The third parable speaks of the expansion and enlargement of the appearance of Christendom (Matt. 13:31-32). The church was originally small, like an herb from a mustard seed. An herb is not only small but also annual, indicating that the church is small and that it sojourns on the earth, that is, that it is transitory. However, because of the addition of the tares, the false Christians, to the church, the nature of the church changed; the small herb became a great tree. A tree is a perennial plant. The church thus became Christendom; a sojourner became a permanent dweller. In church history the prophecy in this parable was fulfilled in A.D. 313 when the Roman Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity. Tens of thousands of Romans who did not even understand the gospel followed the trend and became Christians. At the same time the emperor and the high officials all shared the same religion and had the same faith. This caused the church, which had been despised, persecuted, small, and sojourning on the earth, to become Christendom, which was honored, respected, great, and settled on the earth. A small herb became a great tree, and birds came and roosted in its branches. In Matthew 13:32 the word birds is in the plural number, referring to Satan, his angels, and people who belong to Satan. They have all found a dwelling place in Christianity. Today anyone can roost in the branches of Christianity and even make a living from it.
The mustard seed refers to the grain of life, and the mustard plant refers to the church. The mustard seed refers to the Lord’s life and the Lord’s word. From this seed the church, signified by the mustard, is produced to supply people with life and to nourish them. The mustard is an annual herb. In this parable, however, its nature is changed, and it expands to become a great tree. In the principle of God’s creation, everything should be according to its kind; only what is according to its kind is from God (Gen. 1:11-12). The mustard in this parable changed in nature and became a great tree, bringing confusion into God’s creation. All confusion comes from Satan. He added into the church many who were not saved, those who bore the name of Christian but had no reality. As a result, the mustard changed its nature and became a great tree. The mustard refers to the church, which is hidden, despised, and often trampled by man; the great tree refers to Christendom, which is manifest, honored, and not easily oppressed by man. We must be humble and not covet any worldly fame. In this way, we will not become the great tree.
Spiritually speaking, the more we recover the ground and the nature of the church, the more we will not only be like mustard but will even be mustard. Using animals to illustrate, we are not like lions or tigers but are like small doves and lambs. Using plants to illustrate, we are not like great trees; rather, we are like herbs, which are often trampled by man yet do not resist. If man tramples us to the uttermost, even into the ground, we must remember that the grain that falls into the ground will still grow up. Our only power is the life within. Herbs are for nourishing man. Thus, among us there should not be many talented ones who are like trees; rather, there should be many who are like herbs for people to eat and be supplied. Our service today should be like an herb that feeds and supplies people inwardly rather than a great tree that is manifested outwardly. Paul was truly talented, yet he was not a great tree but a very sweet herb that supplied not only those in his time but also us today. Therefore, we should not have great trees among us but only herbs. Our meeting halls should not bear the appearance of cathedrals; that would indicate the condition of being a tree. Instead, our meeting halls should be only for covering us from the sun and shielding us from the rain, for we are an herb, not a great tree.
In the fourth parable the kingdom of the heavens is likened to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened (Matt. 13:33). Leaven signifies the corrupted content of Christendom. In this parable the woman mentioned by the Lord is the great harlot in Revelation 17. Reputable Bible expositors agree that this refers to the Roman Catholic Church. The church’s position before the Lord should be that of a chaste virgin. However, the church has changed in nature to become Christendom, which is like an adulterous woman.
The work of this adulterous woman is to mix leaven into the three measures of meal, thereby causing the whole to be leavened. In the Bible fine flour signifies Christ as food to God’s people, such as the fine flour used in the meal offering in the Old Testament (Lev. 2:1-7). This enables God’s people to receive God’s life and nourishment. However, this woman added leaven to the fine flour. The principle of leaven is to make things easy to eat. The Roman Catholic Church, signified by the woman, added leaven to the fine flour. This leaven includes heresy. The Roman Catholic Church teaches people to receive the teaching in the New Testament, while at the same time bringing in Gentile customs to make it easy to eat, easy to receive. Although the Catholic Church takes the truth as the basis for everything she does, the mixture of heresy has been added. In Revelation the church in Thyatira, to whom one of the seven epistles was written, is the fulfillment of this fourth parable (2:18-29). The woman in this parable is Jezebel. According to this parable, Christianity is not merely great in appearance but also has become corrupted in content.
The parable concerning leaven was fulfilled beginning with the formation of the Roman Catholic Church. When the Catholic Church was formed, in God’s eyes she was an adulterous woman. God’s creation was corrupted by Satan through a woman (Gen. 3:1-6). In principle, the church that God redeemed also was corrupted by Satan through a woman. For this reason, God does not permit women to teach in the church (1 Cor. 14:34-35; 1 Tim. 2:11-12; cf. 1 Cor. 11:5). This is because, in principle, all the heresies were brought in by a woman; it was a woman who brought in the leaven. Both the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches believe in their own creeds more than in the Bible. They would twist the word in the Scriptures in order to give the word of the Catholic Church a higher position. When the word in the Scriptures differs from the word of the Catholic Church, they would rather listen to the word of the Church. The Roman Catholic Church is the adulterous woman who brought in heresy. Everything the Bible teaches is centered on Christ, who is signified by the fine flour in the parable. However, the Catholic Church as the evil woman has mixed things other than Christ, corrupted things, into the teaching of the Bible.
We believe only the Bible, not the teaching of the so-called Church. To believe the teachings of the Church, in principle, is to allow a woman to teach. This goes against the teaching in the Bible. The reason the sisters cover their heads is to demonstrate that we acknowledge God’s authority. The reason we do not allow women to teach is to show that we do not accept the mixed teaching of the so-called Church. We accept only the Lord Himself and the truth that He reveals to us in His Word. We do not accept the heresies brought in by the convenient methods of that woman. We eat only fine flour and solid food, not leaven or leavened meal. We need to realize that it is easy to be a member of the Catholic Church or of the Episcopalian Church, but it is not very easy to be a Christian among us. This is because we eat solid food, which is hard, whereas they eat leavened meal, which is very soft. Therefore, we should not consider it to be a good thing when people say that our messages are easy to understand. Neither should we be disappointed when people say, “This word is hard; who can hear it?” (John 6:60). The saved ones must eat fine flour and solid food. Although it is not easy to eat this kind of food, we must eat it.
We would rather that our preaching be difficult to understand than add leaven to it; we would rather that our work be slow than add leaven to it. The principle of our work is that we depend only on prayer and not on social activities. We should not seek a quick result in the Lord’s work. The Lord’s work on the earth for three and a half years apparently did not yield many results. If leaven is added to anything, the number of people who welcome it and eat it will increase immediately; however, the proper condition will be lost immediately. Today many in Christianity are lions and tigers, not lambs; they have power and position in an organization and do everything by relying on that organization. The more we observe the situation in the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches, the more we can see the fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy in the parables in Matthew 13. However, these parables were understood neither by the people at the Lord’s time nor by those in Christendom today.
Matthew 13:1 and 3 say, “Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea...And He spoke many things to them in parables.” When the Lord spoke beside the sea, the people did not understand Him; only those who followed the Lord into the house could understand Him (v. 36). Those who were beside the sea signify people who live in the world; they do not understand the Lord’s words. Those who were in the house signify people who are hidden and have the Lord’s presence; only they can understand His speaking. The Lord spoke the parables beside the sea but explained them only after He went into the house (vv. 34, 36). Today many people do not understand these parables because they remain beside the sea. We are able to understand the parables because we are willing to follow the Lord into the house.
Matthew 5 through 7 speaks of the reality of the kingdom, which does not involve the element of time; chapter 13 speaks of the appearance of the kingdom, which does involve the element of time. The Lord spoke the first parable concerning a time when the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens had not yet begun; it was in the second parable that the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens began. The first four parables in chapter 13 were spoken publicly to the crowds beside the sea; the final three parables were shared privately to His disciples in the house. This indicates that the things covered by these latter three parables are more hidden.