The Morgan County press. (Wartburg, Tenn.) 1916-1926, 1920-12-10
IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
SUNl6yS0IOOL
LESSON
tBy REV. p. B. FITZWATER, u. ~,
Teacher of English Bible in the Moody
Bible Institute of Chicago)
%, 1920 Western Newspaper Union.)
LESSON FOR DECEMBER IL
WHAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
is LIKE.
LEsgON TEXT-Matt 1S:44-5O.


GOLDEN TEXT-The kingdom of heav-
en- il not meat and drink: but righteous
ness, and peace. and joy in the Holy
Ghost.-Rom. l4:17.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL - Mark
4:26-32; Luke 13:1S-21
PRIMARY TOPIC . Sowing in Good
Ground.
JUNIOR ToPIC-short Stories That Je-
sus Told.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
-Christ's Joy of Finding the Lost.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
The Supreme Importance of Christs
Sacrifice FOR the Lost.
!. The Parable of the Hid Treasure
". Az.
The common Interpretation of this
parable that Christ is the hid treasure
for which the sinner must give up
everything in order to buy salvation
is false for the following reasons:
1. Christ is not hidden in a field,
but has been lifted up and made a
spectacle to the world.
2. Nobody has ever been obliged to
buy the world in order to get Christ.
3. Salvation cannot be purchased,
for it is Gods free and gracious gift.
4. No warrant is ever held out to a
man to conceal his religion after he
has obtained it.
In order to find ground that Is safe
and that we may appreciate its beauty
and symmetry let us break up the par
able into its component parts:
l. The field. This is the world w.
3S).
2. The treasure. In Psalm 1856 a we
are told that Israel. the chosen people,
is His treasure. The same truth is
set forth in different places and ways
-(Deut. 1868; IA .; 26:1S; 80: 8, 81.
The kingdom of heaven as to its true
relation and bearing is now hidden.
Christ was primarily sent to the Jews;
It was for their sake, the hid treasure,
that He bought the field.
3. The purchaser-the, Son of God
John 8 :16).
4. The purchase price. This was
the precious blood of Jesus Christ
Gods beloved Son. which is worth in
finitely more than silver and gold and
the treasures of earth q Pet. 1 Is, 10 ;
lisa. 53).
II. The Parable Of the Merchantmen
Seeking Pearls wv. 45, 46).
The view that this merchantmen
represents the sinner seeking salvation
is contrary to the whole teaching of
Scripture. This would make the sim
ner to be seeking for Christ. while
Christ is as Indifferent as lifeless
pearl. The whole burden of revelation
is that man, since the fall of Adam
In the garden of Eden, has been hid
away from God, and that the Father.
Son and Holy Spirit are all actively
engaged in seeking for lost men.
/. The merchantmen. He is without
question Christ. He is actively en-
gagged in the search for pearls. In
this search he discovers one pearl of
great price.
2. The purchase price. The mer-
chairman sold all-impoverished him
self in order to buy the pearl. Christ
impoverished Himself (Phil. 2 :6-S) to
purchase the one pearl of great price
by His own precious blood Il Pet.
1:1S, 10; Eph. $3.50. Salvation is
without money and without price.
8. The pearl of great price. This
is the church. Christ, the merchant
man, will find other pearls of great
value, but the peerless gem set above
all others will be the chruch which He
has purchased with His own blood.
This truth is In harmony with the gen.
eral teaching of Scripture, which sets
forth the different bodies of the re-
deemed.
III. The Parable of the Dragnet
(vv. 1850.
This parable gives us picture of
the consummation of the kingdom.
Note the parts of the parable:
/. The sea. This word when used
in fgurative sense denotes peoples
OF multltudes (Dan. 7:3; Rev. II :15).
This means. then, that out of this
world shall be gathered multitude of
people, good and bad.
2. The dragnet. The word met" is
properly translated dragnet. The drag
net cast into the seq, then. means the
preaching of the Gospel in this age.
8. The dragnet drawn to the shore
when full. This means that when
Gods purpose is made full regarding
the preaching of the Gospel in this age,
account will be taken of the results.
4. Assortment made by the angels.
In the day of this accounting the an
gels will be the agents which shall
separate the saved from the unsaved.
5. The destiny of the bad fish. The