the future.

Ironically, we at times disguise our fear of being wrong with an unwavering determination to stop listening to other believers, even when they are genuinely seeking to wrestle with challenging questions pertaining to the Word of God and the differences in our confessions. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace requires a different kind of approach, and it proves to be difficult to do in practice.

• The go-it-alone mindset is not an option. We need each other.
• The worship innovation mindset is not an option. We don’t try to re-invent worship in each generation.

For the sake of greater unity, our churches are careful to uphold and continue church practices that do not in any way contradict the Gospel. For example, we do not abolish the Mass (or any of the three Sacraments Jesus gave to the church), but rather we keep the Mass even more devoutly and more carefully than those who accuse us of being schismatics.

In general we uphold those truly catholic practices that have been used in the church for many generations, recognizing that God has been at work among His people to preserve and rightly proclaim the reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in and through His Word and Sacraments for sinners, who stand in constant need of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

Confessional

The church is “apostolic” when it confesses the same faith as the apostles whom Christ sent forth to spread to all peoples and nations on earth His doctrine and His practices. What Jesus teaches, we aim to teach. What Jesus commands, we aim to do.

That means, among other things, that to be apostolic, we regularly use and maintain the same pattern of sound words (readings, teachings, liturgical practice, etc.) employed by the apostles in the New Testament period (as recorded in the texts of the NT) and faithfully continued by those who followed their example afterward. It also means that, like the apostles, we are so convinced of the truthfulness of the teaching of Christ and of the confession of His name, that we would gladly forfeit our lives and all things that we have in order that we might confess that truth of Christ boldly and faithfully in our generation, even before those who hate Christ and His teachings.

Questions Asked

So long as my church confesses the truth about the Gospel and rightly administers the Sacraments of Jesus, can I take comfort in the reception of both Christ’s Word and Sacrament when taught and administered by a man who (as it turns out) is an impenitent or hypocrite? See our Answer.

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