Distinction Betwwen Ekklesia and Basileia

In Matthew 16:18 and 19, we have the distinction between the Greek words ekklesia (assembly) and basileia (kingdom). “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. 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” (NASB Update).

Within the context of these key verses, we must consider four forms of unbelief. The first form demanded a sign from heaven (Matt. 16:1-4). The Pharisees and Sadducees tested Jesus Christ by asking Him to show a sign from heaven. This request revealed the hatred of the natural heart. Therefore, Christ would not use His omnipotence for the purpose of making natural sight stare with senseless wonder. Thus, Christ refused to degrade Divine power to the low level of depraved curiosity. Religionists are the same in every age. They are more concerned about eye-catching signs and so-called wonders than about the completed Scriptures.

The second form of unbelief revealed the blindness to Divine testimony (Matt. 16:5-12). They had been witnesses to “…the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you took up?” (vv. 9, 10 NASB). This proves that faith based on miraculous acts is worthless. Christ knows the very roots of the trees. John said to those who believed in Christ’s name when they saw His miracles, “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men” (John 2:24 NASB). There are true believers, and there are BELIEVERS that are not true. Superficial faith may be brought into exercise by either miracles or circumstances, but it will disappear with the disappearance of the things that brought it into exercise. Christ knows that such faith is worthless, and He classifies it with a “stony ground hearer” (Luke 8:11-15).

The third form of unbelief manifested the indifference concerning the Person and Work of Christ (Matt. 16:13, 14). Such faith has no value. Furthermore, it could never be the fruit of election, redemption, and regeneration. Such faith is parallel with an illustration often heard by an Arminian who says to a sinner, “You must be willing to trust Christ, just as you trust a chair to hold you up when you sit down on it.”

The fourth form manifested the unbelief of the Christian’s heart until he has been taught. “From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You. But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Matt. 16:21-23 NASB). Who will deny that we are slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken (Luke 24:25)? Do we pick and choose what we want to believe? We must never forget “God’s whole purpose.” Paul’s last statements to the Ephesian elders included, “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:27 NASB).

There is nothing more important to the Christian than the assembly and the kingdom of Matthew 16:18 and 19. Both belong to Christ, but the assembly precedes the kingdom. Furthermore, the keys are for the kingdom, not the assembly. In Matthew 18:15-20, the assembly is viewed in her present responsibility. In these verses, a matter of discipline is discussed. At the very foundation of the assembly, discipline was necessary; and the Lord discusses this. An assembly is not an assembly without discipline. Authority is limited to the local assembly, and there is no reference to the “keys.” The Son of God has been given authority above all authorities. (See Mark 9:1-13 and Luke 9:27-36.)

The future coming and kingdom will be the fulfillment of Matthew 16:19. Paul speaks of Christ’s coming and kingdom in II Timothy 4:1. The assembly began with Christ and His disciples, not at Pentecost. The “keys” are associated with the coming kingdom, not with the assembly which Christ is presently building.

The King James Bible says that God’s action in heaven is contingent upon what Peter and his successors do on earth. Observe carefully this translation: “And I say also unto 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 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” (Matt. 16:18, 19 KJB). Compare this with the translation of the NASB Update at the beginning of this lesson.

Let us look carefully at the statement, “…and upon this rock I shall continue to build My assembly” (translation). “I shall continue to build” is a first person singular progressive future active indicative of the verb oikodomeo, meaning to build, construct, or establish. “Assembly” is a noun which comes from the compound Greek word made up of the preposition ek, meaning from or out of, and the verb kaleo, meaning to call or summon. No greater description of the assembly of Christ can ever be given than what the compound word means―the elect or chosen ones are called or summoned out of this evil world by grace.

In Matthew 16:19, we have some statements about which there is much misunderstanding and controversy. The attempt of many ecclesiastical organizations to exercise such authority during the present age has been the source of untold evil and disaster. Even in the first and purest periods of the local assemblies, there was a Judas among the apostles, a Simon among some of the first converts, and a Diotrephes among the first servants (Luke 6:16; Acts 8:13, 23; III John 9). Many say that the assembly which is inspired and God-breathed carries the “keys” of the kingdom. There is one thing for sure, they have much in common with the carnal (fleshly) Corinthians (I Cor. 3:3), because they “thought” they were reigning (I Cor. 4:8). Paul told them they had become kings without him. The apostle’s grace and inspiration enabled him to understand the fact that Christ was not reigning as King; therefore, Christians were not reigning as kings.

It is imperative for us to investigate some Greek verbs in Matthew 16:19. “I shall give [doso, future active indicative first person singular of the verb didomi, meaning to give] to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatever you may bind [deses, aorist active subjunctive of deo, meaning to bind or tie] on the earth [declared unlawful] shall have already been bound [dedemenon, perfect passive participle nominative neuter singular of deo] in the heavens [declared unlawful]; and whatever you may loose [luses, aorist active subjunctive of luo, meaning to loose] on the earth [declared to be lawful], shall have already been loosed [lelumenon, perfect passive participle nominative neuter singular of luo] in the heavens [declared lawful]” (Greek translation). The perfect tense is completely ignored by the King James Bible. The perfect tense expresses perfective action; therefore, it denotes completed action with continuing results or completed action with a resulting state of being. Whatever is done on earth in time has already been done in eternity in heaven.

Following the investigation of the chief Greek verbs in Matthew 16:19, it is necessary to give some statements that have been made by highly-ranked scholars from different denominational backgrounds:

1. “We control heaven and bind hell. It is up to us, not up to God. Things start on earth and end in heaven.”
2. “In Matthew 16:19, continuing the establishment, the Lord promised to members of the body the powers of administration…The Church, inspired and God-breathed, carries the keys….”
3. “God gave the church so much power that what she does on earth is approved in heaven.”
4. “A key was the sign of authority….Peter was told he would possess the keys and be able to bind and loose people….He carried out directions by proclaiming the gospel on the day of Pentecost.”
5. “Sins are forgiven by the minister through the power of the keys.”
6. “Jesus put into the hands of Peter and all believers the keys of the kingdom which we should use to open the door for those who wish to enter.”
7. “Dispensationalists point to the future tense in the verb in an attempt to show that the establishment and subsequent construction of Christ’s church was at that time pointed to as a future event.”
8. “The building process of the church had begun (Luke 6:12-19). The foundation consisted of the apostles and prophets, with our Lord occupying the position of the chief corner stone (Eph. 2:20).”

Many arguments have been given and can be given, but the foundation of them all concerning the distinction between the assembly (church) and the kingdom can be summed up in the following distinction: (1) We have the mediating work of the Holy Spirit in the assembly that Christ is continuing to build. (2) We will have the unmediating reign of Jesus Christ in the future kingdom.

What one believes is intensely personal; but when it comes to the matter of the Christian life, it is not a private matter. The Christian life has a two-fold character. It is not only lived out personally, but it is also lived in fellowship with other believers. From the first moments of one’s Christian experience, there is an inward urge for the company of other like-minded believers. There is to be mutual action and reaction as well as reciprocal giving and receiving. Granting that God created man as an individual, we must not overlook the fact that He did not leave the individual whom He created in isolation. Furthermore, God does not leave the sheep He regenerates in isolation.

On the day of Pentecost, following Peter’s great message, we are told, “…those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common” (Acts 2:41-44 NASB).

It takes three requirements to make God’s truth practically effective: (1) It takes the love of God’s truth (the Holy Scriptures) for the believer to be continually inquiring. (2) The newly-born Christian learns quickly that knowledge of the Scriptures is one’s greatest possession. Solomon said, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7 NASB). Christ said, “And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27 NASB). (3) Believing the truth of Scripture is life’s greatest enjoyment. The Psalmist said, “How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart. They also do no unrighteousness; They walk in His ways” (Ps. 119:2, 3 NASB). The written Word tells us what to do, and the Living Word (Christ) gives us power to do it. Time in the written Word is time with the Living Word.

We witness so many religionists “coming and going” in institutional churches today. However, there is no “coming and going” when persons have been added to the assemblies by the Lord. According to Acts 2:41-47, it is “adding and continuing,” not “coming and going.” “Coming and going” denotes movement that lacks spiritual character. What we witness today is the “coming and going” of many people to “religious meetings” who continue the same lifestyle. Ezekiel gives the best description of the “coming and going” of religious people. He said, “…Come now, and hear what the message is which comes forth from the LORD. And they come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people, and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain. And behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not practice them. So when it comes to pass―as surely it will―then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst” (Ezek. 33:30-33 NASB). There was no on-again, off-again, spasmodic devotion in the “early” assemblies from those the Lord added.

The kingdom of Christ is not the assembly, because it will be the reign of Christ with His completed Bride (the assembly) over His covenant people, the remnant of Israel. There must be serious defects in any system of eschatology which requires such an array of kingdoms as many have suggested. If the kingdom is symbolical, then why aren’t redemption, regeneration, repentance, and faith symbolical? Christ is Head of the assembly. Saints are the subjects of the assembly that Christ is building and the inheritors of the kingdom. The saints at Thessalonica were not “in” the kingdom, but they were called “to” His kingdom and glory. “Flesh and blood” are in the assembly, but they cannot inherit the kingdom (I Cor. 15:50). Christians will be in their glorified bodies in the kingdom. Prophecy does not predict a kingdom between the first and second advents. God chose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom (James 2:5). The kingdom―not the assembly―was taken from the Jews (Matt. 21:43). The kingdom will not come until the assembly that Christ is building is complete.