Hey. Can I ask the dumbest question, ever?
If Jesus dwells in me. If His spirit is within me. If the veil has been torn. Why must 2 or 3 gather for Jesus to be among us???
I mean. He’s always with me, He’s always within me. If I need 2 people with me for Jesus to hear me or help me, then that’s totally whacked.
So, then what do the following verses mean ....
“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 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. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:18-20
This passage is in the greater context of settling legal charges between those in the church. Let’s say a church friend steals your purse, The Lord has given us a set procedure for handling the theft.
1. Go to that person directly.
2. If that fails, take 2 or 3 witnesses.
3. If that fails, take it to the church.
4. If that fails, start all over again and treat him as one who needs both love and repentance.
This set of verses in Matthew 18:18-20 has absolutely nothing to do with needing 2 or 3 people around to access Jesus. Peeps. We can do that all by ourselves in our prayer closet.
In fact. We see this old covenant and new covenant procedure at work in 1 Timothy 5:19, 2 Corinthians 13:1-2; John 8:17; and Hebrews 10:28. Yes. It was a set practice among the Israelites and church believers to settle charges against each another with the evidence of 2 or 3 witnesses. This is how legal issues were to be handled among the fellowship or community.
Yet. I do believe there is something to the power of 2 or 3 being gathered in the name of Jesus to break demonic charges against the brethren. I’ve seen many, many, many people healed just because we stood together in full agreement and refuted any legal authority of evil.
But. That’s a longer story for later.