Matthew 16:18-19 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And 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 shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The rock of foundation:
Many people thru the years have accepted the teaching that the church was founded upon Peter and this erroneous belief led to the Roman Church and the many fallacies and atrocities performed by men through the years. Jesus asked the disciples who others were thinking He (Jesus) was and is. They told Him Elias, John the Baptist, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets (Deut. 18:18). After they gave Jesus all the other names, He asked them who they thought He was and Peter said, “Thou art the Christi, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus told Peter that God had revealed this to him. Then He told the disciples that He would build His church upon that rock. Many mistakenly thought Jesus meant Peter was the rock upon which the church was to be built and the Roman Catholic Church still maintains that belief. However, when you look at the language Jesus used you see Jesus was referring to the rock of truth about Christ being the Messiah as the foundation of the church. Jesus said, “You are Peter (petros -- small rock, pebble) and upon this rock (petra – boulder, bedrock) will I build My church. (Mk 12:10; Eph 2:20).
Keys to the kingdom:
Jesus said He was giving keys to the kingdom to Peter and perhaps to the rest of the disciples. A key is something that unlocks or locks a door, a truth (Lu 11:52) or a way. To the Jews in the OT, the kingdom represented the establishment of a government in which they would inhabit the land ruled by the Messiah and the rest of the world would be subservient to them (Deut 28:13). They looked forward to this time and it would be brought about by God thru the Messiah. This is part of the reason they rejected Jesus because they were looking for a warrior king like David to rid them of their enemies and make them the head of kingdoms once again. A kingdom is also the rule or a king, whether it be as a ruler over a land area or the ruler over a spiritual kingdom – Jesus is the King right now (1 Tim 6:15). Jesus is king right now but not over a kingdom of earthly people on this earth in this present age. (Jn 18:36). A kingdom is also the rule and reign of the King over individuals and their life (Jn 3:3). Jesus is our King as we are born into the family of God and surrender to His rule in our life.
Binding and loosing:
In the Hebrew culture the phrase “binding and loosing” referred to allowing something or forbidding it. There are those who believe that Jesus was speaking to Peter and the others about binding something on earth and then heaven would acknowledge their authority. The Catholic Church again holds this view and other very formal denominations have as well. They do this to the point that they believe that the priest or pope has more authority than the Bible. They believe that those officials have the authority to allow entrance or prohibit entrance into heaven by their title authority. Others view this binding and loosing in the spiritual realm of spiritual forces (Mk 3:27). We, as believers, do have a certain authority over demonic forces but only thru Christ and His shed blood and our association with Him.
The way the words are translated it gives us some wrong ideas that confuse us. The proper translation is: Whatsoever (no whosoever) you bind on earth has been bound in heaven (already bound by God). This comes into effect when we examine the regulations set down by the Jerusalem council and also qualifications set down for church officials and church conduct. – such as deacons, elders, etc. (Acts 15:20).
Are you a part of the church, God’s family of believers?