The authority to bind and loose
Another legal basis for the exercise of Christian authority is the authority granted to the Church to bind and loose. Jesus introduces the subject while he was with his disciples in the region of Caesarea Philippi. According to the evangelist Mark, he was on the road. Therefore, he was probably outside the city and positioned with his disciples in such a way as to be able to see the remains and monuments of the city.
The setting is interesting. The city, which previously belonged to the tribe of Dan, was now populated almost entirely by non-Jews. It was a far cry from the bustle of Galilee. Philip the Tetrarch had rebuilt the city and named it in honor of Tiberius Caesar. He added his own name, thus differentiating it from the other Caesarea that played such a pivotal role in the early Church. Caesarea Philippi was a city filled with the remains of temples and monuments honoring various deities.
An invincible Church
It is within this religious and political framework that Jesus raises the question of his own identity. It is here that he first announces the emergence of his assembly, the ecclesia, the one that would exercise true authority on earth, given by the one true God. He begins by questioning his disciples.
Mat. 16:13-15
Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi. He asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?” They answered, “Some say that you are John the Baptist; others, Elijah; others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” »
It's obvious that Jesus left no one indifferent. Everyone had their own idea about Him. Some took Him for John the Baptist, others for Elijah, still others for Jeremiah or another prophet. They knew He was someone unique, but they were so far from the truth. And then Jesus asks them:
Matthew 16:16 “And who do you say that I am?” he asked them. Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
This is a powerful and highly significant moment when Peter responds by declaring that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Such moments are rare in human history. He acknowledges Christ's mission as Savior even before the inauguration of the new covenant. He also acknowledges His divinity. It is a powerful confession of faith, inspired by the Father Himself. Let us listen to the Lord.
Mat. 16:17-18
Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this has not been revealed to you by the mind of man, but by my heavenly Father. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."
Jesus confirms that Peter's confession of faith was triggered by a divine revelation. He becomes the forerunner of all those who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, will make the same confession.
Right away, some great news. Jesus announces His work of building His "Church" from the Greek "ecclesia." It will be His assembly, separate and different from any human assembly, natural, spiritual, and indestructible.
It will be built by Jesus Himself. And it will know how to advance in its mission and resist any attempt to harm it. Death will not be able to stop it; Jesus Himself was victorious over it. And he who held the power of death and his acolytes will not be able to prevail over it. The power and invincibility of His ecclesia are thus announced. But that is not all.
Discover the book The Secrets of Spiritual Authority.
The keys of authority
Matthew 16:19
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.
Peter, the first to confess Christ, therefore receives this promise, which not only applies to all the other apostles, but also to every Christian. There are two elements that catch our attention in this passage. First, the keys to the kingdom. Throughout His ministry, Jesus taught about the kingdom of God and announced its imminence. Now He announces His ecclesia and informs the first member, so to speak, that he will receive the keys to the kingdom.
What do these keys represent? The keys represent granted authority, access to a place, the ability to grant this access to others, but also access to knowledge, learning, and fundamental principles. The keys to the kingdom thus allow access to everything contained in the kingdom of God and facilitate access to it for others. These keys are necessary for the effective exercise of authority. The keys allow one to grasp the principles of the kingdom, to conform to them, and consequently to enjoy its benefits.
To proclaim the Gospel is to use the keys to facilitate access to others. To apply the principles of the kingdom is to use the keys to manifest God's will for others and for oneself. Jesus evokes the key of knowledge by severely rebuking the teachers of the law who have taken away the key of knowledge.
Luke 11:52
Woe to you, teachers of the law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter in, and you hindered those who were entering.
The concept of the key as a symbol of authority appears several times in the Word of God. The prophet Isaiah announces the deposition of Shebna and his replacement by Eliakim. Eliakim will receive from the Lord power, robes of authority, and the key to the house of David. He will open and no one can shut, he will shut and no one can open. He is considered by some to be a representative figure of the Messiah.
Isaiah 22:20-22
“On that day I will call my servant Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son. I will dress him in your robes and gird him with your belt, and I will commit your authority to his hand. He will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens, no one will be able to shut it, and when he shuts, no one will be able to open it.”
Another powerful image regarding the keys of authority is found in Revelation 3 where Jesus presents himself as the one who holds the keys to the house of David. He is the one who shuts and no one can open, who opens and no one can shut. He holds all authority and power in the Kingdom of God.
Revelation 3:7
“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David, who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one can open:”
He is also the One who holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:3). Thus, giving the keys to the Church is conferring powerful authority to act in the affairs of the Kingdom, to act for the Father in the world. It is the authority to open and shut, to bind and loose. What is binding and loosing?
Bind and unbind
Let's go back to our passage.
Matthew 16:19
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.
And in the Sower's version
Matthew 16:19 (NIV)
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in God's sight, and whatever you allow on earth will be allowed in God's sight.
The word bind (deo[i]) in its literal sense is the same used for the demonic of the Gerasenes where it is said that no one could bind him, not even with chains. Another example of its use is the prophetic gesture of Agabus the prophet, who bound his own hands and feet with Paul's belt to show how the one to whom the belt belonged would be bound in Jerusalem. Figuratively, to bind is to prohibit, control, constrain, obstruct, restrict, close, block, stop and break. To unbind is to authorize, permit, release, let manifest, open.
Now, note the nuance in the meaning of the two translations. What emerges from this passage is that those who confess Jesus, His ecclesia, will be vested with authority to prohibit or permit things on earth. They will have both the ability and the responsibility to legislate not according to their desires, but according to the Father's will. What we allow must correspond to God's will and will receive God's support. This is following in Jesus' footsteps to say only what the Father says and do only what the Father does. We have the right to prohibit what the Father has prohibited and to permit what the Father has permitted.
This also corresponds to the prayer Jesus taught us: we pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In the next chapter, we will see the different areas where this authority must be exercised to bind and loose. It is not simply a matter of shouting at demons; it is a matter of bringing into existence what God wants and destroying what should not exist.
Once again, Peter is the first, but not the only, recipient of these words, for Jesus reiterates them in Matthew 18:18. This time, the Lord addresses all the apostles. And it is in the context of the Church. Again He affirms.
Matthew 18:18
Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
And in the translation of the Sower
Matthew 18:18 (NIV)
Truly, I assure you: whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in the sight of God, and whatever you allow on earth will be permitted in the sight of God.
The following story, narrated by Mahesh Chavda, in his book[ii], illustrates one dimension of the exercise of authority to bind and loose. He was a student in Texas when he received a clear word from the Lord telling him to go to Dallas on a particular weekend. He didn't know why and decided to attend a conference taking place there that weekend. He stayed with a friend and faithfully attended the conference, still without knowing why God wanted him to go to Dallas.
However, he noticed that the friend who was hosting him was in pretty bad shape. His wife had left him, nothing was going right in his life, and he was doing his best to raise his young children alone. Mahesh wanted to share the gospel with him, but he felt the Lord stop him every time he tried to do so, and he began to wonder if he had truly heard God's voice. But before he left, something happened that allowed him to understand the real reason he was there.
Discover the book The Secrets of Spiritual Authority, from which this article is taken.
Testimony
“On the last day of my stay, my friend and I were invited to the home of the woman who babysat her children during the day. As we drove to her house, I asked the Lord again if I should share the Gospel with her. Again, the answer was 'no.' I was still wondering why I had made the long journey, and we turned onto the woman's street to see something that looked like a scene from a horror movie.
The woman was standing in the front yard of her house holding my friend's blood-covered child. Hysterical, she pointed toward the backyard and screamed, "He's killing my husband! He's killing my husband!" Upon seeing his daughter, my friend became so panicked that I had to leave him in the front yard with the woman and went looking for the husband.
My heart was pounding with adrenaline, and I ran toward the backyard. As I rounded the corner of the house, I saw the largest German Shepherd I'd ever seen attacking the woman's husband. There was blood everywhere. The dog had obviously attacked the child, and when the man came to his rescue, the dog turned on him. The violent attack had ruptured major blood vessels. The man collapsed on the ground when I arrived on the scene.
At the same time, the Holy Spirit said to me, “This is why I sent you.” The mad dog raised his head to look at me at the same time I received this instruction from the Lord.
"Thank you very much!" I thought. I looked around for something to defend myself with and grabbed what I had at hand: a plastic lawn chair and a flimsy broom. Heart in my mouth, I wielded my ridiculous weapons as I approached the dog. He growled, baring his teeth, and was about to pounce when I heard the Lord say, "Bind him."
I was just beginning to learn the things of the spirit and I thought, "Bind him? I don't have any ropes." And then the dog jumped on me and all of a sudden I had the revelation of what the Lord meant. "I bind you in the name of Jesus," I shouted. The dog hit an invisible wall and fell back to the ground; it lay there whining and shaking with fear as I ran toward the man.
We called an ambulance, but he had lost so much blood that he stopped breathing before the ambulance arrived. Sitting next to him, I thought, "Lord, You didn't bring me all this way to see this man die." I put my hand on his chest and said, "In the name of Jesus, breathe, come back." My friend and his daughter joined me, and I continued to pray for what seemed like minutes. All of a sudden, the man let out a long sigh and came back to life.
My host and I boarded the ambulance to accompany the man to the hospital. Once we arrived, both men stared at me in disbelief. One had come back from the dead, and the other witnessed his resurrection! The entire family was delivered that day.
“Now lead them to Me,” I heard God give me this instruction. As you can imagine, it was easy for them to accept Jesus, having seen His authority in the midst of a demonic storm.
My encounter that day was my first experience of the absolute authority we have in the name of Jesus over all the powers of the demonic world. It is a lesson I will never forget, and it is a living illustration for each of us as we face the opposition and destructive force of the enemy of our souls.
This testimony is poignant because it demonstrates God's goodness and foresight as well as the cooperation between a human being and God. Understanding our authority is essential for the deliverance of our loved ones and our nations. Two families transformed because one man dared to exercise authority. Bound, the demon that drove the dog mad was neutralized. With a stick? No. By exercising authority in the name of Jesus.
Indeed, we are sent by Jesus to exercise authority in His name, to rule in His name. Just as the Father sent Him on a mission, He has sent us on a mission. We continue His mission with His means. He was sent with authority and power, we are sent with authority and power. He was sent to establish the kingdom of God, and so are we. He was sent to destroy the works of the devil, we are sent to fulfill His mandate.
John 20:21
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
This article is excerpted from the book The Secrets of Spiritual Authority. Click on it.
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