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Whatsoever Thou Shalt Bind On Earth
QUESTION: Please explain the part of Matthew 16:19 that says, "Whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven."
ANSWER: Matt 16:19 reads in full, "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." II Corinthians 5:19 says that God "...hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation." Mark 16:16 confirms this by saying that he who believes the gospel and is
baptized shall be saved. But to God's true ministers is also committed the ministry of condemnation
and Jesus confirmed that, too, in this verse where He said, "...He that believeth not shall be damned."
Paul said in II Corinthians 2:15-16, "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are
saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other
the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" Surely, only those whom God has
called, qualified, filled with His Spirit, commissioned and sent forth would be sufficient for this
responsibility of loosing and binding souls for the judgment.
In this grant to the ministry from Jesus Himself is also included the power and authority of the
ministry under God through the divine unction and anointing of the Holy Spirit and in strict
accordance with God's Word to govern, execute discipline, and maintain order in the Church of
God. In the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 18:15-18, in the matter of dealing with a trespassing
brother, He gives a step by step procedure for dealing with this. If the trespassing brother was
obstinate and could not be gained through the first two steps, then it culminated in taking the matter
to the Church. If he refused to accept admonition from the Church, then he was to be counted as a
heathen and a publican. Then follows in verse 18 the same statement as given in Matthew 16:19,
"Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:..."
Thus we see that the "keys of the kingdom" are also used by the true ministers of God in exercising
government, discipline, and keeping order in the Church in binding or loosing certain things and
people. When these things are carried out through the leading of the Holy Spirit and according to
God's Word all the way, even to our attitudes, feelings, purposes and motives, God in heaven will
back it up and count it the same way in heaven. Remember, God's Word is forever settled in heaven
and it is the same down here as it is up there, and when it is strictly observed down here it will
register up there just the same.
In I Corinthians 5:4-5 Paul is dealing with the matter of an incestuous person in the Corinthian
Church and he instructs them, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together,
and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Here they are
instructed in the power and authority of Christ through the Spirit to excommunicate or cast out of the
Church (bind him according to our text). He gives the reason for this in the next verse: "...A little
leaven leaveneth the whole lump." In other words, if that person stays among you in that condition,
the infection will spread and more will be affected by it, so purge out the leaven and save the
Church. This is one purpose of discipline in the Church to save the Church and keep it clean.
Discipline remained strict in the Church through those early years as the ministry used the keys that
God had given unto them God's Word and God's Spirit to administer discipline and government in
the Church. God put His seal of approval on this and through it kept the Church clean and pure and
made it a light to the world, a city on a hill that could not be hid. He continued to confirm His Word
with signs following among them and to show forth the glory of God and the perfection of beauty in
it. But down in the third century discipline became more slack, and foreign elements began to creep
in. God never stopped this trend because He had given unto His ministry in the Church the keys of
the kingdom and the power and authority to bind all evil elements and to loose all right and good
things. He never interfered with this trend, but as evil elements were allowed to come in and continue
there, He Himself just moved on out and left it with them. The result was the great apostasy was set
up and established in the earth. The true Church was lost sight of for a long period of time.
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