"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. 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" (Matt. 16:18-19). Christ's promise to build his church , proves that it was not yet in existence. Jesus next promises to give Peter (and the other apostles) "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." The Lord uses the terms "church" and "kingdom" interchangeably. He did not promise to build one institution, the church and to give Peter the keys to another institution, the kingdom. On the day of Pentecost, Peter used the "keys" to open the door of the church, figuratively speaking, for the Jews (Acts 2). Peter delivered the first recorded gospel sermon. "Peter, standing up with the eleven [apostles] lifted up his voice" (v 14). "...this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" (v 16: fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel 2:28-32). He told the Jews they had crucified Jesus (v 36). Their reply: "What shall we do" (v37)? Peter stated, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..."(v 38). "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (v 41). "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (v 47). Here is recorded how Peter used the keys of the kingdom to the Jews, and the first time that the church is mentioned as being in existence. The church and the kingdom are the same institution, and Peter set forth the method of entrance. That is what the keys were used for, to open the door to the church/kingdom of God.
He also used the "keys" to show the Gentiles that "God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him" (Acts 10:34-48).
Jesus told Peter whatsoever he would bind or loose on earth would be bound or loosed in heaven (Matt. 16:19). But, we read in John 20:23 that the same power was given the twelve.
God sent the "comforter," identified as the Holy Spirit in "my name" (in harmony with Christ's will and in keeping with his plan). He would teach them "all things," and enable them to recall what Jesus had taught, and guide them in "all truth"( Jn. 14:26; 16:13).
When Peter used the "keys of the kingdom" in Acts 2, he preached the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. That is what Paul identified as the "gospel" in I Cor. 15:1-4. He declared in Rom. 1:16 that the gospel is the power to save.
If we preach that same gospel that Peter preached in using the "keys" in Acts 2, it can only produce the same church: the church Christ said he would build in Matt. 16:16-19,and the "one body" of Eph. 4.
"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God" (I Pet.4:11).
Don H. Noblin
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