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SYMEON PETER<br />
the Church’s foundation, but the foundation image itself was seen in 1<br />
Corinthians 3, and that foundation is Jesus. Thus Jesus builds the church<br />
upon the firm rock, himself. Augustine, Cyril, and Eusebius all held a very<br />
high view of <strong>Peter</strong>, but they interpret the rock of Matt 16 to be Jesus, not<br />
the apostle. For Augustine, in particular, <strong>Peter</strong> and the popes are<br />
representatives of the entire Church; Jesus, though, is the firm rock upon<br />
which that Church rests, and it is he who supports and sustains the<br />
Christian body.<br />
<strong>Peter</strong>'s Testimony<br />
Finally here is what <strong>Peter</strong> himself will have to say about the rock in his first<br />
Epistle.<br />
“Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may<br />
grow up to salvation; for you have tasted the goodness (chrestos) of the<br />
Lord. Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's<br />
sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built<br />
into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual<br />
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (‘Iesou Christou). For it<br />
stands in scripture: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone<br />
chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to<br />
shame.’ To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who<br />
do not believe, ‘The very stone which the builders rejected has<br />
become the head of the corner,’ and ‘A stone that will make men<br />
stumble, a rock that will make them fall’; for they stumble because they<br />
disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” 1 <strong>Peter</strong> 2:2-8<br />
It is clear that <strong>Peter</strong> was refering to Jesus as the living stone / corner stone<br />
into which the church is built by each believer as living stones.<br />
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