There is one verse that is possibly the most misunderstood and misused verse in the entire Bible—and you’ve probably heard it before. I’m going to tell you what this verse is, how people get it wrong, and then explain its true meaning and context. This verse is misused constantly in churches all around the world, and it took me many years before I finally understood what it actually means.
Have you ever heard the verse, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them”? This verse actually means something completely different from what most people assume. And when I reveal its true meaning, many people watching this are going to be surprised.
But before we get to that, we need to look at the context.
Matthew 18:15–17
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector.”
The context here is church discipline, and Jesus is using the same principle found in Deuteronomy 19:15, where God is dealing with criminal cases. In that passage, a charge must be established by two or three witnesses. One witness is not enough. Deuteronomy 19:15 says:
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.”
Jesus takes that same principle and applies it here to matters of church discipline. This is the procedure we are to follow: a charge must be brought before the church only on the basis of two or three witnesses.
Now let’s look at Matthew 18:18–19:
“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. 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.”
In Matthew 18, “binding and loosing” is not a mystical phrase about spiritual warfare or personal authority over demons or circumstances. It is a technical Jewish legal term with a specific meaning in first-century Judaism. In rabbinic usage, to bind meant to forbid, to declare something not permitted. To loose meant to permit, to declare something allowed.
So in this context, binding and loosing refers to the church’s authority to make judgments about what is right or wrong in matters of sin and discipline. Heaven affirms those decisions when they are made according to Christ’s instructions.
From all of this, we can see that Matthew 18 outlines a clear process for church discipline, and God approves and sanctions this process.
Now we come to the verse that is one of the most misused and misunderstood in the entire Bible. I’ll tell you what most people think it means, and then what it actually means.
Keep in mind: the entire context leading up to this verse is about church discipline, and about the requirement that two or three witnesses must be present to establish a case before the church.
Verse 20:
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Most people use this verse to refer to a small gathering of believers—whether in a church meeting or in a home—and say, “Where two or three are gathered, God is there with them.” But that is not what this verse is talking about at all.
Some people even use this verse to argue that they don’t need to go to church, claiming that God is present as long as two or three Christians are together. But this interpretation completely ignores the context. God is present even if one person is praying alone; His presence does not require two or three people.
What this verse is talking about—clearly, in context—is the process of church discipline that requires two or three witnesses to establish a matter. Jesus is saying that He is present in that process, affirming the decisions made when the church follows His prescribed method of discipline.
This is the type of church discipline that God approves of, and He is “in the midst” of that process because it aligns with His instructions.
