After Jesus had declared that He was going to build His Ekklesia on earth with power to breach the ‘gates of hell’, He also said “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18,19.
Jesus used that exact phrase a little later when He was encouraging the disciples about prayer. He said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18. The tense used in the Greek is actually a past continuous tense and so actually reads ‘whatever you bind on earth will ‘having been‘ bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will ‘having been‘ loosed in heaven’.
The implication is that, because we have the indwelling Holy Spirit and are seated in those heavenly realms with Christ, we will have the power to discern what has been bound or loosed in heaven, and the authority to do the same on the earth. It also accords with the declaration in the Lord’s prayer, ‘Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’. The truth is that there is meant to be this extraordinary partnership between heaven and earth, and we are the part of the partnership commissioned to bring the Kingdom of God on earth.
It was just after Pentecost when we see this powerfully demonstrated for the first time. It was when Peter and John went to the Temple and came across the lame beggar who was sitting at the gate called Beautiful. Was this one that Jesus had left unhealed for the disciples to bless? It could be; but whether it was or not their response to the man’s begging was a clear demonstration of the authority that they now had to release good things on earth in Jesus’ name.
They look at the man and say “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk”. They took his hand, got him up, and then there he is walking and leaping about, completely healed and, of course, praising God. He had no doubt who had healed him. Peter and John had taken what Jesus had paid for on the cross, the healing this man needed, and they had loosed it to him by word and touch and he was healed.
The Lord gave me a picture once, which related to the power that we have to bring blessing into people’s lives, and I think maybe it relates to these extraordinary statements that Jesus made to those first disciples about loosing and binding. It was as if heaven was like a massive storehouse, (Amazon has nothing on heaven!!). There was wall to wall blessings piled high, everything anyone could possibly need. I felt that the Lord was indicating that when praying with or for someone, I should first enter that storehouse i.e. the heavenly realm ‘with thanksgiving’. See blog No.1 for more about that.
It would then be about asking the Lord what blessing He was wanting to ‘release’ into that situation or onto that person. I could then take that blessing and by faith speak it out and release it onto the earth, into that persons life. Peter and John released healing, and many people need that, but they also need joy, wisdom, guidance, peace, etc. People need to be blessed with so much that is stored up in heaven for them, and we now have the authority to release those blessings in Jesus name .
People also need freedom from fear, doubt, anger, agitation, lust, etc. etc. When there is a need for ‘freedom from’ something this is where we need to bind what has already been bound in heaven in Jesus name. We can do this because on the cross Jesus destroyed the power of the enemy, so we can bind what the enemy puts on people and set them free, like the daughter of Abraham in Luke 13:16. I believe we can also bind and loose atmospheres with the authority we have in Jesus name, and with the Holy Spirits help we can discern what heaven wants to bind or loose. 1 Corinthians 12:10.
Now at this point I have to admit that I am a learner in this whole business, but I think that it is fine for us to have our L plates on. I believe the Lord is wanting to shift His people from being preoccupied with what is happening on earth to ‘seeing’ what He has for us to do in bringing His Kingdom from heaven to earth. The Church is being woken up to be more aware of what is stored up for us to release from heaven, so that we are less overwhelmed by the trouble we see around us on the earth. The church has been like Sleeping Beauty, and the Holy Spirit is waking us up with a kiss to find our true identity in Christ.
In the Ephesian letter, after Paul tells the believers that they are seated with Christ in the heavenly realm, he then tells them that ‘We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ Ephesians 2:10. Paul then prays for them finishing with the words ‘Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us’. Ephesians 3:20. This is always going to be bigger than we think.
So let us give thanks for the incredible destiny that He has for us all, and so allow God to open our eyes to the power and authority that we have in Him. Let us also thank the Holy Spirit for being our teacher, guide and helper as we learn to step up, and step into all that God has for us to do on the earth, like Peter and John, ‘In His Name’.
