The meaning of Binding and Loosing Matthew 16:19 – 18:18
Introduction
There is a lot of confusion on the meaning of binding and loosing found in the book of Matthew by the Roman Catholic Church and many other Churches practising spiritual warfare. “I bind you, Satan!” is uttered in thousands of prayers every day. Spiritual warfare books that teach Christians how to bind Satan are hot sellers. Not only is Satan himself subject to continual verbal binding, but a whole host of demons and principalities and authorities of the heavenly realm are also assaulted which if not scriptural, is probably doing more harm and no good. Those who teach and practice binding and loosing as verbal warfare against evil have several Bible passages they say supports this practice.
The two most prominent ones are found in (Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18) and (Matthew 12:29 and Mark 3:27) are used backup their argument, which relate to binding the strong man.
If we were to translate these passages in Matthew very literally (though awkwardly in English), it would read, “…whatever you loose on earth shall having been loosed in heaven.” This shows that the apostles were not to decide a matter thus binding heaven to their decision. It means that their decision will be in line with what God’s mind was already on the issue. Would God allow sinful man to decide His laws and follow them? What a recipe for chaos! Passing on an issue of doctrine or ethics also does not mean shooting a verbal barrage at Satan or any other spiritual entity. It is also quite different from loosing the money needed or that wanted job as some now pray.
It is a known fact that the true meaning of bind and loose is the authority to declare what God’s mind is on a matter of doctrine or practice.
This is what the early Church did in Acts 15. To bind means to forbid or be unlawful and to loose is to allow or be lawful. The future tense (shall having been bound or loose) shows that this authority is only valid when used in submission to Christ’s Word or teaching. It does not give ANY Church, such as the Roman Catholic Church claims, the authority to make up new teachings later in Church history. Binding in this context also has absolutely nothing to do with speaking words to Satan or demons.
Of course, the crucial issue is whether this is what Jesus meant by these teachings. What did He mean by the terms bind and loose? These words were commonly used by Jewish rabbis to permit and prohibit and so New Testament scholars agree that binding and loosing when used in this way, still retain the same basic meaning that they had in the Jewish culture of the first century.
If we now look at (Matthew 12:26-29), which at least addresses the issue of Satan and demons. Jesus first shows the illogic of the Pharisees by saying, that if Satan were casting out Satan, his kingdom could not stand. He then goes on to say that it is by the Spirit of God that he drives out demons, which he can do because He is the stronger man. Matthew 29 is the verse here which some claim as support for binding Satan through direct verbal assault. In this verse Jesus uses a metaphor to illustrate His mission. No one can enter a man’s house and take his goods unless he has first conquered him. Jesus is saying, if I am not the Messiah, stronger than Satan, how could I spoil him? Luke 11:21-22 records the same illustration but does not use the term bind, but says the stronger man “…overcomes him, he takes away his armour in which he trusted, and divides his spoil.”
Bind as used in (Matthew 12) is metaphorical terminology, not a magic word that will stop the activity of evil spirits. That Luke’s account does not even use the word bind shows this. Bind is incidental to the picture of a strong man’s house being plundered. Whether victory is accomplished by binding, overpowering, disarming, etc., is not as consequential as the fact that it is a stronger man who must do it.
The meaning is that Jesus is stronger than Satan and that the casting out of evil spirits in His ministry proves that fact. The goods that are plundered are people, previously held in bondage. The coming of Jesus and the binding of Satan liberates the souls of people who were subject to slavery their whole life. The Bible does not leave us in the dark as to how this is accomplished. It is not done by people constantly shouting, “I bind you Satan” into the heavenlies! Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “We are people of flesh and blood. That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying.”
Did the apostles ever say, “I bind you, Satan?” Not once is such an utterance recorded in the New Testament. It is not credible to assume that they understood Jesus’ teaching as an instruction to ‘bind Satan’ through prayers and verbal declarations and then never follow the instructions personally. The Church today should not understand and practice the teachings of Jesus differently than the Church of the 1st century. If it does, the authority of Scripture is depreciated. So in this document we will endeavour to further explain and verify the proper meaning of binding and loosing. Note that the Roman Catholic Church base their whole Papal system on Matthew 16:19 with Peter supposedly being the first Pope with special authority. Note what the Commentaries below have to say on this false claim. What ever authority was given to Peter was also given to the other Apostles in Matthew 18:18 and so Peter was not given anything exclusive anyway. See also Catholic Church error and was Peter the first Pope.
Introduction to Matthew 16:19
We have used the Good News Bible for the initial translation including the surrounding verses to get the full picture, followed by King James which illustrates where the translation inaccuracies came from. Next is the ISV which is very clear, and then some translations which are partially accurate. Note the translation of the key words shown in italics for some translations and that some translations accurately illustrate that things that were bound or loosed were first done so in heaven and is not giving Peter or anyone else special authority as Catholics claim.
(Matthew 16:13-19 GNB) “Jesus went to the territory near the town of Caesarea Philippi, where he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” “Some say John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet.” “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” “Good for you, Simon son of John!” answered Jesus. “For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven. And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
(Matthew 16:19 King James Version, misleading translation) “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.”
(Matthew 16:19 International Standard Version, good understandable translation) “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will have been prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will have been permitted in heaven.”
(Matthew 16:19 Modern King James Version, improvement over King James) “And I will give the keys of the kingdom of Heaven to you. And whatever you may bind on earth shall occur, having been bound in Heaven, and whatever you may loose on earth shall occur, having been loosed in Heaven.”
(Matthew 16:19 “Young’s Literal Translation) “And I will give to thee the keys of the reign of the heavens, and whatever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens.”
Explanations by Commentary
As there is such a large degree of confusion on this subject, I have chosen not to continue with further in depth meanings myself. Instead, several respected commentaries have been used which were written by people holding doctorates in theology. We will then conclude with a summary.
We will start with John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
Mat 16:19 – I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven – Indeed not to him alone, (for they were equally given to all the apostles at the same time, Joh_20:21-23;) but to him were first given the keys both of doctrine and discipline. He first, after our Lord’s resurrection, exercised the apostleship, Act_1:15. And he first by preaching opened the kingdom of heaven, both to the Jews, Act_2:14 &c., and to the Gentiles, Act_10:34 &c. Under the term of binding and loosing are contained all those acts of discipline which Peter and his brethren performed as apostles: and undoubtedly what they thus performed on earth, God confirmed in heaven. Mat_18:18
Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible commented the following:
Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee… A key is an instrument for opening a door. He that is in possession of it has the power of access, and has a general care of a house. Hence, in the Bible, a key is used as a symbol of superintendence an emblem of power and authority.
See the Isa_22:22 note; Rev_1:18; Rev_3:7 notes. The kingdom of heaven here means, doubtless, the church on earth. See the notes at Mat_3:2. When the Saviour says, therefore, he will give to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, he means that he will make him the instrument of opening the door of faith to the world the first to preach the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. This was done, Acts 2:14-36; 10. The “power of the keys” was given, on this occasion, to Peter alone, solely for this reason; the power of “binding and loosing” on earth was given to the other apostles with him. See Mat_18:18. The only pre-eminence, then, that Peter had was the honour of first opening the doors of the gospel to the world.
Whatsoever thou shalt bind… – The phrase “to bind” and “to loose” was often used by the Jews. It meant to prohibit and to permit. To bind a thing was to forbid it; to loose it, to allow it to be done. Thus, they said about gathering wood on the Sabbath day, “The school of Shammei binds it” – i.e., forbids it; “the school of Hillel looses it” – i.e., allows it. When Jesus gave this power to the apostles, he meant that whatsoever they forbade in the church should have divine authority; whatever they permitted, or commanded, should also have divine authority – that is, should be bound or loosed in heaven, or meet the approbation of God. They were to be guided infallibly in the organization of the church:
1. By the teaching of Christ, and,
2. By the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
This does not refer to persons, but to things – “whatsoever,” not whosoever. It refers to rites and ceremonies in the church. Such of the Jewish customs as they should forbid were to be forbidden, and such as they thought proper to permit were to be allowed. Such rites as they should appoint in the church were to have the force of divine authority. Accordingly, they commanded the Gentile converts to “abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood” Act_15:20; and, in general, they organized the church, and directed what was to be observed and what was to be avoided. The rules laid down by them in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, in connection with the teachings of the Saviour as recorded in the evangelists, constitute the only law binding on Christians in regard to the order of the church, and the rites and ceremonies to be observed in it.
