Articles
The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 16:13-16: “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 John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
Peter’s confession is the foundation of Christ’s church. Peter recognized Jesus as the prophesied “Christ” – God’s anointed. He recognized His deity – “the Son of the living God.” Jesus then commended His understanding.
Matthew 16:17-19: “And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I say also to you, that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’”
Peter, having heard Jesus preach and teach and having seen the miracles He performed, understood who Jesus was. Therefore, Jesus said that God had revealed this to Peter. Peter would recall what he and others had seen Jesus do when he began preaching the gospel in Acts 2:22, saying, “You men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, that God did by Him in the midst of you, as you yourselves know.” Jesus had revealed Himself, not only to Peter, but also to all who had seen His mighty works and heard His authoritative teaching during His earthly ministry.
Jesus used a play on words when He said, “you are Peter [Petros, a single stone], and upon this rock [petra, a bedrock] I will build My church [ekklēsian, assembly or church].” Peter will later write of Christians as “lively (or living) stones” and as a “spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). This spiritual house of Christians is His church, His assembly, and it is built on the foundation of faith in Jesus as Christ the Son of the living God. Paul said, “For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).
Jesus also spoke of His death and resurrection as He commended Peter’s understanding. Jesus said of His church, “and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). Hades as it is used here and as defined in Thayer’s Greek Dictionary, refers to “the grave, death, or hell.” Satan might orchestrate the death of Jesus among men, but God would resurrect His Son. Neither the grave nor the realm of the dead would hold Christ. Jesus was foretelling His resurrection. Compare Psalm 16:10 and Acts 2:27.
Jesus also told Peter, “And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). Keys are used to open and shut or to lock and unlock doors. Peter first opened the doors of the kingdom as he preached the gospel at Pentecost in Acts 2:14-40. He opened the doors to Gentile converts when he preached the gospel to Cornelius and his household in Acts 10:34-43.
Peter and the other apostles were promised “another Comforter” in John 14:16. This Comforter is also called “the Spirit of truth” in John 14:17. Jesus expounded on this promise in John 14:26, “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.” Jesus did not leave His apostles unprepared. He explained further in John 16:7-13: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when He has come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come.”
The Holy Spirit would guide His apostles in all the truth. And so, after His resurrection and before His ascension, Jesus told His apostles, “All authority is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:18-20). They were to go and teach, making disciples and baptizing them, and then teaching those baptized believers to do all that Jesus had commanded. Then Jesus promised to be His apostles in their work.
The teaching they would do involved setting forth the keys of the kingdom to the world, teaching people how to enter the kingdom of heaven. Those keys are identified in the New Testament as faith (John 3:16; Heb. 10:38), confession of that faith (Rom. 10:9-10), baptism for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21) and continuing to faithfully keep oneself in the love of God (Jude 21; Rev. 2:10).
We see that those converted to Christ in Acts 2 followed this pattern. Luke wrote, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). The spiritual house, the church, was beginning to be built. What a glorious day! Luke also wrote of these new converts, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). This seems to imply that from the start of the church the Christians were observing the Lord’s Supper (“in breaking of bread”) and praying.
Paul remained in Troas for seven days in Acts 20, and then he preached to the disciples who came together on the first day of the week “to break bread” (Acts 20:7). This also seems to teach that the church was observing the Lord’s Supper together on the first day of each week. Paul would also write to saints in Thessalonica instructing them to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). These things seem to have started immediately on the first day of the church’s beginning, as Peter and the apostles began to preach and teach what the keys of the kingdom were. May we continue in these things until He comes, and may He find us faithful until the end.
