Page images
PDF
EPUB

"He came unto His own and His own received Him not." John 1:11.

Preferring a robber, they rejected and crucified their King and so the kingdom waits until they shall accept Him,2 ,21 when the kingdom of the world shall become the kingdom of our Lord's and of His Christ's and He shall reign for the AGES OF AGES. See Greek.22

Oh! Blessed "KING OF KINGS!" COME, and may "THY KINGDOM COME."

The King there in His beauty,
Without a veil is seen;

It were a well-spent journey,

Though sev'n deaths lay between,

The Lamb, with His fair army,

Doth on Mount Zion stand,

And glory, glory dwelleth

In Immanuel's land.

No. VI. The Kingdom Is Not Meat and Drink.

It is objected that Paul said, "The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Rom. 14:17.

come in his own name, him ye will receive.

(21) Zech. 12:10. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Zech. 13:6. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

Mat. 23:39. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Rom. 11:25. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

26. And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

28. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.

(22) Rev. 11:15. And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said,

The kingdom of the world

Indeed it is not "meat and drink," or eating and drinking, or simply outward observances. Neither was the Kingdom of Israel meat and drink, nor the Roman Empire. But the subjects of each did eat and drink, and Paul simply taught that they should do so circumspectly and with charity. So will the subjects of the kingdom of God eat and drink. “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." Luke 14:15. "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev. 19:9, See the Feast of Isa. 25:6-8.23

Jesus himself said, "I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Mat. 26:29.

And again: "I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom." Luke 22:29-30. This is the strongest proof that the kingdom will be literal and material, though it shall be freed from the curse of sin.24

No. VII. Flesh and Blood.

It is objected that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.25

Certainly we do not INHERIT it through the flesh-the unregenerate man. But through the Spirit we are born

is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign* for ever and ever.

*Gr. unto the ages of the ages. (23) Isa. 25:6. And in this mountain sball the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

7. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.

8. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all

faces; and the rebuke of his peo ple shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

(24) Mat. 13:41. 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;

42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

(25) 1 Cor. 15:50. NOT this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the king. dom of God.

The

again,26 created anew in Christ Jesus,27 and made "joint heirs" with Him.28 The flesh profiteth nothing. Spirit quickeneth.29

Paul in this chapter (1 Cor. 15) is treating of the subject of the resurrection which he proves to be so important, that without it, we could not inherit, or become possessed of the kingdom of God. "Flesh and blood” he says cannot inherit it, and therefore he shows that at the resurrection, our bodies of corruptible flesh and blood, which have died, shall be raised in incorruption and immortality. And the bodies of those who are living at that time shall be changed and "fashioned like unto His glorious body."'30 Now, in our flesh and blood, we are bearing the image of Adam, the first man, "which is of the earth, earthy." But at the resurrection we shall be changed so as to “bear the image of the heavenly" "the second man, """the Lord from heaven. 731

(26) John 3:3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

(27) Eph. 2:10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

(28) Rom. 8:15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

[blocks in formation]

heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

(29) John 6:63. It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

(30) Phil. 3:20. For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

21. Who shall change our vilə body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

(31) 1 Cor. 15:45. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

46. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

48. As is the earthy, such are

And He who raised up Christ from the dead, and who hath given us the Spirit of adoption (sonship) whereby we become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, will, by His Spirit that dwelleth in us, also quicken (or make alive) our mortal bodies.32 Then, and then only, can we inherit,33 or come into possession of the kingdom,34 which God hath promised to give unto us. 35 Hence, we see the vital importance of the resurrection, without which we could not inherit the kingdom of God,* verse 50. The evident purpose of this objection is to support the assertion made by Post-millenialists that the kingdom is only spiritual and that there is nothing literal or material in it. But Paul says nothing of the kind and his whole argument is entirely to the contrary. For he asserts that our oμa (soma— body) which is sown in corruption, dishonor and weakness, will be raised in incorruption, glory and power, or if living, will be changed in the twinkling of an eye.36 In these glorified bodies we shall "inherit the kingdom prepared

*Here let it be noticed is another evidence that the Kingdom is yet future.

and

they also that are earthy
as is the heavenly, such are
they also that are heavenly.

49. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

(32) Rom. 8:11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raiseth up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

(33) 1 Cor. 15:50. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

(34) Dan. 7:22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

(85) Luke 12:32. Fear not,

little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

(36) 1 Cor. 15:42. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption:

43. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power:

44. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body There is a natural body, an there is a spiritual body.

51. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

for" us "from the foundation of the world."37 For Christ the rightful heir of all things38 will be there and we shall be there to reign with Him.39

And He will have his glorified body, His body that was raised 40 and ascended11 and entered into heaven.42

The glorified body which Stephen saw there,43 and which Paul saw (Acts 9:5) and also John, Rev. 1:13.

The body which bears the scars of the cross; "A Lamb as it had been slain." Yes, He will return in the flesh. Acts 1:11. The true reading of 2 John 7, is, "who confess not Jesus Christ coming* in the flesh." See also Isa. 63: 1-6, and Rev. 19:11-16. And "we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him." 1 John 3:2. Therefore it is clear, that we, in these same bodies, changed into the image of Christ's glorious body, shall inherit the Kingdom of God.

[blocks in formation]

(37) Mat. 25:34. Then 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.

(38) Mat. 21:38. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

Heb. 1:2. Hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointeth heir of all things, through whom also he made the *worlds.

*Gr. ages. Comp. 1 Tim. 1:17. Also 1 Tim. 6:15.

(39) 2 Tim. 2:12. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us.

Also Rom. 8:17; John 17:24. (40) Luke 24:39. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.

(41) Acts 1:9. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

(42) Heb. 9:24. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Also Heb. 4:14.

(43) Acts 7:55. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »