Grainger County news. (Rutledge, Tenn.) 1917-current, 1919-09-04
LESSON FOR SEPTEMBER 7
PARALLELS OF THE KINGDOM OF
/ HEAVEN.


LESSON TEXT-Matt. IS:3i-33, A-S0.
GOLDEN TEXT-Seek ye first the
kingdom OF God and his righteousness
Matt. 6:33.
PRIMARY ToPIc-obeying our king.
JUNIOR ToPIC--A message of the
king.
INTERMEDIATES ToPIc-The growth
Of the kingdom.
SENIOR AND ADULT ToPIc-The
extent of the kingdom.
!. The Parable Of the Mustard Seed
". 81, 32).
Three things mainly occupy our ut
tention in this parable:
/. It's unimportant beginning. 1t
begins as the least of all seeds and
grows to be the greatest among herbs.
The king a of ordinary ~parentage
and humble circumstances. He select
ed unlettered fishermen as his royal
advisers. The prophet had said con-
corning him that he would be "de-
spised,' rejected" 'forsaken," "cut
off" and as "having nothing"
2. It's vigorous growth. From these
small beginnings Chrlst's influence has
gone forth so that there is no power
or influence equal in greatness to that
of Christendom.
3. Its lodging capacity.
The birds which find Judgment in
the tree do not represent the children
Of men who find safety and salvation
In the church. The birds constitute
no part Of the tree, while the believer
becomes a part Of the tree, adding to
Its strength and frultfulness. The birds
are something foreign to the tree, and
are burdensome and injurious to 1t.
They come to find shelter and wait to
kpluck off the tender buds, or to prey
upon the ripened fruit. The effect OF
their lodging in. the tree Is evil and
blighting. In Chrlst's interpretation
". 19) he said that the fowls repre-,
sent the wicked ones. He who would
make the dodgers here anything else
makes Christ's Interpretation a farce
The same Greek word is used In both
cases, and the circumstances are the
same.
II. The Parable Of the Leavenec
Meal ". 33).
Three things mainly occupy our at
tention here: the meal, the woman
and the leayen.
j. The meal. Meal has a whole
| some and nutritious effect. 1t wa,
sod in one Of the s~weet-savour offer
higs which was typical of Christ Uev
2:1-3 r. W; 1t was food for tn
priests (Lev. 6:15-17 r. W Abraham
had Sarah to knead a cake out o.
| three measures of meal for the angelic
! messengers of the Lord (Gen. Is: 6)
Solomon's royal table was provided
with meal Il Kings 4:2) Elijah wa
| fed upon a cake made of meal Il
Kings 4:41) /; Elisha used meal as al
antidote for the poison of death from
the pot (II Kings 4:3S-41).
2. The m In scripture W.
find false doctrine being taught b!
woman (Rev. 2:20). Dealing will
doctrine is forbidden to women {
Tim. 2:12). In 1 Tim. Alb; II Tim
2:17, 10; II Peter 2:1-3, we find tina
the apostasy will be brought il
through false teaching within tn
ranks of Gods people. The meaning
then, of the parable is that the tru'
doctrine, the meal given for the nour
ishment of the children of the king
dom (II Peter %, / Tim. 4:6), will b
officially corrupted by false doctrine
Woman is a type of the church il
some sense. The church is hidin
away false doctrine, and its corrupt
ing effects are seen on every hand.
8. The leaven. In scripture leave
is invariably a type of evil. (D Al
through the Old Testament leaven l
a continual and unvarying type o
evil Eek. 12:15; Lev. 2:11). 1t is lr
conceivable that Jesus should arb
trarily change, without due motto
and explanation, q word from a
evil to a good sense, which the SpirI
of God had SO uncfmngingly used fo
two thousand years. (2) Jesus hin
self makes leaven to denote sin (Mat
16 e, IL; Mark S:15). (3) Paul use
leaven in it's usual biblical sense
Cor. 1858; Gal. 5:S, 81. Further, TIL
Is the only Interpretation that wi
harmonic with Christ'S interpreti
ton of the first two parallels. Fac
patent to all prove that the professe
church today is feeding upon tt
leaven of Journalism and legaiism il
stead of the ~unleavened bread of sil
cerity and truth-the Word of Co
III. The Parable of the Hid Urea
ure ". Az.
~. The Parable Of the Merchan
man Seeking Pearls ". As, 49,.
v. The Parable Of the Drag Ne
". 1850.
(For a detailed study Of the la
%hraa nnrahlpS coo the Review for Sc