Verses 45 and 46 say, “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all, whatever he had, and bought it.” The merchant in verse 45 is also Christ, who was seeking the church for His kingdom. After finding it in 16:18 and 18:17, He went to the cross and sold all He had and bought it for the kingdom.
In verse 46 we see the heavenly King’s work in gaining the one pearl of great value. At the cross He sold all, whatever He had, and bought that pearl. The pearl, produced in the death waters (the world filled with death) by the living oyster (the living Christ), wounded by a little rock (the sinner) and secreting its life-juice around the wounding rock (the believer), is also the material for the building of the New Jerusalem. Since the pearl comes out of the sea, which signifies the world corrupted by Satan (Isa. 57:20; Rev. 17:15), it must refer to the church, which is mainly constituted with regenerated believers from the Gentile world, and which is of great value.
The Lord is not only seeking the kingdom; He also desires a beautiful church, the pearl. We have pointed out that, according to Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem is built with precious stones and pearls. In other words, the New Jerusalem is a combination of the treasure and the pearl. In Matthew 13 these are two, the treasure in the field and the pearl out of the sea. But in Revelation 21 they are combined in one entity. The New Jerusalem is both the kingdom and the church. In Matthew 16 the terms church and kingdom are used interchangeably. Firstly the Lord said, “I will build My church”; then He said, “I give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.” The fact that these terms are used interchangeably means that the church is equal to the kingdom and the kingdom to the church. Ultimately, in the New Jerusalem the kingdom and the church become one entity.
At this point some may be asking the following question: Since the kingdom is the church and the church is the kingdom, what is the difference between them? This brings us to a matter difficult to understand. Let me approach it by asking whether we in the Lord’s recovery are in the church or the kingdom. It is correct to say that we are in both the church and the kingdom, but we must know in what sense we are the church and in what sense we are the kingdom. In other words, we must know in what sense we are the treasure and in what sense we are the pearl. As the kingdom, we are something of the earth created by God and redeemed by Christ; and as the church, we are something out of the world corrupted by Satan and condemned by God. The treasure, the symbol of the kingdom, is concealed within the earth. Hence, it is altogether related to the earth. But the pearl, the symbol of the church, has nothing whatever to do with the earth. It is something produced out of the sea. Out of the Satan-corrupted and God-condemned sea such a beautiful thing as a fine pearl has been produced. As the church, we have been produced out of the world, but we no longer have anything to do with the world. Although we are the pearl out of the sea, we are no longer in the sea. We have been regenerated to become a beautiful pearl. Being in another category, we have nothing to do with this rotten world. As the kingdom we have nothing to do with the Satan-corrupted world, but we are related to the God-created earth and Christ-redeemed earth. On the one hand, we are through with the world; on the other hand, we are building up something on earth. We are not building a tower of Babel; we are building the kingdom of the heavens. As Matthew 6:10 says, “Let Your kingdom come; let Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” God’s kingdom cannot be established in the sea, and God’s will cannot be done in the Satan-corrupted world. God’s will must be done on the God-created earth, and God’s kingdom must be established on the Christ-redeemed earth. At the same time we are both in the church and in the kingdom, in the pearl and in the treasure.
When the New Jerusalem comes, there will be no more sea, and the earth will be renewed (Rev. 21:1). On that new earth there will be a combination of the treasure and the pearl, of the kingdom and the church. In the New Jerusalem the treasure will no longer be hidden in the field, but built upon the surface of the field. In that combination of the treasure and the pearl, the treasure will be built up with the pearl. If you have this vision, you will see that even among us today the kingdom and the church are built up together. We do not have two entities, but just one entity. On the one hand, this entity is the treasure, the kingdom; on the other hand, it is the pearl, the church.
Among us in the Lord’s recovery there should be no sea. Instead of the sea, we should have the renewed earth. But suppose you visit the church in Anaheim, and in many of the homes you hear nothing but gossiping. This would be a sign that the sea is still present with those brothers and sisters. Although a church filled with gossip is still a church, it is a church in the water of the ocean. Such a church cannot be the kingdom. It is the pearl, but not the treasure. But suppose in all the homes of the church in Anaheim there is no gossip, criticism, or idle words. Rather, there is nothing but the experience of Christ and the church. In such a case, there will be no sea. Instead, there will be life, light, and transformation. Such a church is the renewed land for the kingdom. In every home you see the proper humanity, and immediately you sense that there is no more sea, only the renewed earth. On this renewed earth there is the New Jerusalem composed of the pearl and the treasure. This is not only the church, but also the kingdom. In such a church you have the treasure in the field and the pearl out of the sea.
By this illustration we see that the church can be both the pearl and the treasure. When we are the pearl, we are out of the sea, out of the world. When we are the kingdom, we are on the earth. However, we are not on the earth in a subdued way, but in a reigning way, for we are on the earth as the heavenly kingdom. This should not be mere doctrine to us. It must be our genuine daily practice. If our conversation is filled with talk about worldly things, about money or the movies, it is a sign that we are filled with the things of the Satan-corrupted world. This is the sea. But if among us there is no gossip or criticism, but Christ, the church, and transformation, this is a sign that we are the new earth. Among us here in Anaheim we have the new earth. On this new earth we have the treasure, the kingdom, and the proper human life. Even today, this treasure is no longer hidden; it is on the surface of the earth. To the worldly people and to the unbelieving Jews, this treasure is hidden within the earth. Praise the Lord that we have such a treasure in the renewed earth! None of the outsiders or unbelievers understands this. Sometimes they say, “We don’t understand those people. We don’t know what they are doing. However, we realize that they are good people.” This is the treasure, the evidence that we are living a proper human life on the God-created and Christ-redeemed earth. At the time of the millennium, in the eyes of God the entire earth will be a treasure.
In the first four parables in Matthew 13 we see only the growing of life: we see nothing of transformation. In these parables we have the wheat, the grain, the mustard, and the fine flour. Praise the Lord for the two following parables! We have not only four parables on the growing life, but also two parables on transformation. Transformation makes us pearls and precious stone, pearls for the church and precious stones for the kingdom. On the one hand, we are out of the world, having nothing to do with the corrupted world. On the other hand, we are living on earth as the proper humanity. For us, there is no more the sea, but the dry land created by God and redeemed by Christ. Now we are living and walking on this land. This is not only the church as the pearl, but also the kingdom as the treasure. I praise the Lord that I am part of the pearl and of the treasure. As part of the pearl, I have nothing to do with this rotten world. But as part of the treasure, I am very interested in this earth. I do not desire to go to heaven. I prefer to be here on this good earth where there is no more sea. We are the pearl and we are the treasure. We are out of the world, but we are still on the earth. This is the correct interpretation of these two parables.