Thus, when it comes to the authority and power of the keys of the kingdom, it is not something that rests in Peter as an individual or even in the church as an institution. That is because the final authority rests in the gospel itself. Galatians makes this point crystal clear. In*1:6–9*Paul stresses that if anyone—even he or an angel from heaven—preaches a gospel other than the one he preached, they are under God’s eternal curse. Later in the letter, Paul recounts a time where he publicly rebuked Peter because his “conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel” (Gal 2:14).
So, the keys of the kingdom are God’s gift to his people to state heaven’s verdict on who will and will not enter the kingdom based on their response to the gospel. As such, all who faithfully preach and teach the gospel are able to exercise them under the authority of Jesus Christ himself. -Dr. Matthew S. Harmon