The Keys Of The Kingdom

THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM

STUDY TEXT: Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 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.

- Jesus found out of men’s various opinion about Himself. It does not matter what the opinion of men is about Him, the truth of God about Him stands and nothing can change it.

- He requested the opinion of His disciple, and Peter gave an answer based on the revelation of the Holy Spirit. If we are truly His disciples we must know who He is and relate with Him in that capacity, because if we do not know who He is we will also not know our true identity in Him.

- From Peter’s revelation, Jesus told us the situation with the church, the position of the church and the power given to the church. A right understanding of these will enable the church of Jesus to fulfill the purpose of God and to remain un- defeatable by the power of Satan and his kingdom.

- We are going to look at this study under three sub headings:

1. The foundation of the church.

2. The fortification of the church.

3. The freedom given to the church.

1. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH

- It is Jesus Christ who is the rock that is the firm and great foundation of the church.

- 1 Corinthians 3:11-13

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

- Christ is both the founder and the foundation of the church. He is the origin of the church and He is the one that build the church and He is the Rock upon which the church is built.

- This foundation is a firm, strong and lasting foundation. There is no level or category of treat that can withstand it.

- Time and events will not waste it and it will not sink under the weight of the building.

- The sure foundation affords strength to the building. That is why we are encouraged as believers to build something quality on the sure foundation. If anything seems to go wrong with the church then we need to check the quality of material we are using to build on Jesus, the solid foundation.

2. THE FORTIFICATION OF THE CHURCH

- Jesus said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. This implies that the church is fortified against all forms attack coming or that can come against it from the kingdom of darkness. The church is fortified by:

1. The builder of the church. Jesus is the builder of the church. His experience in the quality of materials and their usage will afford strength to the church so that it can not be defeated.

2. The foundation of the church. He is also the foundation of the building as discussed earlier, and since the strength of the foundation go a long way in determining the strength of the building, we see the church again being fortified against the powers of darkness.

3. The destiny of the church. Jesus already pronounced the destiny of the church. He said the church will prevail and will always be victorious in all the battles and warfare that will come against it.

4. The authority of the church. Jesus also gave the final authority to His church. This is the key that can open and close any type of door as needed.

- In spite of Satan doing his worst, the church that Jesus is building cannot in the end, be overcome by Satan.