Matthew 16:18 And I say also to you, That you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Christ assures us here of the constancy of the assaults which Satan will make upon the Church and its members. He does not promise the removal of trial and tribulation, assault and temptation, but Divine strength by which to overcome evil. 1. That the truth which Peter has here confessed shall never be lost to the great body of His faithful ones; that the Church shall never, as a whole, fall from the faith, or lose its hold of the truth. 2. That however corrupt many of the members of the Church shall be, it shall never be wholly depraved, or fall utterly from that sanctity which it has through union with Him. 3. That human councils, and man's devices, and Satan's assaults upon the Church, shall never prevail; for, since it is of God, it cannot come to naught. (W. Denton, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And I say also 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. |
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