Matthew 16:13-20 – “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say 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 to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. 19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”  NASB

God is doing a work in the church today and there is going to be a whole lot of shaking in the near future.  One of the things that God is doing is called a ‘merismos’, a separating of the soul and spirit, joint and marrow, thought and intent of the heart.  (Hebrews 4:12-13). 

Let me venture out on thin ice and say that some of what took place in the movements of the 60s and 70s was purely flesh.  It was, too frequently, more about the psychic man than the spirit man.  It was, too often, deeply rooted in emotionalism and idealism rather than the life-changing power of the Spirit of God and reality.  Some drifted into intellectualism rather than into the depths of the Spirit of God.  I believe that God has been correcting that and bringing the Body of Christ to a new awareness of His Person and Power and conditioning us to receive His Release in a new and powerful way.

What I see, is the Holy Spirit taking strands of truth from various movements and groups and putting them together in a new way.  In that, He is taking truth from the mainline denominations, restoration, Pentecostal, charismatic, and evangelical churches and blending them into a more full revelation of Him and His Purpose.  God is moving us from our self-imposed identifications, as was the problem and hindrance of the Church in Corinthians.  He is moving us away from sects, schism, camps, and tags and forming us into His Body, the Body of Christ.  You may disagree, but that is what I see.

One of the problems God is overcoming and correcting is, what has happened over the past 100-150 years. In that time-frame pastors have often been culprits, unwittingly at times, in promoting and allowing error and disorder in the churches.  Some have given in and are controlled by boards rather than the Spirit and Word of God.  Through this system and process, we have watched the church, in many ways, become fouled up and powerless.

I know what it is to have a program that needs a body to lead it and nobody has a burden for that program.  Tragically, too often we sought to find somebody willing to fill the gap.  We even coerced, pressured, or collared somebody to do the job.  We would say, “Just do it for Jesus.”  We didn’t concern ourselves with the Gifts or Calling of that individual only that the program needed someone to lead it.  We allowed things to be called “offices in the Church” that were not offices of the Church but the Organization.  What we need is to have God establish the eyes, ears, hands, feet, noses, etc. of the Body and put them where they need to be.

But what does this have to do with Binding and Loosing?  We will get there, just bear with me.  God is restructuring His church in terms of biblical gifts and offices, therefore, someone who has been a Sunday School teacher for 30 years might truly be an intercessor.  God is seeking to change positions and put people into the ministry and function He has called and anointed them for rather than simply to perpetuate a program.  He is seeking to put the ear back on the head where it belongs in the position the foot has been occupying.  That is not without disruption and some pain and difficulty.

If we are going to be able to “Bind and Loose” in God’s order and according to His purpose we must allow the Holy Spirit to help us discover our Gifts, His Grace upon us, and His Call for us.  As we know what He desires we can be trained and developed and released to function in our Gift and Call.  If we are a toe. we cannot be an ear or vice versa.  Toes cannot hear but they are vital for the function of the body. 

I realize that I am taking the long way around to get to the heart of the matter, but in a sense, this is the heart of the matter.  We pray for God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done but fail to understand that we might need to be reordered to get in His order so His Kingdom can come, and His will can be done on earth as it is in heaven.

God bless you as we await tomorrow!