The Keys of the Kingdom
by David A. DePra
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
saying, Who do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some [say
that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or
one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the living God.
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.
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.
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. (Matt. 16:13-19)
This passage is certainly one of the most well-known in the Bible.
But have most of us truly grasped the Truth that Jesus is revealing in
this passage? Contained in this
passage is the meaning of Christianity itself, the purpose of God in His people,
and a clear indication of true ministry in the name of Jesus.
The Question
You will note that Jesus initiated this conversation with a question.
He asked them what other people say about Him – who do other people say
Jesus is? Jesus was obviously NOT
looking for information. He was
asking this question to make a point – which is fully brought out in His
follow-up question: Who do YOU say
that I am? The point Jesus was
making is that it does not matter what other people say about Jesus.
It matters only what I say about Him.
In other words, EACH believer must have an inward, personal revelation of
Jesus Christ for themselves.
This is central to the entire conversation.
Jesus is showing them that even if others state the Truth about Him – and
even if they adopt what is said as a theological precept -- that unless that
Truth results in a personal revelation IN THEM of Christ Himself – well, they
will not get far in His will and purpose.
In this we begin to see the necessary impact of true ministry.
Those to whom we minister should not simply adopt and parrot our teaching
– and neither should we adopt and parrot the teachings of others – no matter how
biblically sound it might be. Yes,
what is taught must be biblically sound, but Jesus is teaching in this passage,
as does Paul, something that goes beyond theology.
He is teaching what sound doctrine and theology instructs us to do:
Come into an inward realization of the Person of Jesus Christ –
personally and individually.
So, after the disciples answer the question, “Who do men say that I am?, Jesus
sweeps that all aside, and asks, “Who do YOU say that I am?”
That is THE question. And
the answer is not born out of mere theology or information.
It is born out of REVELATION.
A Revelation
Peter answered the question, “Who do YOU say that I am?,” with the declaration,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
This was the pivotal moment in the ministry of Jesus, and in the
experience of the disciples. For
while it is true that Jesus was yet to be crucified, raised, and ascended, and
it was also true that Pentecost had not yet come – which is when they received
the indwelling of the ascended Christ by the means of the spirit of God – the
disciples had received a revelation from the Father as to the identity of Jesus.
It was the beginning of all that would follow.
Jesus answered Peter’s confession:
…for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it]
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Here we see that the confession of the disciples was not merely religious in
nature. They were not drawing
intellectual conclusions or having an emotional experience.
They were not mustering up out of themselves some innate knowledge.
The source of this revelation was not flesh and blood – not the flesh and
blood of someone else, or the flesh and blood of themselves.
No. Despite the background
of the entire OT, and their experiences with Jesus, this was an inward
revelation received INTO them from the OUTSIDE – received from the Father.
Today we must likewise receive a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Indeed, we must receive the Person of Christ Himself within.
And the source is never of ourselves, our upbringing, our religion, or
our own ability to understand theology.
The source is God.
The Ekklesia
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my church.
These words of Jesus about the church have been twisted, ignored, or
misunderstood – and yet they are so clear.
Forget the demand that it is upon Peter that the church was to be built –
that is utter nonsense and complete error.
But rather read exactly, in context, what Jesus is saying.
He had just called the disciples BLESSED because they had received the
revelation of Himself from the Father.
But now He is saying that it is this same revelation of Himself that is
THE ROCK upon which the church will be built.
What is, “the church?” The word in
NT Greek is, “ekklesia,” which means, “called out ones.”
Note the individuality of the term.
The church – as a body – is comprised of called out ONES.
How could it be otherwise.
Unless there are ONES who are called out there can be no body.
Thus, Jesus is promising to build the called out ONES upon the Rock – the Rock
of the revelation of Himself, and after Pentecost, the Rock of the presence of
Himself WITHIN His people.
This Truth is found all through scripture.
Christianity is, “Christ in you.”
(Col. 1:27) A Christian is
one in whom Christ dwells. Thus,
the church as a body is comprised of, and built up upon, the presence and
revelation of Christ in His people.
And it is likewise the purpose of God for His people that we grow in the grace
and knowledge of this very same Jesus; that we grow up in Him.
It all comes back to the Truth found in this passage.
A Finished Victory
…and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
This statement of Jesus that the gates of hell shall not prevail against IT can
be taken two ways – both of which amount to the same finished victory.
We could say that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church
which Jesus builds upon the Rock of His life within His people – and that would
be the Truth. But we could also say
that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Rock Himself – which dwells
within His people. Either way, the
gates of hell – which is the authority of the realm of Satan – cannot prevail
against the One who said, “I AM the resurrection and the life.”
But we must be honest: The gates of
hall have prevailed against what has been accepted as Christianity – against the
visible church. In fact, there has
been great compromise with the gates of hell – the authority of the enemy has
broken down the walls of the church.
But this does not mean the promises of Christ have failed.
It means that wherever we see the gates of hell prevailing among people
it is because those people have NOT been built upon the Rock.
That is the inescapable conclusion.
The gates of hell CANNOT prevail against the Rock.
Therefore if the gates of hell are prevailing it is proof that what has
been built, no matter how religious, traditional, or theologically sound – those
people have not been built upon an inward realization and experiencing of the
Person of Jesus Christ.
Are we prepared to accept this?
There are lots of nice people in nice churches – churches which at least hold to
sound doctrine. But are the people
in those churches ALIVE in Christ? Or
are they are built upon merely an intellectual grasp of doctrine?
Or perhaps built upon emotionalism?
The gates of hell take many forms, and one of the most subtle forms are
such substitutes FOR the living Christ in His people.
Where these substitutes prevail the gates of hell have found an entry
point.
Those who are being built in Christ are living in resurrection union with
Christ, and being governed by an growing inward revelation of HIM.
This is the ROCK upon which Jesus builds the people who constitute His
church. The gates of hell cannot
prevail against The Resurrection and The Life – and thus, to the extent that we
abide in Him as our resurrection and our life the gates of hell cannot prevail.
The victory IN HIM is finished.
The Keys
I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
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.
All of the Truth found in Matthew 16 is necessary to grasp if we are to
understand what Jesus said about, “the keys of the kingdom.”
First, some background regarding the
words in His statement will help.
The word, “kingdom,” in the original Greek, means, “rule,” or, “sovereignty.”
But not in the sense that the kingdom of God is a PLACE.
No. “The kingdom of God,” is
the rule of God Himself over ANY place or person.
It other words, the kingdom of God is the authority of God Himself.
With that in mind, what ARE these, “keys of the kingdom of heaven?”
The keys OF the kingdom are keys that are representative of, indeed, they
are keys that are an extension of the authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Sure. He has ALL authority.
He is Lord of all; King of all.
And as Lord of all He said that HE would be giving the keys of His
authority to His ekkelsia.
Why are these keys given? Jesus
said these keys would bind and loosen.
But it is here that there has been great error in some parts of the body
of Christ. Only if we read His
instructions in the original Greek can we discover the real meaning.
It reads:
I shall be giving unto you the keys of the kingdom of the heavenlies.
If ever you should be binding on earth, the same shall be having been
bound in the heavens. And if ever
you should be loosing on earth, the same shall be having been loosed in the
heavens.
That is a little awkward but the meaning is clear:
The keys will bind and loose on earth ONLY that which is FIRST bound or
loosed in heaven. In other words,
the keys that belong to Lord Jesus can only open or close – bind or loose –
according to HIS will and sovereignty.
This means that these keys function only within the will of God.
The keys of the kingdom are extensions of the kingdom – that is – they are the
means by which the Lordship of Jesus Christ is manifested in a way that has the
impact of binding and loosing according to the will of God – in God’s time, in
His way, and unto His glory. And
these keys are given to His people – He says, “If ever YOU should be binding….be
loosing.” In short, the will of God
is settled. But He is not simply
going to impose it or do it by bypassing His people.
He wants to bring it to pass through His people.
But even that needs clarification.
Jesus is NOT giving authority to His people to simply do what He would do –
according to what we think is the will of God.
Rather, He is giving authority to His people to do what HE IS DOING.
That is why, in the original Greek, it reads, “I shall be giving.”
This is an ongoing progressive matter – it is really a supply AS needed.
Furthermore, in the context of this passage, in order for His ekklesia to
extensions of Jesus Christ it is necessary for those people to be built upon the
Rock. Unless a person knows Jesus
Christ and is being built up in Him – unless a person is first themselves
brought under the Lordship of Jesus -- there is no possible way for Jesus to use
them as extensions of Himself to bring to pass His will for others.
“I shall be giving unto you the keys of the kingdom” – this is what Jesus
promised in response to the confession of Himself as the Christ – based upon an
inward revelation of Himself in His disciples.
The promise of those keys – of that authority – is based solely upon
those disciples knowing Him, and being built up upon Himself as the ROCK.
There are those who have taken these words to mean that we are able to walk
around, “declaring victory,” and, “speaking victory,” into people’s lives and
situations. Some read the Word of
God and discover the will of God – and then launch forward believing that they
have the authority to make it happen.
But this simply does not work because it is NOT what is being given to
believers.
Read the gospels. There was an
occasion where Jesus gave His apostles authority to do miracles in His name.
(Luke 10:17) They did those
miracles and rejoiced in that fact.
But there was another occasion where they tried to cast out a demon in His name
but were not able. (Matt. 17:21)
Why? It was the SAME name of
Jesus. What did they lack when they
failed that they possessed when they succeeded?
Jesus said the reason was FAITH – He said they could not cast out the
demon because of UNBELIEF. He then
stated that, “this kind comes out only by prayer.”
(Fasting is not in the earliest manuscripts.)
Prayer is communion with God.
Thus, they were not functioning from out of communion with God in their
failure.
This shows that authority is not a power that is given by God to people to use
in His name. Rather, authority is a
matter of acting as an extension of Jesus Christ – but which cannot function
except that we are in living communion with Him; living under His Lordship.
This is why Jesus used the picture of KEYS that can bind and loosen ONLY
what is already the will of God to be opened and closed.
The keys are extensions of Himself – given to people who themselves are
already under His Lordship.
The gates of hell cannot stand against the presence and revelation of Christ in
His people. Likewise, binding and
loosing according to the will of God is only possible when the ekklesia operates
according from out of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
So once again we are faced with the same sobering reality:
The visible church has not prevailed against the gates of hell.
Neither is the visible church acting as an expression or extension of
Jesus Christ. There are, of course,
many claims otherwise. But the
fruits are undeniable, and the results are all around us.
Binding and Loosing
There is not a single command by Jesus in this passage to bind or loosen.
Have we noticed that?
Rather, Jesus speaks of it as an outcome of being built upon Himself as the
Rock. In other words, as we come
into an inward revelation of Jesus Christ we are going to encounter situations
wherein we must bind and loosen. It
will be a, “normal,” part of a walk with Jesus Christ:
“If ever you should be binding….loosing.”
So HOW do we bind and loosen – in the sense Jesus is describing?
We saw earlier that PRAYER was an essential – for faith is born from out
of such prayer. But here again we
must be clear: The Bible never
teaches that Christians are supposed to beg and cry to God for people to be set
free. Do we think that we desire
freedom for people more than God desires it?
Does God need to be begged to help people be set free?
No. Indeed, if we read this
passage it tells us exactly what we are supposed to do:
Through prayer and communion with God we are to JOIN HIM in His will for
others. We are to be ONE WITH HIM
for others. That is why Jesus said
that whatever we bind or loose must have already – in God’s will – be bound or
loosed in heaven. We are simply
joining HIM – and then acting as extension of Him to the extent God makes it
possible.
We can be certain that God desires for all to be set free.
And we can be just as sure that as we join God for His will that it is
having an impact. We might not even
need to say a word. We may not see
much or see anything happening at first – or even for a long period of time.
This is because God always works from the INSIDE OUT.
He must – or else freedom will not be real.
But something IS happening.
The presence and power of Jesus Christ brought to bear in any situation – in any
one of His people -- will NOT fall flat.
There will be an impact – because when Christ is brought in there is
always an impact. It may not be
dramatic. But nothing remains
passive where Christ is present.
The Interests of God
Whatever we bind or loose must already be the will of God settled in the
heavenlies – the binding or loosing must be nothing more and nothing less than a
working out of the will of God through His people.
But there is another essential factor here that goes beyond some THING we
might do. It is our motives for
doing it. If we are to do something
in, “the name of Jesus” – and surely we would bind or loose in His name – then
whatever we do in Jesus’ name must be, yes, what Jesus would do, but it must
also be for His glory and His interests.
One of the greatest hindrances to being used of God is a personal gain IN
ministry. People have a personal
interest involved – and not necessarily a financial one.
For example, people minister to feel good about themselves – they feel
good because they believe they have gained a validation from God.
There can be a gain of spiritual and religious pride.
There can be the gain of a following.
There can be a gain of favor from others.
In our ignorance, immaturity, and even from out of unbelief, we take what
God might have done and associate it with ourselves.
OUR ministry, OUR faithfulness to God – all that God has done through US.
But where this is the inward attitude and motive God cannot, and will
not, do much. This is His mercy
because He knows that if He would use us it would be our undoing and the undoing
of others.
This is not to say that people cannot build large ministries with large
followings, “in the name of Christ.”
Sure they can, and have. But
Jesus said, “I will build MY church.”
He never promised that that He would bless what we build FOR Him, and HE
never promised that we have the right to do things in His name, hand it to Him,
and obligate Him to bless it. Yet
the practice of doing for Christ and saying He has blessed it is so normal that
the Truth that Christ must do it through us is foreign to us.
What is the difference? What is the
difference between us doing something like binding and loosing FOR Christ and
Christ doing it through us? The
difference is found WITHIN. To be
used of Jesus Christ we must ask Him to do whatever it takes to set us free from
our personal interests in His use of us.
We must want God’s will and only God’s will – for His glory and
interests.
Can we see that if God would use us to bind or loose others that we must FIRST
be set free?
There have always been people who have achieved HUGE followings, “in the name of
Jesus.” This proves NOTHING.
Heresy has always attracted more people than Truth.
The proof of whose interests we are after is often found in the aftermath of
what we are supposedly doing for God.
Do we turn the results of our ministry into a personal kingdom we must
protect? Do we demand that people
look to us? Do we become filled
with self-importance in the lives of others?
What do we teach about money?
God knows the heart. He wants to
use only those in whom He has done a deep work of the Cross.
He knows He can trust such ones because they are not in ministry for any
other reason than HIS interests and HIS glory.
He wants those who have completely set aside all personal interests and
are abandoned to Him for no matter what it takes.
Indeed, He wants those who are willing, if it be the Lord’s will, to
never be used of Him in a way that anyone else notices.
That is faithfulness to Christ.
Ministry that is of Christ can emerge only from a life that is utterly abandoned
to Christ. Only if we lose our
lives to Jesus for whatever it takes can any ministry emerge that is built upon
the Rock – and which can be used of Him in the lives of others.
Freed Unto Christ
It is here that we must be perfectly clear about this matter of binding and
loosing. This is not a matter of
God simply setting people free FROM problems.
Rather, the goal is to set people free UNTO Jesus Christ.
In other words, free FROM bondage -- but free UNTO Christ.
The former without the latter can actually be dangerous.
Jesus illustrated this danger to His disciples:
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places,
seeking rest, and findeth none.
Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out;
and when he is come, he findeth [it]
empty, swept, and garnished.
Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more
wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last [state]
of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked
generation.
(Matt. 12:43-45)
Does God want to deliver people from sin and bondage by, “acting upon them” –
without any conversion to Christ?
What good would that do anyone?
None. In fact, if God did this it
would open up people to greater spiritual danger.
Jesus is illustrating a principle.
The most immediate application He was making was that of Israel.
But the principle itself holds – He talks about an individual.
And this principle tells us that it is not sufficient to simply set
people free FROM bondage – but they must be set free TO Jesus Christ.
Otherwise, they might be set free from one bondage -- only to end up in
another – perhaps even worse.
For a person to be truly delivered FROM sin they must be delivered UNTO faith in
Christ. They must be brought face
to face with their sin and unbelief – they must be brought to the reality of the
Cross. Otherwise, their house might
be presently swept and garnished, but unfilled – and in a very dangerous
position.
We must not miss the point here:
Freedom is found ONLY in Christ.
Jesus said, “You will know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.”
He also said, “I AM the Truth.”
In short, to simply set someone free from a sin or addiction – from
religious blindness -- or to deliver them from demonic influence – this is NOT
real freedom. For they have not
been filled with Christ – they are without His life or His Truth.
In fact, they have tasted something of Christ because they are delivered
– and are therefore all the more accountable.
If the Truth sets us free then simply NOT knowing the Truth is bondage.
So again – it is not sufficient to simply set people free from bondage.
If they are not set free into a knowledge of Jesus – at least some
elementary faith in Him – then they are NOT free.
They are merely in between bondages.
And because they have been touched by Christ they are in great danger of
a worse bondage.
This was the case with Israel – it is part of the principle of Truth being given
by Jesus. Once a person SEES – once
they experience something of Christ – they cannot go back.
They are no longer fully blind.
This means that if they do not go on they will indeed be all the more
vulnerable to the enemy.
God knows what we cannot presently know.
He knows what makes people tick – what keeps them in bondage.
But the above passage does give us a possible reason why, despite much
prayer and joining the Lord for the freedom of a person, there does not seem to
be anything happening. They are not
yet ready to be delivered. He must
penetrate the darkness. He must
convict them of their need. God
must build a bridge in them that will enable them to hope and believe Christ as
they are set free from bondage.
The notion that all we have to do is lay hands on people, or pray over them, and
deliverance will immediately happen every time is not taught in scripture.
There are a few instances after Pentecost in Acts 2 where this did happen
– but we don’t know the background or the sequel to the lives of those people.
Generally, however, you do not find this taught in the epistles as a
normal practice. You do not find
deliverance sessions. You do not
find Christians being exhorted to find deliverance from nonsense like,
“generational curses.” You don’t
find exhortations to beg God for forgiveness, or any room for depression because
people cannot get free from sin.
Rather, you find grace and Truth being preached – and an exhortation to repent
and believe.
Everything needed for freedom in Christ is already finished IN CHRIST.
But you see, that phrase, “in Christ,” is easily passed over.
We try to bring freedom alongside of Christ, or by invoking His name.
No. People must encounter
Christ – freedom is in HIS PERSON.
Thus, ministry is a matter of bringing people into contact with Jesus Christ –
which means He must be living in us.
Then binding and loosing can happen – not necessarily through some
dramatic deliverance session – but through a spiritual dynamic that God does
through His people.
God can deliver people to Christ without any outward signs or wonders.
That is the norm. Christ is
ministered through those who have been built upon the Rock and it is Christ who
does the binding and loosing through people who are extensions of Himself.
Sometimes without a word.
Sometimes through fellowship.
Sometimes through teaching. But it
is by His spirit – NOT by our religious flesh.
God does not need any of us. But in
this age He has chosen to use the ekklesia as expressions and extensions of
Himself. This is ministry.
It may be spoken or unspoken.
It may be dramatic or seemingly casual.
Yet if the ekklesia are built upon Christ Himself the gates of hell
cannot prevail.
It is not our responsibility to figure out why a person is not being set free.
Rather, it is our responsibility to give ourselves to Jesus Christ and
let Him build us up in Himself so that binding and loosing might be in the
normal course of our Christian walk.
It is simply not possible for us to be in resurrection union with Jesus
Christ – in the way God desires – except it have an impact upon the spiritual
realm.
This will happen even if we are not given to see that impact.
And very often we won’t see the impact.
That is not our concern. Our
concern is to become expressions and extensions of Jesus Christ.
The keys of the kingdom are ALWAYS being given. They are not given as a onetime appointment unto authority. But they are present for a person to the extent that a person is under Christ as their personal Lord, and living from out of Him. In short, the keys are present wherever Jesus is present. Thus, as we walk, binding and loosing will happen – according to what is already the will of God.
Is this not ministry? To have
Christ within and to be living out from Him to the extent that you bring Him
into situations – even without needing to say a word?
That you can – despite all of your deficiencies – be a manifestation and
extension of Christ? Ministry that is of God is a matter of a person being in
Christ – and then acting from out of Christ as an extension of Christ.
This is ministry of LIFE – of His life.
The Example of Paul
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? [it
is] hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest.
But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee
for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things
which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Delivering thee from the people, and [from]
the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
To open their eyes, [and]
to turn [them] from darkness to
light, and [from] the power of
Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
(Acts 26:15-18)
The purpose for which Paul was apprehended by Jesus is representative for all
who are in Christ. Not all have the
same gifts or calling by God. But
all have some gifts and some calling.
What Jesus said to Paul therefore applies to all.
And in these words we find the same Truth that Jesus stated to his
disciples in Matthew 16.
There are several important points given in this passage.
First of all, Jesus said: “I
have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make you a minister.”
Notice this essential Truth: Paul’s
journey as a minister BEGAN with Paul seeing Jesus Christ.
Sure. And later, having
Christ revealed TO him, God would reveal Christ IN him.
Paul would write:
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called
[me]
by his grace,
To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him… (Gal. 1:15-16)
There can be no real ministry otherwise.
A person must at least be in the process of having Christ revealed WITHIN
– be in the process of coming into an inward realization of Jesus Christ.
And then as the outcome of seeing Christ, a person must be under the work
of the Cross which makes it possible to live out from the life of Christ –
which, in turn, makes true ministry possible.
Anyone can study theology and convey that to others – and call that ministry.
But the best that an intellectual, theological knowledge can produce in
others is the same theological knowledge.
There is value in that if what we convey is true Biblical doctrine.
But it is not yet LIFE. It
is not the same as God revealing the Living Christ IN US.
Indeed, the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
Biblical theology itself tells us exactly that – see II Corinthians 3:6
-- and teaches us that Christ must be revealed in us.
True theology can set us free only from false theology.
That has value to be sure.
But theology is not resurrection life.
It teaches us ABOUT IT. We
must be brought into contact with the living Christ to be truly set free.
Now, if a person has Christ revealed in them, and allows the work of the Cross
in their life -- which will release the life of Christ through them -- then
ministry can happen unto the freedom of others.
But without seeing Jesus and living in Him, how can we bring the presence of
Jesus into the lives of others? We
cannot. Preaching and teaching the
Word is absolutely necessary in the body of Christ – Paul did that all of the
time. But again -- note exactly
what Paul said, “To reveal His Son in me, that I might PREACH HIM.”
The inward revelation of Christ was so that Paul could outwardly preach
Christ. That means that even though
Paul used the necessary words, and Bible verses, for preaching – those words
were spirit and life. They were out
from Christ. Those words were
merely vehicles wherein LIFE was carried.
It is essential that the church have teachers who can tell believers the Truth
about Jesus Christ, and give instruction as to how God works, and how we can
work with Him. There needs to be
teaching as to the eternal purpose of God that Christ has accomplished through
the Redemption. But mere FACTS will
not get us far. The presence of
Jesus Christ through the spirit of God must be both the source and the goal.
And that cannot happen unless Christ freely lives in the preacher.
Otherwise, Christians will be nothing more than theologians.
This brings us back to Matthew 16.
The promise of the keys of the kingdom – the promise that binding and loosing
would take place – all of it is based upon the necessity of being built upon the
Rock. If that is not happening then
there is no ministry; there is no binding and loosing.
There is only religion ABOUT Christ.
Take time to read Acts 2. Peter
preached the first sermon after he and the others received Christ through the
giving of the Spirit of God. Three
thousand were converted. But there
was nothing in that sermon that you cannot hear today in any number of places.
Peter’s WORDS were not what converted those people.
No. Those people turned to
Christ that day because through the words of Peter the presence of Christ was
brought to them. In a way that
they, themselves, could probably not explain, they saw Jesus – not a vision –
but they realized Him at least in an elementary way that made them realize that
they were lost and that He was the answer.
So there MUST be teaching in the Body of Christ.
But even the Bible itself will be a dead, theological book, unless we are
brought into contact with Christ Himself.
So again, ministry is a matter of having Christ brought in.
That is God’s ministry to anyone who would preach, and it is the ministry
of anyone who would preach to others.
Christ within ministered to others through preaching, teaching,
fellowship, prayer, or simply suffering for Jesus’ sake unto the edification of
the Body.
Back to Paul on the Damascus road -- Jesus then elaborated on His assignment to
Paul by saying, “to make you a minister and a witness both of these things which
you have seen, and of those things in which I will appear to you.”
Thus, before Paul could be a WITNESS unto others he needed to see Jesus
for himself – otherwise how could he be a witness unto Christ to others?
Can we see the necessity of having an inward revelation of Jesus Christ?
It is the absence of this that is the reason why so much preaching and
teaching today, even if it is true as to words, carries very little life.
It is not out from Christ.
Rather, it is out from natural, religious humanity.
But as sincere and well-intended as that might be – it carries no life,
and no power.
As difficult as it might be to accept, most of the body of Christ is blind to
the reality of the Living and ever-present Christ.
We don’t even know that God wants to reveal Christ in us.
It is not talked about or preached about, let alone known as God’s goal,
and God’s means. That is why the
ministry of HIS LIFE is not at work in the body.
Jesus told Paul what would be the outcome of his ministry:
To open their eyes, [and] to
turn [them] from darkness to
light, and [from] the power of
Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
It is here that we must ask the same question we asked about the promise of
Jesus that the gates of hell would not prevail against His presence and
revelation in His people: Is this
happening today in the body of Christ?
Forget about the world for a moment.
Is this happening among professing believers?
Are professing believers turning from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan to God? Are
professing believers walking in the forgiveness of God – the grace of God – and
partaking of their inheritance by faith in Christ?
Or, are these just words?
Surely some believers are walking in these Truths, but most are not.
The proof is that the church, generally speaking, remains blind to the
living Christ. Indeed, many are
blind to the reality of CHRIST IN US.
The Travail of God
Paul’s heart cry for the body of Christ is found in his epistle to the
Galatians:
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in
you. (Gal 4:19)
We must ask: Is it OUR heart cry?
Or perhaps an even more searching question is:
Do we even know what this means?
Do we know that it is supposed to be the goal of all ministry?
God inspired these words of Paul.
Therefore, we can be sure that Paul’s travail is a reflection of God’s travail.
It needs to become the travail and goal of ministry in the body of
Christ.
Jesus Christ has apprehended us into a finished redemption.
But He has also given us a great responsibility.
We are to be expressions and extensions of Himself unto others – so that
they might be set free to know and experience Him.
This is why He is giving the keys to the kingdom.