Steve's A:
Matthew 18:18 says,
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
The key to this scripture is in the Greek. Let's look at a few translations to gain some better understanding.
"Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
(NASB)
Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be [a]what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be [b]what is already permitted in heaven.(AMP)
a. Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: "The perfect passive participle, here referring to a state of having been already forbidden [or permitted]."
b. Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: "The perfect passive participle, here referring to a state of having been already forbidden [or permitted]."
I think the Amplified version said it well, footnotes included. This is to say that where two or more are gathered in Jesus' will, the things that we bind or loose (things that are forbidden or things that are permitted) will have already been predetermined in heaven because it was already in God's will.
It is alright for us as Christians , to declare that a person professing to believe in Christ is forgiven. It is basically a statement of what is obvious to us, yet hidden to the unsaved.
It can also be said with authority that a person who denies Christ will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You may also expect that a person who is disobeying and rebelling against God, while at the same time professing to be a born-again believer, will be storing up wrath for himself/herself.
Romans 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
To put to rest the idea that Peter was given the right to forgive sins, it seems as though he receives knowledge that "was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven." Peter is given this insight to declare what Jesus has already done. He is not physically able to forgive sin, because Jesus already did. In order that Peter forgive sins, he would have had to be Jesus and die on the cross. Peter could, however, state that a person had received forgiveness as a result of Jesus Christ's death and their profession.
I hope that clears that up. Simply put: when we gain spiritual knowledge in Christ, we then see things that were once hidden from us as obvious. The statements we make in God's will are, of course, going to be accurate.
1 Corinthians 2:6-16 6We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"— 10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16"For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?"But we have the mind of Christ.
1 comment:
This verse also reflects to me the responsibilities we have as Christians.
Things may already be bound in heaven. But we are resposible to (through the Holy Spirit) make that reality known and actually real on Earth. That's the essence of intercession, in all its forms (I highly highly recommend "Intercessory Prayer" by Dutch Sheets for more on that).
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