Matthew Poole and continuators on Matthew 16:18

18 And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I say unto thee also. Thou art Peter, Christ gave him this Name, Ioh. 1.42. when his Brother Andrew [illegible: 1 letter]ir[illegible: 1 letter]t brought him to Christ: I did not give thee the Name of Cephas or Peter for nothing (for what Cephas signifieth in the Syriack. Peter signifieth in the Greek ▪ I called thee Cephas, and thou art Peter, a Rock. Thou shall be a Rock. This our Lord made good afterward, when he told him; That Satan had desired to Winnow him like Weat, but he had prayed, that his Faith might not fail. Luke 22.32. Thou hast made a Confession of Faith, which is a Rock even such a Rock as was mentioned, Ch. 7.25. And thou thy self art a Rock, a steady firm Believer. [And upon this Rock will I build my Church.] Here is a Question amongst Interpreters, what, or whom, our Saviour here meaneth by this Rock. Some think that he meaneth himself, as he saith, Io. 2.19, Destroy this Temple (meaning his own Body) God is often called a Rock. Deut. 32.18. Psal. 18.2. & 31.3. and it is certain, Christ is the Foundation of the Church, Isa. 28.16. 1 Cor. 3.11. 1 Pet. 2.6. But this Sense seemeth a little hard, that our Saviour speaking to Peter, and telling him he was a Stone, or a Rock, should with the same Breath pass to himself, and not say, Upon my self, but upon this Rock will I build my Church. 2. The Generality of Protestant Writers, not without the suffrage of divers of the Ancients, say Peters Confession which he had made, is the Rock here spoken of. And indeed the Doctrine contained in his Confession, is the Foundation of the Gospel. The whole Christian Church is built upon it. 3. Others think in regard that our Saviour directeth his Speech not to all the Apostles, but to Peter, and doth not say, Blessed are you, but Blessed art thou Simon, Bar-Iona. That here is something promised to Peter in special, but they do not think this is any Priority, much less any Iurisdiction, more than the rest had, but that Christ would make a more Eminent, and special use of him, in the building of his Church, than of the rest; and they observe, that God did make a more Eminent use of Peter, in raising his Gospel-Church, both amongst the Iews, Acts 2. and the Gentiles, Acts 15. But yet this soundeth a little harshly, to interpret Vpon this Rock, By this Rock. I do therefore, rather incline to interpret it in the second Sense. Vpon this Rock, upon this solid and unmoveable Foundation of Truth, which thou hast first publickly made, I will build my Church. It is true, Christ is the Foundation of the Church, and other Foundation can no man lay. But tho Christ be the Foundation in one Sense, the Apostles are so called in another Sense, Eph. 2.20. Rev. 21.14. Not the Apostles Persons, but the Doctrine which they Preached. They by their Doctrine which they Preached, (The Sum or great Point of which was, what Peter here professed) They laid the Foundation of the Christian Church, as they were the first Preachers of it to the Gentiles. In which Sense soever it be taken, it makes nothing for the Papists Superiority, or Jurisdiction of St. Peter, or his Successors. It follows, [I will build my Church.] By Church is here plainly meant, the whole Body of Believers, who all agree in this one Faith. It is observable, that Christ calls it his Church, not Peters, and saith, I will Build, not thou shalt Build. The working of Faith in Souls is Gods work Men are but Ministers, by whom others believe. They have but a Ministry towards, not a Lord-ship over the Church o[illegible: 1 letter] God. [And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.] That is the Power of the Devil, and all his Instruments shall never prevail against it utterly to extinguish it, neither to extinguish true Faith in the Heart, of any particular Believer, nor to Root the Gospel out of the World. The Gates is here put for the Persons that sit in the Gates. It was their Custom to have the Rulers, to sit in the Gates, Ruth. 4.1.11. 2 Sam. 19.8. neither doth Hell signifie here the place of the damned, [non-Latin text not transcribed], no where (except in one place, and as to that it is questionable, Luk. 16.23.) signifies so, but either Death, or the Graves, or the State of the Dead: Yet, the Devil is also understood here, as he that hath the Power of Death, Heb. 2.14. The plain Sense is, That our Lord would build the Christian Church upon this Proposition of Truth. That he was the Christ, the Son of God. That Peter should be an eminent Instrument in converting Men to this Faith, and where this Faith obtained in the World, he would so far protect it, that tho the Devil and his Instruments should by all means imaginable attempt the extinguishing of it, by the Total Extirpation of it, the Professors of it, and might as to particular places prevail, yet they should never so prevail, but to the end of the World, he would have a Church, a number of People called out by his Apostles, and those who should succeed in their Ministry, who should uphold this great Truth. So as this is a plain Promise, for the Continuance of the Gospel-Church, to the end of the World.