QC and SG accountability
We discussed what Jesus means when He says (Mt 16:19, 18: 18) that “whatever (we) bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever (we) loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”. The first quotation is to Peter, and the second generalizes this power to all the disciples. Matthew 16 presents the ‘rock’ on which Christ builds his church either as Peter himself (the archetype of the faithful confessing Christian) or Peter’s confession (as that which all who belong to the church must share). There is no hint here of the continuing apostolic succession claimed by Roman Catholics, or of supremacy of leadership of the church in all matters (c.f. Paul’s correction of Peter in Gal 2:11-14, James’ leadership of the Jerusalem council in Ac 15:7-21) “Binding” and “loosing” in this context refers to the power to discipline in the church regarding right and wrong conduct for those in the kingdom (cf.18:19). This would be equivalent to the setting of permissions and restrictions in...