Mysteries of the Kingdom Revealed

Background Scripture: Mark 4
Lesson Scripture: Mark 4:11-12; Matthew 11:25-27; 13:11-17

Introduction

Jesus brought the kingdom of heaven down to earth to the fallen race of man. He opened a door for sinful men so they could enter the holy realm of God. The door of repentance, forgiveness of sin, and the new birth is the entrance into a saved state and a relationship with God. This is the fulfillment of God’s plan for humanity.

The Bible says that “we see through a glass, darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12). This is very true for Christians today, as our gaze tries to penetrate the veil that lies between us and the future, particularly our future existence after life on earth. The day is coming when this shroud will be forever removed, and we will clearly see our eternal state as it really is.

This same constraint was also true for those who lived before Jesus came. In God’s message through the prophecy of the Old Testament, there were hints, glimpses, and shadows of the coming kingdom. God’s saints of the Old Testament yearned to penetrate the veil, to see what God had in store for humanity; yet they, too, could only see dimly.

When Jesus finished his earthly work, the veil that shrouded the kingdom of God on earth was torn open as well as the literal veil in the Temple. The way was opened to God and into his kingdom, and the first Christians saw it for what it was. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

Key Verse

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints (Col. 1:26).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

A mystery is something that is hidden and is not readily apparent. However, that does not mean that the mystery is something that cannot be known; it just means there are conditions to be met in order for the full picture to be revealed. The lesson title implies that the mystery of God’s kingdom must be revealed. We cannot penetrate this mystery by our own abilities or by figuring and studying it out. We will not understand it by being “wise and prudent”; a power outside ourselves must show it to us. Our eyes must be opened, or we must receive new eyes for the wonders of God’s kingdom to be revealed.

Physical vision has some wonderful parallels with spiritual vision. Psalm 36:9 says, “In thy light shall we see light.” Though naturally we may walk in the daylight, spiritually we are in darkness until God’s light shines upon us. Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). We first saw the natural light of day when we were born; we begin to see God’s light when we are born again. Until that happens, the kingdom of God remains cloaked in obscurity.

The new birth is vitally necessary to grasp the nature of God’s kingdom. However, a past new birth experience does not mean that we are seeing correctly today. A newborn child sees light but does not comprehend what light is and what it reveals. Growth and understanding are first necessary. Likewise, proper spiritual growth is necessary to correctly comprehend the structure of the kingdom.

Natural vision can fail for numerous reasons. Eyesight may be impaired by cataracts, vision can be defective and need corrective lenses, and a person’s eyes can be damaged, sometimes to the point of blindness. So it is with our spiritual vision too. Something can get in our eye and hamper or distort our spiritual eyesight. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? (Matt. 7:3 NIV). In one instance during Jesus’s healing ministry, a blind man needed a second touch. “And he . . . said, I see men as trees, walking” (Mark 8:24). Jesus needed to make another application to that man’s eyes for him to see clearly. Sometimes we need another application, such as a reconsecration, to see clearly.

We can also relapse into complete blindness through unbelief or lust for the world, which is clearly demonstrated by the Laodicean church. “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17).

Practical Truths for Today

Jesus’s heart is to bring mankind into his Father’s kingdom; it is his mission, his ministry. He began preaching the gospel by proclaiming the message of repentance; the kingdom of God was now here. Most of his parables were teachings about this kingdom. The natural mind cannot understand them, but the spiritual mind can.

To have a spiritual mind and spiritual eyes that can see, we need a new beginning. A change of heart and a new way of looking at and viewing life is fundamental to an experience with God. In John 3, it is recorded that Jesus tried to explain this to Nicodemus, but he could not understand it. A new birth unlocks a new perspective of time and eternity, a new standard of values, and a clearer realization of right and wrong.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). This is very evident when considering the reactions of many to Jesus’s revolutionary teachings about the kingdom of God. The natural mind thinks along the lines of human reasoning. Even the apostles, who were with Him daily and heard Him teaching again and again, could not make the shift from thinking of a natural kingdom. This is because they were not yet empowered with the Holy Spirit’s direction and did not have vision that could rend the veil lain upon their own hearts (2 Cor. 3:14).

Once when walking in the way with their Master, they asked if they should call down fire from heaven upon those who had rejected Him. Jesus said, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of” (Luke 9:55). Peter once drew a sword and struck a man, ready to fight for the Master; Jesus told him to put the sword away. They also argued among themselves about who would sit closest to his throne and who would be his prime minister.

Even after the crucifixion and resurrection, the apostles still were not able to comprehend the scope of Christ’s kingdom. At the ascension of Jesus into heaven, the last time that they would see Him on earth, they asked Him once again if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel. Without answering directly, He told them they would receive power when the Holy Ghost came. Though they did not fully understand that at the time, they were soon to have the full measure of revelation.

Then came Pentecost when the disciples were all together. The sound of a rushing, mighty wind filled the house, and then tongues of fire appeared over each one’s head. These were outward manifestations, but more importantly, the Holy Spirit of God flowed among them and into their hearts. This had not been possible before the sacrificial offering of Jesus’s blood for the sins of man. Without the blood of Jesus covering our sins, we are not fit vessels to receive the Spirit of God, because his Spirit is holy.

The disciples were born again and new creatures in Christ. Being baptized with the Holy Ghost, they now had new eyes and received new vision. They began to perceive the things of God. From that point on to the end of the New Testament, the concept of a natural, earthly kingdom disappears from Scripture. It is never mentioned again in the apostles’ writings. They understood that the kingdom of heaven had arrived and had been presented to them! All the Old Testament prophecies concerning the kingdom of Israel now took on the spiritual meaning of Christ’s heavenly kingdom, and it made perfect sense as they saw it being fulfilled before their eyes.

Jesus our King is here today with us, and his power and blessings are here and now. He offers a spiritual kingdom to us that can be entered at any time, anywhere, and by anybody. “And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matt. 1:23).

Illustration

Samson was a man who became spiritually blind, which eventually led to his natural blindness. His physical eyes were put out, but in prison his spiritual eyes were reopened. When he saw himself in the light of God, he realized his sin and repented and then saw his way into the kingdom of heaven. He is reckoned among the heroes of faith.

King Saul was a man whose spiritual vision also became defective. At one time he was little in his own eyes. When he became big in his own eyes, he fell.

There was another Saul who was big in his own eyes. He felt called of God to stamp out the faith, but when Jesus opened his eyes, he saw himself as little. “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8). He became Paul, an apostle of the kingdom.

Questions

1. The Scriptures say multiple times that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson. Was that different from what we experience today?
2. What does it mean to be little in our own eyes?
3. Can one experience being born again without being little in our own eyes?
4. What can cause our vision to revert from spiritual back to natural again?

Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).