THE
The Cross of Jesus Has Put
Us into the
“He (God) has
delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom
of the Son of His love.”
The Kingdom of
God/Heaven/Jesus Christ are Interchangeable
Mark
4:11
And He said to them, "To you it has been given to
know the
mystery (i.e. it is hidden from the world) of the
Matt
13:10-11
“And the
disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in
parables?" He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given
to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it
has not been given.”
The Kingdom of Heaven is
Due to the Abiding Presence of the King
2
Cor 6:16
“For you are the
temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will
dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they
shall be My people."
Luke
17:21
"nor will
they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the
John
14:23
“Jesus answered
and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
The Lord Jesus Christ is
All in All to Us
Eph
2:14
“For He Himself is
our peace”
1
Cor 1:30-31
“But of Him you
are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--
and righteousness and sanctification and
redemption.”
Eph
1:22-23
“the church… is
His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
The
Matt
13:44-49
"Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid;
and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has
and buys that
field.
"Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he
had found one pearl of great price, went and sold
all that he had and bought it.”
The
Matt
13:31-32
“Another parable
He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven
is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which
indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than
the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its
branches."
Matt
13:33
“Another parable
He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman
took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."
“The
Jesus presented
many parables which started , “The
kingdom of heaven is like…..”
Some of the applications are apparent. E.g. “The kingdom of heaven is like… “a mustard
seed,” “leaven” “a treasure in a field” “a pearl of great price.” In others, the
application is not so apparent. E.g.
Matt
13:24
“Another parable
He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is
like a
man who sowed good seed in his field;”
Matt
18:23
"Therefore
the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted
to settle accounts with his servants.”
Matt
20:1
"For the
kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the
morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.”
Matt
22:2
"The kingdom
of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his
son.”
Matt
25:14
"For the
kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his
own servants and delivered his goods to them.”
Why does Jesus say
that these various things are like the
The church is the visible
expression of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Even though it is plagued by hypocrites and apostates, it is still the
organ through which Christ will establish His eternal reign. It is therefore called the kingdom of heaven
in these parables.
This section of parables describe
1. The mixture of good and bad and indifferent in the
church. E.g. the fish in the
dragnet; the wheat and the tares; the wedding guests and those who refused the
invitation; the corrupted servants.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea
and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore;
and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.”
2. The Lord working in His kingdom. "The kingdom of heaven is like a man(Christ) who
sowed good seed in his field.”
3.
The fate of the
disobedient. “So it will be at the end of the age. The
angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just.”
Faith and Trust as a
Little Child to Enter the
Matt
18:3
"Assuredly,
I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little
children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matt
18:4
"Therefore
whoever humbles himself as this little child is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
The Kingdom of Heaven is
Based on the Victory of the Lord
Rev
12:10-11
“Then
I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength and the kingdom of
our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of
our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast
down.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
The Overcoming Power of
the
I
Jn 4:4
“You are of God,
little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you
is greater than he who is in the world.
John
16:33
"These
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world
you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world."
Eph
3:7
“ …I became a
minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective
working of His power.”
“To this end I also labor,
striving according to His working which works in me
mightily.”
The Kingdom of Heaven is
Exercised Through the Authority of the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ
Acts
8:12
“But when they
believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the
Acts
3:6
“Then Peter said,
"Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of
Jesus Christ of
Matt
16:19
"And I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever
you
bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven."
Luke
10:19
"Behold, I give you the
authority (in My name) to trample on serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Matt
10:7-8
"And as you
go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' "Heal the
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have
received, freely give.”
Our Comprehension of the
Kingdom of Heaven is Pitifully Small
Eph
3:17-21
“that Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and
grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the
width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes
knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the
power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to
all generations, forever and ever.” Amen
We Have to Press Into the
Luke
16:16
"The law and
the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of
God has been preached, and
everyone is pressing into it.”
We have to enter into the power of the kingdom of heaven
by faith. The kingdom of heaven is not
seen or felt until we step out in faith to accomplish what we cannot do in our
ordinary circumstances. We must draw on
the unlimited capacities of the indwelling Lord to overcome our deficiencies.
Hab
3:19
“The LORD God is
my strength; he will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will
make me walk on my high hills.”
Isa
40:29-31
“He gives power to
the weak, and to those who have no might He increases
strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the
young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the
LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not
faint.”