Page 473 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

POPE

Third, the church is built, not upon the person of word here means all of this. Thus, all three words—
Peter, but upon the testimony of Peter. In Mt. 16, Peter pastor, elder, and bishop—refer to the work of one man.
had just testified, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the [See Pastor.]
living God.” This testimony is the focus of Mt. 16:16-20. The Roman Catholic Church has no biblical authority
It is Christ, Christ, Christ! He is the Center, the for elevating some church leaders above others as they
Foundation, the Head, the All for the church. This we do with their popes, bishops, priests, and cardinals. We
see in that the Lord Jesus completed this scene in Mt. 16 find no such ecclesiastical hierarchy in the New
by charging the disciples “that they should tell no man Testament church.
that he was Jesus the Christ.” 6. Paul made no mention of Peter in his letter to Rome.
Fourth, the keys of the kingdom of heaven were not “According to Roman Church tradition, Peter reigned as
given to Peter alone, but to the other disciples as well. pope in Rome for 25 years, from 42 to 67 A.D. It is
After Jesus’ resurrection, He spoke to all the disciples, generally agreed that Paul’s letter to the Christians in
saying, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted Rome was written in the year 58 A.D., at the very height
unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are of Peter’s alleged episcopacy there. Paul did not address
retained” (Jn. 20:23). his letter to Peter, as he should have done if Peter was in
The key to the kingdom is the Gospel, which is the Rome and the head of all the churches. No, the letter
power of God to salvation to those who believe. Paul was addressed simply to the saints in Rome. How
said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for strange for a missionary to write to a church and not
it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that mention the pastor! ... And if Peter had been the most
believeth...” (Ro. 1:16). Peter used the key of the Gospel prominent minister in the land, as allegedly was the
to open the door for the Jews on the day of Pentecost bishop of Rome, such an affront would be all the more
(Ac. 2). He also used the key of the Gospel to open the inexcusable.
door of salvation to the Gentiles when he preached “If Peter was there and had been there for sixteen
Jesus to Cornelius (Ac. 10). The New Testament does years, why was it necessary for Paul to go at all,
not show Peter exercising special authority beyond this, especially since in his letter he says that he does not
and it was an authority which was exercised by all the build on another’s foundation (Ro. 15:20)? This
disciples. indicates clearly that Peter was not then in Rome, and
In Mt. 16, the Lord Jesus Christ is not making Peter that he had not been there, that in fact Paul was writing
the first pope, but is reaffirming that He Himself is the this letter because no Apostle had yet been in Rome to
Rock, the Head of the Church, and that Peter’s clarify the Gospel to them and to establish them in the
testimony of Christ is the key whereby the door to faith ... And again, had Peter been in Rome prior to or at
salvation and the Kingdom of God would be opened to the time when Paul arrived there as a prisoner in 61
all who believe. A.D. Paul could not have failed to have mentioned him,
5. The terms “bishop,” “elder,” and “pastor” refer to the for in the epistles written from there during his
same office in the New Testament Church. These terms imprisonment—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and
are used interchangeably in Scripture and refer to Philemon—he gives quite a complete list of his fellow-
different aspects of one man’s ministry, rather than to workers in Rome, and Peter’s name is not among
different ministries of different men. PASTOR them” (Boettner, p. 121).
emphasizes the church leader’s role as a shepherd of Peter’s Successor? The following chronology of Peter’s
God’s people. ELDER emphasizes his spiritual maturity. ministry is given by Tom Aldons in The Rock, Oct. 1986:
BISHOP emphasizes his role as an overseer and ruler of “We often hear of the pope referred to as Peter’s
the assembly. In some passages all three terms are used successor, a claim which is reflected in one of the titles
to describe the church leader. In Ac. 20:17 and 28 the assumed by Pope John Paul II. This is based on the
leaders of the church at Ephesus are called elders, assertion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome from
overseers (which is the same Greek word translated A.D. 42 to 67. But what does the Bible reveal about
bishop) and feeders of the church, which refers to their this claim?
role as pastors. In Tit. 1:5, 7 the terms elder and bishop “In Ga. 1:16-18 Paul writes that 3 years after his
are used interchangeably to refer to the leaders Titus conversion (A.D. 34) he met Peter at Jerusalem (A.D.
was to ordain in Crete. In 1 Pe. 5, the pastor is again 37). In Ga. 2:1-9 Paul writes that he again went to
pictured in all three aspects. He is called elder in verse Jerusalem 14 years later (A.D. 51) where he met Peter
(verse 9).
one, and overseer in verse two. “Overseer” is from the
same Greek root word as “bishop.” Also in verse two the “Paul’s Epistle to the Romans was written from Corinth
about A.D. 60 and chapter 16 has greetings to several
elder is told to “feed the flock.” It could be translated, members of the church at Rome by name but makes no
“shepherd the flock,” or “pastor the flock,” for the Greek

Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity 473