Matthew the apostle wrote, “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? And they said, Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said unto them, But whom say you that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”, and in chapter sixteen and verse nineteen of his book, Matthew shares how Jesus told His disciples, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” where we read:
And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The verse reads, “And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven:”. Matthew began with the words, “and I will give” whose name means “and Jesus will grant, provide, furnish and supply” “unto you” or “to Peter and His disciples” “the keys” which refers to “the power and authority to open and shut” “of the kingdom” which means “belonging to the royal power, kingship, dominion and rule” “of heaven” or “belonging to the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings”. Matthew shared how Jesus told Peter and His disciples He would “grant and supply” them with the “power and authority” of “heaven's kingdom”.
The verse goes on to say, “and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew continued with the words, “and whatsoever” which means “and whatever thing” “you shall bind” or “the disciples of Jesus will tie, fasten and throw into chains” “on earth” or “on the arable land, ground, country, region and territory” “shall be bound” which means “will be tied, fastened and thrown into chains” “in heaven” or “within the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings”: “and whatsoever” which means “and whatever thing” “you shall loose” or “the disciples of Jesus will untie, unfasten and release from bonds” “on earth” which refers to “on the arable land, ground, country, region and territory” “shall be loosed” or “untied, unfastened and released from bonds” “in heaven” which means “within the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings”. Matthew shared how Jesus told Peter and His disciples “whatever thing” they “fastened and threw into chains” would be so, and whatever they “freed” would be so as well.
When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus began to entrust His disciples with great “power and authority” in His Kingdom. Jesus knew there were “spiritual forces” at work both for and against His Kingdom, and when He left the disciples physically, they would need “ability” to work for and against those powers. God desires to “save” every person, however, there are “spiritual forces” that are at war over the souls of people, and unless they are bound and loosed, many will not be “saved”. Jesus Christ has the “authority” to give to His disciples the ability to “bind and loose” in the spiritual realm, and those who are wise shall not only receive Him as their “Savior and Lord”, but also learn what Jesus meant by this capability and why it is important.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus, “charged … his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
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www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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