Some “Lutherans” preach that Jesus gave the power of the Keys to the whole church, but he gave the use of the Keys to pastors alone.

Indeed, when I was once exploring the possibility of joining a particular Lutheran denomination I was told exactly this in a conversation about Matthew 16.

The distinction is, of course, neither biblical nor Confessional Lutheran. When Christ “gives” the Keys to the church he gives to every Christian the power to use and wield them and the right to receive the benefits of them. The only distinction is one that Christ does not discuss in Matthew 16—Every individual Christian person has this power and right to exercise privately, but only those with a rightly ordered call should exercise the Keys publicly. Christ truly gives to all. The only distinction is in the contexts in which the power is rightly exercised, and this distinction is not discussed by Christ when he promises the Keys.

I found it frustrating trying to respond to this distinction between “power” and “use,” because it’s so arbitrary and has no basis in the Bible. It is, in reality, a sophistry to try and sneak in support for an understanding of the Keys that is inconsistent with Matthew 16.

Someone else also found this distinction frustrating, namely Martin Luther. Here’s what he wrote about it:

We need pay no attention to the bogey man of these masqueraders when they distinguish between the power of the keys and the use of the keys, a distinction based on no Scripture but on their own recklessness alone. As usual they beg the question. For when it is incumbent on them to show that they have a power different from that given the whole church, they rush on as if this were already demonstrated, and then go on to this fictitious distinction that the power of the keys belongs to the church, their use, however, to the bishops. This is trifling, and the argument has nothing to support it. Christ gives both the power and the use of the keys to each Christian, when he says, “Let him be to you as a Gentile” [Matt. 18:17]. For who is this “you” to whom Christ refers when he says, “Let him be to you”? The pope? Indeed, he refers to each and every Christian. And in saying, “Let him be to you,” he gives not only the authority, but also commands its use and exercise. For what else does the phrase, “Let him be to you as a Gentile,” mean than to have nothing to do with him, to have no fellowship with him. This truly is to excommunicate, to bind, and to close the door of heaven. (Luther’s Works 40:26–27)

Luther is right: the distinction between the power and use of the Keys is reckless. All Christian people have both the power and the use of the Keys, because Christ speaks plainly and clearly. When Christ says that he gives the Keys to his Church, he does not mean that individual Christians merely receive the benefits of a power possessed by someone else. He gives the Keys to each and every Christian.

When Christ says “I give”—he gives. It is Lutheran to receive Christ’s words simply, as they sound. It is the Reformed and the Papists who are experts in qualifying and distinguishing.

Manchester Lutheran Church gathers in person each Sunday to exercise and receive these Keys through Christ’s Word publicly given to us in Word and Sacrament. Come, gather with us at 10:45 for coffee, 11:00 for the service: https://mcrlt.ch/sundays/

If you live outside Greater Manchester, you can gather online with the Confessional Lutheran Church every Wednesday at 6pm to wield and receive these Keys with others from all over: https://lutheran.ch/online-service/