The Keys Of The Kingdom Of Heaven

General Faith
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What is that really happened in Matthew 16 when Jesus said to Peter that I will give you the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven?

What are the keys?

Matthew 16:13-19

**13 **When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

**14 **And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

**15 **He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

**16 **And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

**17 **And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

**18 **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…/KJV

What are those keys?

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Faith

**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…/KJV

A more correct translation would read, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven.

This is not a new power the disciples are given but a new responsibility. One can see how this was to be applied in Acts 15. James declares that gentile believers in the kingdom gospel should have restrictions of the gentile sojourners of the Old Testament.

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That’s what I thought. No one seems to be able to tell me. I didn’t know either, the Lord gave gave Peter something and it’s sort of a mystery what it is. They’re keys of something, time for a closer look to see what’s behind this and what does it mean to me as a Believer?

When you go back to the original language You’ll hit paydirt immediately. I give thee(you) the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven is a plural of the word used, so it isn’t something only for Peter, this is available to all believers.

Notice that it doesn’t say the keys “to” the kingdom of heaven! It says the keys “of” the kingdom of heaven! So the keys are not the keys to the pearly gates! But rather tools to use while in the employment of the Lord doing His work. That makes sense.

So based on that, what could the keys be? The gifts of the Holy Spirit perhaps?

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The keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:19, ESV) are the authority committed to the ministers of Christ to open and shut the kingdom through the preaching of the gospel and the exercise of church discipline. They are not a personal prerogative of Peter, nor do they denote any power to forgive sins inwardly, which belongs to God alone, but rather a ministerial authority to declare on earth what heaven has already determined.

The Keys of the kingdom (tas kleidas tēs basileias). Here again we have the figure of a building with keys to open from the outside. The question is raised at once if Jesus does not here mean the same thing by “kingdom” that he did by “church” in Mat_16:18. In Rev_1:18; Rev_3:7 Christ the Risen Lord has “the keys of death and of Hades.”

He has also “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” which he here hands over to Peter as “gatekeeper” or “steward” (oikonomos) provided we do not understand it as a special and peculiar prerogative belonging to Peter. The same power here given to Peter belongs to every disciple of Jesus in all the ages. Advocates of papal supremacy insist on the primacy of Peter here and the power of Peter to pass on this supposed sovereignty to others.

But this is all quite beside the mark. We shall soon see the disciples actually disputing again (Mat_18:1) as to which of them is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven as they will again (Mat_20:21) and even on the night before Christ’s death. Clearly neither Peter nor the rest understood Jesus to say here that Peter was to have supreme authority. What is added shows that Peter held the keys precisely as every preacher and teacher does.

To “bind” (dēsēis) in rabbinical language is to forbid, to “loose” (lusēis) is to permit. Peter would be like a rabbi who passes on many points. Rabbis of the school of Hillel “loosed” many things that the school of Schammai “bound.” The teaching of Jesus is the standard for Peter and for all preachers of Christ.

Note the future perfect indicative (estai dedemenon, estai lelumenon), a state of completion. All this assumes, of course, that Peter’s use of the keys will be in accord with the teaching and mind of Christ.

The binding and loosing is repeated by Jesus to all the disciples (Mat_18:18). Later after the Resurrection Christ will use this same language to all the disciples (Jhn_20:23), showing that it was not a special prerogative of Peter. He is simply first among equals, primus inter pares, because on this occasion he was spokesman for the faith of all. It is a violent leap in logic to claim power to forgive sins, to pronounce absolution, by reason of the technical rabbinical language that Jesus employed about binding and loosing.

Every preacher uses the keys of the kingdom when he proclaims the terms of salvation in Christ. The proclamation of these terms when accepted by faith in Christ has the sanction and approval of God the Father. The more personal we make these great words the nearer we come to the mind of Christ. The more ecclesiastical we make them the further we drift away from him.
RWP.

J.

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The preaching of the gospel and the exercise of church discipline.

J.

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Not the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Or including the gifts?

Paragraphs Brother! Too hard to read all that in one paragraph

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  1. By the teaching of Christ, and,

  2. By the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

The biblical passage that makes reference to the “keys of the kingdom” is Matthew 16:19. Jesus had asked His disciples who people thought He was. After hearing several of the more popular opinions, Jesus aimed His question directly at His disciples. Peter, responding for the twelve, acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. After this great confession, Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:17–19).

Keys are used to lock or unlock doors. The specific doors Jesus has in mind in this passage are the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is laying the foundation of His church (Ephesians 2:20). The disciples will be the leaders of this new institution, and Jesus is giving them the authority to, as it were, open the doors to heaven and invite the world to enter. At this point it is important to understand how, biblically speaking, one enters the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus said that, unless one is born again, he will not see the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3:3). One is born again as the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God to bring about new life in a dead sinner. The content of the message is the substitutionary death of Christ and His subsequent resurrection (Romans 10:9–10). So the faithful preaching of the gospel is the key to the kingdom.

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus is specifically addressing Peter, so it is significant that, in the book of Acts, Peter figures prominently in the “opening of doors” to three different groups of people so they can enter the Kingdom. In Acts 2, it is Peter who preaches in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost; about three thousand Jewish people are saved that day. Peter’s preaching had “unlocked the door” of heaven for the Jews. Later, in Acts 8, the Samaritans believe the gospel and receive the Holy Spirit; again, Peter (and John) was present for this event. Peter had “unlocked the door” for the Samaritans. Then, in Acts 10, Peter brings the gospel to a Roman centurion’s household, and they, too, receive the Holy Spirit. Peter had “unlocked the door” for the Gentiles. The “keys” that Jesus had given him worked in each case.

Of course, keys can be used to lock doors as well as open them. Part of the gospel message is that faith is necessary. Without faith in Christ, the door to heaven is shut and barred (see John 3:18). As the apostles preached the gospel, those who responded in faith and repentance were granted access to the Kingdom of Heaven; yet those who continued to harden their hearts and reject the gospel of God’s saving grace were shut out of the Kingdom (Acts 8:23).

The context of Matthew 16 also refers to a “binding and loosing.” To better understand this concept, we turn to Matthew 18:15–20, where Jesus gives the guidelines for church discipline, using the same “binding and loosing” language we find in Matthew 16. The apostles were not to usurp Christ’s authority over individual believers and their eternal destiny, but they were to exercise authority to discipline erring believers and, if necessary, excommunicate disobedient church members. Based on God’s Word, believers today can declare an unrepentant sinner to be unsaved (“bound”) and a repentant believer in Jesus Christ to be saved (“loosed”). The binding or loosing, based on one’s rejection or acceptance of the gospel, reflects heaven’s perspective on the matter. In heaven, Christ ratifies what is done in His name and in obedience to His Word on earth.

God’s will is that sinners be granted access to heaven through the righteousness of Christ. Consider Jesus’ warning to the Pharisees: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in” (Matthew 23:13). If the gospel message is distorted or ignored, or if unrepentant sin is not adequately disciplined, the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven are being shut in people’s faces.
GQ

J.