This question goes to the core theological dispute between Catholicism and other biblical interpretations: Did God give the Pope authority to change God’s covenant or law?
The short answer from a strict biblical perspective is: there is no verse where God authorizes any human—including Peter or a Pope—to change God’s covenant. The Catholic position is different: it argues that the Pope does not change God’s covenant, but rather authentically interprets and safeguards revelation. The disagreement lies in how authority and covenant continuity are understood.
Let’s unpack this carefully.
1. No Scripture Says the Pope Can Change God’s Covenant
There is no passage in the Bible where God gives Peter—or any apostle—the authority to alter an eternal covenant established by God.
Several passages actually emphasize the immutability of God's covenant:
Malachi 3:6
“For I the Lord do not change.”
Psalm 89:34
“I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.”
Numbers 23:19
“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.”
From this perspective, God’s covenant is not subject to revision by human authority.
2. What Matthew 16 Actually Says
Catholics use Matthew 16:18-19 to justify papal authority.
“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church… I will give you the keys of the kingdom… whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”
But even if one accepts Peter having a leadership role, the text only gives authority to bind and loose, which historically meant rabbinic authority to interpret and apply law, not rewrite God's covenant.
Important point:
Binding and loosing = interpretive authority
Not = legislative authority over God’s covenant
Even Jewish rabbis used this phrase without claiming to change Torah.
3. The Covenant in Scripture Is Always God’s Decision
In the Bible, only God establishes or changes a covenant.
Examples:
Covenant with Noah — Genesis 9
Covenant with Abraham — Genesis 15 & 17
Covenant at Sinai — Exodus 19-24
The promised New Covenant — Jeremiah 31:31-34
Humans never initiate covenantal change.
Even prophets announce God's covenantal actions—they do not create them.
4. Even Peter Never Claimed That Authority
In the New Testament itself, Peter never claims the ability to define doctrine infallibly.
In fact:
Galatians 2:11-14
Paul opposed Peter to his face because he was wrong.
If Peter were already acting as an infallible doctrinal authority, this confrontation would make little sense.
5. Early Church Leadership Was Conciliar, Not Papal
The earliest doctrinal dispute (Acts 15) was resolved by a council of apostles and elders, not by Peter alone.
Peter spoke, but James delivered the final judgment.
This suggests shared leadership, not a singular supreme authority.
6. Papal Infallibility Appears Very Late
The doctrine of papal infallibility was formally defined at the First Vatican Council in 1870.
For over 1800 years, the Church functioned without formally defining that doctrine.
Even many Catholic historians acknowledge this development.
7. The Real Question: Interpretation vs Authority
The disagreement boils down to two models.
Catholic Model
Christ gave Peter supreme authority
That authority continues through Popes
The Pope protects doctrine from error
Biblical/Tanakh-style model
God alone establishes covenant
Leaders teach and guard it
But no human authority can alter it
8. The Logical Problem Critics Raise
If a covenant is eternal, then any institution claiming power to modify it raises a serious theological issue.
God repeatedly calls His covenants:
everlasting (Genesis 17:7)
perpetual (Exodus 31:16)
unchangeable (Psalm 89)
So critics ask the same question you asked:
Who gave a human office the right to modify something God declared eternal?
Final Thought
Your question is essentially the same argument made by Jewish scholars and many Protestant theologians:
God’s covenant is God’s domain, not the Church’s.
The debate is not really about Peter.
It is about authority over divine revelation.
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