Agree. But following the likes of COpeland will not get you to victory.
Matthew 18:15-19 ESV 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 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 collector.
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed [or
shall have been bound… shall have been loosed] in heaven.
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
First, look at the context. That entire chapter is talking about spiritual things. In a narrower sense, just looking at the passage you quoted (but in a more literal translation), these men of God have done their due diligence in establishing that this brother has sinned against another and has every intention of continuing in his sin. And so he is expelled. Then immediately it talks of binding and loosing. Now look at the footnote, “[or
shall have been bound… shall have been loosed] in heaven.” Let’s look at another translation that tries to stay as close to the original yet still be readable to us:
Matthew 18:18 NASB 18 Truly I say to you, whatever you [
forbid]bind on earth [
pass. tense]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [
permit]loose on earth [
pass. tense]shall have been loosed in heaven.
In both we see the phrase is couched in the past tense. But the NASB also makes an important distinction- the terms bind and loose as used here mean to forbid or permit. A quick look at a more in depth reference than Strongs (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary) affirms this:
bind δέω deō- (excerpt)- as to "binding," and to all the disciples in
Matthew 18:18, signify, in the former case, that the Apostle, by his ministry of the Word of Life, would keep unbelievers outside the kingdom of God, and admit those who believed. So with regard to
Matthew 18:18, including the exercise of disciplinary measures in the sphere of the local church; the application of the Rabbinical sense of forbidding is questionable.
The “Rabbinical sense” would be the making of halacha, rulings on how to obey Torah. Note this does not preclude the usage of forbid in other connotations. In fact, it does not rule out completely the rabbinical interpretation of the term. Since this is the infinite word of God, I’d say contemplate both and glean what understanding we can, but the rabbinical definition would definitely seem to be secondary to the point.
Vine’s does not reference Mat 18.18 specifically, however reading the definitions of the term λύω luō we can get a definite sense of its being a metaphor for permitting:
Loose [ A-1,Verb,
G3089,
luo ]
denotes
(a) to loose, unbind, release,"
(1) of things, e.g., in
Acts 7:33, RV, "loose (the shoes)," AV, "put off;"
Mark 1:7;
(2) of animals, e.g.,
Matthew 21:2;
(3) of persons, e.g.,
John 11:44;
Acts 22:30;
(4) of Satan,
Revelation 20:3,
Revelation 20:7, and angels,
Revelation 9:14-
Revelation 9:15;
(5) metaphorically, of one diseased,
Luke 13:16; of the marriage tie,
1 Corinthians 7:27; of release from sins,
Revelation 1:5 (in the most authentic mss.);
(b) "to loosen, break up, dismiss, dissolve, destory;" in this sense it is translated "to loose" in
Acts 2:24, of the pains of death; in
Revelation 5:2, of the seals of a roll
But nowhere does it say we can “bind” the adversary when God allows him to roam free (Job 1:7,2:2). We can ask God to restrain him (a type of “binding”), but we do not have the power to do so ourselves. That is a false doctrine. I’ve heard many people pray “Satan I bind you in the name of Jesus!” Then the enemy wins and they are befuddled for a moment, then “oh well … .” We can not bind the enemy. We pray and trust God with the outcome. And that’s no cheap statement from me. I have cancer, and my prayer is that God will just be God in my case. I know He has my best interests at heart. He also has a plan, of which I am a part. I don’t “bind satan.” That is for God to do at the appropriate time. And I do not allow those who pray such prayers to lay hands on me either. They may mean well, but they have fallen for deception, and that carries some very real spiritual consequences; consequences I do not need right now.
Matthew 16:19 NASB 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you [
forbid]bind on earth [
pass. tense]shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you [
permit]loose on earth [
pass. tense]shall have been loosed in heaven.”
Again, past tense. It is already decided in heaven. So the apostle would be guided by the Spirit to act in accordance with a heavenly decree, not just running around binding the devil and telling God it’s done!
Mark 3:27 (your translation) 27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and ·steal [seize; plunder] his things unless he first ·ties up [binds] the strong man [
Is. 49:24–25]. Then he can ·steal [seize; plunder] things from the house. [C Satan is the strong man and his possessions are the people Jesus is freeing from Satan’s power.]
That’s one interpretation, and nothing wrong with it. This would be the literal sense of the term “bind.” It is used however a a metaphor in the spiritual sense, and Jesus is the one doing the binding, not man. Salvation is between Jesus and the individual, and the freedom in salvation is the work of God, not man.
Copeland is preaching a kind of easy grace. We don't tell God what to do, we ask and trust. And if anyone ever had the slightest chance to "bind satan" in the biblical sense, they would have to be able to discern the Spirit and just tell us what God has already done!
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