religion, will persecute both Christians and Jews. Christ will consider these persecuted Christians His brothers. Becaus
Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 40 THE UNVEILING OF THE KINGDOM’S MYSTERIES (6) Bible Verses: Matthew 13:47 Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a net cast into the sea and gathering from every species, 13:48 Which, when it was filled, they brought onto the shore, and sat down and collected the good into vessels; but the foul they cast out. 13:49 So it will be at the consummation of the age: the angels will go forth and separate the evil from the midst of the righteous, 13:50 And will cast them into the furnace of fire. In that place there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. [BECOMING THE TREASURE AND THE PEARL] In the first four parables we have the wheat, the tares, the mustard, and the leaven. We are not the tares; we are the wheat and the fine flour. However, in the Lord’s recovery it is not adequate simply to be wheat or fine flour. If we are just wheat or fine flour, we shall not be satisfied. In the Lord’s recovery there is also a pearl and the treasure, the precious stones. In His recovery the Lord must have a church that is pure, solid, and genuine like a pearl. In such a pearl there is no mixture or opaqueness. Rather, it is absolutely pure and bright. If you would know what the church in the Lord’s recovery is, look at a pearl. By looking at a pearl, you will know what the church should be. No matter how solid bread may be, it is still possible for it to be leavened. But when the church has become a pearl, it can no longer be leavened. Who could put leaven into pearl or precious stone? [T]he Lord spoke not only the four parables for Christendom, but two parables for the genuine and proper church life. As far as life is concerned, we are the pearl; and as far as our living is concerned, we are the treasure. For life, we are the pearl gates; for our living, we are the walls made of precious stones. This latter is the kingdom life, the living of the church under God’s dominion. This enables us to have a fuller understanding of the New Jerusalem. The twelve pearl gates signify the church as the entrance, and the walls built with precious stones signify the kingdom, the expression of living under the heavenly rule. When you say, “Lord Jesus, how I thank You that I have the divine life,” that is the pearl. But when you say, “O Lord, grant me more grace that I may be poor in spirit and pure in heart, that I may be under Your ruling, that I may be dealt with by You so that I will not have any rocks or thorns within me, and that I may live under the heavenly constitution,” you immediately become the treasure. On the one hand, we are the pearl; on the other hand, we are the treasure. [THE PARABLE OF THE NET] The first six parables in Matthew 13 are related to the church. The seventh parable, the parable of the net, is related not to the church, but to the world, to the nations. These six parables give us a clear view regarding the real Christians and the false Christians. The seventh parable, the parable of the net, covers the destiny of the worldly people. The net here is not the gospel of grace. Instead, it is the eternal gospel declared in Revelation 14:6 and 7. Most Christian teachers have neglected this gospel. During the tribulation, Antichrist, who will oppose all religion, will persecute both Christians and Jews. Christ will consider these persecuted Christians His brothers. Because Antichrist will persecute the Jews and the Christians, an angel will be sent forth to proclaim the eternal gospel. The eternal gospel is absolutely different in content from the gospel of grace. The gospel of grace is preached for repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. The eternal gospel, however, will say that men should fear God and worship Him. It will not touch the matter of repentance nor will it require faith. Rather, because Antichrist will set himself up as God, erecting an image of himself and compelling people to worship it, the eternal gospel will tell people to worship God, the One who created the heavens, the earth, and the sea,
not to worship the idol of Antichrist. Furthermore, the eternal gospel will command the people to fear God because Antichrist will be leading them to persecute and to kill God’s people. Those who kill God’s people must hear that God will come in to avenge them. Hence, they all must fear God. The first six parables cover various aspects related to the church. The worldly people are covered in the parable of the net. Matthew 13 presents us a clear vision. In this chapter we see that all seven parables close this age. The Lord will end this age by dealing with the church according to the first six parables and by dealing with the world, the nations, according to the last parable. In these parables we see all the aspects of the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens. [THE NEED FOR BOTH GALILEAN FISHERMEN AND SCRIBES] At the end of this chapter the Lord spoke an additional parable. Verse 52 says, “And He said to them, Therefore, every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man that is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.” After giving the seven parables concerning the mysteries of the kingdom, the Lord likened the discipled scribe to a householder who has a treasure, a rich store, of things new and old, signifying not only the new and old knowledge of the Scriptures, but also the new and old experiences of life in the kingdom. This added parable concerns a scribe who has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. A scribe was a scholar in the Old Testament, one who knew the books of Moses and the prophets. In this parable the Lord does not use the word “believed,” but the word “discipled.” Such a learned one has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. Formerly he was a scholar of the Old Testament dispensation, but now he has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. This means that he has been discipled into God’s new economy. He knew God’s old economy, but now he has been discipled into God’s new economy. For this reason he is likened to a householder who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. When the new things are put with the old things, we have the precious things. The Apostle Paul was such a person. He was an Old Testament scribe who one day was discipled into God’s New Testament economy. Hence, Paul could bring forth the old things and the new things. This qualified him to write the book of Hebrews. In this book Paul brings forth many of the old things, with the new things as the interpretation. If we apply this parable to Paul, we see what a rich treasure he had. Out of his treasure he could bring forth new doctrines and old doctrines, new experiences and old experiences. I hope that some of the young people will become scribes. In giving this parable the Lord was expecting that some of His listeners would be scribes, not all fishermen like Peter, John, James, and Andrew. The Lord Jesus is wise. At the turn of the new economy, He had to go to Galilee to find the unlearned fishermen. But after the turn had taken place, there would be the need of some learned ones to carry out all the mysteries. In his writing, Peter did not refer to many things from the Old Testament; neither did John. But Paul was not a Galilean fisherman. He was a scribe who had been discipled into the kingdom. Therefore, he had a rich store, a rich treasure. The Lord’s recovery needs not only the unlearned Galileans, but also the scribes. After the Lord spoke the parables of the kingdom to the Galilean fishermen, He spoke another parable regarding the scribe discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. The Lord seemed to be saying, “You Galilean fishermen must listen to this. You are not adequate to carry out God’s New Testament economy. I can use you to make the turn, but after the turn has been made, you will not be adequate. I need some scribes. I need one like Saul of Tarsus who studied at the feet of Gamaliel.” In this matter we see the Lord’s wisdom. Young people, you need to go to the best colleges and earn a degree. Then you will be scribes. Today the Lord needs not only the Galilean fishermen to make the turn; He also needs the scribes. Read the verses and footnotes online: http://online.recoveryversion.bible/ Read the complete message online: http://www.ministrybooks.org/life-studies.cfm
Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 41 THE TREASURE AND THE PEARL Bible Verses: Matthew 13:44 The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. 13:45 Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking fine pearls; 13:46 And finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. [MATTHEW 13 COVERING THE ENTIRE SPAN OF CHRISTIAN HISTORY] Matthew 13 is a chapter on the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens. The mysteries unveiled in these parables cover the entire span of Christian history. In other words, the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens encompass the main points of Christian history between the Lord’s first coming and His second coming. To interpret these parables properly, we need to take care of the facts of history. Otherwise, what we say about them will be imaginary and not practical. [T]he first four parables reveal the general situation of Christianity. The wheat signifies the real believers; the tares symbolize the false believers; the big tree represents Christendom with its huge organization; and the leaven added to the meal by the woman stands for the evil doctrines and heathen practices of the apostate church. We have seen that in the Bible the fine flour signifies Christ as the food to both God and His people. When all these items are put together, we have a complete picture of Christendom. The parables of the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl out of the sea are puzzling. What facts of history fit in with these parables? The true believers are the fulfillment of the wheat; the false believers, of the tares; Christendom, of the big tree; the apostate church, of the woman; the evil things of heathenism and various heretical teachings, of the leaven; and Christ as food for God and man, of the meal. But what is there in history that can be regarded as the fulfillment of the treasure and the pearl? As I was considering this matter before the Lord, He showed me that in history besides the real believers, the false believers, Christendom, the apostate church, the heresies and heathen practices, and Christ as food, there have been the overcomers, who are more solid, genuine, precious, and valuable in the eyes of God than the wheat. In God’s eyes these overcomers are likened to the treasure hidden in the field and to the pearl out of the sea. From the first century until the present, among the many real Christians represented by the wheat, there have been a small number of more solid ones like the transformed precious stones hidden in the field. [THE OVERCOMERS AS THE TRASURE AND THE PEARL] [T]here are a good number of saints who love the Lord, who have given up the world, and who do not live by their natural life. Although they have had some failures, they still like to live in the spirit, spend time in the presence of the Lord, stay in the Lord’s will, and be one with Him in a practical way. Those who are like this are not just the wheat, bulky in size and abundant in quantity; they are the transformed precious stones, smaller in quantity and hidden under the earth. Not many people can see them, but the Lord sees them. If we examine Christian history, we shall find those who belong in the categories of the treasure and the pearl. The parables of the treasure and the pearl refer to the overcomers throughout the centuries. As an illustration of the genuine believers, the Lord uses the example of wheat grown from seed sown in the field. This, however, is a general illustration of the genuine believers. The Lord uses other illustrations to describe the overcoming members of the church. The New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of the church life and the kingdom life, for in this city the church life is combined with the kingdom. The building of New Jerusalem is mainly of the pearl gates and the precious stones which form the wall and its foundations. All this is set upon a golden base that upholds
the entire building. In this message we are focusing on the pearl gate and the treasure wall. The pearl refers to the church, and the treasure, to the kingdom. The church and the kingdom are spoken of in Matthew 13 in a mysterious way in parables. But in chapter sixteen the Lord speaks a clear word to His disciples regarding the church and the kingdom. In 16:18 He says, “On this rock I will build My church,” and in the following verse, “I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.” In these verses we see the church and the kingdom. [TAKING THE NARROW GATE AND THE CONSTRICTED WAY TO BE THE TREASURE] We enter the realm of the kingdom by being regenerated, by being born again (John 3:5). Regeneration is related to the pearl, for the pearl is produced by the principle of regeneration. By being reborn we enter into the sphere of God, into the realm of the kingdom. After we were regenerated, we began to live by Him. Because we loved Him, we wanted to stay under His control and be restricted by Him. Many of us have experienced being restricted on every side. We are not limited by man, but by something inward that is invisible—by the life under the heavenly ruling. We may try to do certain things, but we are restricted from doing them by a mysterious, invisible, inward control. Our relatives or schoolmates are free to do those things, but we cannot do them. Something invisible exercises an inward control over us, and we live under this control. This is the treasure, the kingdom life. The parables of the pearl and the treasure match the verses which say, “Enter in through the narrow gate...for the gate is narrow and the way is constricted which leads to life, and few are those who find it” (7:1314). The wide gate and broad way lead to destruction. At this point we need to refer to 1 Corinthians 3, where Paul admonishes us to take heed how we build upon the foundation of Christ. Are we building with gold, silver, and precious stones, or with wood, hay, and stubble? Gold, silver, and precious stones are materials that can withstand the test of fire. But the wood, hay, and stubble will be consumed. We need to be strengthened to remain in the constricted way. This is the treasure which is precious, valuable, and lovely in the eyes of the Lord. On the cross He sacrificed everything to buy both the pearl and the field in which the treasure is hidden. His buying the field and the pearl reveals that He is for the kingdom and the church. Read the verses and footnotes online: http://online.recoveryversion.bible/ Read the complete message online: http://www.ministrybooks.org/life-studies.cfm
