Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-07-31
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| 6lDTEsfAnENT IlnFsH
M IBRWkIYN D
w BIBLE STUDIES.
BIBLE STUDIES.
THE KINGDOM A PRIZE.
Matthew xiii. a. 53-Aua a.

| shall be added unto You. Matthew
| Today we have further precious les
sons from the Great Teacher respecting
| His Kingdom. The parable of the
Treasure hid in the Field" is not one
of the parallels which Jesus expounded.
| His people, therefore, are left to exer-
| else their judgment of its meaning, un-
der the guidance of the Holy Spirit and
the light shed upon it by other Scriptures.
| Indeed, there might be more than one
application of it. For instance, we might
apply the parable to our Lord Jesus and
say that lie bought the world at the
cost of all He had. and that He pur-
chased it because of the treasure
| which it contained. And that treasure
might consist of a variety of treasures
of different vaIues-for instance. the
Church, the Bride class, the Lord S
| special treasure. and such of the
world as will ultimately receive and be
blessed BY the Messanic Kingdom.
But our preference of thought is that
| the Great Teacher referred. not to Him.
self, but to those whom He instructed.
By virtue of His own covenant of sacri-
fee, the Kingdom was already promised
to Him, and He, in turn, in the Fathers
name, was inviting those who had ears
| to hear, and hearts to appreciate, to be-
| come members of His Kingdom class.
He recommends that these should view
| the Kingdom after the illustration of
| this parable. Suppose In their iourneying
they saw field for sale at a certain price
| and suppose, upon examination, they
| found it to contain a great treasure. The
| treasure might consist of very excellent
| soil, especially suited to their purpose. or
of a valuable vein of precious metal, or
of money buried centuries ago and for
gotten, and not belonging to the owner
| of the field more than to others who
might find it. In such q case, the para
| BILE suggests, any one OF ordinary inteli-
gence would be willing to invest every
| thing that he possessed to acquire the
title
So the master declared to those who
heard Him then, and to us who receive
His words now, that He has information
to give respecting a Great Treasure, a
Priceless Treasure, which can be OBJ
tanned only by the expenditure of great
energy and the Investment of everything
of value The Great Treasure is the
share in the Messianic Kingdom-that by
accepting the terms of discipleshp we
may become not only sons of God but
heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus
Christ our Lord to His heavenly inheri-
lance. This inheritance was the same as
was promised to the Seed of Abraham,
and we acquired an interest or share in
it, not by being the actual seed of Abra-
ham and the actual heirs to the King
dom, but by becoming Messiah's Bride
and Joint-heir.
When we think how much time and en-
ergy are put forth, and how much
money and influence are expended to OBJ
tain petty earthly honors, and when we
reflect that these at most will last but a
few years and be unsatisfactory at best,
then we can appreciate the better the
glory. honor and Immortality which God
has in reservation for the "called and
chosen faithful" "the Bride, the Lambs
Wife"
A Pearl of Great Value.
In the days of our Savior pearls were
amongst the most precious of Jewels,
and the larger and more nearly perfect
the pearl the greater it's value. The
Great Teacher used this familiar matter
as the basis for lesson on the value of
the Kingdom The Merchant of the
Parable found a Pearl so superior in
every respect to all other pearls that he
considered it cheap TO give everything
that he possessed to become its owner.
This, said the Master, Illustrates the
value of the Kingdom, with it's glory,
honor and Immortality, which l am in
viting an elect. sanity little flock to
share with Me. Those who prize it
properly will show their appreciation by
the amount they will be willing to pay
for it. Whether a man be wealthy or
poor, learned or ignorant, influential or
otherwise. the cost of this Kingdom
Pearl will be-his ALL
The wealthiest or most talented per-
son In the world could not obtain share
in that Kingdom If he kept back one
atom of his possessions; the price of the
Kingdom is self-sacrifice. even unto
DEATH and nothing less will secure it.
Nor would any sacrifice that we could
make secure a share in this Kingdom
for us, except as our sacrifice should
first be made acceptable in Gods sight
| through the precious merit of our Re-
deemers sacrifice.
The Parable of Fish Net.
| We are not to think of the Kingdom as
| net but that the embryo Kingdom re-
| sembles a fishing experience with net,
| in which were gathered all kinds of fish.
This is q parable of the embryo KING
| dom because 1t relates to work done in
| this Age, in connection with the finding
of the little flock who will constitute
| the Kingdom in glory. The Lord during
| this Age has not been seeking all kinds
of people He has been calling, drawing
especially and dealing with, only the
elect only the sanity.
| But Incidentally, variety of other
| kinds of fish have gotten into the Cos
| pei Net, some from worldly ambitions
some because religious systems are a
good matrimonial neld, others because OF
social privileges and standing. others be-
cause they desire to breathe moral at
| mosphere others because they would