Mysteries of the Hidden
Treasure
and the
Mysteries are
revealed only to the Disciples
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
Matthew 13:10-11
10 The
disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak
to them in parables?"
11 He
answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
A “Mystery”
in Scripture is a hidden truth or secret that God
reveals to “His servants the prophets”
(Amos 3:7).
The
Seven Mysteries of
the
Timeline of the
Kingdom
1.
The “Sower”
is Jesus Christ; the “seed” is the Gospel; and the “soils”
are the Christians’ receptivity (Mt. 13:3-23; 2:37).
2. The Wheat and the Tares show the existence of
true and false believers in the Kingdom (Mt. 13:24-30; 36-43; 7:21-23).
3
The Mustard Seed that grew into a large tree indicates the
extensive growth of the Kingdom from a very small beginning to develop eventually into a
large organization (Mt. 13:31-32; ref. Dan. 4:20-23).
4.
The Leaven shows how false doctrines would corrupt the
Kingdom (Mt. 16:6; 16:11-12).
5. The “Hidden Treasure”
point to the hidden Israelite remnant that
believe the Lord Jesus is the Messiah (
6.
The “
7.
The “Dragnet” indicates the “gathering
of every kind” from the sea of humanity that
will be separated into two groups – the good and the wicked on Judgment Day.
Mystery of the
Hidden Treasure
Mystery of the
Hidden Treasure
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a
field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all
that he has and buys that field.” (Mt. 13:44)
God’s treasure refers
to His people
who obey His
voice
(Ex. 19:5-6)
5
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My
voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above
all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the
children of
“For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,
The “Hidden Treasure” does not refer to the
physical
28
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor
is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
29
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose
praise is not from men but from God.
Romans 9 : 6-8
6
But it is not that the word of God has taken
no effect. For they are not all
7
nor are they all children
because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be
called."
8
That is, those who are the children of the flesh,
these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted
as the seed.
The “Hidden Treasure” refers to the Israelites
who believe and accept Jesus as their Messiah, Lord and Savior (Rom. 11:1, 5)
1 I say then, has God cast away His
people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed
of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
5 Even so then, at this
present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Mystery of the
of Great
Price
Mystery of the
Matthew 13 : 45-46
45
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a
merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
46
who, when he had found
one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The
merchant “seeking beautiful pearls” is the Lord Jesus
Christ.
He
“sold all that he had and bought it” means He gave His life
to purchase “the pearl of great price”. The Church is redeemed with His own blood (Acts
20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18-19)
The
merchant seeking only “one pearl of great price” means the Lord Jesus
Christ is seeking only true believers “who worship God in spirit and truth (Jn.
4:23-24).
The Pearl symbolizes
the Church consisting
of Gentile Christians
Natural
pearls grow naturally in oysters living at sea without the human intervention.
God’s
Church also grows naturally without human intervention.
The
Church is “built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22).
The
oyster is an unclean seafood that represents the
Gentiles (Lev. 11:9-12; Acts 10:9-48).
The “
The
oyster is originally a dirty and ugly creature, but when it is cleansed a beautiful interior and pearls are inside it.
The Gentiles were originally considered unclean people, but God revealed to Peter in a vision:
“And a voice spoke to him again the second time, ‘What God has
cleansed you must not call common.” (Acts 10:15) The Gentile Church is the Lord Jesus Christ's
“Pearl of Great Price".
The Pearl with
the
rainbow colors symbolizes
God's Glorious Church of many races
Interior
of oyster shells and pearls have rainbow colors that symbolize God's Covenant with His people (Gen. 9:8-17). It also represents His glory (Rev. 4:3; 10:1). Colors of the rainbow is the universal symbol of people from many nations and skin colors.
Pure
white light that passes through a transparent glass prism will emit the seven colors of the rainbow. The Lord Jesus Christ is the pure "Light of the world." "The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising." (Isa. 60:3)
“And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the
scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and
have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people
and nation.” (Rev. 5:9)
The Pearl teaches
God’s cleansing of the Church
A
natural pearl is created when a foreign object enters an oyster's inner body
where it cannot be expelled by itself.
The
oyster goes into defensive action and secrets a substance called nacre around
the irritant to protect itself.
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us
from all sin.” (1 Jn. 1:7)
The Pearl inspires
Christians to be
united in the
Church
The
oyster continues to secrete nacre around the irritant, adding layer upon layer
that are closely bonded together to form a very strong material that is
difficult to break.
“For as the body is one and has many members,
but all the members of that one body, being one body, so also is Christ.” (1 Cor.
12:12)
The Pearl teaches
Development of Good
Christian Character
Pearls are natural gems that have the natural brilliance and
shine, unlike other gems that need to be cut, shaped and polished to do so.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Mt. 5:16)
Pearls
have a soft glow that comes from within through time inside the mother
oyster.
Christians
develop good character through the years they are nurtured by godly parents who
are active Church members.
“But as for you, continue in the things which you have learned
and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from
childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise
for salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ.” (2 Tim. 3:14-15)
The Pearl of
Great Price symbolizes
the Perfect Church
The
merchant looking for the “
The
Lord Jesus Christ is presenting it “to Himself a glorious church, not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without
blemish.” (Eph. 5:27)
The
Lord Jesus Christ will be taking the Church with true Christians who are saved
to the
May God bless you
A sermon based on this article was preached by Paul Wong
to a Congregation in Houston, Texas on
For comments please write first to: arkpw@sbcglobal.net
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Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
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