In the gospels and throughout the New Testament God indicates he has chosen the church, and the individual members of the church, to be his vehicle of operation in the earth. As Abraham was chosen in Genesis 12:1-3 to begin a nation that God would indwell to bless all nations with Truth, so the church has been chosen for the same purpose at this time in history. God established the church to be God’s avenue of access in the earth.
In today’s text seen above (Matthew 18:18-20) no individual person or church office (pastor, board, prophet, etc.) is mentioned. The people with the responsibility and with the access to God are
merely identified as “two of you on earth” and as “two or three gather in my name.” The general members of the church are identified here as the ones binding, loosing, asking and receiving all
the while they are in the presence of God.
If there were one clear qualifying requirement for the “two of you on earth” to manifest effectively
this power and authority it would be to “gather in my name.” Jesus says he will be present with
any group of two or more in the church when they meet in his name.
To understand what Jesus is saying we need a little background to provide some historical and cultural context. In the Old Testament God expressed himself to and through Israel. Israel was
God’s vehicle for moving in the earth to bless the nations (Genesis 12:2-3). God’s presence
(also called “glory” or “Shekinah”) rested with Israel from the day he entered their
tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35) in the wilderness through the days at Shiloh when the Ark of his Presence was captured by the Philistines (1 Samuel 5) until David brought the Ark into
Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6) and Solomon built the Temple that God filled with his Shekinah Glory
(2 Chronicles 7:1-2). Any prophet that arose to speak for God came from Israel (for example:
Jonah went to Assyria, Jonah 1:2; Jeremiah was a prophet to the nations, Jeremiah 1:5; etc.).
Paul says to Israel belongs “the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law,
the worship, and the promises…the patriarchs…the Christ.” (Romans 9:4-5)
The rabbis of Jesus time had held to a doctrinal statement that is recorded in the Mishnah:
“If two sit together and words of the Law are between them, the Shekinah rests between them” - Mishnah Aboth 3:2
Jesus is God. Jesus is the glory. Jesus is the Shekinah. In fact, John begins his gospel saying:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.” (John 1:1-2, 14)
With this insight we can now read Jesus’ words to his church:
“Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)
Jesus says the Shekinah is now with the church and the Shekinah manifests when two believers
(not just apostles, or pastors, or popes, or elder boards) meet, he is with them. Jesus is commissioning the church and its individual members to be the vessels of his glory and the
vehicles of his ministry to the nations!
With this understanding of our responsibility to the world we read and believe:
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
Why?
“Because where two or three believers from the church gather in my name (Truth) then I, the Shekiah Glory, am with them.”
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