The Greek word rendered “Peter” in verse 18 may also be rendered “a stone,” which is the material for God’s building. Like Peter, all the believers need to be transformed into stones for the building of the church (1 Pet. 2:5).
In verse 18 the Lord also said that the gates of Hades would not prevail against His church. The “gates of Hades” refers to Satan’s authority or power of darkness (Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18), which cannot prevail against the genuine church built by Christ upon this revelation concerning Him as the rock, with stones such as Peter, a transformed human being. This work of the Lord also indicates that Satan’s power of darkness will attack the church; hence, there is spiritual warfare between Satan’s power, which is his kingdom, and the church, which is God’s kingdom.
When we were in Rome several months ago, we visited Saint Peter’s Cathedral. On the dome there were written some words from Matthew 16:18: “I will build my church upon this rock.” However, the last part of this verse—“And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”—was not written there. Perhaps this indicates that the gates of Hades have totally defeated the Catholic Church. The church in the Lord’s recovery, however, is truly built upon the revelation concerning Christ, and against this church the gates of Hades cannot prevail.
Verse 19 speaks of the kingdom of the heavens. The words “the kingdom of the heavens” here are interchangeably used for the word “church” in the previous verse. This is a strong proof that the genuine church is the kingdom of the heavens in this age. This is confirmed by Romans 14:17, which refers to the proper church life.
In verse 19 the Lord said to Peter, “I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.” According to history, the keys have been two: Peter used one to open the gate for the Jewish believers to enter the kingdom of the heavens on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38-42); and he used the other to open the gate for the Gentile believers to enter the kingdom of the heavens in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:34-48).
In verse 19 the Lord also said to Peter, “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.” The Gospel of Matthew is concerned with the kingdom of the heavens, which is a matter of authority. The church revealed in this book represents the kingdom to reign. Hence, the authority to bind and to loose is given not only to Peter, the apostle for the church here, but also to the church itself (18:17-18). Whatever the church people bind or loose on earth must be what has been bound or loosed in the heavens already. We can only bind or loose what has already been bound or loosed in the heavens.
Verse 20 says, “Then He charged the disciples that they should tell no one that He is the Christ.” The revelation concerning Christ with His church is always hidden from religious people.