Transcript of a published teaching by Kenneth Carpenter, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
Summary · Transcript · Scripture Index · Download transcript (.txt)
Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
The occasion: a verse misapplied in the news
- Taking a little of the prayer interval before the elders come to pray, he says a pastor does his people no good if he does not bring to their attention the things that disturb him.
- This past week a religious group elected a leader, and the passage was on all the news stations, with the attention of all the world; every report used the words 'Upon this rock I will build my church' and applied the rock to a man.
- He names no names, but every time he heard it said, he answered in himself: that is not true.
The entirety of the scripture: the rock is the revelation
- Against that use he sets the entirety of the passage: Jesus asks who men say that he, the Son of man, is, and Peter answers, 'Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.'
- Jesus answers Peter: 'Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonah, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father which is in heaven' — and then, 'Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'
- To build the saying on a man, he says, is murder to that scripture, a gross misapplication of it: the church was not being built on a man from century to century.
- The rock is the revelation the confession carries — the most powerful revelation a human mind will ever be open to: Jesus is God. On that revelation he is glad to be built.
Scriptures: Matthew 16:16-18
From this pulpit: not a man, but the truth marching on
- He cannot get on Fox News, CNN or MSNBC, but he can come to his own pulpit and say it there: upon this rock he will build his church, and the rock is not a man.
- Men will come and men will go, but the truth keeps marching on — and on that note he leads the congregation into prayer.
Scripture index: Matthew 16:16-18.
Transcript
And just as your pastor tonight, as our as our elders are making their way to come and pray tonight, I will use this little bit of time to tell you that when things disturb pastor, when things disturb pastor, um I don't think I'm being a good pastor if I don't bring it to our attention. But this past week, this past week, um this past week, you want to turn the monitors down just a little bit, please. But this past week, a religious group. A religious group. They elected a leader. They elected a leader. This passage was on all the news stations. It it uh it had the attention of all the world. And I'm really not one to call names. And I won't call names tonight. But every time I heard this said, the hair on the back of my neck would about stand up and I would just simply say that's not true. That's not true. Well, they would use that verse of scripture. Upon this rock I will build my church. Gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And of course, the gross murder and misapplication of that verse of scripture is they say it's the man that the church is being built upon. That's murder to that scripture. That's gross interpretation of that scripture. The entirety of that scripture goes like this. Who do they say that I, the son of man, am? And Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God." And Jesus said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonah, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father which is in heaven. Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." wasn't building it on a man from century to century. It was building it upon the most powerful revelation that a human mind will ever be open to, and that is Jesus is God. I'm glad to be built on the revelation tonight that Jesus is God. I can't get on Fox News. I can't get on CNN. I can't get on MSNBC. I can't get on all them. But I can come to my pull pit tonight and I can tell you that upon this rock he will build his church. And the rock is not a man. Men will come and men will go. But the truth keeps marching on. The truth keeps on marching. Glad. Aren't you glad?
Scripture references as spoken: Matthew 16:16-18.