For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

 

For where two or three gather in my name,

there am I with them.

 

Matthew 18:19-20 『Again I tell you the truth, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.』

This word begins with the admonition of a brother who commits a sin. If a brother who has sinned does not listen to the admonition in the presence of two or three witnesses, every word shall be confirmed. In the Ten Commandments, God commanded not to commit adultery. Exodus 20:14 is about lust (covetousness) in the heart, and Deuteronomy 5:18 is about adultery between a man and a woman who commits idolatry. The Bible says that when Moses went to Mount Sinai and did not come down for forty days, the people made a golden calf, worshiped it, and played. This is an act of adultery, and it means spiritual adultery against God.

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ preached the gospel, which frees us from the law and saves us through the gospel. In other words, if believers abide in the words of Christ, they will receive resurrection life and salvation. However, some brothers (spiritual brothers) say that they believe in Jesus but must also keep the law. Therefore, this kind of belief is a sin before God. This is because keeping the law is the same as confessing that I am a sinner.

According to the law of that time, the Bible says that adulterers should be stoned to death. In Deuteronomy 17:6-7, "On the testimony of two or three witnesses, the one who is to be put to death is to be put to death. He shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hand of the witnesses shall first be upon him, and then the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from among you." Before stoning, the witnesses first lay their hands on him, and then the people lay their hands on him. This is to make it clear that it is a sin. Therefore, it is also done in Matthew 18:16.

And in Matthew 18:17-18, "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Here, the church refers to the church community. If a brother refuses to listen, you treat him as would a Gentile and a tax collector. Those who mix the gospel and the law are like this.

Jesus expressed it this way: Matthew 7:6, “Do not give what is holy to dogs; do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn and tear you to pieces.” Since the church community has bound the sinner with a net of sin on earth, they will also be bound in heaven. However, the problem is that most church communities today are committing this kind of spiritual adultery. Since they themselves are bound by a net of sin on earth, they are bound in heaven.

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Jesus is not present where believers who claim to believe in Jesus gather, but where “those who fully believe the gospel that Jesus preaches” gather. Jesus is not present where people mix the gospel and the law. The gospel is the Word that establishes the kingdom of God. Not only do believers believe that their sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, but those who die with Jesus are also resurrected with the resurrected Jesus. Resurrection is a present resurrection, meaning that they receive spiritual resurrection life. It is not a concept of a dead body coming back to life.

The dead spirit comes back to life and is seated in heaven with a spiritual body that comes down from heaven. When a saint receives the life of resurrection through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, a temple is established in the saint’s heart, and Jesus comes again and enters that temple. This is the kingdom of God coming to the saint. The Bible expresses the kingdom of God coming to the saint’s heart as heaven (he basileia ton uranon).

In “Where two or three gather in my name,” two or three people play the role of witnesses. In the Old Testament, two or three witnesses were needed before stoning an adulterer, and in the New Testament, two or three witnesses were needed to admonish a brother who committed a sin. In any church community, there must be at least two or three people who know the gospel accurately and can admonish against spiritual adultery in order to be a church community. Only then can the church admonish wrong believers against wrong religious views. However, if there is no such person, it cannot be called a church community.

My name is Jesus. Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected. Those who believe in dying with Jesus and being resurrected with Jesus gather in the name of Jesus. Those who do not believe in the present resurrection are not gathering in the name of Jesus. However, believers say they gather in the name of Jesus. They believe and act as they think.

The place where we gather in my name is the church community. Jesus prophesied that the temple in Jerusalem would fall. The stone temple must fall. The temple means the temple in the hearts of the saints. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

"The church community does not mean a building, but a gathering of saints called a temple." It is said that in the early church, they were called house churches, and they would meet in turns at each home. This is what is meant by a church community. Today, believers think of a church community as a nice building. They think of the church building they go to every Sunday as a church community. Even today, there are many believers who refer to that building as a temple.

It means that Jesus will be present where two or three saints gather in His name (Jesus Christ). For example, in a family, if a couple and their children believe in the true gospel, the death on the cross, and the present resurrection, Jesus will be present there.

Among two or three people, two is at least a couple community, and three is a home church community if there are children. Furthermore, when two families meet, they become a great church community.