No, for Matthew 16:19 is not about granting or denying a share in the blessings enjoyed by the citizens of the kingdom. Matthew 8:12 implies that one may have been in the kingdom and yet fall out of it. Matthew 16:19 harmonizes with that. It is sin that excludes someone from the kingdom, not the word of the apostles as such. The apostles only have authority to speak and to declare, but it is Christ who truly possesses the keys as the founder of the church, but he entrusts the keys to the disciples to be rightly used. The fact that the opening and shutting has consequences for the church is not stated here, but it follows from the context. In the church the gospel is preached, for the whole and to each individual, to declare who stands in the kingdom of heaven. Christ here provides authorization for the exercise of the keys. After all, the scribes and Pharisees also shut the kingdom to the people (see Matthew 23:10), but they did so wrongly. As such, their word and their action had no authority. The apostles did it rightly, provided they did so on the basis of Peter’s confession, as church-men in the fullest sense of the word.
Matthew 16:19 does not speak about the merit or insight of the confessors, but about the work of the Father (see Matthew 16:17). It addresses not the significance of Peter, but Jesus’ building plan (Matthew 16:18). And the keys do not give the disciples judicial authority, but reveal the keys of Christ, which he will place at their disposal. The Father and the Son involve the disciples in their work and will keep doing so. As well, Jesus means that something is first permitted, or not, in heaven, and that this is then proclaimed on earth. When an office-bearer speaks what has been revealed, it is firm and binding in heaven, for God approves it. This is also conveyed in the words bind and loose, which show the certainty of its permanence.
No, for in Matthew 16:19 we must not think in terms of granting or denying a share in the blessings that the citizens of the kingdom of God enjoy. From Matthew 8:12, it can be inferred that one may have been in the kingdom and yet fall out of it. What we read here in Matthew 16:19 harmonizes with that. It is sin itself that excludes someone from the kingdom rather than the word of the apostles as such. The apostles are only given authority to speak and to declare, but it is Christ who possesses the keys; he is the founder of the church, but he entrusts the keys to them in order that they may be rightly used. That the opening and shutting has consequences for the church is not expressly stated here, but it follows from the context. In the church the gospel is preached—preaching for the whole and to each individual, in order to declare who stands in the kingdom of heaven. For confirmation and strengthening of the exercise of the keys, Christ here provides authorization. After all, the scribes and Pharisees also shut the kingdom of God to the people (see Matthew 23:10), and yet they did so wrongly. As such, their word and their action had no authority. The apostles did it rightly, provided they did so on the basis of Peter’s confession, as church-men in the fullest sense of the word.1
Matthew 16:19 does not speak about the merit or insight of the confessors, but about the work of the Father (see Matthew 16:17). It addresses not the determinative significance of Peter, but Jesus’ building plan (Matthew 16:18). And the keys do not confer a judicial authority on the disciples, but speak about the keys of Christ, which he will place at their disposal. The Father and the Son involve the disciples in their work and will continue to do so from now on2.
Furthermore, the word of Jesus presupposes that something is first permitted or not permitted in heaven, and that this is then revealed and proclaimed on earth. When the office-bearer speaks in accordance with what has been revealed, it is firm and binding in heaven, from which the revelation came. That is: God approves it. This is also conveyed in the words bind and loose, which express great certainty: that it is permanent.3
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosedin heaven.”