Most of the truths in the New Testament were sown as seeds in the book of Matthew. In Matthew 13 we have the seeds for growth and transformation, both of which are for building. In 16:16 Peter recognized that the Lord Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. After Peter made this declaration, the Lord seemed to say, "You have recognized that I am the Christ, the Son of God, but I must tell you something more. It is not sufficient for you to know Me. You must realize that you are a stone and that I will build My church with you as a stone." Matthew includes most of the basic points in the New Testament. It gives us the seed of growth, transformation, and building. All of these items are not only related to the church, but also to the kingdom. Matthew 16:18-19 reveals that the Lord Jesus used the terms "church" and "kingdom" interchangeably. "I will build My church...I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens." The church is the kingdom and the kingdom is the church. The church which the Lord Jesus builds up with living stones is the kingdom.
The book of Matthew portrays the Lord Jesus as the wonderful One who has come to sow Himself as the seed of life into us. After the sowing of the seed, there is growth, transformation, and building. The building is the building of the church which is the kingdom. John 1:42 tells us about the first time that Peter came to the Lord Jesus. When his brother, Andrew, brought him to the Lord, the Lord did not teach him or instruct him; rather, He changed his name from Simon to Cephas. In a sense, this was a prophecy. The Lord prophesied to Simon that he would be called Cephas. Both Cephas and Peter mean a stone.
The incident recorded in Matthew 16 occurred about two years after Peter's first meeting with the Lord in John 1:42. When Peter confessed that He was the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord reminded him: "You are a stone." It was not sufficient for Peter to know that He was the Christ and the Son of God. He also needed to realize that he himself was a stone for the building. The Lord was going to build the kingdom. He would build Peter into the church and give him the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. According to the book of Acts, Peter used at least two keys. He used one key on the day of Pentecost to open the door for the Jewish people to enter into the kingdom of the heavens (Acts 2:38-42). He used the other key in the house of Cornelius to open the door for the Gentiles to come into the kingdom (Acts 10:34-48). The keys were given to Peter and also the authority to bind and loose was committed to him. "Whatever you bind on the earth shall be what has been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall be what has been loosed in the heavens" (Matt. 16:19). Thus, Peter was given two keys and also the authority to bind and loose.