As we live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, we shall deal with ourselves more than with others (7:1-12). The Lord Jesus says, “Do not judge, lest you be judged; for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you” (vv. 1-2). If we live in a humble spirit under the heavenly ruling of the kingdom, we shall always judge ourselves, not others. Under the heavenly ruling of the kingdom, the believers will be judged with what they judge. If we judge others with righteousness, we shall be judged by the Lord with righteousness. If we judge others with mercy, we shall be judged by the Lord with mercy.
Matthew 7:3-5 says, “Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me remove the splinter from your eye, and behold, the log is in your eye? Hypocrite, first remove the log from your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” Here we see that if we live in a humble spirit under the heavenly ruling of the kingdom, we shall consider the log in our own eye whenever we look at the splinter in our brother’s eye. The splinter in our brother’s eye must remind us that we have a log in our own eye. Then we shall deal with ourselves more than with others. We must be more strict in dealing with ourselves than in dealing with others.
Finally, if we live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, we shall take the way which leads to life, and we shall take the words of Christ as the ground for our living and work to do the will of the Father (7:13-27). In 7:13 and 14 the Lord Jesus says, “Enter in through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted which leads to life, and few are those who find it.” In verse 13 destruction does not refer to the perdition of the person but to the destruction of his deeds and work (1 Cor. 3:15). In verse 14 life refers to the ever blessed condition of the kingdom, which is filled with the eternal life of God. This life is in the reality of the kingdom today and will be in the manifestation of the kingdom in the coming age (Matt. 19:29; Luke 18:30).
The “gate is narrow and the way is constricted” because the new law of the kingdom is stricter and the demand of the kingdom is higher than that of the old covenant. It deals not only with outward conduct but also with inward motive. The old man, the self, the flesh, the human concept, and the world with its glory are all excluded. Only that which corresponds to God’s will can enter in. If we would live in the reality of the kingdom, we first need to enter such a narrow gate and then walk in such a constricted way. To enter the gate is to begin walking the way, a way which is lifelong.
We should not only take the way which leads to life but also take the words of Christ as the ground for our living and work. All that we do in our living and work should have the words of Christ as the ground. The Lord says, “Every one therefore who hears these words of Mine and does them shall be likened to a prudent man, who built his house on the rock” (v. 24). Here “rock” does not refer to Christ but to His wise word, the word that reveals the will of His Father. Our living and work must be founded on the word of Christ for the accomplishment of the will of the heavenly Father. To take the words of Christ as the ground for our living and work is actually to enter the narrow gate and walk the constricted way which leads to life.
Concerning the house founded on the rock, the Lord says, “The rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and fell on that house; and it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock” (v. 25). The rain is of God, descending from the heavens; the rivers are of man, coming from the earth; and the winds are of Satan, blowing from the air. All these will test our living and work. Although the rain may descend, the rivers may come, and the winds may blow, the house built upon the rock will not fall, because it is built according to the constricted way, the way of doing the will of the Father. The house which is built on the rock and which does not fall is like the building work of gold, silver, and precious stones, which can stand the testing fire (1 Cor. 3:12-13). However, the house built on the “sand” of human concepts and natural ways will fall (vv. 26-27). If we do not take Christ’s words as the ground for our living and work, eventually all that we do will pass into destruction.
We take the way which leads to life and we take the words of Christ as the ground for our living and work so that we may do the will of the Father. In verse 21 the Lord Jesus says, “Not every one who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of My Father who is in the heavens.” To enter into the kingdom of the heavens we need to call on the Lord and do the will of the heavenly Father. To call on the Lord suffices for us to be saved (Rom. 10:13), but to enter into the kingdom of the heavens we also need to do the will of the heavenly Father. Because entering into the kingdom of the heavens requires doing the will of the heavenly Father, it is clearly different from entering into the kingdom of God by being regenerated (John 3:3, 5). The latter is by the birth of the divine life; the former is by the living of that life.
If we live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, we shall do the will of the Father who is in heaven. We are not for anything other than doing the will of the Father. We are here for the accomplishment of the Father’s will. In order to do the will of the Father, we need to walk in the constricted way, the way that leads to life. Our Father has a will to accomplish, but we can accomplish it only by His life. Therefore, we need to live in the life of the heavenly Father and by His life. This kind of living is for doing the Father’s will.
In chapter sixteen of Matthew we see that the Father’s will is to build the church upon the Son as the rock. This is fully developed in the Acts, the Epistles, and the book of Revelation. The New Testament reveals that the Father’s divine, eternal will is to build up the church. Those believers who live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, corporately experiencing the dispensing of the divine Trinity, will take the way which leads to life and will take the words of Christ as the ground for their living and work to do the will of the Father to build up the church for the corporate expression of the Triune God.
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