What does “binding and loosing” actually mean?
Question 08077
The language of “binding and loosing” appears in two passages in Matthew’s Gospel and has generated an enormous amount of confusion, particularly within charismatic Christianity, where it has been reinterpreted as a spiritual warfare technique. Understanding what Jesus actually meant by these words requires careful attention to the Jewish context in which He spoke them, rather than importing a meaning that was foreign to both Jesus and His original hearers.
The Two Passages
The phrase appears in Matthew 16:19, where Jesus says to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” It appears again in Matthew 18:18, in the context of church discipline: “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.”
In both cases, the language is addressed to the apostles in their role as leaders of the believing community. In Matthew 16, Peter has just made the great confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and Jesus responds by describing the foundation on which the church will be built. In Matthew 18, the context is the process of dealing with a brother who has sinned and refuses correction, leading to the ultimate step of exclusion from the fellowship.
What “Binding and Loosing” Meant in Jewish Context
In rabbinic usage, “binding” (asar) and “loosing” (shar) were technical terms for declaring something forbidden or permitted under the law. A rabbi who “bound” something declared it prohibited. A rabbi who “loosed” something declared it permitted. This was the language of authoritative teaching and legal ruling within the Jewish community. When disputes arose about what the law permitted or prohibited, the authoritative teachers of Israel would bind or loose, that is, they would declare the matter settled one way or the other.
Jesus was giving His apostles the authority to make authoritative declarations about what is permitted and what is prohibited in the community of His followers. In Matthew 16, this is connected to the “keys of the kingdom,” the authority to open the way into God’s kingdom through the proclamation of the gospel. Peter exercised this at Pentecost (Acts 2), at the conversion of the Samaritans (Acts 8), and at the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10), opening the door of the gospel to Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles respectively. In Matthew 18, the binding and loosing relates specifically to the authority of the church to make disciplinary decisions that carry heavenly ratification.
The Greek Tense Matters
The Greek construction in both passages is revealing. “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” uses a periphrastic future perfect passive: estai dedemenon, literally “shall have been bound.” The force of this is not that heaven follows earth’s lead, as if the apostles’ decisions compel God to act. Rather, what the apostles bind on earth will be what has already been bound in heaven. Their authoritative declarations, guided by the Spirit, reflect and ratify what God has already determined. This is consistent with Jesus’ promise that the Spirit would guide the apostles into all truth (John 16:13). Their teaching authority was real, but it was derivative and Spirit-guided, not independent.
How the Concept Has Been Misused
The charismatic reinterpretation of binding and loosing strips the phrase entirely from its Jewish and Matthean context and turns it into a spiritual warfare formula. In this framework, “binding” Satan or demons means speaking authoritative words that restrict their activity, and “loosing” means releasing spiritual blessings or angelic assistance. Prayers that begin with “I bind you, Satan, in Jesus’ name” or “I loose the power of the Holy Spirit over this situation” are commonplace in certain traditions.
The problems with this usage are substantial. Jesus was not teaching a technique for controlling demonic activity. He was conferring teaching and disciplinary authority on the leaders of His community. There is no New Testament example of any apostle “binding” a demon using this Matthew 16 or 18 language. When Paul dealt with the spirit of divination in Acts 16:18, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” He did not say, “I bind you.” The binding and loosing language belongs to a completely different category of authority, and conflating the two creates a practice that sounds spiritual but has no actual biblical foundation in the texts being cited.
So, now what?
Binding and loosing is about the authority Jesus gave to the apostles, and by extension to the church’s leadership, to teach with authority and to exercise discipline within the believing community. It is about declaring what God’s Word permits and prohibits, and it is about decisions made within the fellowship that carry weight because they reflect what God has already determined. It is not a formula for controlling demons, and Christians who use it that way are not practising something Jesus taught. They are practising something that has been read back into Jesus’ words from a completely different theological framework. The authority Jesus gives is real and significant. It deserves to be understood on its own terms.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19 (ESV)
