It is significant that the first mention of the Church in God’s revelation is from the lips of Jesus.
"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."[1]
"What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer. Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst."[2]
Notice the context of each of these texts. In Matthew 16, Jesus is warning His disciples regarding the misuse of God’s revelation to that point in time by the Pharisees and Sadducees. In this context, Jesus is warning against their false teaching. He likens it to yeast permeating a loaf of bread.[3] Then there is the question to the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?"[4] Followed by Peter’s statement, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”[5]
The response of Jesus to Peter’s declaration has been interpreted in numerous ways in the centuries since then causing much division among those who name the name of Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. This is unfortunate because Jesus was not teaching something that was meant to be divisive. In fact, it was meant to define the primary purpose of the Church, i.e., to state that teaching God’s people how to live in harmony during the church age is its first priority. The keys to the kingdom of heaven can only be the completed canon of Scripture together with the power of the Holy Spirit in the Church.
Matthew, in his account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, demonstrated this by the juxtaposition of these two passages and an illustration of what He meant by them with Peter’s response when Jesus, in His teaching, turned from preaching that the kingdom of heaven on earth was at hand to telling them of His pending death and resurrection which would delay the kingdom of heaven on earth.[6]
Verse 20 ends the previous event with Jesus instructing His disciples to not tell anyone that He was Christ. Why would He do that?
First, the most obvious answer is that His time had not yet come to be crucified. This was well into Jesus’ third year of ministry. Luke records the time for us more specifically as:
And it came about, when the days were approaching for His ascension, that He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him. And they went, and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make arrangements for Him. And they did not receive Him, because He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem.[7]
However, before this, Jesus had already withdrawn from teaching in Jerusalem and Judea to areas of Tyer and Sidon because of the threats on His life.[8]
This brings us to the second reason Jesus did not want His identity as Christ to be preached. Hostility toward Him had reached a crescendo. Anyone identified with Him was also going to be a target of these threats. We know from what transpired from His crucifixion to the present day, many have paid the ultimate price for following Jesus.
In these two references, the only references to the Church up to this point in the progress of revelation, the contexts are that of conflict and declaring that biblical conflict management would be the Church’s first priority.
Recall that in the progress of revelation, the murder of Able by his brother Cain was managed by God. Instead of men executing judgment, God was in charge. This culminated in the banishment of Cain from God's presence to the flood when God judged the entire world. After the flood, God decreed that human government would from then on have the task of executing judgment even to the point of the death penalty.[9]
This pattern is again repeated in the New Testament when God judged Ananias and Sapphira for lying to the Holy Spirit.[10] The foundation of the Church had not yet been laid by the apostles and prophets. This began in Acts chapter 6. While the Church existed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, instructions for how the Church was to conduct its business were given over the next thirty-plus years in the epistles.
A casual perusal of the history of the Church recorded by Luke in the book of Acts and in the epistles clearly shows that the Church, by in large, has done a poor job in its first priority, resolving conflicts biblically. This is why I pursued the topic with vigor while pastoring among small churches, first as a Church planter, then as a pastor, and in several ministries as interim pastor, and as an adjunct professor in both Bible colleges and a seminary. In 1994 I began working on a Ph.D. in conflict management so I could teach the subject at the college and seminary levels.
I did not achieve my goal as I had planned. However, God has a way of using our dreams to bring glory to Himself. During that time, I became a certified professional mediator and served as such with the Fulcrum Institute in Spokane Washington. I completed all of the Peacemaker Ministries training and completed all but five hours of active mediation required to become certified with Peacemaker Ministries. God brought a halt to my endeavors. On February 28, 2002, I suffered a total heart block. I received a pacemaker. But my body has never completely accepted it. Since then I have had multiple health issues that eventually forced me to retire from full-time employment and ministry.
Out of that, I was able to put together a series of seminars that I call Managing Conflict Biblically. There is much information available on the subject today. I praise the Lord for that. However, I trust my Lord that He did not take me through all of that work only to allow His Word to return to Him void. My prayer is that what follows from this website will be used by many individuals, pastors, and churches to gain a better understanding of how to accomplish the Church’s first priority, managing conflicts biblically.
The seminars are available through this website in the form of a PowerPoint slide presentation with accompanying outlines with spaces to fill in from the slides. I make these available to anyone who wants to use them. You will need access to Microsoft PowerPoint to view the slides. For the best effect, view the seminars in the slide show mode to see the animations.
God knows I have financial needs but, with the apostle Paul, I want to offer the gospel without charge.[11] So I make them available without charge and only ask that you use these for the purpose intended and that you follow the principles of copyright. If you want me to come to your church or group and present these in person, I am available. I just ask for my expenses to be reimbursed.
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Basic Seminars: Resolving Conflicts Biblically
Introduction to the Basic Seminars PowerPoint / Outline
Seminar #1: The Faithfulness of God in Conflict Situations PowerPoint / Outline
Seminar #2: God's Pattern and Plan for the Church PowerPoint / Outline
Seminar #3: The Spirit-Filled Church: The Key to Harmony PowerPoint / Outline
Seminar #4: The Mind of Christ: The Key to Unity PowerPoint / Outline
Seminar #5: Perspective: The Need for God's Wisdom in Conflict Situations PowerPoint / Outline
Seminar #6: Growing Through Conflict: Achieving Genuine Reconciliation PowerPoint / Outline
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[1] Matt 16:18-19.
[2] Matt 18:12-20.
[3] Matt 16:1-12.
[4] Matt 16:15.
[5] Matt 16:16.
[6] Matt 18:21-28.
[7] Luke 9:51-53.
[8] Cf. Jn 7:1 w. Matt 15:21ff.
[9] Gen 9:5-6.
[10] Acts 5:1-11.
[11] 1 Cor 9:18.