KINGDOM MYSTERIES

"He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." (Matt 13:11)

THE "MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM" refer to the things God has for His people. From one point of view, they are simply the Gospel of Christ (Rom 1:16). From another, they are "the things of the Spirit of God" (1 Cor 2:14), or the things the Spirit reveals to us through that Gospel (1 Cor 2:10). From still another, they are the things "God has prepared for them that love Him" (1 Cor 2:9). They are "the truth as it is in Christ Jesus" (Eph 4:21). These are "the things that are above" upon which we are to place our affection (Col 3:1-2). They have to do with His "eternal purpose" (Eph 3:11).

IN SHORT, THEY ARE WHAT GOD is now making known to His saints (Col 1:26) -- things that were formerly hidden to the sons of men. They include God's grace, the proclamation of an "eternal inheritance," the presence of the Holy Spirit, His loving care for us, the fact that we are being conformed to the image of His Son, are more than conquerors through Him, and much more. In them our real adversary is identified, the heavenly messengers that minister to us, and how all things are being worked together for our good.

WHEN JESUS CONFRONTED THE MULTITUDES, He saw their hearts -- and the sight was not good. They had no real appetite for what He came to declare – like the Gospel for the poor, the healing of the brokenhearted, deliverance for the captives, recovering of sight for the blind, setting at liberty those who were bruised, and the time when God accepts men (Luke 4:18-19). Therefore, instead of opening the truth to them, He declared it in parables.

THOSE PARABLES HID THE TRUTH, so that the hearers did not have any idea what He was talking about. That is what prompted the dialog between the disciples and Jesus that is recorded in Matthew 13:9-10. "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest Thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given."

LATER HE SAID IT WAS BECAUSE their hearts were utterly corrupt (verses 15-16). Some of the mysteries were unfolded in Christ's explanations of His parables – all given to His disciples. For example, the Lord opened up the parable of the sower to His disciples (the one that occasioned their question in the first place). He explained what the seed on stony ground meant, what the birds that ate it signified, what the seed on the stony ground meant, the seed among thorns, and the seed on good soil. These were "mysteries" because no one could possibly have comprehended what the parable meant that unless Jesus explained it to them.

PARABLES WERE NOT FOR THOSE with good hearts, but for those with bad ones. They were not designed to help people see the truth, but to conceal it from them. When the disciples asked Jesus on another occasion, "Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field," Jesus opened up the mysteries (Matt 13:36-43). Those mysteries were that Jesus is dispersing the Word of God. The field in which He sows it is the world. There are false brethren who are like tares. The one who puts them here is the devil. There is going to be an ultimate gathering of all of God's children. The wicked will all be taken out of the world as well. The angels will accomplish both gatherings. Ultimately, the wicked will be removed totally from the scene, and the righteous will shine like the Son in the kingdom of their Father.

SUCH WONDERFUL THINGS cannot be perceived or understood by the carnal mind or the natural man. They could not be seen in the parable itself. In fact, the parable hid them. That is why men go on sinning, with no regard for the ultimate end of the world, reward of the righteous, and punishment of the wicked. At the every best, such people may know those words are in the Bible, but they cannot receive them. That is why they ignore them and live contradictory to them.

BUT FOR THOSE WITH TENDER HEARTS, such things will be shown to them. The Bible calls it the opening of the eyes of our understanding (Eph 1:17-20), and comprehending (Eph 3:15-20). However, as you already know, there are no forms of human education that can bring such wonderful understanding to the sons of men. Neither, indeed, is there anyone who can arrive at such an understanding on their own. Such things are forever an unknown mysteries until God makes them known -- and He always makes them known to those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness. Jesus said such people would be "filled" – and they will!

WHEN PEOPLE DO NOT REPENT, go on sinning, or ignore the Word of God, it is because the things of God are "mysteries"to them. When people repent, obey the Lord, and live for Him, it is because the mystery has been opened up to them, and Jesus is the one who opened it, or clarified it for them.

– Given O. Blakely