In this message we shall cover more aspects of the truths taught by Christ in His earthly ministry.
The word spoken by Christ as the constitution of the kingdom (Matt. 5:1-7:29) is a revelation of the spiritual living and heavenly principles of the kingdom of the heavens. It is composed of seven sections (5:1-12; 5:13-16; 5:17-48; 6:1-18; 6:19-34; 7:1-12; 7:13-29).
The first section, 5:1-12, depicts the nature of the people of the kingdom of the heavens under nine blessings. They are people poor in spirit, mourning for the present situation, meek in suffering opposition, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful toward others, pure in heart, making peace with all men, suffering persecution for righteousness, reproached and evil spoken of. To be poor in spirit (v. 3) is to be emptied in our spirit, in the depths of our being, in order to realize and possess the kingdom of the heavens. To mourn (v. 4) according to God and His economy is to mourn over the situation of the world, which is altogether contrary to God’s economy. To be meek (v. 5) means not to resist the world’s opposition but to suffer it willingly. To hunger and thirst for righteousness (v. 6) is to seek to be right in our behavior. To be merciful (v. 7) is to give others what they do not deserve. To be pure in heart (v. 8) is to be single in purpose, to have the single goal of accomplishing God’s will for God’s glory (1 Cor. 10:31). To be a peacemaker (v. 9) is to make peace with all men (Heb. 12:14) by behaving in the Father’s life and according to His peaceful nature. To be persecuted for the sake of righteousness (v. 10) is to pay a price for the righteousness we seek for the kingdom of the heavens. When we live a life for the kingdom of the heavens in its spiritual nature and according to its heavenly principle, we shall be reproached, persecuted, and evil spoken of for the Lord’s sake (v. 11). This persecution is directly for the sake of Christ because of our following Him.
When the Lord Jesus speaks of the influence of the kingdom people upon the world (5:13-16), He says that they are the salt of the earth (v. 13) and the light of the world (v. 14). Salt by nature is an element that kills and eliminates the germs of corruption. To the corrupted earth, the kingdom people are such an element, keeping the earth from being fully corrupted. Light is the shining of a lamp to enlighten those in darkness. To the darkened world, the people of the kingdom are such a light effacing its darkness. In nature they are the healing salt, and in behavior they are the shining light.
In the third section, 5:17-48, Christ decrees the law of the kingdom people. He says, “Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill” (v. 17). To fulfill the law here means that Christ has kept the law on the positive side, that through His substitutionary death on the cross He has fulfilled the requirement of the law on the negative side, and that He complements the old law by His new law, as continually expressed by the word, “But I say to you” (vv. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44). Christ’s keeping of the law qualified Him to fulfill the requirement of the law through His substitutionary death on the cross. Christ’s fulfilling the requirement of the law through His substitutionary death on the cross brought in the resurrection life to complement the law, to fill the law to the full. The old law, the lower law, with its keeping-demand and punishing-requirement, is over. The kingdom people, as children of the Father, now only need to fulfill the new law, the higher law, by the resurrection life, which is the eternal life of the Father.
Concerning the law, there are two aspects: the commandments of the law and the principle of the law. The commandments of the law are fulfilled and complemented by the Lord’s coming, whereas the principle of the law is replaced by the principle of faith according to God’s New Testament economy.
In 5:20 the Lord Jesus says, “Unless your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” “Righteousness” here does not refer to the objective righteousness, which is the Christ we receive when we believe in Him that we may be justified before God (1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:26); it refers to the subjective righteousness, which is the indwelling Christ lived out of us as our righteousness that we may live in the reality of the kingdom today and enter into its manifestation in the future. This subjective righteousness is not obtained by merely fulfilling the old law, but by completing the old law through the fulfillment of the new law of the kingdom of the heavens given by Christ. This righteousness of the kingdom people, according to the new law of the kingdom, surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees according to the old law. It is impossible for our natural life to gain this surpassing righteousness; it can only be produced by a higher life, the resurrection life of Christ. This righteousness, which is likened to the marriage garment (Matt. 22:11-12), qualifies us to participate in the wedding of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-8) and inherit the kingdom of the heavens in its manifestation, that is, to enter into the kingdom of the heavens in the future.
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