Hobbes - Leviathan.pdf

Apostles professing, gave occasion to our Saviour to speak the words
here cited. Which that we may clearly understand, we are to
consider, that our Saviour preached by himself, by John Baptist, and
by his Apostles, nothing but this article of faith, "that he was the
Christ"; all other articles requiring faith no otherwise than as
founded on that. John began first, preaching only this, "The kingdom
of God is at hand."*(2) Then our Saviour himself preached the
same:*(3) and to his twelve Apostles, when he gave them their
commission, there is no mention of preaching any other article but
that.*(4) This was the fundamental article, that is the foundation
of the Church's faith. Afterwards the Apostles being returned to
him, he asketh them all, not Peter only, who men said he was; and they
answered that some said he was John the Baptist, some Elias, and
others Jeremias, or one of the Prophets;*(5) then he asked them all
again, not Peter only, "Whom say ye that I am"*(6) Therefore St.
Peter answered for them all, "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living
God"; which I said is the foundation of the faith of the whole Church;
from which our Saviour takes the occasion of saying, "upon this
stone I will build my Church": by which it is manifest that by the
foundation-stone of the Church was meant the fundamental article of
the Church's faith. But why then, will some object, doth our Saviour
interpose these words, "Thou art Peter" If the original of this
text had been rigidly the reason would easily have appeared. We are
therefore to consider that the Apostle Simon was surnamed Stone (which
is the signification of the Syriac word cephas, and of the Greek
word petrus). Our Saviour therefore after the confession of that
fundamental article, alluding to his name, said (as if it were in
English) thus, "Thou art Stone, and upon this Stone I will build my
Church": which is as much as to say, "This article, that I am the
Christ, is the foundation of all the faith I require in those that are
to be members my Church." Neither is this allusion to a name an
unusual thing in common speech: but it had been a strange and
obscure speech, if our Saviour, intending to build his Church on the
person of St. Peter, had said, "Thou art a stone, and upon this
stone I will build my Church," when it was so obvious, without
ambiguity, to have said, "I will build my Church on thee"; and yet
there had been still the same allusion to his name.
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* Matthew, 16. 18, 19
*(2) Ibid., 3. 2
*(3) Matthew, 4. 17
*(4) Ibid., 10. 7
*(5) Ibid., 16. 13
*(6) Ibid., 16. 15
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And for the following words, "I will give thee the keys of
heaven," etc., it is no more than what our Saviour gave also to all
the rest of his Disciples, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven. And whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven."* But howsoever this be interpreted, there is no
doubt but the power here granted belongs to all supreme pastors;
such as are all Christian civil sovereigns in their own dominions.
Insomuch as if St. Peter, or our Saviour himself, had converted any of
them to believe him and to acknowledge his kingdom; yet because his
kingdom is not of this world, he had left the supreme care of
converting his subjects to none but him; or else he must have deprived
him of the sovereignty to which the right of teaching is inseparably