Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 16 ... - Church in Manila

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Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has ... After revealing the nature of the kingdom people, th
Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 16 THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM’S CONSTITUTION (4) Bible Verses: Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men. 5:14 You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden. 5:15 Nor do men light a lamp and place it under the bushel, but on the lampstand; and it shines to all who are in the house. 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens. [THE INFLUENCE OF THE KINGDOM PEOPLE] After revealing the nature of the kingdom people, this decree goes on to cover their influence. The sequence here is significant. If the kingdom people did not have the nature described in 5:3-12, they could not have any influence on the world. The influence of the kingdom people comes out of their nature, out of what they are. If we, the kingdom people, the church people, are poor in our spirit, the kingdom of the heavens will have room within the depths of our being. Then we shall mourn, be meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, be merciful, be pure in heart, be peacemakers, suffer persecution, and be reproached for Christ. If we are such people, we shall certainly exercise a great influence upon the worldly people around us. We shall spontaneously influence the corrupted earth and the darkened world. Because the influence of the proper church life is lacking, the whole world is corrupt and in darkness. corruption. Today, as a preparation for the Lord’s coming back, there is the urgent need for all these dark and corrupted countries to be brought under the influence of the proper church life. In verse 13 the Lord said, “You are the salt of the earth,” and in verse 14 He said, “You are the light of the world.” According to the Greek text, the pronoun here is plural. The “you” in these two verses does not refer to an individual, but to a corporate people. Most readers apply these verses to individuals. Those who have the nine blessings spoken of in verses 3 through 12 are a corporate people, not individuals. We need to be impressed with the fact it is as a corporate entity that the kingdom people are salt and light. If we separate ourselves from the church life, we can no longer be salt or light. Both the salt and the light refer to the corporate people of the kingdom. Today the church people are the kingdom people. [THE SALT OF THE EARTH] When we say that we are salt, it means that we exercise our influence over the earth created by God to keep it in its original condition. The earth, which was created by God, has become fallen. In a sense, it has become rotten and corrupted. Salt kills the germs and eliminates this rottenness. Any medical doctor can tell you that salt kills germs, eliminates rottenness, and preserves things in their original condition. By nature, salt is an element that kills the germs of corruption and eliminates them. Thus, through its killing and preserving function, salt brings the earth back to its original condition or keeps it in its original condition. Hence, the function of salt is to preserve what God has created. The entire earth is becoming more and more rotten. Therefore, we must exercise our influence over this corrupted earth. To the corrupted earth, the people of the kingdom of the heavens are the element that keeps the earth from being fully corrupted. In verse 13 the Lord said, “But if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything but to be cast out and trampled under foot by men.” For the kingdom people to become tasteless means that they have lost their salting function. They have become the same as the earthly people, with nothing to distinguish them from unbelievers. To become tasteless is to lose the distinction

between us and the worldly people. It is to become the same as the worldly ones. Being the same as the worldly people is the opposite of the nature revealed in verses 3 through 12. It means that we live, walk, and behave like the worldly people. If such is our case, we become tasteless, and the salt has lost its function. We should never lose our taste, but maintain the salting function of killing germs, of eliminating rottenness, and of keeping things in their original condition or of bringing them back to their God-created condition. Wherever the kingdom people are, they should exercise a salting influence over those around them. In our neighborhoods we must exercise our function of killing germs. If we have the nature of the kingdom people revealed in the nine blessings, we shall be truly salty. There will be no need to rebuke others or to point out their mistakes and wrongdoings. They will be salted simply by our presence. The Lord’s intention is to bring this earth back to its original condition. Although we cannot see this in the present age, we shall see it in the next age. When the millennial kingdom comes, the whole earth will be salted. All the germs on this earth will be utterly killed, and the whole earth will be not only regained by Christ, but also brought back to its God-created condition. This work will be done by the kingdom people. [THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD] Verse 14 says, “You are the light of the world.” Light is the shining of the lamp to enlighten those in darkness. As we have seen, many Christians understand these chapters in an individualistic way. Most have not seen that this constitution is not for individuals, but for a corporate people. We know that this decree is for a corporate people, because the light is not an individual person, but a builded city. This indicates that the kingdom people need the building. If the saints in the church in your locality are not built up, but are scattered, divided, and separated, there is no city there. And as long as there is no city, there is no light. The shining of the light has two aspects. In the first aspect, the light is likened to a city shining upon the outsiders. In the second aspect, the light is likened to a lamp on a lampstand shining to those who are in the house. In order to shine upon others outwardly, we need to be built up. But to shine upon others inwardly, we need to be without any covering. As the light on the mountain, the light cannot be hidden; and as the lamp on the lampstand, the light should not be hidden. In verse 15 the Lord speaks about placing the lamp under the bushel. A lighted lamp placed under the bushel cannot shine out its light. The kingdom people as the lighted lamp should not be covered by the bushel, an item pertaining to eating, a matter which causes anxiety (6:25). We should never be covered by the bushel; rather, we must be on the lampstand. Our shining must not be only outside the people, but also inside them. [I]n order to shine upon them inwardly, we need to come out from under our covering. This indicates that the kingdom people live without anxiety and the care for their existence. They care only for Christ and the church. Day after day they are the happy people, the praising people, the hallelujah people. When our neighbors, relatives, and classmates contact us, they can sense that we have no anxiety. We are not worried about our living, about what we shall eat or what we shall put on. Day after day, morning and night, the kingdom people care only for Christ and the church. By being such a people, we touch the hearts of others and shine upon them from within. This shining penetrates them. Our shining will glorify the Father because it expresses what God is. To glorify God the Father is to give Him the glory. Glory is God expressed. When the kingdom people express God in their behavior and good works, men see God and give the glory to God.. When others see God in our shining, that is a glory to God. Read the verses and footnotes online: http://online.recoveryversion.bible/ Read the complete message online: http://www.ministrybooks.org/life-studies.cfm