THE SON OF GOD AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD
[p. 229] THE SON OF GOD AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Luke 9:1-27; (Luke 7, Luke 8 and Luke 9)
FER I think one might say that chapters 7 and 8 are leading up to the kingdom. In chapter 9, after what was read, there is the position of the kingdom.
DLH Is the idea God coming in not in power but in grace?
FER Yes, all the service of the Lord which took place down here must result in the establishment of God’s kingdom. If you have not got the kingdom established you get nothing else.
WJ What do the three narratives in chapter 7 set forth?
FER The point in chapter 7 is this; it exhibits the moral superiority of Christ over all dispensational distinctions, and really paves the way for His service in connection with the kingdom. Up to the end of chapter 6 His service was limited to the Jews; but all that comes out in chapter 7 proves that there was that about Christ which was impossible to limit, which could not be bounded by dispensational distinctions. It began with the centurion and ends with forgiveness of sins. In chapter 8, and the beginning of chapter 9, we get the personal service of Christ in connection with the kingdom, and after that the vision of the kingdom. It is not the kingdom of Christ nor of the Son of man. The Lord forbids the disciples to say that He is the Christ, and the Son of man is about to suffer and come again in glory. Here the kingdom of God comes in in connection with the Son of God.
Ques What is the force of chapter 7: 16 coming in after raising the widow’s son?
FER It shows that we are not up to [p. 230] the mark.
DLH You mean they really did not apprehend the full end of blessing that reached them?
FER They were a day behind.
JSO They did not apprehend God there in grace.
Ques And were they limiting it to themselves?
FER Yes; all that comes out in chapter 7 proves the superiority of Christ over all dispensational distinctions. The centurion recognises the supreme authority of Christ. The next thing you get is compassion, and then power, and after that grace. You cannot limit any one of these to dispensational boundaries.
DLH You get compassion and power in the same incident?
FER No, afterwards. The power comes out when the Lord says, “Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard, how that the blind see”, Luke 7: 22. Then the Lord vindicates John; He explains the state of things that there was no more acceptance for the Son of man than there was for John: and then comes out the principle of grace. You have to take all that in if you are to understand the force of the kingdom — the sowing of the word of God.
Ques Is there any thought of the Gentile in the incident in Simon’s house?
FER It brings out the principle on which grace goes out to the Gentile. There might be a difference in the debt, but He frankly forgave them both. God was in Christ not imputing trespasses, and if He did not impute trespasses He might as well come to the Gentile as to the Jew. The chapter opens with the Gentile and I think that gives character to the chapter. The Gentile recognises the supreme authority of Christ. Every quality that comes out in Christ might as well have its application in the Gentile as the Jew: that is the point.
HCA Each comes in on the ground of compassion?
FER That is the argument in Romans.
DLH It is a wonderful thing that authority could [p. 231] come in on the line of goodness and grace to men. That power is in exercise in grace and not in judgment.
HCA You see the compassion in regard to the widow’s son.
FER Yes, it was not a question of the widow’s son that moved the Lord, nor compassion for the widow, it was really compassion to humanity under the pressure of death. The widow represents humanity.
WJ The name is significant, it is “beautiful”.
FER The point here is the qualification and suitability of Christ in connection with the kingdom. In chapter 8 you get the service and in chapter 9 the kingdom, which is world-wide.
HCA It is the kingdom of God.
FER Yes, there is no dispensational limit to the kingdom; the glad tidings of the kingdom have reached everywhere. The kingdom is not manifested yet, it is brought in by testimony — a testimony which is worldwide. Christ said that it was to be preached among all nations.
HCA So you get in the beginning of the gospel, “... and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1: 32, 33).
FER Yes, but you do not get the throne of David nor the dominion of the Son of man now, that is in abeyance. We have now the kingdom of God in His beloved Son; the kingdom of the Son of His love comes in, He is “... declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1: 4). You get the announcement of that on the mount in, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 17: 5). Luke leads up to Paul’s ministry. The Lord forbids them to say that He is the Christ, and the Son of man is going to suffer and come again in glory and the interval between the two is shown in which a man has to lose [p. 232] his life. But then the kingdom comes in now in the Son of God’s love. When the kingdom comes in power it is dispensational, but at present it is in mystery. The present day is the day of the law and prophets dispensationally, but the kingdom has come in in the form of a mystery by way of testimony. By dispensationally I mean as to God’s public dealings; Christ is exalted at God’s right hand and the kingdom has come in in the way of testimony.
DLH Would you, in connection with that, say what is the force of, “The law and the prophets were until John”? (Luke 16: 16).
FER That is for faith. “... the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it”. (Luke 16: 16.) Faith presses into it!
DLH It is the introduction of something new.
FER Oh yes; the introduction of the whole system of unseen things cannot be apprehended except by faith. Faith is the conviction of unseen things.
JB God’s public dealings have not been altered.
FER No, the Lord says to the disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not”. (Matthew 23: 2 - 3.)
HCA There was an intimation of something new in the Person of the Son.
FER You get the light of it in chapter 9; you see the kingdom and what took place then has now come to pass as a moral result in a more real way. We are translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love; the kingdom is there.
HCA And God does not disturb the outward order of things, and those in it remain in darkness.
FER Because the light is withdrawn from it. All the light is connected with Christ at the right hand of God; it is there in the face of Jesus Christ. If people do not see that light they are [p. 233] in darkness.
HCA The only light would be in connection with the kingdom of God?
FER Yes.
JJ The harvest is at the end of the age, which means the age of law and prophets.
FER Exactly, and so in regard to sin against the Holy Spirit there is no forgiveness in this age nor in the coming one. The coming age is marked by the glory of God coming in.
WJ Is the sowing here the subjective side?
FER I think so; it was an entirely new thought that the kingdom was coming in by seed sowing. They had thought of the kingdom but not of the way it was coming in.
WJ In chapter 7 do we get the relief side?
FER I think that, but everything in the chapter was a testimony to Christ Himself — testimony to the Sower. It gives the character to the Sower! The parable in chapter 8 is really to give the character of the Sower.
WB The One who brought relief is the One to whom the heart of the woman is attached.
HCA When you come to the Sower there is nothing for God.
FER Except what is sown; we are the result of the seed-sowing.
JSO What you say about the law and prophets, does that apply to Christendom?
FER Yes, the Gentiles have come in on the line of promise, and they will be cut off.
JSO They take up, in a way, the link until Israel comes in.
FER Scripture is perfect, and chapter 7 is a most beautiful chapter to me; I could meditate upon it all my life long. To see the superiority of Christ over all dispensational distinctions. Luke arranges everything in such a way in his gospel as to draw the heart of every Christian to Christ. The centurion [p. 234] apprehended that He was Lord. It was entirely impossible that the Lord could take up the kingdom at that moment. Another thing that comes out in connection with the Sower is that His service separated Him from His kindred — the Jew after the flesh. It is inconceivable that God should set up a kingdom which is not world-wide. “The kingdom is the Lord’s and he is the governor among the nations”. (Psalm 22: 28.)
DLH What about the women that are mentioned in the beginning of chapter 8?
FER I think it shows how truly Christ comes into the place of service; they had been benefited, and they did everything to express their gratitude. It is only proper that a person that has been benefited by Christ should contribute to Him. The kingdom of God comes out in three connections, (1) Christ is the Sower, (2) in connection with the twelve He connects the testimony with them; (3) we have the vision on the mount. The kingdom owes its existence to Christ as the Sower, He “was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:” (Romans 15: 8.) Another thing comes in, He is rejected and has no place as the Christ; and then He is compelled to commit the testimony to the twelve. In Matthew their testimony is limited to Israel, but there is no limit here in Luke. In Mark’s gospel they should not taste death until they saw the kingdom arrive in power. That is not the case in Luke.
WJ Is the seed sowing still going on?
FER Considering the testimony was passed on to the twelve I do not see why it should not be so now.
HCA It goes on until the kingdom is ready for display.
FER It goes on until the time of display comes. With the twelve their testimony was especially to Israel, but it is now the time of testimony; [p. 235] it is continued.
JSO Do we get it in the end of Matthew?
FER I have been accustomed to connect that with the future. It is the testimony of the remnant to the nations.
WJ That is the meaning of “Take heed therefore how ye hear”. (Luke 8: 18.)
FER The point is, if you get light the light is to go out to others. If a man gets light from God he is to become light; the light is not to be hid, he is to be light to others; that is a point of the last moment.
JSO Your thought of the end of Matthew shows the reason why their testimony was never carried out.
FER Exactly, it is not viewed as carried out.
HCA It will be carried out in the future.
FER Yes, in Mark, Christ goes to the right hand of God and the twelve go everywhere, preaching, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs and wonders. In Luke He goes up on high and they have to wait for the power from on high, and they carry out the testimony immediately. That is not the case in Matthew; it has been often observed there is no ascension in Matthew. In Luke 8 we see the work of Christ goes contrary to everybody’s thought; that is in the latter part of the chapter. The demoniac was healed by the word of Christ and desired to be with Him; but the word of Christ determined his path. Next we have the woman with the issue of blood, she desired to get away unnoticed, but that was not Christ’s thought for her. Then, in the case of the ruler, they said to him, “Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master”, (Luke 8: 49) but Christ said, “Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth” (verse 52). His word determined it. The daughter is a picture of Israel, they are dead nationally, but for God they only sleep. The kingdom is the moral sway of God and in the kingdom Christ’s word determines everything, it determines our path. You can very well understand the demoniac desiring to be with Christ, but it was [p. 236] not His mind and it was perfectly natural for the woman to want to be hid, but that was not Christ’s mind.
HCA Then the kingdom is characterised by the word of Christ?
FER Yes, He determines everything; He is the touchstone and everything is determined by Him.
HCA That is the force of the Sower sowing the word.
FER Christ Himself is the word and touchstone for everything.
Rem Everything is brought under His authority.
FER Yes, but everything goes counter to man’s thoughts when you come under the moral sway of God. God brings us into the kingdom that everything may be completely changed; it is the “... pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God”. (2 Corinthians 10: 4, 5.) Everything has to be brought into the obedience of Christ; He is the touchstone.
JB That necessitates a good bit of schooling.
FER It does require that to bring down every high thought, and be content to let Christ decide everything. People act upon their own thoughts and ideas as to their path here, but when grace has brought me into the kingdom the word of God has to decide my path. It was not a wrong thought for the demoniac to wish to be with Christ but it was not the Lord’s mind for him. These chapters, to me, are simply magnificent, there is nothing to surpass them. All through Luke you get such an expression of divine grace and goodness in the mind of God towards humanity.
HCA That is something like what we get in Titus?
WJ But you would be sustained by John’s side?
FER One wants that inwardly. The more I know of God the more efficient I am. It is a very great thing to have the knowledge of God because by that [p. 237] you can test every evil principle. You test everything by what you know of God. Calvinism, for instance, is really incompatible with what God is. You could not conceive such a thing if you know God. Luke is the gospel which brings suffering humanity under the view of God and we see what God thinks about it. The compassions of God could not be limited to dispensations; it must be as wide as man.
WJ It gives us God’s feelings.
FER It certainly is not mere human feelings; God brings you into communion with His thoughts. Sentiment, and everything human, has to be displaced and you have to get into the mind of Christ.
AEW Would you distinguish between sentiment and feeling?
FER It depends upon the character of the feeling.
WB If our hearts were attached to Christ we should feel things aright.
FER If you are in the mind of God you will feel for man. The Christian in the world is really under great pressure, in that way, by the Spirit of God. He has the sense of the condition of man and the pressure under which he is.
WJ He must be evangelistic?
FER No man is with God if he is not so.
WB I hope that remark will go far and wide.
HCA I suppose God is evangelistic?
FER Oh yes, it is His glad tidings.
DLH The gospel of the blessed God.
Ques Was it sentiment in Paul in Acts 17? His spirit was stirred within him.
FER I think so. What affects me more than anything is the fearful way in which the professed ministers of Christianity undermine the truth of God to make it ineffective. The terrible treachery that exists among the people in high places; the hierarchy, and all that kind of thing. They are really traitors to [p. 238] the truth.
DLH The night in which the Lord was betrayed still goes on.
FER It does indeed. Higher criticism, science, and the like, is simply hampering man up, bringing his mind into divine things; they are all perfect rubbish. What is there morally about higher criticism, lower criticism, or science, or any other criticism? What it all works out to is this, that it is entirely impossible that there can be any revelation from God; it is infidelity in principle. The revelation from God cannot possibly be questioned by man; it is impossible to question it because it is a revelation. If you assume to question anything that professes to be a revelation it comes to this that you cannot have revelation at all.
DLH God addresses Himself to man’s conscience, not his mind.
FER What conception have they of authority, power, grace, or compassion? None at all — not the faintest! The great thing today is to preach the word and not accommodate yourself to what is around you; the word is enough. If people want testimony, certainly in regard of God, they can get it in the word.
HCA The revelation of God quietly shuts man out.
FER It is impossible to question it. If you have the word of God it settles everything because it is from God. Christ carries His confidence to me and I do not want to go to higher criticism or anything else.
DLH And wisdom is justified of her children. (Matthew 11: 19.)
FER When God comes in He takes account of the moral condition of man and meets him according to that condition. God adapts Himself to the condition in which man is, but the human mind cannot take account of that.
JB The higher criticism exalts man in his own eyes and lowers God.
FER Yes, but then it comes in on the part [p. 239] of those who have no real moral sense of the state of man. Man is weak and sinful, with death upon him, and what I see is this that the revelation of God adapts itself to man as he is. But whether they like it or not the kingdom is there. The disciples saw it on the mount, and we see it at the right hand of God — Jesus crowned with glory and honour. The power of the devil may be here and we may have to say to it, but at the same time the kingdom is here. The kingdom is the celebration of righteousness. Righteousness was accomplished at the cross, testified to in resurrection, and celebrated in the kingdom. In its application to us the kingdom is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14: 17).
WJ The kingdom was set forth in the Person of Christ.
FER Morally it was here, but now it is established at God’s right hand, and in the Holy Spirit given. We are called to participate in the celebration of heaven. There is peace in heaven and glory in the highest.