"What" are the keys?

[SilenceInMotion]

The Keys are the bishopric power given to Peter by Jesus' blessing in Matthew 16:16-19

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

And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.

And I say to 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 to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.


A lot of people single out Matthew 16:18, neglecting that the passage is speaking of a blessing, not Jesus referring to himself as the rock. In fact, the name Peter literally means 'rock', so Jesus is beautifully saying 'thou art the rock, and upon this rock', not 'thou art the rock, and upon my rock'. The context is pretty clear once you see what is going on in the passage.

 

[miamited]

There are strong Old Testament overtones. Abraham was the 'rock' from which the Jewish race "was hewn, and the quarry from which [the Jews] were dug" (Isaiah 51:1). God also is a 'rock': 'Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock' (Isaiah 26:4). The Church is the new people of God who will he built upon the bedrock of Peter. The 'gates of Hades [hell]' refers to the powers of evil that oppose the new people of God.
The reference to the keys draws on an incident described in Isaiah (22:15-25), where God tells the prophet to confront and remove Shebna, the steward (prime minister) of King Hezekiah. The keys (to the palace), the symbols of office, are taken from Shebna. As steward with authority, Peter is given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. As possessor of the keys he can 'bind and loose.' These terms come from the rabbinical tradition and refer to the rabbinical decisions to allow opinions to be held, or to outlaw them. The term also refers to the rabbis' ability to bind (that is, to impose excommunication) and to loose (that is, to absolve from excommunication). The role of the apostle is to witness to the resurrection and to lay the foundation of Church. Peter has a primary role in each of these functions. You maintain that this unique apostolic work cannot survive beyond the time of the apostles. You deny that there can be successors to Peter. He is the rock upon which the foundations of the Church are laid.
Have you not pushed the idea of the uniqueness of the apostolic age too far. Even in the New Testament, the work of Paul is continued by Timothy, Titus, and others referred to in the pastoral epistles. The unique role of the founder does not exclude succession. The mission of Christ is obviously unique, yet he tells the apostles, 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you' (John 20:21). The fact is that successors did continue the work of the founding generation.
At first there was little worry about succession, for the immanent end of the world was expected. But as that apocalyptic vision faded, the Church had to sort out what was of permanent value. There was a realization that the community needed structural forms, and slowly the work of the apostles continued in the ministry of bishops. The episcopate emerged only in the sub-apostolic age probably first in Syrian Antioch and it is clear that the Church only gradually sorted out various roles and functions. Christ did not found the Church as a fully developed entity.



In Christ

That's certainly the way many understand it.

God bless you.
IN Christ, Ted

 

[squint]

Tis a pity that the simplicity of the delivery of factual information to CEPHAS/PETER regarding thee infamous and so termed Key is so blatantly violated.

But then again if one understands what that matter is about, then they will also understand the fact of it.

How so?

Jesus was stating to Peter an oft repeated principle. A KEY if you would about how spiritual matters work.

Jesus iterated this matter throughout the N.T. Gospels, the extent of which is this:

Mark 4:15
And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts

If we simply observe what happened to Peter in the 'events' of the KEY delivery what happened?

Why, Satan spoke through Peter's own lips.

There's your KEY. It's the same principle stated by Jesus to every reader in Mark 4:15 and it is shown openly demonstrated in and by Peter and Satan.

There again is your KEY.

Does that have to do with Peter then?

Or...

YOU?

?

Think about it. Then watch for the thief to come and steal from you.

s

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

God is not bound to the sacraments. That the Lord Who established the Church and instituted the sacraments as the ordinary means of salvation remains sovereign in His judgments and actions. He Who made sacraments is likewise free to bestow His grace in other ways.

In Christ

QFT!

God be gracious to me a sinner.

 

[Jake255]

QFT!

God be gracious to me a sinner.

God is not bound to the sacraments. That the Lord Who established the Church and instituted the sacraments as the ordinary means of salvation remains sovereign in His judgments and actions. He Who made sacraments is likewise free to bestow His grace in other ways.

In Christ

It's how the Israelites earned forgiveness: by ritualistic fashions, now the table has turned, hmmm.....10 degrees and now it's grace we must earn.

The "keys" have to be knowledge, even if it were the most rudimentary knowledge, but one must possess knowledge none the less. Even God has given each one of us an inward knowledge of Himself so that we all have the opportunity, in that no man has an excuse. In this way, a person living isolated, never hearing the gospel, possesses some knowledge.

It's genius!

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

It's how the Israelites earned forgiveness: by ritualistic fashions, now the table has turned, hmmm.....10 degrees and now it's grace we must earn.

The "keys" have to be knowledge, even if it were the most rudimentary knowledge, but one must possess knowledge none the less. Even God has given each one of us an inward knowledge of Himself so that we all have the opportunity, in that no man has an excuse. In this way, a person living isolated, never hearing the gospel, possesses some knowledge.

It's genius!

Jake,

Are you familiar with the Harrowing of Hell?

Who are these people being released? Released from what? Death.

Did Adam continue in his attempt to obey the law of God after being expelled from the garden? Yes. He had 'first hand' knowledge.

Why is it that he is being released from hell upon Christ's death? Because he died and went into the grave.

There are only a few saints recorded from the OT that were taken to heaven.

So... unless we want to spend some time as they did. We abandon the Levitical and take part in the two laws left to us by Christ, which in fact are Love and Mercy.

The Levitical Priesthood has been replaced by the elder and more perfect order of Melchizedek.

Gen 14:18 ¶And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God.

Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou [art] a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Hbr 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, [even] Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

How did we miss that? It's not that it was missed it, more that it had been forgotten.

Obviously Christ has the key to Hell.


God be gracious to me a sinner.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Originally Posted by pathfinder777 There are strong Old Testament overtones.
Abraham was the 'rock' from which the Jewish race "was hewn, and the quarry from which [the Jews] were dug" (Isaiah 51:1). God also is a 'rock': 'Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock' (Isaiah 26:4). The Church is the new people of God who will he built upon the bedrock of Peter.

The Gentiles also came from Abraham loins.
We look to the faith of Abraham thru Jesus, while the Jews look to Moses and the OC Law

Lazarus and the Rich Man - Here a little, there a little - Commentary

LUKE 16:30 "And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
31 But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' " (NKJV)

While the significance of this seemingly pointless detail has been neglected by scholars throughout the centuries, you can be certain that it did not escape the notice of the Pharisees and scribes to which Yeshua was speaking. They thoroughly knew their history and were extremely proud of their heritage.
Yeshua wanted those self-righteous Pharisees to know exactly who he was referring to with this parable.
This detail cements the identity of the rich man as the House of Judah, the Jews!


.

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

[/indent]What are you babbling about Ortho?


.

Sorry... it was Yab Yum.

God be gracious to me a sinner.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Sorry... it was Yab Yum.

God be gracious to me a sinner.

Huh?

...

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

Huh?

...

Yab Yum said:

You seem to have caught a little of the Enlightenment anxiety disease. Usually I take a tylenol, make some chamomile tea and go read some Aquinas.

And then I said... I seem to have come down with poetry. (A monte python skit.)

Never mind. It's just good levity.

God be gracious to me a sinner.

 

[seeking Christ]

It's how the Israelites earned forgiveness: by ritualistic fashions, now the table has turned, hmmm.....10 degrees and now it's grace we must earn.

The "keys" have to be knowledge, even if it were the most rudimentary knowledge, but one must possess knowledge none the less. Even God has given each one of us an inward knowledge of Himself so that we all have the opportunity, in that no man has an excuse. In this way, a person living isolated, never hearing the gospel, possesses some knowledge.

It's genius!

Is this gnosticism?

 

[seeking Christ]

Obviously Christ has the key to Hell.

And this gets a big, hearty HALLELUJAH from me!

For all the various ideas different people may have on this, and wherever they may come from or how much may be the same thing expressed very differently -

we can ALL agree on this much

 

[Jake255]

Is this gnosticism?

No, I was referring to Romans 1:18

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

the keys to knowledge that Jesus mentions once in the gospel in rebuking the scribes for not letting people learn who wanted to .. and they themselves .. would not go in.

is not the same keys as the keys of heaven earth and death .

or even the key of david .

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

And this gets a big, hearty HALLELUJAH from me!

For all the various ideas different people may have on this, and wherever they may come from or how much may be the same thing expressed very differently -

we can ALL agree on this much

Greetings and welcome to GT.

God be gracious to me a sinner.

 

[Jake255]

Jake,

There are only a few saints recorded from the OT that were taken to heaven.

The Bible states this to be true still, the way is narrow and few are chosen. Jesus told us what we would need to do in order to enter, forsake all, die to self and carry our cross daily, conform to Him to His full stature. These are "keys" also.

I have no idea where sacraments entered so people would deem them necessary to enter.

 

[seeking Christ]

Jesus told us what we would need to do in order to enter, forsake all, die to self and carry our cross daily, conform to Him to His full stature. These are "keys" also.

Why isn't denying yourself, taking up your Cross and following Him sacramental?

 

[Tangible]

Try to wrap your head around this, Jake. The Sacraments are not things we have to do to earn grace. They are ways that God has promised in scripture to distribute his grace, not by our doing of the rites but because of the power of God's Word.

 

[Jake255]

Try to wrap your head around this, Jake. The Sacraments are not things we have to do to earn grace. They are ways that God has promised in scripture to distribute his grace, not by our doing of the rites but because of the power of God's Word.

So it's ok to sin but it's not ok to not do sacraments?

WOW!

 

[Jake255]

Why isn't denying yourself, taking up your Cross and following Him sacramental?

They are sacrificial.