The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-07-19

Lesson III.--Third Quarter, FOR
July Fl, 1912.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.


Golden Text, Matt. vi, 1o--commsn.
tary Prepared by Rev. .. M. sssaFns,
The portion selected from Mark for
today's lesson gives as two parallels,
n Of which, the mustard seed, Is the
third In the regular order In Matt. Kill,
while the gradual growth Of the seed
is recorded by Mark only. The verse
from Matthew concerning the leaven IL
the fourth in the series, according to
Matthew, and next weeks lesson on
the wheat and tares is the second. We
will be better able to summarize these.
first four or Eve parallels after next
week. Concerning them it is said, "All
these things spake Jesus unto the null
titude In parallels, and without q par
able spake He not unto them" thus
fulfilling Ps. lxxvii, 2, 3. He spake
the word unto them as they were able
to hear it, and when they were alone
He expounded all things to His dis
cfples (Matt. xiii, "a, 35; Mark ", S3,
80. His repeatedly saying, "If any
man have ears to hear, Let him hear
oversees 9 and 23), or in the Revelation
epistIes, "He that hath an ear let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches" reminds us that many are
duh Of hearing and makes Us long
for such an anointed ear as Samuel
had, to whom the Lord could whisper
things and give him messages for 9th
ers also. The admonitions, Take heed
what ye hear" and Take heed how
ye hear' (verse "a; Luke viii. 1sD, were
never more needed than now, for false
teachers and teaching abound every
where. Our lesson title, "The Growth
OF the Kingdom" is very misleading,
M doubt Internationally, but bad all
the same. II arises from the idea held
by so many that the kingdom began
when the Spirit came, in q special way
and for a special purpose, at Pente-
cost and has been growing rel since,
whereas the truth is that the kingdom
then at hand did not come and has
not yet come, and when 1t does come
It will not be gradual, but by a great
catastrophe, a Judgment, al overthrow
Of all enemies, according to lisa. ri, Al;
xiii, ell; xxxiv, 1, 2; XVI, 10, 16; Rev.
xix, 10, 20; Xxx, 1-3. What then is the
growth now going on, as set forth in
these parallels and elsewhere2 We
must remember in connection with all
these kingdom parallels His saying
when they asked Him about the FIRST
one, unto you 1t is given to know the
mystery Of the kingdom Of Cod (verse
III. The kingdom is not growing, but
the mystery more fully described in
Eph. iii and elsewhere is growing,
The church, which is His body, the elect
from all nations who are to share the
Kingdom with Him, groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord Eph. II, 1922.
The seed Of the first parable, the word
Of God, being faithfully sown, quietly
works according to this first parable OF
today's lesson, the blade, the ear, the
full corn In the ear, until the harvest
which, we shall see in next lesson, il
the end of the age. The wind blcweth
where 1t listeth, and thou canst not
tell whence it cometh or whittier IL
goeth, Is a truth on the same line.
The growth OF the mustard seed into
q great tree, sheltering the birds OF
the air In its branches or under t&
shadow, sets forth another phase OF
present things. That an herb should
become a great tree is something out
OF the regular course OF things, and
these birds in the branches cause us
10 remember that In the parable OF the
sower the birds or fowls represented
the devil oversees 4, 15). II In a dis
course the speaker uses a figure and
explains Il, then a little later uses the
same figure, his former explanation
stands, The SO called church has grown
to be a vast something very direrent
from what the Lord intended it to be,
and II In the first twelve disciples there
one Of whom our Lord said, "0na
of you is a devil" John vi, 70), we can.
not doubt but that in the great COM
pany OF those who today are called
Christians there may be many who for
some reason other than the right one
have taken refuge In the church.
As to the woman taking three o
ures Of meal and leavening it till the
whole was leaVened, is 1t not very
clear that the woman, the church, ia
doing that very thing, and In our day
as eve before7 From the passover
story OF Elk. xii, where they were to
search for and put away all Ieaven.
there Is no place in the Bible where
leaVen anything good. 1t is al
ways something corrupting, and Israel
vas forbidden to offer it with their
sacrifice Iev. II, IL; vi III. In Lev.
xiii, 1913, where the church Is typi-
fed by the first fruits, leaven was
commanded because OF the evil that
the Spirit foresaw would be IN those
lrst fruits, but It was met by the sacrt
ice Of the next verse, In Amos Nv, s,
they were told that offering with
leaven was just like them and their
sinful ways. When Sarah baked cakes
quickly for her visitors she took three
measures Of meal, but we are sure that
She had no time to use leaven (Gen.
xviii 81. Our Lord taught the dis
Ciples to beware OF the leaven, or falss
teaching OF Pharisees and SadduceeS
(Matt. XVI, 6, 121, and the Spirit by
Paul said, Let rs keep the feast with
the u~nleayened bread Of sincerity and
truth q Cor. v, 81. This age Of the
mystery Of the kingdom, the calling
out OF the church while the kingdom Ill
postponed, II ~narvel0usly set forth fiji
fhAsa narabIaa by Him whn knnrv nla