_Mat. 16:18, 19_—“_And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven._” Peter exercised this power of the keys for both Jews and Gentiles, by being the first to preach Christ to them, and so admit them to the kingdom of heaven. The “_rock_” is a confessing heart. The confession of Christ makes Peter a rock upon which the church can be built. Plumptre on Epistles of Peter, Introd., 14—“He was a stone—one with that rock with which he was now joined by an indissoluble union.” But others come to be associated with him: _Eph. 2:20_—“_built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone_”; _Rev. 21:14_—“_And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb._” _Acts 15:7‐30_—the Council of Jerusalem. _Gal. 2:11_—“_But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him to the face, because he stood condemned_”; _1 Pet. 5:1_—“_The elders therefore among you I exhort, who am a fellow‐ elder._” Here it should be remembered that three things were necessary to constitute an apostle: (1) he must have seen Christ after his resurrection, so as to be a witness to the fact that Christ had risen from the dead; (2) he must be a worker of miracles, to certify that he was Christ’s messenger; (3) he must be an inspired teacher of Christ’s truth, so that his final utterances are the very word of God. In _Rom. 16:7_—“_Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen, and my fellow‐prisoners, who are of note among the apostles_” means simply: “who are highly esteemed among, or by, the apostles.” Barnabas is called an apostle, in the etymological sense of a messenger: _Acts 13:2, 3_—“_Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away_”; _Heb. 3:1_—“_consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus._” In this latter sense, the number of the apostles was not limited to twelve.