“I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven…” – Matthew 16:19 NASB

Notes:

Jesus, after hearing Peter’s declaration about Him being the Son of the living God, told Peter that He was going to give Him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  The question then arises, what are the “keys” to the Kingdom that Jesus gave to Peter?  And if Jesus gave them to Peter, would He be willing to also give us those same keys?  As we examine the passage in Acts ch. 2, we can see that Peter on the day of Pentecost presented three specific keys to the people:

 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. – Acts 2:38

1. Repentance through the blood of Christ – Through the blood of Christ and repentance of our sins, a person is born again and enters into the kingdom of God.
2. Water Baptism – The outward manifestation of the inward reality of entering into the Body of Christ.
3. Receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit – Following salvation, God offers His children the gift of being filled with the Holy Spirit.  

We see the same 3 keys also in 1 John 5:8:

For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.  – 1 John 5: 7-8.

The first key, the blood, is used as an instrument to bring release to the captives who are in prison, being bound hand and foot by the deceitfulness of sin.  The second and third keys (the water and the Spirit) are used to unlock the gates into His outer and inner courts, that is, into deeper arenas of grace and intimacy with the Lord Jesus and with the Father.      

Willing to take the Challenge?

Just like we wouldn’t hand our car keys to someone we don’t trust, we must first be found faithful in the sight of God for Him to give us these keys to His kingdom.  Although Peter was in no wise perfect, God knew his heart, his diligence, his love of God, and his zeal for the kingdom, and as a result, handed him the keys.  The keys also represent authority, and when He hands them to us, we receive His authority and commission to go and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28).