“You are Peter and on this Rock, I will build my church.” What was the religion of that church? What was the name of that church? If Christ had said, upon this Rock I will build my Catholic church, or Jewish temple or Christian church, no questions asked…that would be the one true church.
Thank you for your good questions. There is much confusion about the church today, but God’s Word gives clear answers about this topic. The verse that you referred to is Matthew 16:18. The Lord Jesus said in that verse, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build MY CHURCH; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (NASB). The New Testament was originally written in the Greek language. The Greek word for Peter is “Petros” and means “stone.” The Greek word for rock is “Petra” and means “rock.” We know that the Lord Jesus was speaking of Himself as the rock because He is spoken of as the Rock in 1 Corinthians 10:4. This verse is speaking about the children of Israel in the wilderness and says, “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” The word Rock in this verse is also “Petra.” The Lord was drawing a contrast between Peter and Himself in Matthew 16:18. He was saying that the church would be built upon Himself instead of upon Peter.
The Bible never talks about the church as a building. God’s Word talks about the church as people. We read in Ephesians 1:22-23, “And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to THE CHURCH, Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.” This verse teaches us that Christ is the head of the church, which is also pictured by a human body. Christ is the head of the body, and all believers are pictured as being parts of His body. We see this truth in 1 Corinthians 12:13, where we read: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (NASB). We know that this verse is speaking about believers on the Lord Jesus Christ because only believers have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. We read in Ephesians 1:13, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (NASB).
Your first question is “What was the religion of that church?” With Christ as the head of His church, the religion of that church is Christianity. A disciple of Christ is a follower of Christ. We read about the origin of the word “Christian” in Acts 11:26. This verse is talking about Saul and Barnabas teaching the believers at Antioch. The verse says, “And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
Your second question is “What was the name of that church?” In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus calls it “My church.” That is what He can call it because it is His. However, from our perspective it is called “the church” or “the church of God” (Ephesians 1:22, Colossians 1:18, 1 Timothy 3:5, and dozens of other verses). There are times in the Scriptures when “the church” is talking about all believers such as in Ephesians 1:22. There are other times when “the church” is talking about a local gathering of believers such as in 1 Thessalonians 1:1 which says, “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Each local church is part of the universal church.
There is no Scriptural support for establishing various denominations and sects within Christianity. There is only one church, made up of all believers in the world. May we seek to be a testimony to the truth that there is one church and exalt Christ in His place as head. We read in Colossians 1:18, “And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.” (DJ) (599.1)