What are "the keys to the kingdom"?

If I were to give you a key to my house, you would be able to come and go as you please. If you made a copy of that key and gave it to someone else, they too would have complete access to my home. Now, let’s say that you made a third copy, but this time you weren’t as careful. This time the copy wasn’t exact…one tiny little bump on the end of the key wasn’t there. Would this copy give you access to my house? No, it wouldn’t, would it. You see, when even the slightest change is made between the two keys, they become different keys. They no longer unlock the same door. One small change can make all the difference.

Our spiritual service to God works in the same way as the key. Note what Jesus said to Peter: 

“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” - Matt. 16:18-19, NASB

Jesus said that He was going to give Peter the “keys to the kingdom of heaven.” And based on the “keys” Peter was given, he could teach people (bind and loose) what those keys were. In essence, Peter was being given the rules by which God would allow people access to His house. There are those that teach that this passage means that Peter was given the power to decide what to bind and loose on earth. One flaw in this interpretation lies in Matthew 28: 18-20;

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” - Matt. 28:18-20, NASB

Before Jesus left the earth He clarified what was to be done and who had the authority to do it. Jesus said in verse 18 that HE had “all authority in heaven and on earth.” If Jesus has ALL authority, that doesn’t leave any for anyone else, does it? He goes on in verse 20 to remind them to teach “all that I commanded you.” Notice again that it doesn’t give them (Peter, or the apostles, or us) the option of what to bind or loose. They were (and we are) to teach what Jesus commanded. We are to use the “keys to the kingdom” that He gave us.

So where did the keys come from?
Where did Jesus get the things He commanded the apostles (and us) to follow? Did He decide what to teach and what not to teach? Throughout His ministry, Jesus clearly taught where He got His teachings;

“So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.” - John 8:28, NASB

“For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.” - John 12:49, NASB

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”- John 14:10, NASB

“Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.” - John 17:7-8, NASB

The things Jesus taught came from God, the Father. And even more importantly to note that the actual WORDS Jesus spoke, came from the Father! The Father gave the WORDS to Jesus and Jesus gave those WORDS to the apostles. So the red words in your Bible (if you have a red letter edition) record the WORDS Jesus spoke that He got directly from God, the Father!

What about the teachings that weren’t directly recorded from Jesus?
Obviously, not everything in the Bible is attributed as being said by Jesus. The apostles continued to teach, long after Jesus returned to heaven. So where did that information come from? We know from Matthew 28 that Jesus didn’t give them the authority to make things up as they went…so how did they know what to teach? Jesus sent them a Helper!

“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” - John 16:7. NASB

So who is this Helper and what is He going to help them with?

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” - John 14:26, NASB

Note that the Helper is the Holy Spirit and that He is going to do two things for them; 1) teach them ALL things, and 2) bring to their remembrance ALL that Jesus said. You see Jesus couldn’t teach them everything they needed to know while He was with them. They couldn’t learn it fast enough or mature quickly enough to handle it all. Jesus explains it to them in John 16:12-13;

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” - John 16:12-13, NASB

Jesus went back to heaven and sent the Spirit to help them remember EVERYTHING He had said and to teach them EVERYTHING ELSE that they weren’t ready to learn yet. In essence, He sent the Holy Spirit to make sure that a perfect copy of the “keys” was being made. So where did the Holy Spirit, get the teachings from? Look again at John 16:13;

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” - John 16:13, NASB

The Spirit doesn’t speak from His own initiative, but He speaks what He hears...from Jesus! Look at the progression:

Jesus got the WORDS from God
Jesus gave the WORDS to the Apostles,
but they weren’t ready to hear everything
Jesus went back to heaven and gave the WORDS to the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit came to the Apostles and gave them
memory of all the WORDS Jesus had said
AND
gave them the rest of the WORDS He got from Jesus!

Jesus even told them not to worry about what they were going to say in certain situations, because the Holy Spirit would give them the right WORDS.

“When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.”- Mark 13:11, NASB

So even the black words, the teachings of the Apostles, in your Bible, are WORDS given from God! So whether we are reading the red words, or the black ones, we can know that they come from God Himself. They were delivered to man by Jesus through the Apostles and were written down for us today. They are authoritative! They are not merely stories from human authors, but a written record of the will of God for mankind.

So can we pick and choose?
Just like the example of the house key…if we want to access the house, we have to make exact copies of the “keys”. We cannot change what God has commanded us to do. If we change the “keys” even slightly, will they still open the gate? Paul taught this very clearly to the Galatian people;

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” - Galatians 1:6-9, NASB

Paul taught that a “different” gospel is not really the gospel at all! Paul taught that there is only ONE gospel message! If you change the “keys to the kingdom” they are no longer the keys to the kingdom! God gave use the teachings so that we would know what He wants us to do. We do not have the ability to pick and choose which teachings to follow and which not to. Paul taught this concept very clearly to Timothy as well.

“Retain the standard (or pattern) of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. -2Tim. 1:13, NASB

“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” - 2Tim. 2:2, NASB

Paul taught Timothy to stick to “the pattern of sound WORDS” that he gave to him. And again later he charged him to pass that same “pattern of sound words” on to men who would faithfully pass them on to others. The things Paul was talking about, Timothy had heard him say in “the presence of many witnesses.” Paul was consistent in his teaching from place to place. When explaining to the Corithians why he was sending Timothy to them he writes;

“For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. -1Cor. 4:17, NASB

Paul taught the same thing in every church? Are we doing that today? Can you go into ANY church and hear the same thing taught? Or do you hear a “different” gospel, depending on what church you are in? Have they changed the “keys?”

The Bible has the only answer. It contains the pattern or “keys” that we need to follow and teach. We must compare what we believe and what we teach with what Scripture says and understand that it is God that is doing the binding and loosing. That it is God that is telling us what His will is.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” - Matt. 7:21, NASB

God has laid the “keys of the kingdom” before us. He has give us the pattern to follow. His inspired word teaches that we must:

HEAR
Romans 10:14
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed
How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard
And how will they hear without a preacher?

BELIEVE
John 8:24
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins;
for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

CONFESS JESUS AS LORD OF YOUR LIFE
Rom. 10:9
"...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.."

REPENT OF YOUR SINS
Acts 17:30
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance,
God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent..."

BE BAPTIZED
Acts 2:38
"Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

CONTINUE TO WALK OBEDIENTLY IN THE LIGHT
1John 1:7
"but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

J. Michael Hite is currently on staff at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver where he serves as an instructor and Vice President of Operations.