2. What is the Rock upon which the church is founded?

Christ Jesus is the Rock upon which the church is founded. The church is not a human institution; it is not led by a human being or founded by a human being. The imagery of Christ as a Rock runs through Scripture (Deuteronomy 32:3, 4; Psalms 62:7; Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:4) Thus the church was built, not on frail human wisdom and ingenuity, but on the Rock of Ages.JTL23 4.1

When Jesus declared to Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18), He spoke of Himself, the Living Rock. The apostles understood Jesus to be the enduring Foundation of the household of God and its Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-22), not a faulty, finite human being. The church belongs to God because He called it into existence, lives in its midst, and rules over it with love, justice, and mercy.JTL23 4.2