“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers,[h] I am there among them.”
(Matthew 18:18-19 NLT)
“Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
(Matthew 16:16-19 NIV)
“Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life.” (1 Corinthians 6:2-3 NLT)
“He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 and they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
(Mark 16:16-18 LSB)
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”
(Luke 9:1-2 NIV)
“Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk… By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.”
(Acts 3:6, 16 NIV)
In the context of Matthew 18, sure, forgiveness gets a focus; but don’t sleep on the rest of it. This passage unleashes faith to ask for anything and then actually receive it. So don’t let anyone convince you this isn’t for Christians today. Jesus didn’t stutter! This is the same mountain-moving, sick-healing, resource-multiplying faith straight out of the Kingdom Operating Manual. It’s not some dusty relic for the original apostles; it’s your playbook for supernatural living right now.
The same authority-packed phrase shows up earlier in Matthew 16, giving it that powerful “first mention” principle. Jesus asks Peter who he thinks He is. Peter drops the confession: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus says He’ll build His church on this rock. Spoiler: it’s not about crowning Peter as the big boss—it’s about the rock-solid confession of faith in who Jesus really is. Jesus responds by saying He will build His church on this Rock. Jesus is referring to Peter’s faith confession that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus will expand His kingdom with faith that declares He is the Son of God.
Jesus declares He’ll build His church on this faith, and the gates of Hades won’t stand a chance. This isn’t a polite suggestion; it’s a military expansion order. His kingdom is on the march, trampling the strongholds of darkness. Demons don’t just tremble—they start packing their bags like they just got an eviction notice signed by the King Himself.
Right in the middle of this unstoppable-advance talk, Jesus drops the authority bomb: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. This power belongs to everyone with genuine faith that Jesus is the Son of God. It’s not Peter-only VIP access. It’s for all who believe that confess that Jesus is the Son of God. Thus, the context allows for a broad use of this authority. It is an all-encompassing power that belongs to followers of Jesus who have faith; this is the same faith one uses to be saved, to be healed, to move mountains, to expand His kingdom, to forgive, and ask for anything you desire. It is a broad authority for anything related to kingdom expansion. Your faith confession isn’t a humble request; it’s a royal decree that heaven backs 100%. No wonder the enemy gets nervous.
No wonder Satan has done all He can to open the mouths of theologians to explain away the meaning and power of Jesus’ doctrine. This locking and unlocking doctrine is commanded by Jesus to target the gates of hell and to expand the kingdom of God. It is a particularly dangerous doctrine that destroys the devil and his minions. This is why devil dogmatics mocks it, calling it “name it and claim it.” Anything to ensure God’s people do not pick up this divine weapon and use it against the kingdom of darkness. It is too powerful to allow believers to use it.
Imagine this: you exercise faith for a financial breakthrough. You enjoy prosperity God transferred to you. Then you sow 30 percent of it back into the mission. You’ve just unlocked blessing on earth and stored up treasure in heaven. Faith isn’t just a key—it’s the master key that opens doors across dimensions. Jesus told us to give Caesar what’s his, but He also said if ‘you’ speak to that mountain (or that bank account, for demon or sickness) with faith, it must obey ‘you.’ Your words aren’t just noise—they’re WiFi passwords to the throne room. Confess boldly and tap into God’s unlimited miracle data plan!
Jesus first gave this authority over demons and disease to the Twelve. Then He expanded it to seventy-two ordinary disciples. By the end of Mark 16, it’s clearly for all believers. In Acts, the power explodes beyond the apostles—regular folks, even table servers, operate with heaven-opening faith that bends time, space, and reality itself, with a direct widow to Heaven and teleportation like a Marval character. Remember Jesus turning water into fine aged wine? Or telling the disciples, “You feed them”? He expected them to operate in supernatural provision like it was standard believer behavior.
The prophets multiplied resources like reality was their personal Lego set. Jesus commands us to do the same: multiply and distribute. The question isn’t whether God promised it. The question is whether we’ll believe Him more than what we see, feel, or calculate. This isn’t like the familiar irrational science or anti-logic observation men often use; no, it’s a sound syllogism deduced from scripture. Faith demands the miracle and watches trouble evaporate.
Right after the Holy Spirit’s dramatic arrival in Acts, Peter steps out and looses a man from lifelong sickness using the authority in Jesus’ name. Not because of a special gift in that moment, but through faith in the name of Jesus—the same faith available to every believer. God gets the glory, but He’s handed us the power and authority and invited us to use them.
Our new identity and definition in Jesus is one where we are gods. We have the power to expand God’s kingdom. Our identity in Christ is the new norm: we’re called to expand God’s kingdom with authority. We’re not passive spectators. God has given us Zeus’ lightning bolt. When we speak His promises in faith, we release unstoppable power. God Word is God; and so when we speak God’s word in faith, we just released unstoppable power. Our faith-filled words bind and loose reality—sickness, demons, blessings, breakthroughs. Like with Joshua, God told them to expand their territory with sword and shield. God would back them up with His power, but they were to march forward with weapons in their hands and use them. Our weapons are faith filled words and confessions.
God and His Word or promise is one and the same thing, as we learned in previous sections. Thus, when “you” speak God’s promise in faith you release God. “You” release unstoppable power. It is God’s power, but because the bible denies pantheism, “you” release God’s power when “you” speak in faith. With this “we” tear down the gates of hell. With faith filled words, mountains must “obey us.” Your words always carry authority—royal priesthood weight—because in God’s mind you’re already seated in heavenly places with Jesus as a royal priest. God’s gifts and callings are irrevocable. You always have this authority and position in Christ. It does not go in and out, because you sinned last night. It is your definition and reality. It is You.
Furthermore, one day the saints will have so much authority that we will judge both the earth and angels. Not only do we have the glory of owning reality, but we will one day judge reality. Because angels are part of reality and we own and judge reality, we will thus judge angels one day. This is our definition in Christ. This is who we are. We start now by making good judgments in the church based on the Word and Spirit and we do it by expanding God’s kingdom by locking and unlocking with commands of faith.
So rise up. The same authority that made Peter look a crippled man in the eye and say, “Walk!” is roaring in your mouth today. Speak it. Loose it. Bind it. Watch reality bow, demons scatter, mountains move, and the kingdom advance like wildfire. This will expand your joy, it will expand God’s kingdom and it will trample the gates of hell.
If you are looking to God, you’ll notice the King who handed you the keys is standing right there with you, grinning ear to ear, saying, “Now that’s My kid in action!”
This is the new you.
Oshea Davis 