Matthew 16:19 -The keys of the kingdom of heaven
There is much confusion about what these keys are, and what their importance is. What do they signify? What does it mean? Let us consider what the verses says, and what the Bible has to teach us.
~The keys of the kingdom is the gospel of Christ~
The keys indicate the ability to open and close. So the question is, what was about to be opened? The church! The church was about to be made open to all people. Not only the Jews, but to gentiles as well. And as we will see, this is exactly what Peter did.
Acts 2:1-41 -Peter preaches the church to the Jews for the first time
Acts 10:24-48 -Peter teaches Cornelius, the first Gentile convert
Romans 1:16 -The gospel is the power of salvation to all
The kingdom was opened to all! And of course, this was not only the duty of Peter, but of all who follow Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20 -Go to all nations, teaching them
Moreover, Christ states that what they will bind will have been bound in heaven, and what is loosed will have been loosed in heaven. This does not mean that Peter and/the apostles had the right to make laws for the church, and that what they created would be made binding. But rather that they will strive to make the binding and loosening they teach in accordance with what has been established in heaven already.
Think of it in this way: when we teach, we do not teach what we want and expect God to back us up. Rather, we teach in accordance with what God has mandated. We bind what God has bound, and we loose where God has loosed in our teaching.
I Timothy 6:3-5 -Condemnation of one who teaches what does not agree with Christ’s teaching
Ephesians 4:15 -We must speak the truth in love
Galatians 1:6-92 -If anyone teaches another gospel, let him be accursed, but rather, we should teach what God has revealed
The Apostles, and we today, must teach in accordance with God wants. He does not change His will to match our, but we must change ours to match His.
The basis for what we teach is the gospel, the scriptures contained in the Bible.
I Peter 4:11 -Let us speak as the oracles of God (ie. Only what God wants said)
Acts 17:1-4 -Paul teaches by reasoning from the scriptures
I Corinthians 2:2 -Christ, and Him crucified
Paul reasoned from the scriptures to teach Christ. As he did, so must we.
Acts 8:4-8, 26-40 -Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
We see an example of our teaching here in this passage.
-Philip preached about Christ to Samaria and the Eunuch
-Philip preached from the scriptures, using what God had provided
-Philip’s teaching of Christ included baptism and information about salvation
Have you obeyed the gospel of Christ? Have you taken advantage of what has been opened for you, of the keys of the kingdom?
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