There is potentially no teaching of the Church that is of such importance as the Papacy. The Papacy is the heart and essence of Christian unity. Without the Papacy there is no other logical or historical way to bring the Church into a shared unity of belief and government.
If the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther asserted that “justification by faith alone” was the doctrine “upon which the Church stands or falls,” then the Catholic claims he was wrong, and it is actually the Papacy upon which it stands or falls. At least as Jesus conceived it. The Catholic Church’s claims are in fact much more logically sturdy and historically reliable than Martin Luther’s claims ever will be (or ever were). In fact when Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, Jesus Himself said,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh or blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:17-19 (ESV)
Like many important events in the Old Testament, Simon’s name was changed to mark an important change in the story of salvation. Jesus decided to change Simon’s name to “Peter” (the Greek word for “Rock”). Jesus expanded upon the name change by saying that it would be upon “this Rock” (working off of Simon’s name change) that Jesus would build his Church (notice He doesn’t say “churches” or “various denominations,” but rather the singular word “Church”).
We know Jesus is talking about Simon being “the Rock” because He goes on to say two things about the power of “this Rock” and the authority of “this Rock,” and we can see that it includes a particular power that Jesus gives to Peter as a person (thus it is not just a honorific title for guessing who he was correctly). What Jesus says is still true of the Papacy today, God has continued to reveal himself to “Peter” ever since the original one, in an albeit mysterious way. There are two important things to notice.
One, the enemies of the Church would never overcome the Church. Those who attack it, even if it were hell itself attacking, would never be able to overcome it. Whether the enemies are within the Church or outside the Church, God promises that the demons will not prevail. If you imagine the scene in the 3rd book of The Lord of the Rings when Sauron commands the massive gates of Mordor to be opened and the orc armies come streaming out by their thousands and thousands to attack the kingdom of Gondor. This is the cinematic equivalent to what Jesus says will not overcome the Church. No matter how big the army, no matter how many attackers, there will be no final victory for the “gates of hell.”
Secondly, Jesus tells Simon that with the name change to Peter he will be given “The keys of the kingdom of heaven.” There has perhaps never been a bigger promise given to anyone anywhere at any time. This promise would, Jesus said, give Peter the power to bring heaven and earth together. When Peter would make a decision it would echo in heaven. Whether it was binding something or loosing something, Peter would be given the power to not just bind or loose on earth, the decision itself would be made outside of time and space, in heaven, as well.
The immensity of the promise is so amazing that when one finally sees the promises for what they are they will see that truly this is the doctrine upon which the Church “stands or falls.” If the Church’s claims (made for centuries) is true, then we are able to rest our heads calmly and serenely upon this most powerful promise. We can trust that the Papacy is in fact the One Rock that the gates of hell will not prevail against.
This series looks at various aspects of the Papacy in history, and the implications for it. It is of the utmost importance for everyone.