Where does the church stand in this picture of the kingdom gene and its development and consummation? The churches are in the period of the development of the gene. This development takes place by growth and transformation. In the church life we are growing and being transformed.
In 1 and 2 Corinthians Paul speaks of the growth and transformation we are experiencing today in the church life. In 1 Corinthians 3 we have the growth in life, and in 2 Corinthians 3 we have the transformation of life. In 1 Corinthians 3:7 Paul speaks of “the One who makes to grow, God.” Here we have the growth in life. Then in 2 Corinthians 3:18 Paul says, “And we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” Here we have the transformation of life. Therefore, in 1 and 2 Corinthians we have one chapter concerned with the growth in life and another chapter concerned with the transformation of life. Now in the church life we are experiencing this growth in life and transformation of life.
We have pointed out that the church is the continuation of the issue of the kingdom gene. This continuation eventually will reach the full development of the gene. Then the kingdom will be manifested during the millennium. All those who throughout the centuries have received the gene will become kings through the development of the gene within them. The totality of all these kings will be God’s eternal kingdom. Therefore, the eternal kingdom of God is the full development of the gene sown by the God-man, Jesus the Nazarene.
In the church life today we are experiencing the development of the gene of the kingdom through the growth in life and transformation of life. Eventually, this growth and transformation will reach its ultimate consummation. Then we shall all be co-kings with Christ, those who have experienced the full development of the kingdom gene.
At present, we are undergoing the process of development. But it is certain that one day we shall all be co-kings. When that day comes, we may look at one another and say, “Brother, do you remember those meetings in which we heard about the gene of the kingdom? When we were in the church life, we were undergoing the development of the gene. Now we are all here as co-kings of Christ. Now we can see the full development of the kingdom gene.” That full development of the kingdom gene will be an exhibition to the nations, to the angels, and to the Devil, Satan.
We need to read chapter four of the Gospel of Mark in the light of what we have seen concerning the gene of the kingdom. If we read this chapter in this light, we shall realize that in Mark 4 we have the intrinsic element of the gospel.
In 4:1-8 the Lord tells the parable of the sower. In 4:11 He goes on to say to His disciples, “To you the mystery of the kingdom of God has been given, but to those outside, all things are in parables.” God’s economy concerning His kingdom was a hidden mystery, which has been unveiled to the disciples of the Slave-Savior. Yet, since the nature and character of the kingdom of God are wholly divine, and the elements through which it is brought forth are the divine life and the divine light, the kingdom of God, especially in its reality as the genuine church in this age (Rom. 14:17), is still all a mystery to the natural man.
In 4:21-25 we have the parable of the lamp. In verses 21 and 22 the Lord says, “Does the lamp come that it should be placed under the bushel or under the bed? Is it not that it should be placed on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden except that it may be manifested, nor has become concealed but that it should become manifest.” The lamp which shines light indicates that the Slave-Savior’s gospel service not only sows life into the people that He serves, but also brings light to them. Hence, such a divine service issues in the believers as luminaries (Phil. 2:15) and the churches as lampstands (Rev. 1:20), shining in this dark age as His testimony and consummating in the New Jerusalem with the outstanding characteristics of life and light (Rev. 22:1-2; 21:11, 23-24).
Mark 4:24 and 25 say, “And He said to them, Take heed what you hear. With what measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and it will be added to you. For he who has, it will be given to him; and he who has not, even what he has will be taken away from him.” In Matthew 7:2 and Luke 6:38 the Lord’s word about measuring is applied to the way we treat others. Here in Mark 4:24 it is applied to the way we hear the word of the Lord. How much can be given to us by the Lord depends upon the measure with which we hear. Likewise, the Lord’s word in verse 25 is also concerned with how we hear the word of the Lord. The same is true in Matthew 13:10-13 and Luke 8:18.