The first ground is the narrow gate and the constricted way (Matt. 7:13-14). Both the gate and the way are narrow. The King James Version of the Bible says that the gate is strait and that the way is narrow. In this verse, however, both words mean narrow. The difference is that the narrowness of the gate is rather short and the narrowness of the way is quite long. The gate is narrow for just a short distance, but the way is narrow for a long distance. It may be easy to get in through the narrow gate, but it is difficult to walk the constricted way. The way is very constricted. We should not say that the gate is constricted, for the gate is narrow. The gate is not a matter of constriction; it is a matter of narrowness. The way, however, is a matter of constriction. In other words, the width of the gate and the width of the way are the same. The only difference is that with the gate there is no length, but with the way there is length. Both our gate and our way are narrow. According to our human concept, we may think that the gate at the beginning is narrow, but the way will broaden as we proceed. But in the kingdom the whole way is narrow. Will you take this way? Because the way is narrow, it is also constricted. While we are on this way, we have no possibility of changing lanes because there is only one lane. We cannot move from left to right or from right to left as we might on a freeway. Also, there is no way to overtake others. We must be patient. We should not attempt to overtake some who are in front of us; if we do we will find ourselves out of the way. Although the way is narrow and constricted, it leads to life. In this verse life does not refer to the seed of the kingdom, but to the harvest of the kingdom.
We have seen that there are two aspects of the kingdom: the seed and the harvest. Both of these are Christ as our life. Christ is the seed of the kingdom as our life, and Christ will be the harvest of the kingdom as our life. Concerning the seed, we need the life to come into us, but concerning the harvest, we need to enter into the life. In the Bible there are these two sides: the zoe life comes into us, and we enter into the zoe life. The zoe life has entered into everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus, but not all genuine believers will enter into the zoe life in the future. To have the zoe life enter into us means that we are saved; to enter into the zoe life in the future means that we will enter into the manifestation of the kingdom, into the marriage feast. To have eternal life enter into us means that we have Christ as the seed, but to enter into the eternal life in the future means that we have Christ matured in us. In Matthew 7:14 it is not a question of zoe life coming into us, but of entering into the zoe life. What gate and what way lead us into the zoe life, into the harvest of the kingdom? Certainly it is the narrow gate and the constricted way.
Both the gate and the way are narrow. If you have ever experienced Christ in this way, you will realize how narrow it is. Although we need to be flexible, we should not be broad. Neither our gate nor our way is broad. The gate is narrow like the eye of a needle. In Matthew 19:24 the Lord Jesus used the example of a camel going through the eye of a needle to illustrate the narrowness of the gate leading into the harvest of the kingdom. Do you know how big you are by birth? You are at least as big as a camel. By birth you became a camel and then you acquired a heavy load. This is the proper meaning of the Lord's word in Matthew 19:24. We are camels by our natural birth, and the eye of the needle is the narrow gate for us to enter into the maturity of the kingdom. As camels we have been fully loaded with worldly things, making it impossible for us to pass through the eye of a needle. But the Lord can do it! He can reduce us. We all have experienced the Lord's reducing. He has a way to do it. When you say, "Lord Jesus, I love You," He replies, "I will reduce you. The more you love Me, the more you should be prepared for Me to reduce you. Then it will be easy for you to pass through the eye of a needle." Regardless of how narrow the gate may be, we can pass through easily after we are reduced. As the reduced ones, we can enter into the narrow gate and proceed along the constricted way. This is the way that leads into the maturity of the kingdom, into the zoe life. The zoe life has already come into us, but now we are walking the constricted way to enter into the zoe life, into the harvest, into the maturity of the kingdom. This maturity of the kingdom is the full manifestation of the zoe life.
Many Christians claim to be right in certain matters. We should not listen to their claims, but test them according to the narrow gate and the constricted way. Are they walking on a broad way? Do they find it easy to overtake others? Are they able to do whatever they like? If so, they are not on the constricted way leading to the harvest of the kingdom. Instead, they are on the broad way. The broad gate and the broad way lead to destruction. In Greek the word for destruction has two meanings: to perish or be lost, and to be destroyed. Here it does not mean to perish or to be lost. It means to have all of your work destroyed. The same thought is found in Matthew 7:24-27 which mentions the house built upon the sand. When the rain descends from above, when the river rises, and when the winds blow, that house will be destroyed. You as a person will be preserved, but your work will be destroyed. This means that you yourself will be saved, but that your work—all that you have accomplished after being saved—will be destroyed. The concept in these two verses does not relate to being saved or lost. To enter into life does not mean to be saved, because no unsaved person can enter through the narrow gate. No unsaved person can ever walk the constricted way. Everyone who passes through the narrow gate and walks the constricted way is a saved person. Rather, it means that after we are saved, we should consider our walk and our work. These matters will affect our future. If our work is destroyed, we will suffer a loss (1 Cor. 3:15). If our work is preserved, we will receive the reward of entering into the kingdom. To be saved is one thing, and to enter into the full enjoyment of the kingdom is another. This full enjoyment of the kingdom is signified by the marriage feast.
To be called is to be saved. However, whether or not we will be chosen, that is, qualified for the marriage feast, is still pending. It depends on the gate that we enter and the way that we take. If we enter the broad gate and walk the broad way, our work and walk will be destroyed, and we will miss the marriage feast. If we take the narrow gate and the constricted way, this will lead us into life, into the maturity of the zoe life, the harvest of the kingdom. Then we will enter the marriage feast.