Untitled article by M. E. S.

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 25, 1858

CONDITIONS OF SALVATION. No. 3.

By M. E. S.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine," &c. Everything written through the dictation of the Spirit of God must necessarily be harmonious, otherwise we would make the Holy Spirit sometimes a lying one, and no longer holy; also the Scriptures given by its inspiration would become contradictory and hence unprofitable. But Paul says they are profitable, and "God is not the author of confusion." 1 Cor. xiv, 33. Hence Bible testimony, regarding any one point of doctrine, will harmonize; the mysterious, being explained by the plain teachings. We will now proceed to consider New Testament evidences regarding the kingdom of God, endeavoring to find out the harmonious teachings of New Testament writers.

Many take the position that the kingdom of heaven, and kingdom of God, as brought to view in the holy Scriptures, is a "kingdom of grace," set up at Christ's first advent. I would ask such, were the patriarchs, prophets, and saints who lived previous to that time, excluded from the grace? i.e., the free favor of God? If he has been King of his Church only since the first advent, who governed his Church previously? God indeed is King and has been from all eternity, as he says, [Isa. lxvi, 1.] "The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool;" but he is no more ruler of his Church in this age, than any other; he no more reigns over the righteous than the wicked; for "he is a great King over all the earth." Ps. xlvii, 2. None, I think will contend that this is the kingdom of promise for which the disciples were admonished to seek; [Matt. vi, 33;] since they were already in this kingdom and could not therefore seek for it. Let us see if the New Testament can be harmonized with the view that the kingdom of heaven is the Church, and has existed more than 1800 years.

Matt. xiii, 24-30, 36-44. Here, "the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field"—i. e., the Church according to modern theology. But lo! "while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat." The Saviour says, [John xv, 1.] "I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman." Then it is his place alone to engraft branches. "Ye (disciples) are the branches," and we may be sure he will have no hypocrite among them; even the true branches, when they cease to bear fruit, he takes away; but here the enemy comes and engrafts tares; will the husbandman scruple to cut them off any more than he does the fruitless branches? But in this instance, he tells his servants, who come inquiring whether they may gather them up, to let them grow lest they should root up the wheat with the tares.

We see at once the vine and field cannot be the same. Then what is represented by the field? Jesus tells us, verse 38, "The field is the world, the good seed are the children of the kingdom."—(Not that they are really possessing the kingdom, for Paul says, [Rom. viii, 17.] "If children then heirs." Now an heir is an expectant to an estate, not an actual possessor.) "The tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the Devil." He first introduced sin into the world. Verse 41. "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity." "Out of his kingdom," i. e., the territory of his kingdom, the world, or the field in which the tares were sown, that are here gathered out. There will be none in the literal kingdom which do iniquity; for, says Paul, "the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, (right doing,) and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." That is, these are attributes of the kingdom.

Verse 43. "Then shall the righteous shine forth (when? after the harvest, which is the end of the world,) as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." This parable we see is not introduced to represent the kingdom of God after it is established, but to show the probationary season given to man as preparatory to the kingdom [verses 31-33.] The kingdom of heaven likened to a grain of mustard seed; and verse 33, the leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened, we conceive represent the same thing; not the Church, however, evangelizing the world, till the whole become converted. The parable already noticed sufficiently confutes this idea.

At the time of harvest, which is the end of the world, there are tares which are to be gathered and burned; hence the whole world could not have been previously christianized. Nor can it mean the kingdom itself, for nothing will enter there that in any way defiles, and consequently needs leavening. 1 Cor. vi, 9, 10; Eph. v, 5. "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Christ." What then is represented by the parable under consideration? Doubtless the "word of the kingdom," [verse 19,] in other words, the gospel and its influences. What answers to the three measures of meal? We answer, the three dispensations in which the gospel has been proclaimed: the Patriarchal, Mosaic and Christian. The people of God in two measures have already been "leavened," and but little time now remains for the completion of the third.

Verses 44-47. The kingdom of God is like treasure hid in a field, and like a pearl of great price, to secure which a man sells all he has. So will one leave all worldly interests and pleasures to obtain an inheritance in the kingdom of God.

Verses 47-52. This parable of the net is the same with that of the wheat and tares. Chap. xi, 12. "From the days of John the Baptist, until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Why since his days? Because the kingdom of God began then to be especially preached. We think the latter clause of this verse is synonymous with Luke xiii, 24.—"Strive to enter in at the strait gate." Literally, agonize, because the time is short, and many will seek to enter in and shall not be able, "when once the Master of the house has risen up," &c. Macknight renders this passage, "Force your way through the strait gate," which sufficiently explains the text under consideration, showing the earnest endeavors that must be made in order to secure an entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Luke xvi, 16. "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." This passage is so nearly like the preceding that it requires little comment. We see, however, if it proves an establishment of the kingdom, it proves too much for modern theology, which teaches that Christ set up the kingdom, not John. (We will presently notice passages which show when the kingdom is established.)

Matt. xvi, 28. "Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." This declaration of Jesus was verified

"after six days." [chap. xvii, 1.] when he took Peter, James, and John and brought them up into a high mountain, and was transfigured before them. There was Jesus, the King, Elijah the representation of the saints who should be alive at Christ's second coming, and would be caught up as he was, [1 Thess. iv, 17.] and Moses, representing the resurrected saints. This however was the kingdom in vision, ("tell the vision to no man," &c., verse 9.) It was not that they were actually to see Jesus coming in his kingdom, for then all the holy angels should accompany him. Matt. xxv, 31.

Matt. xxi, 43. "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." Jesus was here addressing the Jews, who were the literal descendants of Abraham, David, &c., to whom the promise of the kingdom (we have seen in previous numbers that they received nothing more,) was especially given. Being such, the kingdom, or rather the hope of the kingdom (since they could transmit to their posterity to no more of the inheritance than they had actually received) would be theirs by natural descent; but they, forfeiting their title to it by sin and rebellion, Jesus tells them it (the hope which was all they had) should be taken from them nationally and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof, doubtless referring to the call of the Gentiles.

Luke xviii, 21. "The kingdom of God is within you." Would those who believe that the Church is the kingdom of God, be willing to take the position that it was within the hypocritical Pharisees? The margin reads, "among you," see also Doddridge, meaning the elements of the kingdom. The earth or territory of the kingdom, Jesus, and some of his followers were all there among the Pharisees.

Luke vi, 20. "Blessed be ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of God." When is it theirs? Says James, [chap. ii, 5.] "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him." Then it is a subject of promise to those who love God, and are consequently already in the kingdom, according to popular teaching.

Matt. xi, 11. Is the least member of the Church greater than John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said, "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he?"

Matt. xii, 28. "But if I cast out Devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." Satan, being expelled, they were prepared to become the disciples of Christ and heirs of the kingdom, which, however, it was impossible for them at that time to enter, according to 1 Cor. xv, 50. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;" neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. How then were they ever to possess it, since they were here flesh and blood? "Behold, says Paul, I show (explain to) you a (or the) mystery; we shall not all sleep (die, says Macknight) but we shall all be changed."

Verse 53. "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." Until this change is effected (which is at the last trump, verse 52) Paul teaches us we cannot expect to enter the kingdom. This agrees with the testimony of Jesus, [Matt. xxv, 34.] "Then (when the Son of man shall come in his glory, verse 31) shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Also 2 Pet. i, 5-12. Peter here exhorts his brethren to give all diligence, endeavoring to add one grace to another, and thus make their calling and election sure. "For so," says he, "an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Now what was the consistency of admonishing his brethren (who were of course in the Church) to growth in grace, in order that they might never fall, but obtain an entrance into the kingdom at some future time, if they were already in it? They could no more enter the kingdom again without first falling, than we could enter a room we were already in without first going out.

Col. i, 13. "Who . . . hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son," i. e., into the hope of the kingdom, otherwise this passage would contradict the above. Paul says he "calleth those things which be not as though they were." Rom. iv, 17. Rev. i, 9, may be harmonized in the same way. "I John who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ." John was then in tribulation. "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Acts xiv, 22. He was also in patience. In the kingdom itself is "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." There will be no tribulation and no need of patience.

Mark i, 15. "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," i. e., next in order; here means of universal monarchies. We find from Daniel, chap. ii, that there were to be five universal kingdoms upon earth: first, Babylon, followed by Medo-Persia; next, Grecia, then Rome, and lastly, the kingdom of God. Now in the time of the Babylonish empire, it could have been said, the kingdom of Medo-Persia is at hand, but not the Roman, since it was not the next in order. In the days of the Medo-Persian, the Grecian was at hand. So in the last or Roman which bore rule in the days of our Saviour, it might have been said in truth, "the kingdom of God is at hand;" but not before; (then we find this express declaration was not proclaimed previously;) but it will be truth till the Roman kingdom gives place to the kingdom of God. Has the Roman passed away? It has not; but exists at present in the divided form which was to immediately precede the setting up of the everlasting kingdom of God. Dan. ii.

Christ tells us when we may know that the kingdom of God is "nigh at hand." See Luke, chap. xxi. He follows down the chain of events from the time that Jerusalem was compassed with armies, (i. e., the Roman army under Titus, which trod down the city, and caused its inhabitants to be led away captive into all nations,) through the years 1780, and 1833, which witnessed the signs in the sun, moon and stars. He then passes on till the powers of heaven are shaken, and the Son of man is seen coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Then after introducing the similitude of the fig-tree, whose shooting forth proclaims the approach of Summer, Jesus says, "So likewise, ye when ye see these things come to pass (not before) know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." We are now many years past the signs mentioned, consequently we can say to-day, "the kingdom of God is nigh at hand."