In Matthew 16:19, and again in 18:18, Jesus made a promise to those who believe in Him. It is a promise with far reaching consequences and implications. If fact, it the basis of who we are and what we are able to do in the Kingdom. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven (Matt. 16:19).

Keys lock and unlock (bind and loose), and we are to use the keys that Jesus has given us to bind things out of our lives and loose others in our lives. We are the ones given the authority to use the keys. So, it behooves us to know what the keys are and how to use them most effectively to live the life that God intends for us.

The keys that Jesus gave us are His Words, the Bible. It is our instruction manual for living a life that is a Kingdom life. We are the ones that are responsible for our lives. True, God has made the way for us to live as He intends, but we are the ones who actually have to do it. We can’t go to God and say, “OK, make me keep your commandments.” We have to say, “OK, I want to will keep Your commandments, please help me and give me the strength and ability to do what You want.”

Most translations of Matt. 16:19 and 18:18, record the words like this: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (NIV). This translation sounds very much different from the Amplified Bible translation that I used to open this lesson. But, think carefully. God will never, never, allow us to simply dictate to Him what is to be bound and what is to be loosed. And yet it sounds this way when translations like the NIV are not read with great care. Actually, it sounds like we get to dictate to God because we have taken the verse out of context.

Back up a couple of verses to see the relationship of verse 16:19 to the whole of the discussion.

Matt. 16:13 Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

Matt. 16:14 And they answered, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

Matt. 16:15 He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am?

Matt. 16:16 Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matt. 16:17 Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.

Matt. 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros—a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra—a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

Matt. 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.†

Jesus is recognized by Peter as being the Christ (the Messiah), and Jesus praises him for revealing what God has allowed him to understand. Then Jesus says that He will build His Church on revelation knowledge (not on Peter nor on Himself). Next, he talks about binding and loosing. In other words, we bind and loose what it is that God has revealed to us that we can bind and loose. We are not to run off, binding and loosing at our whim, but rather as God has directed. Imagine the foolishness of allowing humans to bind and loose as they see fit. Very shortly, everyone on earth would be bound.

The Bible is God’s Word to us, directing us, guiding us, encouraging us, building us up, etc. The Bible is God’s Word revealed to us (2Tim. 3:16-17), and intended as the guide to our binding and loosing (2Tim. 2:15).

God’s Word contains many Key Verses that open and close the doors of our lives, fitting us ever more closely into the Kingdom image that God has of each of us. In the next year we will look at some of these Key Verses and the implications that have for us.