The Keys of the Kingdom
Matthew 16:19
As we saw last week when Jesus met with His disciples at Casarea Philippi He revealed to them a startling new concept, a divine revelation, called “the church.”
This is the first mention of the church in the New Testament, but it would certainly not be the last.
Just as it is in our day and theirs, there were many false ideas about Jesus and many false religions. Jesus wanted to set the record straight with those upon whom He would entrust to be the first teachers and preachers of His church.
The founder of the true church would be Christ Himself and not Peter, or Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Campbell, Smith, et. al.
The one who is the truth was the only one who could establish the true church.
I Peter 3:15...We are not to be obnoxious, or go beyond what scripture teaches, but we should be ready and able to give an answer about or Christian faith and do it in a Christlike manner; respectfully and gently.
V. 18...WHAT IS MEANT BY “THIS ROCK”?
Various answers have been given:
1. Peter...but this is not supported by the Bible.
Thou art Peter...petros, a pebble
upon this rock...petra, a foundation stone, or shelf rock
Peter never claimed this for himself, nor did any of the apostles claim it for Peter.
I Peter 2:4-6...All believers are lively (living stones) which make up the spiritual house.
2. Peter’s confession of faith...V. 16; that which all subsequent Believer’s must give.
All Believer’s are joined to the church the same way; by faith in Christ.
It was not Peter, but Peter’s faith is the rock upon which the true church would be built.
Jesus found in Peter a true believer (I did not say perfect) and on that foundation He could build His church.
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, V. 16
Eph. 2:19-21...Jesus would build His church on the revealed word of God, not a person. That revealed word was to be preached by the apostles and the prophets.
V. 19...WHAT ARE THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM?
Here Jesus shifts gears because the church is not the same thing as the kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is the rule of God in the hearts and lives of His people. The church is a local, visible manifestation of the Kingdom.
The key is a symbol of authority; only the person with the key could open the door to let people in, or keep people out.
The entrance in to the Kingdom was vested in the apostles by the message they preached:
- Those who had the same kind of faith that Peter had were allowed in, those who were disbelieving shut themselves out.
As we have already noted, there is only one gospel and there are no substitutes; there is only one way, not many ways to God.
No one has ever been saved by believing a false gospel, or another gospel.
No one has ever been saved who did not make the confession that Jesus Christ is the (only) Son of God.
V. 19...WHAT IS BINDING AND LOOSING?
The Jews understood this term because it was used by the Rabbis to mean forbidding and permitting.
Matt. 18:18...This was not just for Peter; all the apostles were given this privilege.
The translators of the KJV were brilliant scholars, but they didn’t always understand verb tense, and our knowledge of the Hebrew, Greek, and even English languages have increased considerably since 1611.
You may only forbid on earth what has already been forbidden in Heaven. You shall permit on earth that which has already been permitted in Heaven.
Obviously, Heaven does not obey Peter and the apostles, they obey Heaven.
Matthew 6:10...As in the Model Prayer: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, even as it is in Heaven.
Jesus was not teaching that God was bound to obey them—but that they should do on earth what God has already willed in Heaven!
The Church does not exist to get man’s will done in Heaven, it exists to obey God’s will on earth.
Simply put, to bind and loose (forbid and permit) is the God given authority to declare what is right and what is wrong according to God’s word, II Tim. 3:16,17:
for doctrine...what’s right
for reproof...what’s wrong
for correction...how to get right
for instruction in righteousness...how to stay right.
John 20:21-23...If people respond to the preaching of the gospel by repenting of their sins and placing their faith in Christ they will be forgiven of their sins. But if they refuse and rebel against Heaven’s will there is no forgiveness,...not in this world nor in the next.
Jesus was not teaching that God was bound to obey them—but that they should do on earth what God has already willed in Heaven!
The Church does not exist to get man’s will done in Heaven, it exists to obey God’s will on earth.
Simply put, to bind and loose (forbid and permit) is the God given authority to declare what is right and what is wrong according to God’s word, II Tim. 3:16,17:
for doctrine...what’s right
for reproof...what’s wrong
for correction...how to get right
for instruction in righteousness...how to stay right.
John 20:21-23...If people respond to the preaching of the gospel by repenting of their sins and placing their faith in Christ they will be forgiven of their sins. But if they refuse and rebel against Heaven’s will there is no forgiveness,...not in this world nor in the next.
V. 20 Then he charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ...Why would Jesus instruct the disciples thus, and then tell them not to tellanyone about it? Because they were still learning and did not yet fully grasp the death,burial, and resurrection. The time would not be right for evangelizing until after the resurrection and the ascension on the Day of Pentecost, (Acts 2) when Peter would use the "Keys" to open the door to the Kingdom to 3,000 souls.
