JOSEPH W. TKACH
PASTOR GENERAL

September 1988

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your recent question concerning Matthew 16:18-19.

To understand what Jesus meant in this passage, please begin reading in verse 13. When He came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples who the people thought He was. They gave various answers. Jesus then asked who THEY thought He was.

Peter, more outspoken than the others, answered that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Then Christ said to him, "Thou art Peter [the Greek word is "petros," which means 'little rock'], and upon this rock [Greek word "petra," which means 'very great rock,' referring to Christ Himself] I will build my church." Christ is the great "Rock" upon whom the Church is built (Deut. 32:3-4, 15, 18; I Cor. 10:4; Eph. 2:20; I Pet. 2:6).

Christ told Peter that He (Christ) was about to found the New Testament Church, guide it (Eph. 5:23), be with it always (Matt. 28:20), and that the grave would never prevail against it. The Church would continue to exist, doing His Work down through the ages as a little flock, till the end time, when it would reach the whole world with the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 24:14). The true Church would never die out, but would remain until Christ returned to the earth. The gates of hell (hades or "the grave" in the Greek) would not prevail against His Church, since Christ -- not Peter -- was to be the LIVING HEAD over it (Eph. 1:22; 5:23; Col. 1:18).

Verse 19 of Matthew 16 states, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." The Church was invested with certain powers and responsibilities.

God's true ministers, however, have been given the authority to bind only that which is in agreement with God's laws and which, in reality, WOULD BE BOUND BY GOD. The decisions of God's ministers are based on the Scriptures. In this way, they are led to make the right judgments in accordance with God's will. But, notice also that this verse neither says nor implies that God's ministers have the power to forgive sin. ONLY GOD can forgive sin (Mark 2:7).

From the scriptural teaching, however, true ministers are able to discern when God has forgiven a person and when He has not. For example, in I Corinthians 5:1-5 Paul knew that this man was not forgiven because he was not repentant. Yet, after the man repented, Paul said that he was to be admitted again to the fellowship of the Church (II Cor. 2:6-8) because his sins were now forgiven.

To guide His ministers in making the right decisions, Christ gave them the "keys" to the Kingdom of God. This is symbolic language, meaning that He gave them the knowledge of how to enter the Kingdom -- the knowledge of the way of life which leads to salvation. Notice, in Luke 11:52, Christ reproved the lawyers of His day for suppressing the key of knowledge -- hiding the way which leads to salvation and entrance into God's Kingdom. Christ revealed that way -- the key to right living -- to His true ministers and His Church.

If you would like to receive some literature which explains what salvation is and how to be saved, you may wish to request any of the following free booklets: WHY WERE YOU BORN?, DOES GOD EXIST?, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, and JUST WHAT DO YOU MEAN -- THE KINGDOM OF GOD? The Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course will also help you understand God's plan and how one enters His eternal Kingdom.

Whenever we can assist you further with your study of the Bible, we hope you will let us know. It is our pleasure to serve you.

PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT