The parables of the pearl and the treasure match the verses which say, “Enter in through the narrow gate...for the gate is narrow and the way is constricted which leads to life, and few are those who find it” (7:13-14). The wide gate and broad way lead to destruction. At this point we need to refer to 1 Corinthians 3, where Paul admonishes us to take heed how we build upon the foundation of Christ. Are we building with gold, silver, and precious stones, or with wood, hay, and stubble? Gold, silver, and precious stones are materials that can withstand the test of fire. But the wood, hay, and stubble will be consumed. In today’s Christianity there is a great deal of wood and dry grass, but there is very little gold. Among today’s Christians it is difficult to find the gold, pearl, and precious stones. These materials are not bulky, but small. Look at Christianity: wood, hay, and stubble are everywhere; but where is the gold, and where is the precious stone? The way of Christianity is the broad way, but the way of the Lord’s recovery is the constricted way. At times the enemy will attempt to lure us away from this constricted way into something that is outwardly big and bulky, something made of wood, hay, and stubble. However, in the New Jerusalem there will be nothing wooden, nothing that can be burned or consumed. Everything in the New Jerusalem will remain for eternity. Nothing can damage the gold, pearl, and precious stone. Our work and testimony must be like this.
I am burdened that we would all see that we are neither in Christendom nor on the broad way. We are in the Lord’s recovery. We are not in the first four parables, but in the fifth and sixth parables. In the Lord’s recovery the quantity is small, but the quality is higher and more solid, because here we have the treasure and the pearl.
Although a great many works have been performed in Christianity, will all this work be approved by the Lord? Toward the end of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord said, “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many works of power?” (7:22). But the Lord Jesus will say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, workers of lawlessness” (7:23). The Lord may say, “I never approved you; I never allowed you to do these things. In My eyes everything you did was lawless.” I do not believe that the works of Christianity will meet with the Lord’s approval. But what about us? We need to be strengthened to remain in the constricted way. None of us should want to stay in the first group of parables, but we should go on to be in the second group. Let others gain a huge number and carry out a great work. We prefer to stay in the pearl and in the treasure where we are constricted.
Because many Christians have been leavened, they have become large and bulky. But from the day we turned to the Lord’s recovery, we began to be constricted. We all can testify of this, especially those who were somewhat well-known in Christianity. Nothing in the Lord’s recovery has made us greater. Instead, many things have taken place to reduce us. Christ will constrict us to the point that we shall be small enough to be put in a little bottle. But in this bottle there will be a treasure. Because our way is the constricted way, the Lord’s recovery is His testimony. In today’s Christendom the Lord can find a great deal of wheat and a small amount of meal, even in the Catholic Church. But He cannot find much of the pearl and the treasure in Christendom.
Although we are not proud, we realize that we in the Lord’s recovery are different. I am a sinful human being, worse in my nature than you are. But I can testify, and the Lord can also testify for me, that there are many things that I simply cannot do because I have a constricting life within me. Day by day this life says “no” to certain things I want to do. This is the kingdom life mentioned in Romans 14:17. Because we are in the kingdom and under the reigning, we cannot do many of the things that other Christians are free to do. This is the treasure which is precious, valuable, and lovely in the eyes of the Lord. On the cross He sacrificed everything to buy both the pearl and the field in which the treasure is hidden. His buying the field and the pearl reveals that He is for the kingdom and the church. That we are in the Lord’s recovery is not the result of our doing. We are here because the Lord has brought us together to be His living testimony. I have no doubt that, in the eyes of the Lord, the treasure and the pearl are here in the recovery.
In the first four parables the Lord covers Christendom in a general way, and in the next two parables He covers His overcomers in a particular way. The seventh parable, the parable of the net, covers the nations. At the time of the Lord’s coming back there will be three peoples on earth: those in Christendom, those in the Lord’s recovery, and those among the nations. In the parable of the net the nations are likened to fish in the sea. These “fish” are brought to the presence of the Lord, and the Lord exercises His judgment upon them. This will mark the completion of the age at the Lord’s coming back. All this is covered by the seven parables concerning the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens. We are neither in the first four parables nor in the seventh, but in the fifth and sixth. We are the treasure and the pearl. These parables of the treasure and the pearl are most precious. What a privilege it is to be the fulfillment of these parables!