Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 16:18

"And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." — Matthew 16:18 (ASV)

Thou art Peter—a piece of rock—and on that Rock of which you are a piece I will build my Church. He had, by the revelation of the Father, come to know the Son and to be identified with Him. Thus he was a stone of the one Rock. Christ is the Rock, and Peter has become one with Him; and upon this rock the Church is founded.

If there had been no Romanists to twist this passage, it would have presented no difficulty. Jesus is the Builder, and He and His apostles make up the first course of stone in the great temple of the Church; this first course is one with the eternal Rock on which it rests.

In the first twelve courses or foundations are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14). We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.

Apostles are not the foundation of our confidence meritoriously, but they underlie us in terms of historical sequence, and we rest upon their testimony concerning Jesus and His resurrection.

The assembly which Christ gathers, He builds together, for He says, I will build my Church. He builds on a firm foundation, Upon this rock I will build. What Jesus builds is His own, my Church. He makes His rock-founded building into a stronghold, against which the powers of evil lay continual siege, but all in vain, for the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.