Keys of the Kingdom II
Greetings, Salutations and Blessings!
How're you doin' this fine day? Best day of your life, right? Yup. That's what I thought.
Coffee's on. This morning's blend is Double-Roasted French, Columbian and Dark-Roasted Peruvian. A bit different from my usual blends but the Peruvian was recommended to me by someone who thought it would make a good mix. Not bad. Not bad.
I used to think I really understood the Keys of the Kingdom, but as revelation from the Holy Spirit has continued to unfold, I've come to realize that most Christians really don't have the foggiest concept of what the authority and power of the Lord Jesus Christ operating in us is really for. Today's discussion centers around the difference between forgiveness and remission of sin.
BEING THE BODY OF CHRIST
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? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 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. 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.
And once again, here’s the true sense of what Jesus said — taken from the Greek text:
“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you [this didn’t come out of carnal, human thinking]; this revelation came directly to you from My Father which is in Heaven. I declare to you that from this day your onoma has been changed. No longer are you Simon [the one who hears] who is the son of Jona; you are Petros – a piece of the Rock (Petra) – and it is upon that rock (of which you are a part) that I will build my Ekklesia – my called out and chosen and prepared body of people; And the gates of Hell [all the powers and governance of Hell] will not ever overpower or prevail in battle against it [my Ekklesia]."
“And I will give you the authority and power to lock and unlock Heaven so what whatever you bind, restrict or stop on earth shall be, having been already bound, restricted or stopped in Heaven. And whatever you break up, loose, dissolve or put off on earth shall be, having already been broken up, loosed, dissolved or put off in Heaven."
Before we get into the use of these keys — authority and power — let’s first look at two other Scriptures — the first being something that Jesus said, and the second coming from the apostle Paul.
Mark 11:24-26: Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
II Corinthians 2:7-11: So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
THE AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE IS THE FIRST USE OF THE KEYS
First, it is important to note that the exercise of the Key of Forgiveness precedes and supersedes even displays of faith. Because it takes agape love in action to remit sin and extend the grace of God to those we would normally not consider “deserving,” the use of this Key of the Kingdom — forgiveness — must first be used before faith can work.
Miracles follow forgiveness — not the other way around. Notice how Jesus did it and how the Pharisees with their religious attitudes failed to comprehend the necessity of forgiveness.
Luke 5:17-25: And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
Before we get too far along, let’s look at one more statement by Paul, and then lets clarify some definitions.
Galatians 5:6: For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
One of things that create confusion is the seeming inter-changeable use of the words, “forgive, forgiveness, remit and remission.”
The word "forgive" — when it is applied properly in our English texts from the Greek comes from a word we normally associate with “grace,” and that word is charis. The word, charis, though normally translated “grace,” actually signifies: favor, graciousness, to be made acceptable, the joy of liberality.
The counterpart or derivative to this word — charizomai — means: to extend grace and pardon towards someone, particularly one who has done nothing to earn or deserve such pardon. While charizomai denotes the extension of unmerited forgiveness — it does not include (at least from its true sense in Greek) the erasure of accountability and/or penalty for the offending act.
The word, remit and its derivative, remission, are a translation from the Greek, aphesis, which in turn comes from the word: aphiemi. The word, aphesis, means: freedom, total pardon, deliverance; whereas aphiemi denotes the total erasure of something. In a more literal sense, it means: to send something away, to omit, to leave alone, to act as though it (the offense) never existed.
Both charizomai and aphiemi can be translated “to forgive,” but there is a significant difference.
I’m sure you can and are seeing the difference.
REMISSION IS UNCONDITIONAL FORGIVENESS AND RELEASE
Forgiveness (charizomai) is pardon and grace extended towards one who has sinned or offended without necessarily removing the accountability for it.
Remission (aphiemi) is both forgiveness and the total erasure of the sin or offending event — such that both the offense and the penalty cease to exist.
Although we almost universally see the word, “forgive” used throughout the Gospels — and especially in Jesus’ teaching and preaching, in every single instance, the word aphiemi (remit) is used.
When Jesus was speaking to the disciples following the incident in which the fig tree dried up from the roots and said to them, “Whenever you pray and ask Father for something, believe that you receive and you will have it,” He immediately followed it by saying, “and when you stand praying, remit — erase completely — any offense, if you have some unforgiveness towards someone for some wrong committed towards you, so that your Father also which is in Heaven may remit your sins or lapses in judgment or willful transgressions against Him.”
Pretty strong, don’t you think? How about this one!
Matthew 6:14-15: For if ye forgive (aphiemi: remit) men their trespasses (paraptoma: side-slips, accidental or deliberate), your heavenly Father will also forgive (aphiemi) you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
And then Jesus says it again!
Matthew 18:32-35: Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave (aphiemi) thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive (aphiemi) not every one his brother their trespasses.
Now, let’s return to the incident where the man who has the palsy is lowered through the roof for Jesus to heal him (Luke 5). Jesus’ first statement to the sick man is, “Man, thy sins are forgiven (aphiemi) thee.”
The Pharisees are enraged at this. Their reaction is, “Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive (aphiemi) sins, but God alone?”
You see, the Pharisees recognized that remission of sin — the erasure of both the sin and the penalty — had to come from God. Under the Law of Moses, they could receive forgiveness, but total remission had to come outside the offering of burnt sacrifices. It was beyond the Law.
Jesus was obviously demonstrating the fact that He WAS God — that He was equal with Father — and that remission of sin was a natural extension of the agape love of God.
It's a funny thing. We run into this same kind of religiosity today? Who do you think you are to think you can forgive someone's sins? Are you seeing it? And yet this is a natural -- make that "commanded" -- use of the Keys of the Kingdom. If we are to be obedient to the Word of the Lord, we have a solemn responsibility to forgive the sins committed against us. And, really it goes beyond just forgiving sins or offenses committed against us. But we won't go there today. That's for another discussion.
Now we begin to see the significance of the Keys of the Kingdom!
THE AUTHORITY TO BIND OR LOOSEN IS DEMONSTRATED IN REMITTING OR RETAINING
Since remission of sin is the heart’s desire of the Lord and He has the authority to forgive, it therefore became natural for Jesus to say to the disciples, “And I will give you the authority and power to lock and unlock Heaven so what whatever you bind, restrict or stop on earth shall be, having been already bound, restricted or stopped in Heaven. And whatever you break up, loose, dissolve or put off on earth shall be, having already been broken up, loosed, dissolved or put off in Heaven.”
Consider, now, what happened when Jesus appeared to the disciples following His resurrection. You’ll remember that He had said “I will give you the authority and power.” That authority and power had not yet been released to them.
John 20:21-23: Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
When we read this out of our English translations, it almost sounds like, “Whose soever sins you forgive and erase, they are erased; and whose soever sins you don’t forgive or erase, they are not forgiven.”
That is NOT what Jesus was saying! That would directly contradict what He had already said otherwise.
This word, “retain,” comes from the Greek, krateo, and it means: to hold fast, to hang onto (with strength).
Let’s be clear. When Jesus said, “those whose sins you remit receive remission,” He was referring to acting and decreeing forgiveness and remission in direct accord with Father’s Word and command — not simply deciding of your own will and purpose to absolve someone of their sin. Jesus never did or said anything He didn’t first see or hear Father say. Neither can we.
The opposite side of this coin goes like this:
“Whoever refuses and rejects the Word of the Lord for forgiveness — and you both see and hear that rejection — their sins and offenses are retained. They are held fast [because the individual grasped and hung onto his/her sins without repentance] and the sinner/offender suffers the consequences of his or her rejection of the offer of forgiveness.”
In case you think that I’m really stretching with this interpretation, take a look at something that Jesus said. Here’s how Jesus put it — and He expressed it within the context and framework of “binding and loosening” and “agreement.”
Matthew 18:15-20: Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Let’s try and break this down.
First, Jesus puts this in the picture of forgiving or remitting of sins. His ultimate objective is for His people to operate in harmony with one another. Thus, if a brother or sister sins against you or causes an offense — one that could cause you or someone in you r family to stumble in their walk with God — the first command is to go to that brother or sister and share with them the nature of the offense in such a way as to bring understanding and peace between you.
If that person fails to hear you because of some bitterness or anger or resentment held within them, then you take one or two other brothers or sisters in the Lord with you and try once again to resolve things.
There is a spiritual principle here — and it is one which applies in a legal sense today. Our judicial system has adopted this Kingdom Law; and that is that every word — every testimony, either for or against — is established when it is heard out of the mouths of two or more witnesses.
You’ll recall the picture of Revelation 12:11 where we are told that the overcomer wins with two witnesses: the Word of his testimony, and the testimony of Jesus’ Blood.
Finally, if reconciliation fails even before two or more witnesses, you bring the offending brother or sister before the whole body of believers and — in a non-judgmental or non-accusatory way — make every final effort to bring peace and reconciliation.
We’ll continue this in our next Coffee Break as we discuss the procedures required before binding or loosening.
Be blessed!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
455 North River Road
Prosser, Washington 99350-6554
(509) 781-6099
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact.
Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: KEYS OF THE KINGDOM I
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: KEYS OF THE KINGDOM I
Good Morning!
My apologies for the long delay between the publishing of Coffee Breaks. We had a power outage which crashed my computer a little over two weeks ago and took out a lot of my work. Lost in the process was my next Coffee Break on Honor & Dishonor. I've yet to re-write that Coffee Break, but in the meantime decided to share something the Holy Spirit has been downloading on us here at River Worship Center.
Years ago during the Charismatic Renewal there was a considerable amount of teaching on the Kingdom of God -- and specifically dealing with the Keys of the Kingdom. I suppose I've somewhat grown up with some understanding of this truth, but early this year the Holy Spirit began to download on me a new dimension of understanding that has been changing the scope of my prayer life and causing me to go back through my past years to deal with some issues previously considered "resolved." This is a rather large topic, so I'm breaking it down into several discussions. Today we'll lay down some fundamentals.
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? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. 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. 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.
Whenever we read this phrase we think of “keys” in a generic sense: something -- usually a metal piece -- that locks or unlocks a door. In a metaphoric sense you can picture what Jesus is saying within that context, but what Jesus is saying actually has much greater significance. Let’s see if we can re-phrase this more accurately according to the actual Greek:
“And I will give you the authority and power to lock and unlock Heaven so that whatever you bind, restrict or stop on earth shall be, having been already bound, restricted or stopped in Heaven. And whatever you break up, loose, dissolve or put off on earth shall be, having already been broken up, loosed, dissolved or put off in Heaven.”
Changes the picture a whole lot, doesn’t it? So why did Jesus put it like that to Peter? Let’s first put this in the context of the events that had just taken place and then get back to what started this exchange between Jesus and Peter in the first place. Matthew, by the way, is the only one among the four writers of the Gospels who notes this exchange. It comes after the feeding of the five thousand. A miracle of unusual proportions has just occurred. Jesus has multiplied bread and fish out of five loaves of bread and two small fish to feed a crowd of somewhere on the order of 30,000 people to the place where everyone is full and satisfied.
To get away from the crowds, Jesus has crossed over the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. Whatever time it took to cross the Sea of Galilee obviously was more than an hour or two and the disciples had gotten hungry. A conversation ensues between the disciples when Jesus makes the statement to them, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.” They mistake His comment to them to be a reference to bread and say among themselves, “He’s saying this to us because we forgot to bring any bread with us.”
Hmmmmm….. makes you wonder where their thoughts were!
Now they’ve come into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi and Jesus has a question. “Whom do men say that I as the Son of Man AM?”
The question is designed to bring the disciples to a confession that will forever alter their lives. “Some people say you are John the Baptist, some think you are Elijah and some think you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
So Jesus puts it to them directly. “But who do YOU say that I AM?”
Simon Peter wastes no time in responding. “You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of the Living God!”
There! He’d said it. The confession had taken place and Jesus made it precisely clear where this statement had come from.
“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you [this didn’t come out of carnal, human thinking]; this revelation came directly to you from My Father which is in Heaven. “I declare to you that from this day your onoma has been changed. No longer are you Simon [the one who hears] who is the son of Jona; you are Petros – a piece of the Rock (Petra) – and it is upon that rock (of which you are a part) that I will build my Ekklesia – my called out and chosen and prepared body of people;
“And the gates of Hell [all the powers and governance of Hell] will not ever overpower or prevail in battle against it [my Ekklesia]. “And I will give you the authority and power to lock and unlock Heaven so what whatever you bind, restrict or stop on earth shall be, having been already bound, restricted or stopped in Heaven. “And whatever you break up, loose, dissolve or put off on earth shall be, having already been broken up, loosed, dissolved or put off in Heaven.”
Are you beginning to understand “the keys of the Kingdom?” Let’s see if we can summarize this picture a little more specifically.
1. Everything is rooted and grounded in the fact that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Son of the Living God. That is His onoma.
2. For the keys of the Kingdom to work, the revelation of Jesus as the Anointed One, the Son of the Living God, MUST come from the Father (and the Father gives that revelation to us by and through the Holy Spirit). (Simon went from being simply one who heard the Word to one who had revelation break forth in his being. That revelation changed him forever.)
3. Upon the foundation of Jesus being the Anointed One, THE Son of the Living God, the Ekklesia began to be built – and it is being built today!
4. Because the Ekklesia is built on THE ROCK, Christ Jesus, it is immovable and so grounded in Christ Jesus that the governing powers of Hell can neither overpower nor move it from its place of absolute authority. (Note the similes that Jesus uses in His illustration.)
5. With the foundation of Heaven’s authority established in us comes the ability, the authority and the power to lock up or unlock Heaven in order to bind or restrict, or break up and dissolve the powers of Hell on earth.
6. With that same authority comes the empowerment to enact the Will and divine purposes of God the Father – as well as His heart’s desire – in the earth in the same way that it already exists in Heaven.
7. Put more simply, this is the authority and power to lock up or unlock Heaven’s resources – in accordance with the Father’s Will – so that Earth once again becomes a mirror image of Heaven.
What this means is that these “keys” are substantive: they are not metaphorical, and they are not imaginary. A common misconception is that these “keys” are “the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven” instead of being the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.” These are not keys that open up doors for us in Heaven. These are “keys” of Heaven’s authority, power and resources put into our hands!
They are put into our hands because we are part of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are a part of The Ekklesia. We are “called and chosen and faithful.” Before we get too far along in this study, it is important to go back once again and look at Jesus’ particular phrasing as He speaks to Peter.
“It is upon that rock (of which you are a part) that I will build my Ekklesia – my called out and chosen and prepared body of people; “And the gates of Hell [all the powers and governance of Hell] will not ever overpower or prevail in battle against it [my Ekklesia]. “And I will give you the authority and power…..”
Do you see it?
He didn’t say, “I have given you the authority and power”; He said “I will give...” meaning that this was a process to unfold over a period following the revelation of Jesus Christ in the believer.
I don’t want to belabor this point, but once again, this is not – as Simon Barjona was – just one who hears (or has heard) the Word. This is one who receives the revelation of Jesus Christ from the Father – and that revelation can only come in His presence! The apostle Paul clearly understood this and emphasized it as he wrote to the Ephesians. He sums up this picture about as clearly as you could ever have it:
Ephesians 1:15-23: Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
Now do you see it? Are you seeing the pattern of Matthew 16 here?
Take another look.
1. The “Father of Glory” releases the revelation of Jesus Christ through and by the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation.
2. That revelation first brings us an understanding of Jesus’ calling — that His calling is IN US.
3. The next part of the revelation is to grasp the full perspective of the wealth (ploutos) and stupendous glory are in His inheritance IN US.
4. The full revelation of Jesus Christ MUST incorporate the unfathomable (huperballo) greatness of Father’s power to those of us who believe.
5. Along with that comes our understanding that this is the same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead!
6. But the revelation continues. Now it encompasses the very fact that Jesus has been seated at the right hand of Father.
7. With that seating and placement in and with the Father comes absolute authority over every name, every power, every dominion, every ruler of darkness and every effort of Satan — whether that effort is exercised here on earth, in the heavenlies, or in Hell (Hades) itself.
8. But there’s more. Jesus’ authority and power extend beyond time and this world’s realm to the future and to eternity.
9. All things, all events, all spiritual forces — angelic or demonic — have been placed under Jesus’ feet and, by virtue of the fact that we are the body of Christ, under our feet; so much so that Father has given us the responsibility of working together with Him and through Jesus Christ to subdue all things and bring them under His authority.
10. The final revelation of Jesus Christ is that we are His body — that we complete Him. He is the Head. All commands come from Him. Without His instruction, we do nothing, but with His instruction and commands, there is absolutely nothing impossible to us, and nothing withheld in any way, shape for form. We are the body, the arms, the legs, the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ!
With that revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Father, we now understand our position. We now understand His position!
This is the essence of the revelation that Peter received! Maybe I should say that this is where the revelation of Jesus began in Peter. Because the Day of Pentecost had not yet arrived and Peter was not yet filled with the Spirit, much of what He saw would not be understood or realized until that day.
Peter saw Jesus first as the Anointed One – The One in whom the Holy Spirit rested, The One with the empowerment of Heaven dwelling in Him. He saw (though he didn’t fully understand at the time) the greatness and richness of the anointing of the Anointed One in us and toward us.
Peter would not yet have the revelation of the power of the resurrection – not until the Day of Pentecost – but when He had been baptized with the Holy Spirit, it would so explode in his being that in one day, he would see 3000 people accept and acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Anointed One; and the One Who had paid the price for their redemption from the curse of the Law and the curse of death.
That same anointing that brought the revelation in Peter of who Jesus really was would flow from his lips as he preached Jesus to the multitudes.
The revelation of Jesus – as it is made available to us today – includes the revelation of the power of the resurrection.
It is the revelation of being seated with Jesus in Heavenly places.
It is the revelation that Jesus’ onoma – operating in us and with us as Jesus’ heirs and joint-heirs – exceeds and sits above in authority and power every name, every onoma, every character and personality and every being – whether in earth or in Heaven or under the earth.
It is the revelation of power over death, disease and destruction.
It is the revelation of the purposes of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, made in absolute agreement and harmony with one another before the very first words of Creation were uttered.
It is the revelation of the Family of God in Heaven and Earth.
It is the revelation of agape — Father’s Love — a dimension of love that exceeds the natural understanding of man.
It is the revelation of the power of Creation.
It is the revelation of God’s Glory.
THAT, folks, is the authority and power to lock up and unlock Heaven’s authority, power and resources as God the Father commands here on earth.
Ephesians 3:14-19: For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the release of that authority and power; and that authority and power are “the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven!”
Be blessed!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
455 North River Road
Prosser, Washington 99350-6554
509) 781-6099
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Good Morning!
My apologies for the long delay between the publishing of Coffee Breaks. We had a power outage which crashed my computer a little over two weeks ago and took out a lot of my work. Lost in the process was my next Coffee Break on Honor & Dishonor. I've yet to re-write that Coffee Break, but in the meantime decided to share something the Holy Spirit has been downloading on us here at River Worship Center.
Years ago during the Charismatic Renewal there was a considerable amount of teaching on the Kingdom of God -- and specifically dealing with the Keys of the Kingdom. I suppose I've somewhat grown up with some understanding of this truth, but early this year the Holy Spirit began to download on me a new dimension of understanding that has been changing the scope of my prayer life and causing me to go back through my past years to deal with some issues previously considered "resolved." This is a rather large topic, so I'm breaking it down into several discussions. Today we'll lay down some fundamentals.
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? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. 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. 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.
Whenever we read this phrase we think of “keys” in a generic sense: something -- usually a metal piece -- that locks or unlocks a door. In a metaphoric sense you can picture what Jesus is saying within that context, but what Jesus is saying actually has much greater significance. Let’s see if we can re-phrase this more accurately according to the actual Greek:
“And I will give you the authority and power to lock and unlock Heaven so that whatever you bind, restrict or stop on earth shall be, having been already bound, restricted or stopped in Heaven. And whatever you break up, loose, dissolve or put off on earth shall be, having already been broken up, loosed, dissolved or put off in Heaven.”
Changes the picture a whole lot, doesn’t it? So why did Jesus put it like that to Peter? Let’s first put this in the context of the events that had just taken place and then get back to what started this exchange between Jesus and Peter in the first place. Matthew, by the way, is the only one among the four writers of the Gospels who notes this exchange. It comes after the feeding of the five thousand. A miracle of unusual proportions has just occurred. Jesus has multiplied bread and fish out of five loaves of bread and two small fish to feed a crowd of somewhere on the order of 30,000 people to the place where everyone is full and satisfied.
To get away from the crowds, Jesus has crossed over the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. Whatever time it took to cross the Sea of Galilee obviously was more than an hour or two and the disciples had gotten hungry. A conversation ensues between the disciples when Jesus makes the statement to them, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.” They mistake His comment to them to be a reference to bread and say among themselves, “He’s saying this to us because we forgot to bring any bread with us.”
Hmmmmm….. makes you wonder where their thoughts were!
Now they’ve come into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi and Jesus has a question. “Whom do men say that I as the Son of Man AM?”
The question is designed to bring the disciples to a confession that will forever alter their lives. “Some people say you are John the Baptist, some think you are Elijah and some think you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
So Jesus puts it to them directly. “But who do YOU say that I AM?”
Simon Peter wastes no time in responding. “You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of the Living God!”
There! He’d said it. The confession had taken place and Jesus made it precisely clear where this statement had come from.
“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you [this didn’t come out of carnal, human thinking]; this revelation came directly to you from My Father which is in Heaven. “I declare to you that from this day your onoma has been changed. No longer are you Simon [the one who hears] who is the son of Jona; you are Petros – a piece of the Rock (Petra) – and it is upon that rock (of which you are a part) that I will build my Ekklesia – my called out and chosen and prepared body of people;
“And the gates of Hell [all the powers and governance of Hell] will not ever overpower or prevail in battle against it [my Ekklesia]. “And I will give you the authority and power to lock and unlock Heaven so what whatever you bind, restrict or stop on earth shall be, having been already bound, restricted or stopped in Heaven. “And whatever you break up, loose, dissolve or put off on earth shall be, having already been broken up, loosed, dissolved or put off in Heaven.”
Are you beginning to understand “the keys of the Kingdom?” Let’s see if we can summarize this picture a little more specifically.
1. Everything is rooted and grounded in the fact that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Son of the Living God. That is His onoma.
2. For the keys of the Kingdom to work, the revelation of Jesus as the Anointed One, the Son of the Living God, MUST come from the Father (and the Father gives that revelation to us by and through the Holy Spirit). (Simon went from being simply one who heard the Word to one who had revelation break forth in his being. That revelation changed him forever.)
3. Upon the foundation of Jesus being the Anointed One, THE Son of the Living God, the Ekklesia began to be built – and it is being built today!
4. Because the Ekklesia is built on THE ROCK, Christ Jesus, it is immovable and so grounded in Christ Jesus that the governing powers of Hell can neither overpower nor move it from its place of absolute authority. (Note the similes that Jesus uses in His illustration.)
5. With the foundation of Heaven’s authority established in us comes the ability, the authority and the power to lock up or unlock Heaven in order to bind or restrict, or break up and dissolve the powers of Hell on earth.
6. With that same authority comes the empowerment to enact the Will and divine purposes of God the Father – as well as His heart’s desire – in the earth in the same way that it already exists in Heaven.
7. Put more simply, this is the authority and power to lock up or unlock Heaven’s resources – in accordance with the Father’s Will – so that Earth once again becomes a mirror image of Heaven.
What this means is that these “keys” are substantive: they are not metaphorical, and they are not imaginary. A common misconception is that these “keys” are “the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven” instead of being the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.” These are not keys that open up doors for us in Heaven. These are “keys” of Heaven’s authority, power and resources put into our hands!
They are put into our hands because we are part of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are a part of The Ekklesia. We are “called and chosen and faithful.” Before we get too far along in this study, it is important to go back once again and look at Jesus’ particular phrasing as He speaks to Peter.
“It is upon that rock (of which you are a part) that I will build my Ekklesia – my called out and chosen and prepared body of people; “And the gates of Hell [all the powers and governance of Hell] will not ever overpower or prevail in battle against it [my Ekklesia]. “And I will give you the authority and power…..”
Do you see it?
He didn’t say, “I have given you the authority and power”; He said “I will give...” meaning that this was a process to unfold over a period following the revelation of Jesus Christ in the believer.
I don’t want to belabor this point, but once again, this is not – as Simon Barjona was – just one who hears (or has heard) the Word. This is one who receives the revelation of Jesus Christ from the Father – and that revelation can only come in His presence! The apostle Paul clearly understood this and emphasized it as he wrote to the Ephesians. He sums up this picture about as clearly as you could ever have it:
Ephesians 1:15-23: Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
Now do you see it? Are you seeing the pattern of Matthew 16 here?
Take another look.
1. The “Father of Glory” releases the revelation of Jesus Christ through and by the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation.
2. That revelation first brings us an understanding of Jesus’ calling — that His calling is IN US.
3. The next part of the revelation is to grasp the full perspective of the wealth (ploutos) and stupendous glory are in His inheritance IN US.
4. The full revelation of Jesus Christ MUST incorporate the unfathomable (huperballo) greatness of Father’s power to those of us who believe.
5. Along with that comes our understanding that this is the same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead!
6. But the revelation continues. Now it encompasses the very fact that Jesus has been seated at the right hand of Father.
7. With that seating and placement in and with the Father comes absolute authority over every name, every power, every dominion, every ruler of darkness and every effort of Satan — whether that effort is exercised here on earth, in the heavenlies, or in Hell (Hades) itself.
8. But there’s more. Jesus’ authority and power extend beyond time and this world’s realm to the future and to eternity.
9. All things, all events, all spiritual forces — angelic or demonic — have been placed under Jesus’ feet and, by virtue of the fact that we are the body of Christ, under our feet; so much so that Father has given us the responsibility of working together with Him and through Jesus Christ to subdue all things and bring them under His authority.
10. The final revelation of Jesus Christ is that we are His body — that we complete Him. He is the Head. All commands come from Him. Without His instruction, we do nothing, but with His instruction and commands, there is absolutely nothing impossible to us, and nothing withheld in any way, shape for form. We are the body, the arms, the legs, the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ!
With that revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Father, we now understand our position. We now understand His position!
This is the essence of the revelation that Peter received! Maybe I should say that this is where the revelation of Jesus began in Peter. Because the Day of Pentecost had not yet arrived and Peter was not yet filled with the Spirit, much of what He saw would not be understood or realized until that day.
Peter saw Jesus first as the Anointed One – The One in whom the Holy Spirit rested, The One with the empowerment of Heaven dwelling in Him. He saw (though he didn’t fully understand at the time) the greatness and richness of the anointing of the Anointed One in us and toward us.
Peter would not yet have the revelation of the power of the resurrection – not until the Day of Pentecost – but when He had been baptized with the Holy Spirit, it would so explode in his being that in one day, he would see 3000 people accept and acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Anointed One; and the One Who had paid the price for their redemption from the curse of the Law and the curse of death.
That same anointing that brought the revelation in Peter of who Jesus really was would flow from his lips as he preached Jesus to the multitudes.
The revelation of Jesus – as it is made available to us today – includes the revelation of the power of the resurrection.
It is the revelation of being seated with Jesus in Heavenly places.
It is the revelation that Jesus’ onoma – operating in us and with us as Jesus’ heirs and joint-heirs – exceeds and sits above in authority and power every name, every onoma, every character and personality and every being – whether in earth or in Heaven or under the earth.
It is the revelation of power over death, disease and destruction.
It is the revelation of the purposes of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, made in absolute agreement and harmony with one another before the very first words of Creation were uttered.
It is the revelation of the Family of God in Heaven and Earth.
It is the revelation of agape — Father’s Love — a dimension of love that exceeds the natural understanding of man.
It is the revelation of the power of Creation.
It is the revelation of God’s Glory.
THAT, folks, is the authority and power to lock up and unlock Heaven’s authority, power and resources as God the Father commands here on earth.
Ephesians 3:14-19: For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the release of that authority and power; and that authority and power are “the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven!”
Be blessed!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
455 North River Road
Prosser, Washington 99350-6554
509) 781-6099
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