Last December, I wrote a letter to the editor of the Protestant magazine Charisma. It was in response to the article “Take Up Your Scepter”. My letter did not run, but I thought it would be worthwhile to post it here:

In the “Take Up Your Scepter” article on spiritual authority (Charisma, Dec. 2007), Rebecca Greenwood is right in identifying that the “keys of the kingdom” in Matthew 16:18-19 signify Christ’s authority, but wrong in her understanding of where these keys reside today.

Christ did not give these keys to all believers; instead, He gave them specifically to Peter and only to Peter – all three times “you” is used in verse 19, it is singular [Greek: soi], not plural.

Greenwood correctly wrote, “the handing over of keys implies promotion to full authority.” In the Davidic kingdom, the king delegated his authority to the prime minister or prefect of the palace – an office that not only carried authority, but succession. We see this in Isaiah 22:22 when “the key of the house of David” is removed from Shebna and given to Eliakim in King Hezekiah’s court.

Anticipating the end of His earthly mission, Christ established His church upon Peter (Matt 16:18) and delegated His authority to Peter (Matt 16:19). Just as the keys were transmitted from one prime minister to the next in the Davidic kingdom (Isa 22:22), so the keys in Christ’s kingdom have been handed down since the founding of the church from Peter to his successors – the popes of the Catholic Church.

In Hebrews 13:17, we are commanded to obey those who have been placed in spiritual leadership over us: “Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account” (RSV).

As we individual Christians engage the culture of this fallen world, let us not claim too much authority for ourselves. Instead, let us be humble and operate within the proper framework of the church Christ established.