The Primacy of Peter

[winsome]

Jesus Christ left no written legacy, no theology book, no catechism. Instead he founded a Church and he entrusted his teaching to twelve men who he had selected, were his constant companions during his years of ministry, and whom he specially trained to carry on his mission. One of these, Peter, was appointed leader, and was recognised as such by others.

Jesus and Peter

1. Jesus had an inner circle of three special disciples, Peter, James and John. These were the only ones whom he took up mount Tabor for the Transfiguration and to his place of prayer into the Garden of Gethsemane.

2. Right at the beginning of Jesus ministry he singled out Peter and gave him special status by changing his name. This was a very significant act and did not happen to any other apostle.
He [Andrew] brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Kephas" (which is translated Peter). (Jn 1:42)

3. Jesus gave Peter a special commission:

In Matthew 16:19 he uniquely gives Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,...

4. And he then continued, giving him (singly) the power of binding and loosing
.....and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

He later gives all the apostles the power of binding and loosing
Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Mt 18:18)

This is in the same gospel so it is clearly two separate incidents.
In one he uniquely gives Peter authority to act in his stead, represented by the keys and singly gives him the power to bind and loose.
He then gives he apostles collectively the power to bind and loose.
So the apostles can act collectively to bind and loose, or Peter can act alone to bind and loose. It is quite clear.

5. To support his brothers
"Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Lk 22:31-32)

6. To be universal shepherd
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep" (Jn 21:15-17)

The Father and Peter

7. When Jesus asked the apostles who they said he was, it was Peter who responded:
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven." (Mt 16:16-17)
The Father could have chosen any of the twelve apostles to give this revelation, but he chose Peter.

8. It was Peter that God addressed in a vision to tell him to go to the gentiles (Acts 10). By his giving the vision and instruction to Peter to go to the gentiles, he was indicating that Peter had the right to act alone.

Peter's Leadership

9. On many occasions it was Peter who acted as spokesman for the apostles.
But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us." (Mt 15:15)
Then Peter came and said to him (Mt 18:21)
Then Peter said in reply (Mt 19:27)
Then Peter remembered and said to him (Mk 11:21)
Then Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" When all denied it, Peter said ... (Lk 8:45)
Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?" (Lk 12:41)
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go?" (Jn 6:68)

10. And at the beginning of the Church it was Peter who led.
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (Acts 1;15)
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them (Acts 2:14)
"Ananias," Peter asked (Acts 5:3)
But Peter and the apostles answered (Acts 5:29)
After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them. (Acts 15:7)

Note that in all these examples all the other apostles are with Peter. I have not included occasions where Peter is with just another one or two apostles, such as with the cripple (Acts 3) or before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4)

Others and Peter

11. It was to Peter that the collectors of the temple tax came.
When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said (Mt 17:24)

12. John defers to Peter at the empty tomb
The two [Peter and John] were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb.

13. In the New Testament when two or more people are mentioned they are listed in order of precedence or importance. I have not checked all instances, but this seems to be the norm.

For example James and John are listed in that order, presumable because James is the elder, or possibly because when it was written down James had been bishop of Jerusalem and a martyr. See also "James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James" (Mk 3;17) which shows that James took precedence. Out of 17 examples I have only found 2 where John is mentioned before James.

An interesting example of this is Barnabas and Paul. Barnabas was an early disciple who first appears in Acts 4 giving money to the apostles (Acts 4:36-37). He must have a valued disciple as he was given the name Barnabas which means son of encouragement. It was Barnabas who brought Paul to the apostles Jerusalem after his conversion when other disciples were afraid of him (Acts 9:26-27). And it was Barnabas who was sent to lead the Church at Antioch. Barnabas went and brought Paul from Damascus where he had been living quietly for (some say) about 10 years. From this point Luke always uses the order Barnabas and Paul, until their mission in Cyprus. It was there that Paul begins to show his anointing rebuking Elymas the magician and addressing the synagogue at Antioch in Psidia . Then the sequence varies between Barnabas and Paul, and  Paul and Barnabas. By their return to Antioch it had settled to Paul and Barnabas.

When Peter is involved his name almost always comes first. For example Peter, James and John (10 instances), Peter and John (12 instances). There is only 1 instance where Peter is not given first and that is right at the beginning of Jesus ministry (Jn 1:44).

14. In the lists of apostles (Mt 10:2-4, Mk 3:16-19, Lk 6:14-16) it is Peter who is named first.

Early Christian Witness

[T]he blessed Peter, the chosen, the preeminent, the first among the disciples, for whom alone with himself the Savior paid the tribute [Matt. 17:27], quickly grasped and understood their meaning. And what does he say? "Behold, we have left all and have followed you" [Matt. 19:2 7, Mark 10:28] (Clement of Alexandria, Who is the Rich Man That is Saved? 21:3-5 [A.D. 200]).

Be it known to you, my lord, that Simon [Peter], who, for the sake of the true faith, and the most sure foundation of his doctrine, was set apart to be the foundation of the Church, and for this end was by Jesus himself, with his truthful mouth, named Peter, the first-fruits of our Lord, the first of the apostles; to whom first the Father revealed the Son; whom the Christ, with good reason, blessed; the called, and elect (Letter of Clement to James 2 [A.D, 221]).

With a false bishop appointed for themselves by heretics, they dare even to set sail and carry letters from schismatics and blasphemers to the Chair of Peter and to the principal church [at Rome], in which sacerdotal unity has its source" (Epistle to Cornelius [Bishop of Rome] 59:14 [A.D. 252]).

In the city of Rome the Episcopal chair was given first to Peter, the chair in which Peter sat, the same who was head — that is why he is also called Cephas — of all the apostles, the one chair in which unity is maintained by all. Neither do the apostles proceed individually on their own, and anyone who would [presume to] set up another chair in opposition to that single chair would, by that very fact, be a schismatic and a sinner. . . . Recall, then, the origins of your chair, those of you who wish to claim for yourselves the title of holy Church" (Optatus, The Schism of the Donatists 2:2 [circa A.D. 367]).

Who is ignorant that the first of the apostles is the most blessed Peter? (Augustine, Commentary on John 56:1 [A.D. 416]).

You have to have structure and authority. Jesus left nothing in writing, no theology book, no catechism. He instructed the apostles who in turn instructed their disciples. Some of this was written down, the rest passed on orally. The structure and authority, given by Jesus and passed on through the apostolic succession, together with Jesus' promise that the gates of hell would not prevail against his Church, is why the Catholic Church has survived and grown over the centuries despite its ups and downs. Without structure and authority flowing through Christ to the Church he founded, you get anarchy and 30,000 protestant denominations

[KiwiChristian]

In the Greek there is not just a distinction between the masculine and feminine, but in the meanings themselves. Rock and stone or pebble. Read it from Matthew 15 on, it is obviously saying that the truth that Jesus is Christ will be the rock that the church is built on. It is a manipulation, trying to redefine the meaning of the excerpt by saying there is no distinction in the language it was written in, to redirect the conversation away from what the passage actually says.

If Peter was Bishop of Rome from 42 AD to 67 AD according to RCC, why did Paul write the letter to the Romans? Read Romans 1:7.

If Peter was Bishop of Rome for 25 years, how could he meet Paul in Jerusalem in 42 AD, and then back in Jerusalem again in 43 AD, and in 56 AD have a dispute with Paul in Antioch about 800 miles from Rome, it appears Peter was not in Rome when RCC declare he was, Can you say that RCC is in error over the time Peter supposedly was in Rome, or has the Bible got it all mixed up?

If Peter was in Rome during those years, why when Paul was greeting 27 eminent people in Rome and greet them by name, did he not once mention Peter ~ Romans 16.

Peter is not the rock, because the 12 disciples, knowing well the OT, recognised the Rock as a description or name for God. Duet32:4,Psalms18:2,Psalm18:31

If Peter has the Power to forgive sins as the RCC declares, why did Peter not use this power to forgive Simon the Sorcerer, but told him to Repent and pray to God for forgiveness Acts 8: 18-24.


No mention is made of Peter ever being in Rome at ANY time in the 27 documents of the oldest existing record of the Christian Faith. The Apostle Paul wrote an Epistle to the church at Rome, named approximately SIXTEEN (16) people, by name, and never mentioned Peter. That was NO oversight on his part. Peter was never there! Peter's tomb was also discovered outside *Jerusalem*; there is historical documentation to verify this fact. Even if that were not the case, Paul's neglect at mentioning Peter, in Romans 16, is INEXCUSABLE, if Peter were Head of the Church.   There is no evidence for the Papacy from Peter himself.


To err is human, to be infallible is divine (Romans 3:23). Peter deserted Christ in His passion, and did not assist Him in Golgotha. Peter described himself as an elder, witness and partaker, servant, and apostle (1 and 2 Peter) but never the first Pope, Prince of the apostles, or Head of the Church. Jesus Christ, not mortal and sinful man, is the only head of His Church (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians.1:18).

"you are petros ( a small pebble) and upon this petra ( a massive rock) I shall build My church....." Christ built His church upon Himself, upon the faith Peter had and upon our faith in Christ. Not Peter the person.

Christ asks Simon who He was and he replies "you are the missiah the Christ" and Christ responds by saying well done Simon for this truth did not to you from men but from God. You will be called (in Greek) petros (a pebble) and on this Petra (rock) I will build my church. what Christ was saying is that He is the foundation, He is the corner stone to the Church.

He is also the stone that the builders reject as useless that turned out to be the most important of all and nobody can lay any other.

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,which is Jesus Christ."1 Corinthians 3:11

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;" Ephesians 2:19-20

"Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner," 1 Peter 2:6-7.


"This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner." Acts 4:11

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock [Jesus referring to Himself and NOT to Peter] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18

"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." 1 Corinthians 10:4

Jesus himself said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). In Matt. 16:13-20, Jesus asked his disciples a very important question, "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus is asking the key question of the Bible: he is asking us to correctly identify him. This is the question that inspects the very foundation of the Christian faith. If we do not now who the real Jesus is, then we can not be saved. We can not get to the true Heaven with a false Jesus. The real Jesus of the Bible is the true foundation (rock) of the Christian faith. He is the rock of salvation. Even Peter claimed that Jesus is the rock, the cornerstone that the builders rejected (Acts 4:10 & 1 Peter 2:1-6). Paul says, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ... 'the rock was Christ.'"(1 Cor. 3:11 &10:4).

[winsome]

In the Greek there is not just a distinction between the masculine and feminine, but in the meanings themselves. Rock and stone or pebble. Read it from Matthew 15 on, it is obviously saying that the truth that Jesus is Christ will be the rock that the church is built on. It is a manipulation, trying to redefine the meaning of the excerpt by saying there is no distinction in the language it was written in, to redirect the conversation away from what the passage actually says.

If Peter was Bishop of Rome from 42 AD to 67 AD according to RCC, why did Paul write the letter to the Romans? Read Romans 1:7.

If Peter was Bishop of Rome for 25 years, how could he meet Paul in Jerusalem in 42 AD, and then back in Jerusalem again in 43 AD, and in 56 AD have a dispute with Paul in Antioch about 800 miles from Rome, it appears Peter was not in Rome when RCC declare he was, Can you say that RCC is in error over the time Peter supposedly was in Rome, or has the Bible got it all mixed up?

If Peter was in Rome during those years, why when Paul was greeting 27 eminent people in Rome and greet them by name, did he not once mention Peter ~ Romans 16.

Peter is not the rock, because the 12 disciples, knowing well the OT, recognised the Rock as a description or name for God. Duet32:4,Psalms18:2,Psalm18:31

If Peter has the Power to forgive sins as the RCC declares, why did Peter not use this power to forgive Simon the Sorcerer, but told him to Repent and pray to God for forgiveness Acts 8: 18-24.


No mention is made of Peter ever being in Rome at ANY time in the 27 documents of the oldest existing record of the Christian Faith. The Apostle Paul wrote an Epistle to the church at Rome, named approximately SIXTEEN (16) people, by name, and never mentioned Peter. That was NO oversight on his part. Peter was never there! Peter's tomb was also discovered outside *Jerusalem*; there is historical documentation to verify this fact. Even if that were not the case, Paul's neglect at mentioning Peter, in Romans 16, is INEXCUSABLE, if Peter were Head of the Church.   There is no evidence for the Papacy from Peter himself.


To err is human, to be infallible is divine (Romans 3:23). Peter deserted Christ in His passion, and did not assist Him in Golgotha. Peter described himself as an elder, witness and partaker, servant, and apostle (1 and 2 Peter) but never the first Pope, Prince of the apostles, or Head of the Church. Jesus Christ, not mortal and sinful man, is the only head of His Church (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians.1:18).

"you are petros ( a small pebble) and upon this petra ( a massive rock) I shall build My church....." Christ built His church upon Himself, upon the faith Peter had and upon our faith in Christ. Not Peter the person.

Christ asks Simon who He was and he replies "you are the missiah the Christ" and Christ responds by saying well done Simon for this truth did not to you from men but from God. You will be called (in Greek) petros (a pebble) and on this Petra (rock) I will build my church. what Christ was saying is that He is the foundation, He is the corner stone to the Church.

He is also the stone that the builders reject as useless that turned out to be the most important of all and nobody can lay any other.

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,which is Jesus Christ."1 Corinthians 3:11

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;" Ephesians 2:19-20

"Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner," 1 Peter 2:6-7.


"This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner." Acts 4:11

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock [Jesus referring to Himself and NOT to Peter] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18

"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." 1 Corinthians 10:4

Jesus himself said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). In Matt. 16:13-20, Jesus asked his disciples a very important question, "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus is asking the key question of the Bible: he is asking us to correctly identify him. This is the question that inspects the very foundation of the Christian faith. If we do not now who the real Jesus is, then we can not be saved. We can not get to the true Heaven with a false Jesus. The real Jesus of the Bible is the true foundation (rock) of the Christian faith. He is the rock of salvation. Even Peter claimed that Jesus is the rock, the cornerstone that the builders rejected (Acts 4:10 & 1 Peter 2:1-6). Paul says, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ... 'the rock was Christ.'"(1 Cor. 3:11 &10:4).

You made an identical post in another thread so I will give you an identical answer

There is a good explanation for this but as you are not interested in explanations, only in ranting against the Catholic Church, there is no point in wasting time giving it.