Keys to the Kingdom

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:19)

Someone asked the following question the other day:

But exactly who did Jesus give the keys to the kingdom to? Did He give those to the apostles for the sphere of church leadership or are those keys given to every Christian?

Good question. Who did Jesus give those keys to? Was it to pastors and apostles only? Or was it to all those who call on His name?

Seeing that God is not a respecter of persons, I believe that the keys to the Kingdom were given to all who believe.

Perhaps, the more important question is: "what are the keys for?"

My thesis is that it all comes back to power and authority, and our inability as a people to comprehend their purpose and function.

All true authority comes from God, and must be received. God gave Adam and Eve authority. Then Adam and Eve gave authority to Satan. Satan’s authority was not over men, but rather to receive power over men. Adam and Eve empowered Satan to build a prison to keep them isolated God’s presence. God has been trying to help man get out of that prison. That was the purpose He sent His Son.

Man in and of himself does not have the power to get out of the prison? Why, because he doesn’t have the key to unlock the prison door. He is bound and held captive in the kingdom of darkness. Satan will not give him the key to release himself. So what can he do? He can call on the one, who not only has the key to the prison door, but can obliterate the prison. Jesus the Christ.

Jesus gave this authority to men. Authority to lead men and women out of their prisons. To open the prison doors and set the captives free. To lead them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

We’ve been given authority for grace. To enable men and women to stand justified before God. We’ve been given authority to lead the sheep from bondage and captivity into glorious freedom. This is no light concept. It is the keys to the kingdom. The power to accomplish all of this is the power of God Himself. It is not because we are anything, but because He is everything!

Yes, people need to lead the service (decide what songs to sing, when the offering will be taken, how much money to spend and where), but that was not the purpose of Jesus laying down His life so that we might receive these keys to the Kingdom. Our thinking is too small?

The keys are to unlock prison doors and lead people into the glorious transforming POWER of the Lord Jesus Christ. This should be the heart of every believer, because it is the Father’s heart.

At the end of the day - God’s purpose is His glory. Not your’s or mine. In fact, the primary purpose that Christ came and sacrificially laid down His life was for God’s glory. Sure, mankind was redeemed in the process, but they were not the primary purpose. They were only secondary to God receiving the utmost glory.

If our power and authority is used for any other purpose than for bringing God the utmost glory, then we need to re-examine whose kingdom we are attempting to build.