Some Christians bind Satan and loose angels. They base this on Matthew 18:18. But is this verse correctly interpreted? Also, how does the church discipline wayward members? And what does it mean when Jesus taught that where two or three are gathered in his name, he’ll be there among them? (Bonus: watch how a careful reading of the Greek text takes down word-of-faith, decree-and-declare exaggerations.)

Let’s take things verse by verse, slowly. If you do not read Greek, ignore the left column.

The translation is mine, but if you would like to see many translation please go to biblegateway.com.

Let’s begin.

Discipline for Brothers and Sisters (Matt. 18:15-20)

15 Ἐὰν δὲ ἁμαρτήσῃ [εἰς σὲ] ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ὕπαγε ἔλεγξον αὐτὸν μεταξὺ σοῦ καὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου. ἐάν σου ἀκούσῃ, ἐκέρδησας τὸν ἀδελφόν σου· 16 ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀκούσῃ, παράλαβε μετὰ σοῦ ἔτι ἕνα ἢ δύο, ἵνα ἐπὶ στόματος δύο μαρτύρων ἢ τριῶν σταθῇ πᾶν ῥῆμα· 17 ἐὰν δὲ παρακούσῃ αὐτῶν, εἰπὲ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· ἐὰν δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας παρακούσῃ, ἔστω σοι ὥσπερ ὁ ἐθνικὸς καὶ ὁ τελώνης. 18 Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν· ὅσα ἐὰν δήσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται δεδεμένα ἐν οὐρανῷ, καὶ ὅσα ἐὰν λύσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται λελυμένα ἐν οὐρανῷ. 19 Πάλιν [ἀμὴν] λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν δύο συμφωνήσωσιν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς περὶ παντὸς πράγματος οὗ ἐὰν αἰτήσωνται, γενήσεται αὐτοῖς παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς. 20 οὗ γάρ εἰσιν δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμι ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν.

15 “If your brother or sister sin against you, go and convince him, just you and him. If they listen to you, you have won your brother or sister. 16 If they do not listen to you, take with you one or two others, so that ‘out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established.’ [Deut. 19:15] 17 If they do not listen to them, tell the church. But if they do not listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and tax collector. 18 I tell you the truth: whatever you have bound on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you have loosed on earth will have been loosed in heaven. 19 Again I [truly] tell you that if two of you have agreed on earth about every matter which they request, it will be done for them from my Father who is in heaven, 20 for where two or three have gathered together in my name, I am there in the middle of them.

Comments:

The context is the fledgling Christian community and a brother or sister who offends someone else in the community. He or she may also break church rules. Here are the steps a Christian community can take to restore the brother or sister, if he or she will listen.

See my comments on 16:18-20 and binding and loosing.

Matthew 16

This verse by verse exegesis in this post is edited. For fuller comments on 18:15-20, go to this link:

Matthew 18

15:

The context is personal. It’s about a brother or sister who offends you personally. It is not about critiquing a mega-ministry which builds a wall around the main leader who is spreading bad doctrine. You can point out his errors from a distance.

If an obstinate brother or sister persists in sin or disruption or bad teaching, then the one who spots it should go to him and ask him about it. If he repents, then the issue ends there. But if he does not, the one who confronts is to take one or two others to confront. If the brother even then refuses to listen, then the issue must be brought up to the church. Jesus grants authority to his people embroiled in the unpleasant confrontation to bind (not permit) or loose (permit) teachings and doctrines and attitudes and right and wrong behavior.

The verb convince is a strong verb, which can mean “convict” or “persuade” him of his erring ways. Grammarian Olmstead translates it as “show him his fault.” So the confrontation, yes, done in love, is not easy. The idea behind going one-on-one is to keep matters private.

The good news, possibly, is that the brother or sister may have a teachable spirit and will listen to the one confronting them. If so, then so much the better because he has won a brother or sister.

Here is the OT verse behind this NT verse: “Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt” (Lev. 19:17, NIV).

Moral and Other Laws in Leviticus 19 from a NT Perspective

16:

Here are more OT verses behind this NT verse: “On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness” (Deut. 17:6).

And this verse too: “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deut. 19:15, NIV).

The early church also used this principle of two or three witnesses to establish a matter, when church discipline was needed.

17:

In this verse the matter must be brought before the whole church.  Apparently the brother or sister persisted in their sin or unbiblical teaching that disrupted the assembly or Christian community.

“church”: it could be translated as “assembly” or “congregation” or “community.” It is the Greek noun ekklēsia (pronounced ehk-klay-see-ah). It is related to the Greek verb ekkaleō or “to call out.” It can be used of an assembly in a non-Christian context (Acts 19:39). It is the assembly or “church” in the wilderness (Acts 7:38; cf. Heb. 2:12). In Acts and the epistles, it refers to the gathering of the people of God. It translates the Hebrew qāhāl (meeting, assembly, gathering). The Septuagint (pronounced sep-TOO-ah-gent) is a third-to-second-century translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek. It often (but not always) translates qāhāl as ekklēsia.

Bible Basics about the Church

What Is the Church?

But caution must be shown in modern Western societies–or maybe just sue-crazy America. One can get sued if the church embarrasses one member in front of the whole church. In the firs, century, in contrast, Christian communities were tight-knit, so excommunication meant something. Today, the offensive brother or sister can go to another church. It is best if correction is done privately, and the final step (public rebuke) can be avoided. I know of a case of a vicar of an Anglican church who did not allow a man to come into church because he was so disruptive. So he stood outside and bugged people who came out of the church (it was in a big city and the sidewalk or pavement was next to the exit doors). This vicar’s policy was the right way. Just disfellowship someone in private. (It was the disruptor who made it public.) Remember that those steps Jesus laid out do not have to be carried out if a solution can be found before the final step of public excommunication. (By the way, I sometimes went out after the service and banter with the disruptive man, just for fun. He liked it.)

“Gentile or tax collector”: this phrasing is written from a Jewish point of view. The Jewish Christian community is to treat the disruptive brother or sister as an outsider. Clearly excommunication is in view here. The goal, hopefully, is to restore the wayward person. Blomberg: “To treat a person as a “pagan or a tax collector” means to treat him or her as unredeemed and outside the Christian community. Such treatment resembles the Old Testament practice of “cutting” someone “off” from the assembly of Israel (e.g., Gen 17:14; Exod 12:15, 19; 30:33, 38)” (comment on 18:17).

In the next verses, I get the impression that Matthew 18:15-20 covers the same kind of context. In Paul’s case he trims the process to just two warnings, without two or three witnesses and bringing the persistently divisive person before a church.

¹⁰ Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. ¹¹ You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned. (Titus 3:10-11, NIV)

For more parallel ideas in the epistles, go to the longer commentary:

Matthew 18

Scroll down to the right verses.

18:

The context is the entire local Christian community, not Peter alone or even the other apostles only. The English pronoun “you” is built into the Greek verbs and is plural.

Let’s again cover a rare verb syntax (sentence structure) that Matthew chose. As I wrote about 16:19 the rare construction is as follows:

The past tense verb + future tense of verb “to be” + perfect participle of a verb.

Matthew’s trimmed and gentle Greek must be deliberate, and so is this rare construction. He could have used another construction without the complicated syntax. So why would Matthew deploy complicated wording and a rare verb-tense combination?

Most translations go conservative and translate the latter two elements as a simple future:

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matt. 18:18, ESV)

The nuanced meaning of this translation says that Peter initiates, and heaven follows. Is that what Matthew (and even God) intends?

Objection: Matthew’s Greek is Koinē (common), which is substandard and degraded. So there is no way this verbiage can mean anything but a simple future.

Reply: Greek can be as sophisticated as an author intends. Again, why would Matthew the writer of sweet and neat Greek use the more complicated construction? It is obvious that he intends it to be the unusual future perfect tense.

Therefore, I believe the better translation is how I (and others) render it:

Whatever you have bound on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you have loosed on earth will have been loosed in heaven.

The difference in nuance is clear enough. In this translation, heaven takes the initiative and Peter follows God, not the other way around.

Now for reinforcements.

NET is right:

¹⁸ “I tell you the truth,^[ac] whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.  (Matt. 18:18)

So does the NASB (1995):

¹⁸ Truly I say to you, whatever you ^[q]bind on earth ^[r]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you ^[s]loose on earth ^[t]shall have been loosed in heaven. (Matt. 18:18)

Finally, so does the CSB:

Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. (Matt. 18:18)

Maybe my expanded translation can clarify the difference between the two sets of translations:

Whatever you have bound on earth will have (already) been bound in heaven, and whatever you have loosed on earth will have (already) been loosed in heaven.

I inserted the modifier “already.” Do you now see the difference?

God initiates and guides the church. In a Charismatic, Spirit-filled, and Spirit-guided church, they hear from God and follow him in church discipline and governance.

Is ‘Decreeing’ Biblical for Christians?

It is beneficial to consult other teachers who write commentaries. There is safety in numbers, though I do not accept everything they write on all topics. But here these three make a lot of sense.

In the terms binding and loosing, Jesus is simply following the Jewish belief of permitting (loosing) and not permitting (binding). Keener expands on this idea, writing of the Jewish context both here in v. 18 and in 16:19:

Keener writes:

In both functions—evaluating entrants and those already within the church—God’s people must evaluate on the authority of the heavenly court; the verb tenses allow the interpretation that they merely ratify the heavenly decree … Jesus’s agents were already exercising this authority in their earlier mission (10:14-15, 40) … (p. 430)

Blomberg writes:

In this context Jesus is almost certainly referring to the procedures of vv. 15–17 involving the withholding or bestowing of forgiveness and fellowship. As in 16:19, “binding” and “loosing” are more likely parallel to John 20:23 than to the rabbinic maxims on permitting or prohibiting certain behavior. Verse 18 also presupposes that the church is acting according to Jesus’ guidelines given in vv. 15–17 and is generally seeking and sensitive to God’s will. Then the church’s loosing and binding—forgiving or refusing to forgive—carries the very authority of God. (comment on 18:18)

Osborne:

Thus the primary meaning here likely parallels John 20:23 in terms of retaining (= ‘binding’) or forgiving (= ‘loosing’) sins. The passive verbs used here are divine passives, which means that God is behind the community’s decisions regarding forgiveness or condemnation of its wandering sheep / member. Behind this is the further aspect of church decisions as to which types of conduct are allowed and which are forbidden (comment on 18:18).

See this post for more information about the verb tense:

Matthew 16

Scroll down to v. 19.

Thus, there is no biblical warrant for binding demons and loosing angels. We don’t control or boss angels around. “He will command his angels concerning you” (Ps. 91:12, NIV). He is the one who commands angels, not us humans. And when Jesus and those in the apostolic community expelled demons, they never said, “I bind you, Satan!” They issued different commands.

Then what about binding or tying up the strongman (Matt. 12:28-29 // Mark 3:26-27 // Luke 11:20-22)? This is Jesus’s description of his overall and ongoing mission of defeating Satan, which was secured on the cross and resurrection and exaltation. Those three passages are summaries of his redemptive ministry that only he could bring about or effectuate. He was the one who was tying up the strong man, not us. In contrast, when he actually confronted demons, he simply expelled them with a command, without saying the ritual formula “I bind you!” Or “I tie you up!” The same goes for the apostolic community in Acts and the epistles.

I have a whole series on healings and deliverances in the four Gospels and Acts. Look for this category on the front page. You can find out how Jesus and the apostolic community expelled demons.

Here is a multi-part study of angels in the area of systematic theology, but first a list of the basics.

Angels:

(a) Are messengers (in Hebrew mal’ak and in Greek angelos);

(b) Are created spirit beings;

(c) Have a beginning at their creation (not eternal);

(d) Have a beginning, but they are immortal (deathless).

(e) Have moral judgment;

(f) Have a certain measure of free will;

(g) Have high intelligence;

(h) Do not have physical bodies;

(i) But can manifest with immortal bodies before humans;

(j) Can show the emotion of joy.

Bible Basics about Angels

Angels: Questions and Answers

Angels: Their Duties and Missions

Angels: Their Names and Ranks and Heavenly Existence

Angels: Their Origins, Abilities, and Nature

19:

The purpose of v. 19 seems to be to pray for the persistently divisive or disruptive or sinning brother or sister. Redemption is in the offing. Excellent.

God Is Your Redeemer

What Is Redemption in the Bible?

“agreed”: it is verb sumphōneō (pronounced sim- or soom-phoh-neh-oh), and our word symphony is related to it (it actually comes from the Greek noun symphōnia, but you get the idea). The verb means “agree, come to an agreement, fit in with, match.” In prayer, the prayer warriors must be in harmony and agreement. Unity is the best spiritual environment.

Wonderful verses about unity. This is the entire Psalm::

These next verses are also relevant because they deal with restoring one who is caught in sin:

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. ² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Gal. 6:1-2, NIV)

Once again, the commentators, for there is safety in numbers.

Osborne: “The earth / heaven contrast is pivotal. The ‘heavenly Father’ is in sovereign control of all earthly matters, and the only guarantee that earthly concerns will work out occurs when they are placed under God’s control. That is especially true in discipline issues, when God’s guidance must be behind the church’s decision. Finally, the ‘two agreeing’ refers back to the two or three witnesses of v. 16 (cf. v. 20). The agreement is the church verdict regarding the case of vv. 15-17” (comment on 18:19)

20:

The idea of two or three gathered together in the context of church discipline comes from this verse:

¹⁵ One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. (Deut. 19:15, NIV)

But let’s see if we can expand the theology of the presence of the Lord in a small gathering. The best promise of all is that Jesus is there in the middle of the small prayer gathering. Recall Matthew 1:23:

Look! The virgin shall be pregnant and shall give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel! [Is. 7:14], which interpreted means ‘God with us.’” (Matt. 1:23)

Jesus’s earthly ministry was God with people, but here in vv. 19-20 he is referring to his resurrected and ascended status. This describes his omnipresence. However, if Jesus is talking about a small kingdom community before his resurrection and ascension, then his omnipresence in that small gathering can only be accomplished by the power of the Spirit and the will of the Father. Somehow the spirit of Jesus is also in the middle of them.

But I think this wonderful verse refers to his post-ascension.

Turner says this is high Christology. Jesus is also “associated with God’s glory in John 1:14; Heb. 1:3. The language of 1 Cor. 5:4 also speaks of the presence of Jesus with a community gathered in his name for the purpose of discipline” (comment on 18:20)

Osborne again: “As there seems to be a prayer promise and in a different context would have that connotation. Yet in this context it again refers mainly to the decision of a church regarding a discipline situation. The ‘two or three’ as in vv. 16, 19 are the witnesses confronting the guilty person. As they make their decision, certainly while in prayer, Jesus wants them to understand that he is with them, and the ‘heavenly Father’ is guiding their verdict” (comment on 18:20).

Let’s expand things.

There are other promises of God’s presence, wherever we go, whether in a small prayer gathering or in big ones or by ourselves, just one person. In the context of building an altar and offering sacrifices, the author of Exodus writes:

Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. (Exod. 20:24, NIV).

Jesus is about to become the ultimate sacrifice, with his death on the cross.

The Psalmist enjoys inspired insight about God’s presence being everywhere:

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you. (Ps. 139:7-12, NIV)

Matthew 28:20 is just as powerful and clear as the ones in Psalm 139, indicating high Christology:

“And remember this: I am with you every day, until the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

God through Christ is with you no matter where you go, and no matter with whom you pray. You can claim both of these promises for your daily life, in the happy and sad times.

I really like this verse and v. 19. Yes, they come in the context of church discipline, but they describe a prayer meeting, as seen in the word “request” or “ask” and how soon the heavenly Father will honor their request. Don’t let anyone—especially on youtube—tell you that the disciplinary context is so restrictive that the verses are not about a prayer gathering.

However, if you insist on restricting the context of a small gathering to discipline only, then you may do so.

Either way, it is an amazing truth that God is present in a small gathering either to discipline someone or to hear our prayers–or both. Evidently, God takes church discipline seriously.

Time to wrap up this post and apply it ….

Jesus says that where two or three are gathered together in his name and agrees about anything they ask, it will be done for them by his Father in heaven. Jesus will be right in the middle of them as they pray. Yes, this is about prayer for and a council meeting about the troubled and troubling brother or sister, but we can expand it to include other prayers.

Other verses teach that God will answer prayers (Matt. 7:7-11; Luke 18:1-8, John 13:13-14) and his ascended Son has the capacity to be omnipresent. (He had the capacity to be omnipresent while on earth, too, but as far as I can tell, he did not , with the Father’s will, exercise this divine attribute which that he imported with him at his birth.)

So please be reassured that God and the Son and the Spirit are right there for you and with you when you pray in a small group or even by yourself.

RELATED

Is ‘Decreeing’ Biblical for Christians?

SOURCES

Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew: The New American Commentary. Vol. 22 (Broadman, 1992).

Carson, D. A. Matthew: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Rev. Ed. by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland. Vol. 9. (Zondervan, 2010).

France, R. T. The Gospel of Matthew: New International Commentary on the New Testament. (Eerdmans 2007).

Garland, David E. Reading Matthew: A Literary and Theological Commentary (Smyth and Helways, 2001).

The Greek New Testament. Fifth Revised Edition by Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger (United Bible Society, 2014). The Greek text in the tables comes from the Nestle-Aland 28th ed, available here: https://www.academic-bible.com/en/online-bibles/novum-testamentum-graece-na-28/read-the-bible-text/

Keener, Craig. A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. (Eerdmans 1999).

Olmstead, Wesley G. Matthew 15-28: A Handbook on the Greek Text. (Baylor UP, 2019).

Osborne, Grant R. Matthew: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. (Zondervan, 2010).

Turner, David L. Matthew: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Baker Academic, 2008).

Works Cited