Matthew 18:20

"Getting More of God"

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.

Have you ever planned an event, hoping for a larger attendance, only to be joined by one or two other people? Inevitably, somone speaks up, in effort to encourage the others, and states, "Hey, where two or three are gathered, there He is in our midst, right?" While the comment may have reminded you of the significance of brotherly fellowship, is this really what the text is stating?

For one, the Holy Spirit resides within the believer (Ephesians 1:13-14, 1 Corinthians 3:16). It is not possible to have more of God's presence. Jesus is not sitting on His throne in heaven, longing to commune with you, but waiting until one or two other people join you, to make it worth His while. The Spirit lives within the believer, and though you may not be yielded to Him (filled), that does not alter His location. (This is why songs calling for the Spirit to "rain down" especially get up my nose.)

Perhaps a look at the context would help. The verse before states:

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.

What does Jesus mean here. Is He suggesting that I could work out a sweet deal with my neighbor? We'll pray together one week for him to get a new car. Then, after that happens, he'll join me in praying for a swimming pool. We'll work out a deal where we agree, and then the Father must respond, right?

Of course, that seems shallow. But what about praying for a spouse? The healing of a loved one? For a sinner to get saved? Obviously, if two people praying for a person to become saved obligated the event to happen (I'm not saying it doesn't impact, surely Scripture articulates it does. But I am saying it doesn't "force God's hand."), then our mission agencies and evangelistic endeavors have been barking up the wrong tree for 2,000 years. Perhaps the verse above helps.

Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

To save time (and space), I will simply direct you here to read about this verse. Once you have, you will see that we start to understand the context is within church discipline. Now we're encouraged to pull back, examine Matthew 18:20 within its context, and see if there are greater clues.

Did you ever wonder why Jesus said two or three have gathered. He's the Son of God, it's not that He can't remember the precise number. God is also not whimsical, deciding somedays it takes two brothers, somedays it takes three. Why the flexibility in number? The answer is found in Matthew 18:16:

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.

Add yourself to the one or two witnesses and what do you get? Two or three gathered. Matthew 18:20 is a clear statement that within the church discipline process, Jesus is present.

That is why the gathering is in His name. For these men are using Christ's authority in the process. But how can miserable, sinful men have the authority of Christ? It is only possible with two conditions:

1. They must speak the words of Christ.

2. They must use the means Christ ordains.

Only in this way can they truly have any authority (for no authority is ours, but is given by Christ) and only in this way can Christ be evident.

A church which decides to speak where the Bible is silent or enforce rules not found in Scripture is not exercising the authority of Christ. His name is being used in vain in this matter. They may speak as if they have His authority, but He has not granted it.

Likewise, a church that decides to discipline while ignoring the instructions of Matthew 18:15-20 lacks the authority of Christ as well. Whether a person becomes overly angered and takes a matter to others before interacting with the offender one-on-one, or a church decides to "error on the side of grace" and sweep things under the rug, the authority of Christ can not be claimed, for His mode has been abandoned.

We are His ambassadors. We are to reflect Him. We may know Him, but we cannot make Him known if we neglect this important area. For if we abandon His words and His mode for the church, we cannot speak and act with His authority. We cannot claim to be about the Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible if we have cut these verses out. We cannont expect His presence to be evident, nor can we speak to the world with any conviction and power if we do not have His authority.

And simply gathering one or two others around us does not fix it.