BINDING AND LOOSING

"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." Matthew. 16:18-19

"Bind" = Strong's #1210 = "Deo" = "a primary verb; to bind (in bind, to put under obligation, used of the law, duty; to be bound to one, a wife, a husband" - this speaks of Marriage and Covenant, of that which has been Bound together by the Lord. This is the same as in Matthew 18: 18-19 where it states; "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."

Both of these references in Matthew originally refer to the authority given to the disciples by Jesus so they could apply discipline in the Church. The disciples had the authority to "bind" believers to the Church and the authority to exclude or "loose" from the Church those who did not believe. Being "bound" to the Church means to be in covenant with God through Jesus and with those who are Believers in Him. The inference here is the same as the binding together in the covenant of a husband and wife in marriage.

What you bind (declare legally binding) is what you are! We are either bound to the Church through Jesus Christ and Christ likeness, or we are bound to the world through the Adamic and fleshly nature. This binding together defines who we are as spiritual entities. Being bound together in this way gives us our spiritual identity. It shows whether we are allied with the Kingdom of Light or the Kingdom of Darkness. Either Christ is bound to us or Adam is bound to us. Adam was killed at the Cross, which means we have been loosed from the Adamic nature, and have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we are now bound to Christ and His nature. Everything therefore now depends on how we think - how we think determines how we act. Do we have a Resurrection (victorious) mindset? Are we attacking hell or is hell attacking us?

An excellent example illustrating this point is found in Acts 19: 13-16; "Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus, I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." It is clear from these verses that demonic powers recognize who we are in the spiritual realm. Paul was bound to Christ and this identified him clearly. However, the same could not be said of the seven sons of one Sceva. Their identity was not found in Christ because they were not bound to Him, and this cost them dearly. This means that if anyone is not bound to Christ, they have no authority over the flesh or the enemy, and it does not matter how much we try to drive out the enemy, if we are not bound to Christ we are wasting our time.

The power of "binding and loosing" is therefore not in saying the words, but through the imparted authority we receive by being bound to Christ. This then leads us to the place where we can surmise that as Christ was the Light of the world, we are also the light of the world and it is His Light in us that will drive out darkness (Matthew 5:14; John 8:12; John 1:5). We can conclude from this that even our very presence as Believers in any physical place or situation can put the enemy to flight because the Light within us is greater than the darkness in the world (1 John 4:4).

In Matthew 16:18 the Church is Aggressive against the Gates (the access or entrance to any state) of Hell ("Hades" = the "unseen" realm). In the same way that the "rock" and "church" referred to in this verse do not refer to a physical rock made from stone or a church building made from bricks and mortar, but to Jesus, the Rock, and the Church are made up from living stones or people, so we can surmise that the "gates" of hell possibly does not mean physical gates. It is clear from Scripture and the world we live in that the unseen spiritual realm influences the natural seen realm by influencing people who are alive on the earth. Therefore, whoever dictates and controls our thinking influences the way we think about things and this directly influences the way we act and try to influence the people around us, including our circumstances.

It can be safely said that people are "gates" through which the spiritual world can allow spiritual ideas and concepts to come into the natural world to shape this natural world. The strategies and schemes that originate in Death and Hell can therefore come into the Earth through people who are Gates, just as the Mind of Christ that originates in the Heavens comes into the Earth through people who are the Windows (Sluicegates or Floodgates) of Heaven (Malachi 3:10)!  "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Who is supposed to do the will of God?) Matthew 6:10 Those "gates" who are "bound" to death and hell will produce the fruits of death and hell in the earth, whereas those "sluicegates" who are "bound" to Heaven will produce Christ and His Kingdom in the earth.

As Believers in Christ; we are the floodgates that must "flood" the enemy out of his stronghold. In Isaiah 59:19 we read, "So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in, like a flood the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him." I do not believe that the enemy is a flood. Scripturally the Spirit of God is compared to water, wind, fire, and oil, so in Isaiah 59:19 the flood comes from the Lord raising His standard against the enemy.

It is time for us to discern which Gates are being used by the enemy and attack the Spirits behind these gates and certain situations and circumstances. Once these gates are "shut", and the "sluicegates" of God's people are opened, the glory of God will be brought into the earth. The church must lead the way, drive out the darkness, and release His Kingdom by manifesting the character and Light of Christ. We must be bound to the Most Holy Place and take the Life we receive from there out into the earth. Remember, we have no veil over our face, and because we are filled with Him, His glory raises up and out of His nature in us! (2 Corinthians 3:13-18).

We must agree on the earth with what has already been found covenantally in the Heavens. (Amos 3:3, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?") We are not binding the enemy, but rather with our life and lip binding ourselves to Christ and His work. By not agreeing with Him we tear ourselves loose from His loving embrace! In His loving embrace, we are filled with His Light and His Glory and it is His presence that nullifies the works of Satan.

Genesis 50:24, "And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." "Swore" or "swear" - Heb; shaba - Eng; shaw-bah: A primitive root; properly to be complete, but used only as a denominative; to seven oneself, that is, swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times): - adjure, charge (by an oath, with an oath), take an oath, (cause to, make to) swear. What this is saying is that God has "sevened" Himself to us - it is as good as if God spoke out an oath seven times

We must bind ourselves to all that which is binding in Christ:  "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3). We cannot say we are walking with the Lord if we do not agree with what He says. This means a laying down of our agendas and programs. It means we implicitly obey Him and do what he tells us to do. This means you agree with God about Yourself, Your Family, Your Church, and Ministry.

"For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her" (Luke 1:37-38). Mary simply accepted God's Word about her life and acted accordingly. She changed her thinking about herself immediately and her actions followed suit. It is imperative that we do the same!