THE CHURCH AND THE KINGDOM
[p. 237] THE CHURCH AND THE KINGDOM
It is not difficult to see that in the history of the Lord down here, the moment arrived at in this chapter was a very critical one — a great change was about to take place. This is indicated by the words in verse 4 — “He left them and went away”. From that point the Lord is occupied with the disciples: He looks upon them as the bread, and He warns them against leaven. They were the body He was concerned about, and they were not to be leavened with the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Then when He comes into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He questions the disciples as to what the people said of Him, and then as to what they said of Him, and Peter confessed, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (verse 16). No one could have told what change was coming in; the confession of Peter determined it. The Father had revealed something to Peter, and that revelation determined what was to come in, consequent on the rejection of Christ: not that Christ was rejected only, but He had rejected them — “He left them and went away” (verse 4). We come then to Peter’s confession, which brought to light what was to supplant all that existed. I know well who the Lord was, and that He knew all from the beginning, but as the dependent Man He waited on God as to His service, according to Isaiah 8: 15 - 17, “And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and snared, and taken. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait for Jehovah, who hideth his face from the house of Jacob; and I will look for him”. He waited on the Father, and Peter’s confession was the indication [p. 238] to Him of the course things would take. Hence He says: “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens” (verse 17).
We get three things immediately referred to. First, the church; second, the kingdom in mystery; and third, the kingdom in glory. I come to the first. Peter confesses: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”; and the Lord declares, “On this rock I will build my assembly, and hades’ gates shall not prevail against it”. Now, the thought of the church is very familiar to us, though many people associate very wrong ideas with it, and look upon it as either a material building, or any organisation of men; but here it means “assembly”. I have no doubt that as to the main idea, Christ was going to build for the day of His glory, not for this world. You will find the present application of the truth of building in chapter 2 of 1 Peter; but in this chapter I think the day of His glory is in view, and the idea of the assembly was determined by Peter’s confession. Nothing would have been adequate to that confession but the building of the assembly, nothing else would suit it, What do you think its meaning is? That there should be a body which should reflect Himself, be descriptive of Him, in which He would be displayed. The heavenly city in Revelation 21 shows what it will be in the day of His glory. There is that here that answers to it, but it could not come out here fully. It is now a spiritual house, a holy priesthood; but that does not come up to the full idea. He was about to construct a building in which every stone was to be a reflection of His glory. Peter’s confession was an indication that the foundation was laid on which He could build, though the time had not quite come for building. Peter’s confession proved him to be a stone: the building is going on now. Christ, rejected of [p. 239] His people, is declared to be the Son of God by resurrection, and He builds what is according to Himself. Temples made with hands are no longer the house of God — they are not Christ’s building at all. His assembly is not a material building. Here the Lord sees the foundation; it was the Father’s revelation in a living soul, and He says: “On this rock I will build my assembly, and hades’ gates shall not prevail against it” (verse 18).
I want to give you an idea about building. Here was a stone: that we all admit. What constituted Peter a stone was the confession of Christ as the Son of the living God; and it is the same as to every one of us — we have to come to that. It is more than the apprehension of Christ as Saviour, it is as One who came not from Mary or Joseph or from Israel, but from heaven; and that confession is a proof that a stone is there. There are two thoughts as to building; there is building in and building up. The stone is built in: it thus forms part of the structure. The confession is very elementary, though it is the effect of the Father’s revelation, and I think the soul has then to be built up. I might be asked: What do you mean by ‘building up’? I mean, built up in the divine nature. Christ is going to lead that soul on to the enjoyment of what He Himself knows. It is an immense thing for us to apprehend the glory of His Person — for He then leads us into what no one but Himself knows, the Father’s heart, and He imparts what no prophet or law-giver could impart. He dwells in the Father’s bosom, and He delights to impart to us the love which He alone knows, that we may respond to that love: that is what I mean by being built up in the divine nature. What I am brought into by the Son of the living God is companionship with Himself. He has relieved me from what was upon me, that I may enjoy what He enjoys and may respond to it. Every [p. 240] christian has to be built up in the divine nature. In heaven none of our natural peculiarities will be left, not even natural memory: we shall recall only what the Spirit brings to our remembrance. In heaven affections will be spiritual, divine affections reign supreme there. The Son is the object of the Father’s affections, and He delights to bring us there. He puts every stone in place, and builds up every one in the divine nature. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, and we are formed by the place in which we are set through grace.
In the glory every stone will reflect Christ; no angularity, no obstruction there, not a bit of us will be left — nothing left but what grace has formed in us. Every stone in that building will reflect Himself, and be descriptive of the Builder. There is nothing like the church in eternity: the glory of God is there — no natural light, no need of sun nor moon — no need of the most distinguished luminaries, the glory of God lightens it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof.
The Lord seizes the moment here — He always did seize the moment — of this confession of Peter’s. It is wonderful to see what He works. It is of the utmost importance for you and me to get the idea of His assembly, and not to be content merely with being saved. I ask every one here to leave room for Christ and to see what He will do with you: I know what it will be, for I know what He has done for me. He will make you to know the Father’s affections as He knows them, that in the day of His glory you may be descriptive of Himself — that is what He will do.
I pass on now to the kingdom in mystery, verses 19, 20. What I want to say is, that the kingdom of heaven appears to me to subserve the assembly: it exists for the sake of the assembly. Christ takes the place not of ruling but of building: He is king [p. 241] in title but not yet in fact, as reigning, but He is supreme in administration: the proof is that He gives the keys to Peter. What I understand by the kingdom of heaven is the moral sway of heaven upon earth; it is established in those that know redemption. Until Christ was established in heaven, the kingdom of heaven could not begin. The authority of heaven is maintained by the testimony of what is there. Christ does not yet rule, and the keys of the kingdom were committed to Peter — the authority of Christ was to be exercised here by the word with regard to the kingdom: “Whatsoever ye shall bind on the earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on the earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18: 18). You may ask what is the importance of the kingdom. It is of great importance — it is the great bulwark against evil: if not for the kingdom, evil would be completely rampant, but so long as the kingdom is maintained that is impossible. There are plenty of people who though not converted are not prepared to give up the word of God. They feel that every barrier against evil would be gone if they did. What guarantee have you against the break-up of all social ties but the word of God? What to hinder a man putting away his wife? Depend upon it the kingdom is the great bulwark, the light of christianity. The church is very precious to Christ, His treasure here; the kingdom exists as a bulwark against evil whilst He is building His assembly. With regard to the church, Peter was but a stone like any other stone; but in the kingdom he had authority. “Whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens”. Peter was sent by the Lord in Acts 2 to open the door of the kingdom to the Jews. He preached forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ, and those who accepted the glad tidings were brought under the authority of Christ in heaven;
[p. 242] then I find him in Acts 10 bringing it to the gentiles and opening the door to them, thus carrying out the administration that was committed to him.
We see Matthew 13 fulfilled as to the kingdom. It has become conspicuous like a great tree, a leavened inflated mass, but we cannot shut our eyes to the great moral value of the kingdom, that opportunity may be given to Christ to build His assembly.
In the remaining part of the chapter the Lord shows that His path led on to suffering, but also that He was to come again in glory, the glory of the kingdom. Now a word as to the importance of this as regards us. What is the path for us? I have tried to show what Christ is doing, and what we are as stones, but as to our pathway here in this world we have to accept fellowship with His sufferings; He has been rejected here, and we cannot be at home in this scene where He has been rejected. If I save my life in this world, I lose it. If at home in this world I am not accepting the path of rejection with Him here. The path is not altered since 1800 years ago. Do you want to have part in the glory of the kingdom? Well, the road is to suffer with Him. Nothing is right in God’s thoughts till Christ has His rights. His rights as to this world are in abeyance now, but He will come again in glory, and if you want to reign in that day, be prepared to accept the suffering now: “If we endure, we shall also reign together: if we deny, he also will deny us; if we are unfaithful, he abides faithful, for he cannot deny himself”, 2 Timothy 2: 12, 13. That is the path now — it leads to glory. Would there have been any glory at all if Christ had not been content to suffer? It is the path He took, and we are to take the same. If you could put the world in perfect order, nothing could set it right for God till Christ gets His rights; and when He comes He brings His glory with Him, He does not find it [p. 243] here. He received from God the Father honour and glory, and He will come in glory. If we suffer with Him we have part in that. It is an individual thing, not exactly a question of the church. You earn your reward. Our part in the kingdom will be determined by our individual faithfulness here. Christ builds His assembly: our faithfulness does not come in there. Every stone will completely reflect Himself, but while we are living stones it is equally true that everyone is called to His pathway here.
The point I delight in is, the way the Lord seizes Peter’s confession as the opportunity to declare what He was about to do. No doubt Peter entered much more afterwards into all that the revelation meant — that Christ was not simply Messiah, Son of Abraham and of David, according to promise, but Son of the living God. I beg everyone here tonight to look for grace, to leave themselves in the hand of Christ that He may make known the Father’s heart to you, and in the glory you will be descriptive of Himself.
May God give us great interest in these wonderful revelations, that our faith may be sustained and energized by them.