The Authority of the Lord’s Church

Matthew 16:18,19, And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19  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.

 

I.       Salvation and the church are different.

A.    Matthew 16:13-17 discuss who Christ is.

B.    Matthew 16:18-19 discuss who the church is.

C.    The Steps.

1.      The phrase in verse 18, “And I say also unto thee…” shows that Christ is going to show the disciples something separate and distinct from salvation (knowing who Jesus is.)

2.      Before a person can know anything about the church, he must first know who Jesus is.

 

II.    Christ, who is disallowed by the Jews, will be the chief corner stone of His kind of churches.  The subject is authority - keep that in mind.

A.    Acts 4:10,11 - “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.”

1.      After Peter and John had healed the man by the gate beautiful, they were accused by the Jews.

2.      Peter and John confessed that Christ had healed the man, not them.

3.      When Christ came to the earth, he performed miracles to show who He was, but He was rejected by the Jews.

4.      After the Jews killed Him, His Father raised Him from the dead, and He continues to heal people, showing that He is still alive, although the Jews had killed Him.

B.    Matthew 21:42 - When the Jews confronted Christ, He told them about Psalms 118:22, which states, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 23  This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.”

1.      The subject of Matthew 21:42 actually begins in Matthew 21:23 when the chief priests asked Christ about where His authority came from.

2.      Christ replied in verse 24-25 that they must first tell Him where John the Baptist got his authority from.

3.      When they couldn’t (wouldn’t answer) Christ told them He wouldn’t tell them where He got His authority from.

4.      Christ then relates to them a series of three miracles explaining that the kingdom of God would be taken from the Jews, and given to the Gentile church.

a.      The first parable is in Matthew 21:28-33.

b.      The second parable is in Matthew 21:34-46.

c.      The third miracle is in Matthew 22:1-14.

d.      Matthew 22:15 begins the sentence with the words, “Then went the Pharisees…” showing that there is a break.

e.      Look at each of these three parables.  They all reflect the truth that the keys of the kingdom will soon be removed from the Jews, and given to the Gentiles.

 

III.  Matthew 16:19 - The church receives the keys to the kingdom of God.

A.    “And I will give unto thee…”

1.      The keys will not be given to Peter, who is a little stone, but to the church.

2.      No one person will have the preeminence, this belongs to Christ, who is the head of the church.

B.    There is a difference between the family of God, the kingdom of God, and the family of God.

1.      The family of God consists of all the saved of all the ages.  These are those that have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb.  They are sons of God, brothers of Christ.

2.      The Kingdom of God refers to the rule and reign of Christ.

a.      There is a sense in which the rule and reign of Christ is over all.

b.      There is a sense in which the rule and reign of Christ is over all His elect.

c.      There is a sense in which the rule and reign of Christ will be exercised in the millennium reign.

d.      There is a sense in which the rule and reign of Christ will be exercised in eternity.

C.    Verses explaining that the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Christ are all the same.

1.      Matthew 19:23,24 - The kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of God is the same.

2.      Ephesus 5:5 - the kingdom of Christ and God is the same.