“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to hear the church also, let him be to you just like the Gentile and the tax collector. Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens. For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst” (Matt. 18:15-20). These few verses can be divided into two sections. Verses 15-17 are one section, while verses 18-20 are another section. If we read them carefully, we will find the relationship between the two sections. Verses 15-17 cover one specific thing, one particular thing, while verses 18-20 cover the general principle. Verses 15-17 mention one specific case that needs to be dealt with, while verses 18-20 cover a general principle which one should diligently learn. Although the case in verses 15-17 is mentioned first and the principle in verses 18-20 is mentioned second, the words in verses 18-20 are more important than the words in verses 15-17. In other words, the first section covers a specific case, while the second section covers a general principle, a great principle. The way to deal with the case in the first section is based on the principle covered in the second section. The second section is the foundation; the first section merely carries out a matter based on that foundation. In verses 15-17, the Lord Jesus tells us what should be done when a brother has sinned against another brother. The first thing that should be done is to reprove the sinning brother. If he will not listen, the brother who has been sinned against should bring one or two more toreprove him. If he will still not listen, then the church should be told. If he refuses to hear the church, he should be considered a Gentile and a tax collector. After the Lord Jesus mentioned this case, He said, “Truly I say to you....” He meant that one should act in this way because these are crucial matters and because this is an important principle. This is the basis for saying that verses 18-20 are the foundation of verses 15-17.
We are not speaking about the case in verses 15-17. We are trying to consider the broad principle from this one matter. We have to see that we should not only handle a brother’s offenses against us in this way but also thousands of other things. Now we want to consider what God intends for us to know in the second section.
In verse 18 the Lord says, “Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” What is special about this verse? The special thing is that there must be a move on earth before there is a move in heaven. It is not heaven that binds first but the earth that binds first. It is not heaven that looses first but the earth that looses first. After the earth binds, heaven binds; after the earth looses, heaven looses. The move in heaven is controlled by the move on earth. Everything contrary to God has to be bound, and everything in harmony with God has to be released. Everything, whether it is something to be bound or loosed, should have its binding or its loosing originate from the earth. The move on the earth precedes the move in heaven. The earth controls heaven.
We can see how the earth controls heaven from a few cases in the Old Testament. When Moses was on the mountain, the Israelites won every time he raised his hands, and the Amalekites won every time he lowered his hands (Exo. 17:9-11). Who decided the victory at the bottom of the mountain? Did God decide or did Moses decide? Brothers and sisters, we have to see God’s principle of work and the key to His move. God cannot do what He wants to do unless man wants it. We cannot make God do what He does not want to do, yet we can stop God from doing what He wants to do. The victory was decided by God in heaven, but the victory was decided by Moses before men. Truly, God in heaven wanted the Israelites to win, but if Moses had not raised his hands on earth, the Israelites would have lost. When he raised his hands, the Israelites won. The earth controls heaven.
Ezekiel 36:37 says, “Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.” God has a purpose to increase the number of the house of Israel so that the Israelites would increase like a flock. Those who do not know God will say, “If God wants to increase the number of the Israelites like a flock, He could go ahead and do it. Who could stop Him?” But this verse says that God must be inquired of first before He will accomplish it for them. This is a clear principle: Even though God decides on a matter, He will not do it immediately. He would increase the house of Israel only after they inquired of Him. He wants the earth to control heaven.
Isaiah 45:11 has a most peculiar word, “Thus says Jehovah, /The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him,/Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons,/And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” Brothers and sisters, is not this word most peculiar? Concerning the sons and the work of His hand, God says that we can command Him. We would almost be afraid to use the word “command.” How can man command God? All those who know God realize that man cannot be haughty before Him. But God Himself says, “Concerning My sons,/And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” This is the earth controlling heaven. It does not mean that we force God to do what He does not want to do. Rather, it means that we can command God to do what He wants to do. This is our position. After we know God’s will, we can say to Him, “God, we want You to do this. We are determined that You should do this. God, You must do this.” We can utter such strong and powerful prayers before God. We have to ask God to open our eyes to see the kind of work He is doing in this age. In this age all His work is based on this position. Heaven may want to accomplish something, but heaven will not do it alone; heaven waits for the earth to do it first, and then heaven does it. Although the earth stands in the second place, at the same time, it also stands in the first place. The earth must move before heaven will move. God wants the earth to move heaven.
Home | First | Prev | Next