Latest / Reformed Thinking / Christ’s Presence and the Church’s Prayerful Authority (Matthew 18:19–20)

Transcript

Christ’s Presence and the Church’s Prayerful Authority (Matthew 18:19–20) · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Welcome to Reformed Thinking. I'm really glad you're joining
0:02
us today. Yeah, it's great to be here.
0:03
So if you're listening, you are probably the kind of person to,
0:09
you know, likes to have your assumptions challenged, right?
0:13
You like digging into rigorous biblical truth.
0:17
And today we are doing a deep dive into something you have
0:20
probably heard, I mean, 1000 times.
0:23
Oh. Easily 1000.
0:24
Yeah, it's Matthew chapter 18, verses 19 and 20, where two or
0:29
three are gathered in my name. There am I among them?
0:32
It's everywhere. It really is.
0:34
You hear it at half empty Wednesday night prayer meetings.
0:38
Or, you know, tell the Angelus. Use it as this like divine blank
0:42
check for financial breakthroughs.
0:43
Right. Which is just wild when you
0:44
think about it. Right, because it sounds so
0:46
comforting. It feels like this warm embrace,
0:48
like Jesus is just sitting there in your living room while you
0:51
have coffee with a friend. But that's not what it means at
0:54
all. Not even a little bit.
0:56
And that is the mission of our deep dive today.
0:59
What if I told you that this verse has absolutely nothing to
1:02
do with casual get togethers? Yeah, it's it's actually about a
1:06
heavenly courtroom. Yes, judicial authority, Church
1:10
discipline. Heavy, sobering stuff.
1:12
It really is. And to do this text justice, we
1:15
have a few ground rules for our conversation today.
1:18
We want to take our time. We're going to build a careful,
1:21
systematic case, relying firmly on reformed theology.
1:24
And the Westminster Confession, of course.
1:26
Absolutely. We want to see what the Lord
1:28
Jesus is actually establishing here organically.
1:31
So let's start by looking at the landscape, because man, there
1:34
are some really pervasive misreadings of this text.
1:37
Oh, they've practically hijacked it.
1:39
Yeah, if you try to explain the real meaning to someone, they
1:42
look at you like, like you're rewriting the Bible.
1:45
I get that look all the time. So let's hit the first one, the
1:47
prosperity gospel blank check. That 1 is probably the most
1:51
damaging. I agree.
1:53
It's this idea that if two believers just, you know, agree
1:57
on you would decar A promotion, whatever, God is somehow
2:01
obligated to do it. Right, because the text says if
2:04
2 of you agree on earth about anything they ask.
2:07
Right. And they treat the Sovereign
2:09
Lord like a well, like a mystical vending.
2:12
Machine A vending machine. That's a great way to put it.
2:14
You put in your little coin of agreement, pull the lever of
2:18
faith, and heaven just has to dispense the blessing it.
2:21
Totally turns the creator into an employee of the creature.
2:25
Wow, yeah. It really does.
2:27
It isolates the verse and turns it into a math formula.
2:30
You know 1 believer plus one believer equals a guaranteed
2:33
result. And you can see why people fall
2:35
for it. It's psychologically appealing.
2:37
Oh sure, we all want control over our future.
2:39
If we find a like a spiritual cheat code, we're going to use
2:43
it. But it completely violates God's
2:46
sovereignty. Yeah, the Lord isn't bound by
2:48
two guys wanting the same truck, right?
2:50
OK, so the second misreading this one isn't as malicious, but
2:53
it's a it's way more common. The seeker sensitive approach.
2:57
Yeah, the pragmatic low attendance slogan.
2:59
Oh man, I've been there. We all have picture, right?
3:02
The pastor sets up 30 chairs for an evening prayer gathering.
3:06
He prepares a whole thing. And three people show up.
3:09
Three people. It's so awkward.
3:12
So to cut the tension, he just smiles and says, well, we're two
3:15
or three are gathered. The Lord is in our midst.
3:18
Yeah, it's used as a consolation prize.
3:20
Exactly. Yeah, I mean, spot on.
3:22
It is a consolation prize and sure, Christ doesn't need a mega
3:26
church crowd to validate things. Right, but using it just to make
3:29
a discouraged pastor feel better?
3:31
It totally misses the sovereign weight of the passage.
3:34
It changes it from a courtroom decree to like a participation
3:38
trophy. A participation trophy?
3:40
Yeah, and that stings, but it's true.
3:42
Which brings us to the third one, which is super common in
3:45
our modern Western culture. The hyper individualistic 1.
3:49
Yeah, the coffee shop church. Oh, I hear this all the time.
3:51
People idolize autonomy, they hate institutional authority so
3:55
they say hey, any 2 Christians having coffee is a church.
3:58
Right. They bypass the elders.
4:00
They bypass church government. No formal accountability at all,
4:03
they say. My church is hiking in the woods
4:05
with my buddy. Or, you know, my church is my
4:07
Tuesday morning breakfast group. And it sounds so spiritual, it
4:11
frees them from church politics. But it actually undermines what
4:14
Christ is building. It's just a social club.
4:16
Yeah, filled with people who already agree with you and will
4:19
never ever call out your sin. So all three of these, the blank
4:24
check, the low attendance slogan, the coffee shop thing,
4:27
they strip away the covenantal. Weight.
4:29
They isolate verses 19 and 20 from the whole chapter.
4:32
It's like, OK, imagine taking a severe penalty clause out of a a
4:38
binding commercial lease agreement.
4:41
OK, interact. And you just print that single
4:43
sentence on a greeting card. Oh wow, right.
4:45
Like the font is pretty, the words sound nice, but you'd lose
4:49
all the legal force. You're just holding a piece of
4:50
paper that means nothing in court.
4:52
Right, so if it's not a blank check or a coffee shop
4:54
validation, we have to ask what Jesus is actually talking about
4:58
here. Well, your legal contract
4:59
analogy is perfect because Jesus is outlining a legal covenantal
5:04
procedure. So we need to look at the
5:05
immediate context versus 15 through 18.
5:08
Right, we have to read it as a single unit leading up to our
5:12
text. It starts with an erring
5:14
brother. Church Discipline.
5:15
Yes, Jesus says if your brother sins against you, go and tell
5:20
him his fault between you and him alone.
5:23
So private confrontation first. Absolutely.
5:25
The emphasis is pastoral, redemptive.
5:28
He says if he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
5:32
Which means the goal is never to win an argument or humiliate
5:35
someone. Or to gossip.
5:37
Yeah, you're trying to rescue a sibling in Christ from sin.
5:40
You know, we live in a society that thinks love just means
5:43
absolute tolerance. Yeah, just ignoring sin
5:46
completely, but. Biblical love won't let someone
5:48
walk off a Cliff without saying anything.
5:50
Peace isn't pretending evil doesn't exist.
5:53
True love wants repentance. And if they repent privately,
5:56
it's over. It never goes to the elders.
5:58
The gossip stops right there, but.
6:00
What if they don't listen? What if they justify their sin?
6:02
Well, Jesus gives the next step in verse 16.
6:06
Take one or two others along with you, that every charge may
6:09
be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
6:12
So it's structurally escalates. Sorry, it's not just a private
6:15
issue anymore. You have to establish it
6:17
carefully with corroboration. To avoid a hasty judgement or
6:21
just a personal vendetta. Yeah, the witnesses verify the
6:24
facts and then verse 17 is the formal ecclesiastical step.
6:29
Tell it to the church. And church here isn't just
6:31
people sitting in pews, it's a visible assembly that can hear
6:36
evidence and act on it. Which completely destroys that
6:39
coffee shop reading. We talked.
6:40
About oh entirely. A covenant body has a defined
6:43
role. Two guys drinking lattes cannot
6:46
excommunicate someone. They just can't.
6:48
Yeah. And the final step here is
6:50
really severe. Let him be to you as a gentile
6:53
and a tax collector. To a 1st century Jew, that meant
6:56
an outsider excluded from the covenant community.
6:59
Formal. Excommunication.
7:00
Yeah, if they refuse to repent even after the whole church
7:03
pleads with them, the church has to treat them like an
7:06
unbeliever. They are removed from the Lords
7:08
Table. That is devastatingly serious.
7:10
We're talking about spiritual jurisdiction over a soul.
7:13
And verse 18 is the hinge for all of this.
7:16
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever
7:19
you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
7:21
The. Keys of the Kingdom.
7:23
Exactly. I mean absolutely, but we have
7:25
to understand that this authority is declarative, not
7:28
creative. Meaning the church doesn't
7:31
invent the truth. Right.
7:32
Think of a referee in a football game.
7:34
OK, the ref doesn't invent the rules.
7:36
He just watches the play, checks the rule book and declares a
7:40
foul. So when the Church acts in
7:43
submission to Scripture, it's just declaring on earth what
7:46
heaven has already judged. Yes, they bind what God binds in
7:50
His Word. You know, laying it all out like
7:52
this, I realize how totally foreign this is to a modern
7:55
mindset. People hate it today.
7:57
They really do. We prize autonomy so much, the
8:00
idea that a congregation can tell someone they are in
8:03
unrepentant sin. People see it as tyrannical or
8:07
judgmental. They'd rather sweep it under the
8:09
rug for a false sense of unity. But biblical discipline is
8:12
redemptive. It's aimed at gaining the
8:14
brother. It summons them to repent before
8:16
facing ultimate judgement. But here is my big question.
8:19
If Jesus is talking about something as heavy as
8:21
excommunication, yeah, why would he suddenly pivot in verse 19 to
8:26
a generic promise about answered prayer?
8:28
Right, it feels weird. It's massive rhetorical whiplash
8:32
going from treat him like a tax collector to if 2 of you agree
8:36
on a wish, God does it. Well, it would be whiplash if he
8:39
were actually changing the subject, but he isn't.
8:42
The reason it feels jarring to us is that we've lost the Old
8:44
Testament judicial context. OK, impact that.
8:47
There is no pivot. Jesus is quoting the Old
8:50
Testament in verse 16 when he mentions two or three witnesses.
8:53
Oh right, He's invoking Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse
8:56
15. He's bringing a Mosaic legal
8:59
framework into the New Covenant. So let's look at that
9:02
Deuteronomy text. It says a single witness isn't
9:05
enough to convict someone. Only on the evidence of two
9:09
witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
9:13
That protected Israel from malice.
9:15
Yeah, I mean, think how easy it is to destroy a reputation.
9:18
If I'm mad at my neighbor I could just lie and say he stole
9:21
my ox. And back then, there were no
9:23
cameras, no digital footprints. One lie could ruin a life.
9:27
So God demanded corroboration. And the penalty for a false
9:30
witness in the Old Testament was terrifying.
9:33
Right. Whatever you try to do to the
9:34
person you lied about, they did to you.
9:36
If you lied to get your brother, if they're stoned, the judges
9:39
would have you stoned instead. Well, that ensures no one brings
9:43
a charge lightly. Justice has to be righteous in
9:46
its process, not just its conclusion.
9:49
So Jesus is bringing that demand for due process right into the
9:53
local church. It keeps discipline from turning
9:55
into a witch hunt. Absolutely.
9:57
So if you're a 1st century Jew listening to Jesus, yeah, when
10:00
you hear two or three, you aren't thinking of a cozy prayer
10:04
circle. Not at all.
10:05
Your mind goes straight to the courtroom cross examination
10:09
verdicts. So in verses 19 and 20 talk
10:11
about two agreeing that echo of the witness law is still ringing
10:15
in their ears. The numbers aren't random.
10:17
The two or three and verse 20 are the exact same two or three
10:20
witnesses from verse 16. That is the crucial link right
10:23
there. Jesus is assuring them that when
10:25
they follow this process, He backs them up.
10:28
But someone listening might push back and say, wait, isn't Jesus
10:32
replacing harsh Old Testament law with pure grace while this
10:37
strict judicial process? Well, grace is what makes the
10:40
discipline possible in the 1st place.
10:42
But grace doesn't erase God's justice.
10:46
The New Covenant community still has to be governed by truth.
10:49
And to really see that, we need to dig into the original Greek
10:52
syntax he uses in verse 19. Yes, the Greek clears all the
10:56
modern sentimentalism away instantly.
10:58
Because English translations kind of smooth over the rough
11:01
edges. So let's look at the word for
11:03
agree if two of you agree on Earth.
11:06
The Greek word is symphascosin. Which is where we get the word
11:10
Symphony. Right.
11:11
It's not a casual compromise like you and I agreeing to get
11:14
tacos instead of burgers. Yeah.
11:17
It actually implies a specific alignment, like an orchestra
11:20
tuning up. Oh, that's a good.
11:22
Picture the oboe plays an A, and every other instrument tunes to
11:25
that one objective standard. They aren't negotiating with
11:28
each other. No, they are aligning to the
11:30
standard in church discipline. This agreement is a spirit
11:33
wrought alignment with God's will.
11:35
So they've examined the evidence, prayed, search the
11:38
scriptures. And the Spirit brings them to a
11:40
unified understanding of what the Word demands for this
11:43
specific case. They are playing the notes
11:46
written in the sheet music of scripture.
11:47
Exactly. I mean spot on.
11:49
Now look at the word for anything.
11:51
If they agree about anything, they ask.
11:53
This is where the blank Czech idea comes from.
11:55
Yeah, but the Greek word is pragma.
11:58
It's a very specific term. It does not mean any random
12:02
object you want. What does it mean in the ancient
12:05
world? In Greco Roman literature,
12:07
pragma was frequently a technical legal term.
12:10
It meant a lawsuit, A judicial case.
12:13
Oh wow, we even see it in First Corinthians chapter 6.
12:16
Paul rebukes the church for secular lawsuits and says when
12:20
one of you has a grievance, A pragma against another.
12:23
Yeah, it completely flips the meaning.
12:25
It does. Jesus isn't offering a guarantee
12:27
for a joint wish. He is talking about the church
12:30
praying over a disciplinary case, the pragma.
12:34
They are asking heaven to validate their lawful act of
12:37
binding and losing. Just like a jury, right?
12:40
When a jury reaches a verdict, a Symphony of agreement, They
12:43
aren't just sharing opinions. No, they are following the
12:46
judge's instructions. And when they hand the judge
12:49
their decision regarding that pragma, that specific case, the
12:52
judge validates it. Because they followed the law.
12:55
If that same jury handed the judge a note asking for a
12:58
private jet, the judge would throw it out.
13:01
Because their authority only applies to the parameters of the
13:04
case. So verse 19 is an ironclad
13:06
guarantee that God backs the church when it renders A
13:10
biblical verdict. Yes.
13:11
Now let's look at verse 20 for where two or three are gathered
13:14
in my name. The word for gathered is
13:16
synagmanoy, right? Yes, and it's a perfect passive
13:19
participle, meaning the passive voice means they didn't just
13:23
casually bump into each other, they were formally convened,
13:27
summoned by the Holy Spirit for Holy judgement.
13:29
And the perfect tense means it's an ongoing recognized assembly.
13:33
It's purposeful, not a chance meeting in a hallway.
13:36
And they are gathered in my name.
13:39
The phrase is to Iman on anoma literally means into my name.
13:43
Stepping into his jurisdiction, right?
13:45
Submitting to His Lordship, you could have a meeting with
13:47
worship music and open Bibles, but if it's run by human pride
13:51
or pragmatism, it's not gathered in His name.
13:54
You have to act as authorized agents of the King.
13:57
Which raises a huge question. If local believers are binding
14:00
and losing someone's spiritual status, whose authority are they
14:05
wielding? Well, they can't claim that
14:07
power natively. This brings us to Reformed
14:09
ecclesiology and the Westminster Confession.
14:12
Chapter 30. Church Censures.
14:14
Right. It states that Jesus, as head of
14:16
his church, appointed a government in the hands of
14:18
church officers. Distinct from the civil
14:21
government. Yes, the keys of the Kingdom is
14:24
a divine appointment. The authority is real, but it is
14:27
entirely derivative. They act declaratively.
14:31
They can't make up new sins, and they can't ignore sins the Bible
14:34
condemns. And the guarantee of that
14:36
authority is that final, staggering phrase there.
14:39
Am I among them? We really read past the
14:42
Christology of that. That is a massive claim to
14:44
divine omnipresence. Think about it, only Yahweh can
14:48
promise to be simultaneously present in every local assembly
14:51
worldwide. Right, if a church in
14:53
underground China is an acting discipline and a church in
14:55
Dallas is doing it at the exact same moment.
14:58
Jesus is actively present in both.
15:01
He's claiming the incommunicable attributes of deity.
15:04
He isn't a distant teacher who just left us a manual.
15:07
He is the living, omnipresent head of the Church.
15:10
And systematically that refutes birth extremes we see today.
15:14
Antinomianism on one side. Right.
15:15
The idea that we can't judge anyone.
15:17
Grace means anything goes, but Christ's holy Presence demands
15:21
holiness in His house. And on the other side, it
15:24
refutes authoritarianism, like the Roman Catholic idea of a
15:29
global hierarchy that can invent new dogmas.
15:31
Because the authority rests in the local regenerate body,
15:34
acting purely on the closed Canon of scripture.
15:37
The Church is just a minister, not a sovereign Lord over the
15:39
conscience. Precisely.
15:41
But, you know, let's get practical for a second.
15:43
If Christ is physically seated at the right hand of the Father
15:46
in heaven, which is what the creeds say, yeah, how exactly is
15:50
he in the midst of a local discipline case?
15:52
Is it just like a mystical feeling in the room?
15:55
No, it's way more substantial than a feeling, because
15:58
honestly, discipline meetings usually feel tense and
16:01
sorrowful, not warm and fuzzy. Yeah, nobody's getting
16:03
goosebumps of joy during an excommunication.
16:06
Right. To understand his presence, we
16:08
have to zoom out and look at the theology of presence in
16:11
Matthew's Gospel. Oh, the grand architecture of
16:14
the book. Yeah, it frames the whole
16:15
gospel. Look at chapter one, verse 23.
16:18
At the incarnation Isaiah is quoted.
16:22
Jesus is Emmanuel. God with us.
16:25
The incarnation isn't just a miracle birth, it's God drawing
16:28
near to dwell with his covenant people.
16:30
Jesus is the localized presence of God on earth.
16:34
And throughout his ministry, he forgives sins.
16:36
He has authority over nature. He is the true temple.
16:39
Because in the Old Testament, God's presence was terrifyingly
16:43
isolated in the Holy of Holies, but now it's concentrated in
16:47
Jesus. Where Jesus is, the temple is.
16:50
And that brings us to the exact middle of the gospel, our text
16:53
today. Matthew, 1820.
16:55
There am I among them. Emmanuel's presence isn't
16:57
confined to 33 years on earth. It continues in the gathered,
17:01
disciplined local church. The presence mediated through
17:04
the temple is now mediated directly into the local assembly
17:07
when they gather in His name. That dignifies the church beyond
17:10
measure. Discipline isn't just kicking a
17:13
guy out of the Rotary Club. It is a holy act taken before
17:16
the face of the Lord. And then the ark concludes at
17:20
the very end of the book, Matthew 28, the Great
17:23
Commission. Jesus sends them to the nations
17:26
and his final promise is I am with you always to the end of
17:32
the age. It's magnificent continuity.
17:34
Yeah. Emmanuel at birth.
17:36
Emmanuel in the local church. Emmanuel in global mission.
17:39
His presence is literally what makes the church exist.
17:43
Yeah. You can't separate the Church's
17:45
authority from the King's presence.
17:47
Oh, you can't. I picture it like a royal signet
17:49
ring. Oh, I like that walk through
17:50
that. So first the seal is established
17:52
in the palace. The king puts the ring on his
17:54
finger. That's the incarnation, right?
17:56
Then the King stamps his seal and hot wax on the documents of
17:59
the the local courtroom, authorizing the judges.
18:02
That's the church in Matthew 18. And finally, that same seal is
18:06
carried by ambassadors to foreign lands to declare his
18:09
decrees. That's the Great Commission.
18:11
The authority of the seal never diminishes.
18:14
But OK, let's be really honest here.
18:17
Possessing that royal seal to judge sin, it feels terrifying,
18:22
should feel heavy because we are flawed.
18:24
How can sinners judge sinners if every elder in the room
18:27
struggles with the flesh? How do we wield the keys without
18:31
being massive hypocrites? That is the tension every
18:34
faithful elder feels, and to resolve it we need the Reformed
18:38
framework of law and gospel. Without that, this passage would
18:42
just crush a church. Or turn it into a cult.
18:44
Yeah. So this text functions under the
18:46
third use of the law. The tertious uses ledges.
18:50
Meaning the moral law acts as a rule of life for believers who
18:53
are already justified. Right.
18:55
But before the law guides us, it always exposes us here.
18:58
It exposes our natural cowardice.
19:00
Absolute Our flesh hates conflict.
19:01
We'd rather tolerate blatant sin than have an awkward, heart
19:05
wrenching confrontation. We fall into pragmatism.
19:07
We say, well, it's not my place to judge.
19:09
But the law reveals we are just protecting our own comfort.
19:12
The thought of gathering witnesses and bringing it to the
19:14
congregation sounds exhausting. But the gospel provides the
19:18
remedy for that cowardice. We can only do this because of
19:22
what Christ already did. Yes, Christ was the ultimate
19:26
outcast. He was crucified outside the
19:28
camp. He faced the ultimate
19:30
excommunication at Calvary, bearing the Father's wrath,
19:33
crying. Why have you forsaken me?
19:35
He was cut off so that we could be permanently brought in.
19:37
That is the gospel indicative that grounds everything.
19:40
We don't practice discipline to earn God's favor.
19:43
Or to build a pristine Country Club.
19:45
Right, because our justification is utterly secure in Christ, we
19:49
are free to do the hard work of sanctifying the body without
19:53
fearing condemnation. We approach an erring brother,
19:56
not as superior judges, but as fellow beggars pointing to the
19:59
bread of life. So for the person listening
20:02
right now, maybe a new elder or someone who has seen discipline
20:05
handled terribly. Which happens a lot.
20:07
How do we practice this holy accountability without becoming
20:10
self-righteous, legalistic sin hunters?
20:13
Well, true Christ centered discipline always leads to a
20:15
culture of grace, not fear. Culture of grace.
20:19
Yeah, when a church knows discipline is about restoration,
20:23
the atmosphere changes. You don't look for reasons to
20:26
condemn people. You look for ways to gain them
20:29
back. Exactly.
20:30
A culture of grace means people can confess a fault without
20:33
being destroyed. Repentance is celebrated with
20:36
joy. It's not treated as a permanent
20:38
mark of shame. Elders act with immense
20:41
patience, giving the person every opportunity to turn back
20:45
instead of rushing to clean up the church role.
20:47
And the congregation prays for the wandering sheep,
20:50
acknowledging their own daily need for mercy.
20:53
Because Christ is present, discipline can never be
20:56
arrogant, but because He is holy, it can never be neglected
21:00
cowardly. It humbles us and emboldens us
21:02
at the same time. We can't swing into legalism
21:05
crushing bruised reeds. No, we can't swing into
21:07
antinomianism, letting wolves ravage the flock because we're
21:10
too timid. It requires immense spiritual
21:12
maturity, applying the medicine of the Word to heal the body
21:15
even when the surgery hurts. And they don't do this in a
21:18
vacuum, promises the father hears their United petitions.
21:22
When they gather to discern a pragma, a difficult case, they
21:25
plead for wisdom. They pray for the offender's
21:27
heart to be softened. Prayer here is a confession of
21:30
dependence. Lord, we are applying Your word,
21:34
but we need Your Spirit to work the miracle of repentance.
21:37
And the Father's promise to hear is a comfort to faithful
21:40
obedience. It assures the Church that
21:43
Heaven is attentive to its broken hearted actions.
21:46
Wow, this has been a staggering shift in perspective.
21:49
Today it. Really reframes everything we.
21:51
Took a verse that gets minimized into a catchy slogan or twisted
21:54
into a greedy formula and put it back in the majestic sweep of
21:58
redemptive history. Matthew 1819 and 20 is not a
22:01
magic formula for material desires.
22:03
And it's not a hollow consolation prize for low
22:06
attendance. It's this majestic, terrifying
22:09
and beautiful promise. When the local church gathers in
22:13
submission to the pure Word to protect the bride and rescue
22:16
sinners. The King of Kings stands in
22:19
their midst to validate their verdict.
22:22
The local visible church matters immensely.
22:24
The keys of the Kingdom are turning every single Sunday.
22:28
It restores a holy reverence to the assembly.
22:30
The church is not a Rotary Club, it's an Embassy of Heaven.
22:34
And Emmanuel, God with us, guides us through His Word and
22:37
gives us the grace to keep His Church holy.
22:40
So this brings us to a final point of reflection for you, the
22:43
listener. We've mapped out the massive
22:45
weight of this passage today. The covenantal courtroom.
22:48
The Deuteronomy witness laws. The Greek grammar.
22:51
The reality of Christ's omnipresent authority.
22:54
It is a lot to take in. It is so.
22:56
I want to leave you with a challenging thought to consider
22:58
as we close out this deep dive. If this text is true, if the
23:02
local church is an actual authorized embassy of heaven,
23:06
where the keys of the Kingdom are actively turning and where
23:09
Christ actively dwells in judgment and in grace, how does
23:13
that change the way you walk through the doors of your
23:15
congregation next Sunday morning?