In Matthew 5:20 the Lord Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” Surpassing righteousness is the condition for entering into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the millennium. This righteousness refers not only to the redeeming Christ, who becomes our objective righteousness when we believe in Him and receive Him so that we were justified before God (1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:26), but much more to the indwelling Christ, who lives out of us as our subjective righteousness so that we may live in the reality of the kingdom today and enter into its manifestation in the future. This subjective righteousness is obtained through fulfilling the new law for the kingdom of the heavens given by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:17-48. The righteousness of the believers according to the new law of the kingdom surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees according to the old law. It is impossible for our natural life to gain this surpassing righteousness. Such righteousness can be produced only by a higher life, the resurrection life of Christ. By keeping the highest law to the highest standard of morality, we fulfill the condition for entering into the coming manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
The Lord Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders shall be liable to the judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the judgment of the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, Moreh, shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire” (vv. 21-22). The word Raca is an expression of contempt, meaning “stupid, good-for-nothing.” The word Moreh, which is more serious than the expression of contempt, Raca, means “fool,” indicating a rebel (Num. 20:10). The law of the old dispensation deals with the act of murder, but the new law of the kingdom deals with anger, the motive of murder. Hence, the demand of the new law of the kingdom is deeper than the requirement of the law of the old dispensation. How difficult it is to fulfill the requirement of the Lord Jesus and control our anger and temper! It is also difficult not to condemn a brother nor hold him in contempt. Therefore, we should have no confidence in our natural life but enjoy Christ’s overcoming life through the divine dispensing.
Matthew 5:27 and 28 say, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman in order to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The law of the old dispensation deals with the outward act of adultery (Exo. 20:14; Deut. 5:18), whereas the new law of the kingdom deals with the inward motive of the heart. Our temper and our lust constantly damage and trouble us. In order to live up to a moral standard that is higher than that of the old law, we must overcome our temper and our lust. In order to do this, we need Christ, and we need another life—the divine life. How we need to stay with Christ! We must contact Him not only day by day but even hour by hour. Because of the anger and lust within us, we need to remain in constant fellowship with the Lord, continually experiencing the dispensing of the processed Triune God. The divine life can fulfill the highest standard and can overcome our anger and lust.
We need to be clear that we are not keeping the law. Rather, we are walking according to the spirit. Romans 7 clearly reveals that the more we try to keep the law, the more we break it. But if we walk according to the spirit, we will spontaneously fulfill all the requirements of the law (8:4). Today we are neither under the law nor obliged to keep the law. We are walking according to the spirit. Within our spirit there is Christ, who is the resurrection life. If we walk according to the spirit, we will fulfill the highest requirements of the law, overcoming our anger and our lust, and live out the highest standard of morality.
Matthew 5:31 and 32 say, “It was said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries her who has been divorced commits adultery.” In His original design for marriage, God ordained one wife for one husband. The marriage tie can be broken only by death (Rom. 7:3) or fornication. Hence, to have a divorce for any other reason is to commit adultery (Matt. 19:9). Due to the weakness and hardness of heart of the children of Israel, when the law was given, Moses gave a man permission to divorce his wife with a certificate of divorce. However, this was the law of the old dispensation concerning divorce; it was not according to God’s design in the beginning (vv. 7-8). What the Lord Jesus proclaimed concerning marriage in the new law of the kingdom changed the way of the old dispensation. The Lord’s new decree changed the law concerning divorce and recovered marriage back to God’s original intention (vv. 4-6). Hence, only two things can break the marriage tie: the death of one of the parties or fornication. Therefore, concerning the highest standard of morality in the Christian life, not divorcing surpasses divorcing one’s wife with a certificate of divorce.