§424Moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father, we believe in Jesus and confess: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'8 On the rock of this faith confessed by St. Peter, Christ built his Church.9 "To preach. . . the unsearchable riches of Christ"10

§440Jesus accepted Peter's profession of faith, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah, by announcing the imminent Passion of the Son of Man.40 He unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship both in the transcendent identity of the Son of Man "who came down from heaven", and in his redemptive mission as the suffering Servant: "The Son of Man came not to be served but…

§442Such is not the case for Simon Peter when he confesses Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God", for Jesus responds solemnly: "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."46 Similarly Paul will write, regarding his conversion on the road to Damascus, "When he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, w…

2. What then says the mouth of the apostles, Peter, the ever fervent, the leader of the apostolic choir? When all are asked, he answers. And whereas when He asked the opinion of the people, all replied to the question; when He asked their own, Peter springs forward, and anticipates them, and says, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:16 What then says Chris…

2. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. This again is another topic: for not only are the believers unlearned persons; not only is he that speaks unlearned; not only is the manner of the teaching of an unlearned cast throughout; not only was the thing preached of itself enough to stagger people; (for the cross and death were the message brought;) …

2. But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery. What mystery? For surely Christ says, Matthew 10:27. ηκούσατε rec. text ἀκούετε What you have heard in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops. How then does he call it a mystery? Because that neither angel nor archangel, nor any other…

1. The best Physicians after they have made a deep incision, and have increased the pains by the wound, soothing the afflicted part, and giving rest and refreshment to the disturbed soul, proceed not to make a second incision, but rather soothe that which has been made with gentle remedies, and such as are suited to remove the violence of the pain. This Paul also did after he h…

§27For while fulfilling His office as preacher He chose Apostles, sending them as He had been sent by the Father [24] - namely, as teachers, rulers, instruments of holiness in the assembly of the believers; He appointed their Chief and His Vicar on earth;[25] He made known to them all things and whatsoever He had heard from His Father; [26] He also determined that through Baptism …

The catholic or universal Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the gospel, consists of all those throughout the world that profe…

She showed me a great tower being built upon the waters, with shining square stones. And the tower was built upon that great rock and that ancient gate. It was being built by six young men. And many thousands of other men were bringing stones, some from the depth of the sea, some from the land. Some were polished, some unpolished.

The rock and the gate are the Son of God. I said, "Sir, how is it that the rock is old, but the gate is new?" "Listen," said he, "and understand, thou ignorant man. The Son of God is older than all His creation, so that He was a counsellor with the Father in creating all things. Therefore also the rock is old." "But the gate, why is it new, Sir?" I asked. "Because," said he, "H…

From the Preface You are not content to fulfil the office, when I am present with you, of a taskmaster to drive me to labour at theology; even when I am absent you demand that I should spend most of my time on you and on the task I have to do for you. I, for my part, am inclined to shrink from toil, and to avoid that danger which threatens from God those who give themselves to …

1. Concerning Those Who Asked Him to Show Them a Sign from Heaven. And the Sadducees and Pharisees came, and tempting Him kept asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. Matthew 16:1 The Sadducees and Pharisees who disagreed with each other in regard to the most essential truths, — for the Pharisees champion the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, hoping that there will …

The division of prophecy into its species Is the more excellent prophecy that which is without imaginative vision? The various degrees of prophecy Was Moses the greatest of the prophets? Can a comprehensor be a prophet? Did prophecy advance in perfection as time went on? Article 1. Whether prophecy is fittingly divided into the prophecy of divine predestination, of foreknowledg…

We teach and declare that, according to the gospel evidence, a primacy of jurisdiction over the whole Church of God was immediately and directly promised to the blessed apostle Peter and conferred on him by Christ the Lord. For it was to Simon alone, to whom he had already said "You shall be called Cephas," that the Lord, after his confession, "You are the Christ, the Son of th…

That which our Lord Jesus Christ, the prince of shepherds and great shepherd of the sheep, established in the blessed apostle Peter, for the continual salvation and permanent benefit of the Church, must of necessity remain forever, by Christ's authority, in the Church, which, founded as it is upon a rock, will stand firm until the end of time.

We teach and define as a divinely revealed dogma that when the Roman Pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is, when in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church, he possesses, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Pet…

All who regard another head or seek another foundation than Christ are not the Church but are adversaries of God. In the faith of Christ, Christians are His members; these members cannot do anything without the head. It follows from this that all who live in the head are members and children of God, and that is the Church or communion of the saints, the bride of Christ.

This plan, arising out of God's eternal love for the elect, from the beginning of the world to the present time has been powerfully fulfilled and will also be fulfilled in the future, the gates of hell seeking vainly to prevail against it. As a result the elect are gathered into one, all in their own time, and there is always a church of believers founded on Christ's blood, a c…

We believe and confess one single catholic or universal church—a holy congregation and gathering of true Christian believers, awaiting their entire salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed by his blood, and sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit. This church has existed from the beginning of the world and will last until the end, as appears from the fact that Christ is eternal…

We believe the Divine and Sacred Scriptures to be God-taught; and, therefore, we ought to believe the same without doubting; yet not otherwise than as the Catholic Church hath interpreted and delivered the same. For every foul heresy receiveth, indeed, the Divine Scriptures, but perversely interpreteth the same, using metaphors, and homonymies, and sophistries of man's wisdom, …

We believe that what is called, or rather is, the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, containeth generally all the faithful in Christ, those who, having already departed, are in the Church Triumphant, and those still living and militant on earth, the Church Militant. And since the Church Militant is composed of men, it is subject to have those in its communion who are stumbling…

1. When expounding the first Psalm, he gives a catalogue of the sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament as follows: It should be stated that the canonical books, as the Hebrews have handed them down, are twenty-two; corresponding with the number of their letters. Farther on he says: 2. The twenty-two books of the Hebrews are the following: That which is called by us Genesis, but…

Luther denies that the Pope is the head of all Christendom by divine right. The Church is built on Christ alone, not on Peter or his successors. The papal claim to universal jurisdiction finds no warrant in Scripture and has led to tyranny over consciences. Luther will not acknowledge the Pope as head of the Church, for this would subject Christ's Gospel to human authority.

Cyprian argues that Christ built His church upon Peter as the starting point of unity. "Upon this rock I will build My church" — the Lord gave to Peter the keys, establishing one chair as the visible source of episcopal unity. Though all the apostles received equal authority, the Lord began with one to make the principle of unity manifest.