THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND DISCIPLESHIP
[p. 258] THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND DISCIPLESHIP
I think there are two positions in which we ought to be found as christians, I mean christians in reality. There are two positions which we occupy, one as guests, and the other as disciples. You get the first in the former part of this passage, the parable of the great supper. The teaching of the Lord was often in parables, and conveyed the truth better than could have been done by doctrine. The latter part of the chapter is taken up with discipleship, and forms pretty much the sum total of our lives down here as christians. In the supper we are fed, nourished, and sustained; but the purpose of it all is that we might come out as disciples. God presents His things to us, and we are refreshed and invigorated by them in order that we might come out in the world as the disciples of Christ.
The supper is that which marks the present moment, and the occasion for this parable was the remark made by some one, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God”. I do not think that the idea in the mind of the person who spoke was anything more than a pious aspiration, and that he did not look at the matter in the light in which we apprehend it now. In contrast to that the Lord presents the idea of the great supper, and shows the way in which it would be regarded by different classes. I will endeavour to give you some idea as to what the meaning of the great supper is.
In the passage you get the supper, the guests, and where the guests come from. They were brought from the streets and lanes of the city, and from the highways and hedges; and the purpose was that the house might be filled. I do not think we can doubt but that the Lord refers to God, and that His house might be filled.
The supper gives the idea of celebration, and what has [p. 259] taken place during the last two thousand years has been a celebration. We have not as yet the public celebration. A little further on in this gospel the Lord speaks of a certain nobleman who had gone into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. The people thought that the kingdom would be immediately manifested, but what the Lord taught was that the fidelity of His servants would be tested. The kingdom was not yet to come into manifestation, and the period of the Lord’s absence covers a long period. The Lord, as represented by this nobleman, did go into a far country, and I have no doubt received the kingdom, but has not yet returned; we are waiting for His return.
In Matthew 25 there is another striking parable as to the position of believers, namely as having gone forth to meet the bridegroom. I only speak of this in order to show that the kingdom is deferred, and in the meantime the supper is going on. The kingdom is really established at the right hand of God, and there is the celebration of it in the great supper down here. It means the reign of grace on behalf of men. Psalm 68 says: “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts for men”. And the beginning of the epistle to the Hebrews shows that the throne has been established at the right hand of God: “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom”. That is a great point for our apprehension, that the throne and the kingdom are really established at the right hand of God. Christ has received the kingdom, the throne is established, and that means a great deal for man. It means the subjugation of every enemy of man, the casting down of Satan, the breaking the power of death, and the taking away the sin of the world, in fact, the setting aside of all that oppresses man, because it is the introduction of the reign of grace. We read in Hebrews of the throne of grace, which is established in the Man who has ascended up on high, but the celebration of the kingdom [p. 260] is down here. All things are ready because the throne is established, and only waits the return of Christ when the kingdom will be manifested.
Many look forward to the coming of the Lord, and sometimes forget that grace is established on the basis of all things being ready, and that the Holy Spirit has come down as witness to it. We have Jesus as Lord, and for those who have eyes to see, the throne and the kingdom are established at the right hand of God, the reign of grace has begun. Yet Satan still reigns, and the rule of death still goes on; lawlessness is rampant in the world, and will mount up to a height which it has not as yet attained. I can understand that there are intelligent objections, because outwardly nothing is changed, and all this makes it appear that the kingdom is not established; but what has come to pass is that the Holy Spirit has come down to maintain the kingdom here, and thus we get the good of it.
It is to my mind a wonderful thing that believers can be maintained in the power of the Holy Spirit in spite of the power of the enemy, the power of death, and the lawlessness of man; maintained in all the good of God’s kingdom — which is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit — even while the outward conditions of things remain unchanged, and will remain until the coming of the Lord. Righteousness, peace and joy are things that characterise heaven; righteousness is in heaven, peace reigns in heaven, and joy is found in heaven. They are brought down to us in the power of the Holy Spirit, and are thus established in our hearts in spite of everything we see around us.
When I look at a christian I see righteousness, which is fidelity in every appointed relationship, and the effect of righteousness is peace. If you walk faithfully, loving God and loving your neighbour, and carrying out fidelity in every relationship, the effect will most unquestionably be peace. Then following upon peace you get joy, and the secret of joy is that we rejoice in the Lord. We can [p. 261] look up to heaven and see the throne established, and in a few moments, so to speak, every enemy will be for ever subjugated, Satan will be bound, death swallowed up in victory, and the sin of the world taken away.
The supper is the celebration of the reign of grace in God’s house down here. The house of God was dependent on the Holy Spirit coming down from heaven, and it is there that the celebration of the kingdom, that is, the great supper takes place. It is celebrated by those who are really in the good of God’s kingdom. There were those who would not come, and such were really attached to the earth. There is no greater hindrance to the things of God than the things of earth; the things that hindered them were not immoral things, but the ties of earth. They had peculiar reference to the case of the Jew, and they hindered his coming in to the supper, and hence it is the invitation goes out to the highways to compel others to come in, so that God’s house may be filled.
Then a solemn word is given, “None of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper”. The Jew found himself actually excluded from the great celebration, and we have been brought into it. We have the enjoyment of it now, but there is a good time coming when every enemy will be subjugated by the power and authority of God in a Man, and that Man the Son of God. He has been called up to the right hand of God, and the moment of His rising up will begin the subjugation of every enemy of man; but in the meantime the light of its glory has been brought to us in order to maintain us in divine blessings. We receive the kingdom in receiving the testimony of it, and in receiving the testimony we get all the good of God’s kingdom maintained in us in the power of the Holy Spirit — righteousness, peace, and joy — how few are really in the enjoyment of these things! I do not think people will make great headway unless righteousness be maintained. Righteousness is extremely simple; a man who pays his [p. 262] way and maintains his family will be looked at as a righteous man; but that is not the divine thought of righteousness. A man who has received the kingdom is capable of fulfilling righteousness in every appointed relationship. The Holy Spirit has come down to maintain us in the fulfilment of every obligation in which we are placed, so that every righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. That is the only way in which we can be maintained in peace, and joy follows.
What marks the present moment is that all things are ready; the supper is prepared, and the celebration is in God’s house where His Spirit dwells; it is a scene of feasting; and the object of the testimony is that men may be compelled to come in and have their part in it.
Christianity is nothing except in the light of what is going to be manifested; but what I desire is that all may have the sense of God’s house and the benefit that belongs to it; which is in the realisation of the presence of the Spirit of God. It is not seen by the natural eye. I think I may say that whatever intelligence any may have in the things of God really begins in the recognition in the soul of the presence of the Spirit down here. I was converted a good long time before I knew that, but until I apprehended the presence of the Spirit, I had no knowledge of the throne being established in a Man at the right hand of God. You may get help from God, but if you want to make advance in divine things you must recognise the presence of the Spirit of God in His house down here, and this will make you a follower of Christ.
We will now look at the latter part of the chapter, verses 25 - 33. I do not think the Lord would have us expose ourselves to shame. The king who goes out with ten thousand against another with twenty thousand only exposes himself to shame and ridicule. Many have attempted in the energy of nature to follow the Lord, but have only exposed themselves to shame and defeat. It [p. 263] is no good combating with the devil. I have seen people come out with apparent freshness as followers of Christ, but in the long run the devil was too strong for them. The fact is man has no power to complete the tower, and the same thing is true of the king going to war with ten thousand against another with twenty thousand. The Lord says in effect, that if he is really sensible he will send an ambassage and desire conditions of peace. It is just what the church has done. At the beginning when maintained in the power of the Holy Spirit, it overcame twenty thousand, but when brought under the energy and activity of man it sent an ambassage and desired conditions of peace.
If you are going to follow Christ, you have to hate father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and your own life also. There is nothing in the world but what is antagonistic to God; it is a hard thing to say, but I firmly believe it. There may be a most amiable mother with a child, but the influence of that mother is antagonistic to God. The Lord is referring to the influence of those with whom we are most intimately connected down here, and the secret is that man is lawless, for if it be true that man is lawless then every influence of man must be antagonistic to God. The Lord never intended man to be without natural affection, indeed the absence of it is condemned in Scripture; but the Lord intended to place us in a distinctive position as regards Himself against every natural influence down here. It is not that a man ceases to love father or mother, but if he is held back by natural influences, by the things that are natural and suitable to himself then he cannot be a disciple of Christ; he is not able to break away from these things where God is concerned. There is another thing, a man is to take up his cross and follow Christ. Christ is not really honoured in the world, and if you are going to follow Him you must take up your cross. We have to put our cross between ourselves and the world. When I was [p. 264] converted I did not cease to love my brother or sister, but they hindered me, and I had to recognise that man is lawless. It does not matter so much as to those with whom we do not come much in contact, but we are tested by those with whom we are intimately connected after the flesh. There are obligations to be taken up down here; a converted wife is not to neglect her obligations as a wife, but we have to recognise that there is no obligation we can really carry out but by Christ. We have to accept the ability of Christ to enable us to discharge our obligations in this world — to come to the sense of our own lack of resources. I cannot complete the tower, and as regards the various obligations I have to perform in the world, I have to own that I have no power nor competency to fulfil them. A pattern husband is one who appreciates Christ. So, too, in regard of a wife; she will be a pattern wife in giving up all competency in herself to fulfil the obligation, and in looking to the ability of Christ to do so. This means that we have Christ for power and competency.
We want to enjoy the goodness of God in His house, so that Christ may really have His proper place in controlling our affections. Thus it is a man can be a follower of Christ in this world, and can carry out every obligation in every sphere in which he is placed with regard to God. It is very wonderful that we can really carry out this in a world of confusion. It is the way in which Christ is made available to us down here, and depends upon our hearts’ appreciation of Christ. But then we must of necessity forsake all that we have; every pretension, and every idea of competency and ability of our own has to go. The most able man can never discharge his obligations in life in a way suitable to God; but Christ will suffice to enable a very stupid man to do so. There are men who are competent in many ways — competent business men and competent teachers; but the only morally competent man, one who is capable of carrying out every obligation according to God, is the [p. 265] one who appreciates Christ; he will acquire that competency only by the appreciation of Christ. He has to forsake all that he has in order to follow and have the competency of Christ.
I have spoken of that which is within the reach of all, and if you appreciate that all things are ready, you will be ready to go out into the world and carry out every obligation. I desire that these things may have a practical effect on our pathway through the world.