Unity of the Spirit Ephesians 4:1-6 Sermon

Ephesians 4:1-6

The Unity of the Spirit

Sermon Notes

11/13/2017

You can listen here: http://providencekirk.com/sermons/2016-sermons/

Lynchburg, Virginia

EXHORDIUM

         As we look at Ephesians today, and particularly at the Unity of the Spirit, we should keep in mind both the fact of the matter and the exhortation of the Spirit.

         We are united in Christ. Christ is one and cannot be divided so all those in Him are in fact united. At the end of all things in the Resurrection, we will see that this is true. That is part of the decree and cannot be altered.

         But we also live our lives, day to day, in the church, in this church, in our homes and among the brotherhood. Because Christ is one and we are one in Christ, the Spirit calls us to live out that reality here and now. This unity is accomplished when we love one another.

         The love of the brothers and sisters is manifested most gloriously when we treat others the way that God has treated us, namely better than we deserve. That is easy to say and hard to live. We understand this truth when we think of our standing before a holy God. He forgave us in Jesus and if we had been left to ourselves we would be in trouble. So, we gladly receive His forgiveness and are welcome into His presence.

         But then we want others to treat us the way we think we deserve to be treated. And it is difficult for us to love them if they do not earn our love, or merit our love. We are prone to keep a record of wrongs. That is not endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

         The better way, the Christ-like way, is to keep no record of wrongs, to freely forgive, the way you have been freely forgiven, to think lowly enough of yourself that you are even difficult to offend and to the best of your ability to desire peace with all men. This is the high calling in Jesus Christ.

EXEGESIS

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Paul again reminds the Ephesians that he is a prisoner of the Lord. He is certainly a prisoner. He is a prisoner of the Romans but sees this as secondary. He sees himself as doing all that He does for Jesus. He is imprisoned for the sake of the gospel. He is not ashamed of this and encourages the Ephesians to not be ashamed either. This imprisonment is for the glory of the Lord and also redounds to the glory and benefit of the Ephesian saints.

Paul is going to Caesar and the sentence of death hangs over him. He is like a pastor with a death sentence due to cancer, who’s only concern is to continue to minister to the true needs of the saints.

We should pay attention to this. What follows from Paul are some basic exhortations to practical obedience. We should glean from Paul’s priority what our priorities should be.

We tend to think of a vocation as a job. But that is not what Paul is talking about here. He is reminding us that God has called us to Himself in Jesus Christ. We have been called into the family of God. We have been made children of our Father in Heaven. He is reminding us to be true to this calling. We are to live out our lives in Christ according to the word of Jesus.

This exhortation by Paul is very nearly a command to obey the third commandment. Do not take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain. Do not take the name of Jesus upon you and then live out a life inconsistent with His family.

What is the character of this calling?

With all lowliness The Christian life is inconsistent with high mindedness. It is unworthy for Christians to think more highly of themselves than they think of others. Don’t rush past this. We know this language. We know that we are to esteem others higher than ourselves We know that we are not to think ourselves above others. We can pass the test.

But what do we do? It is not only what we say. We can use words that reveal our hearts. But what do we think? How do we judge our brothers? How do we pat ourselves on the back because we think we are relatively better than other people? If we really do think we are better because of our good deeds, then we are not being lowly.

         But you protest. We really are better, aren’t we? I see these people over there who are not being obedient to the Bible. There are Christians who live in scandalous sin. There are unbelievers who do not care what God thinks. Aren’t I better than them? Can’t I pat myself on the back for that advancement?

         Hold on! How did Paul deal with this? He said that he was not even on the same level as the Ephesians. He says that they are way above him. In point of fact, Paul was an Apostle of the Lord Jesus. He was called, specifically by Jesus, and Jesus appeared to Paul in a way that he appeared to no one else. Paul was faithful to take the gospel to the Gentiles. He withstood rebellious Jews.  He was beaten and uncowed. This Paul says he is the chief of sinners. This Paul says he is the least of all saints.

         Can we relate to this? Can we say that of ourselves we are in the same place as Paul the chief of sinners? It is important that we get this so that we can begin to desire God’s blessing on those around us, whether they are Christians or not. Do we really desire God’s blessings on others? Even if that blessing means that they far surpass us in blessings and in the eyes of men? Are you happy when men think your brother or sister, or co-worker, or fellow congregant is more godly than you are? Or, does it ruffle your feathers when others receive blessings you think they do not deserve? Or, do you get angry or frustrated when others are honored above you?

         If so, then you should pray to cultivate lowliness.

and meekness- gentleness

with longsuffering- patience

forbearing one another in love- this means putting up with one another. This is not the same thing as rejoicing in the life of the saints. When others treat us well, it is easy to love them. That is not what this is talking about. It is talking about forebearance, putting up with trouble, putting up with those who would otherwise frustrate you. In the life of the church, we are called to love the unlovely. You can really only do this if you have lowliness of mind.

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

         Why are we to walk worthy?

         First of all, to honor our Lord who bought us. We do what pleases Him. We have become His children and so we are to act in accord with His name.

         But to what end? The end of good behavior in Jesus Christ is the unity of the Spirit. He wants us to be united in Jesus Christ. He wants us to be one in Jesus. He wants us to get along with one another. He wants us put up with each other. He wants us to endure with each other. He wants us to love one another.

        

Bond- band, tie, joint tie like a ligament. What is that bond? What is it that ties us together? What holds us together? Peace. Of course, this peace is the peace of Christ, given to each one of us through the forgiveness of sins. But it is not just peace with God. This peace must expand to hold us together with one another as well.

         We should keep in mind the Lord’s Prayer here. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. Do you see the connection? We have peace with God because He has forgiven us our sins. How can we have peace with others? We must forgive them their sins. If you will not forgive sins, then you will not have peace with others. This will cause you enough trouble here on Earth. You will be irritated, angry, bitter, resentful, vengeful and full of wrath. The end of that road is an ugly one.

         Unforgiveness, persisted in, does not end with trouble with mankind. If you retain sins and walk in bitterness of soul, then you will also have trouble with God.

Remember the qualification to the Lord’s Prayer Matt. 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

In our lives together, the Lord puts a high value on unity of Spirit. It makes sense that this unity of Spirit develops a unity of mind and action.

Some have complained that our congregation is too homogenous, of the same or similar kind of nature. There is an insinuation in this that we are not diverse enough to include those who make the homogenous claim. But is that true? Are we all the same?

Some are old and some young. Some athletic, some clutzy. Some are healthy and some are suffering. Some have horrid backgrounds and some have a pretty clean slate. Some are white collar, highly educated professionals and some are blue collar workers. We have homeschoolers, private schoolers, online schoolers, government schoolers. Stay at home moms and working moms. We have foodies and junk fooders. We have health nuts and couch potatoes.

What is homogenous about this? I can tell you. They all love Jesus. They all believe the Bible to be the absolute end of the argument. They all embrace the glory of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. They all agree that they must be at peace with God and men and there is no room for disunity in the diversity of the body. That insistence on unity is the homogenous bond of peace.

Through the years there have been a few words that have been buzzwords for disunity in the church. The first is duplicitous, being of two minds. The accusation is that the pastor, elder or teacher speaks out of two sides of his mouth. I suppose it is possible that someone who uses that word is speaking forthrightly themselves but my experience is that the accuser usually has an agenda to attack the man rather than the truth of the man. So, I have grown wary of those who accuse of duplicity and weary of the word itself.

I have a growing antipathy to homogenous. If it were truth, a homogenous body would be one without Spirit and Son, worshippers of unity without triunity, embracers of unity without diversity. But those in the Spirit cannot be such. Those in the Son cannot be such. As Bonhoffer notes, if we love the Christ in the body, then we cannot be homogenous in our walking out of the life of the body. We must be careful, then, to love Jesus in others and not our own distinctions in others. For if we do that, then our unity is in something other than that which is God-ordained and we really do have something to fear. But I believe in better things for you, Providence Church, things that accompany salvation, a unity of Spirit, in the bond of peace, centered in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we start with Jesus, if we walk in His Spirit, then our unity will be manifest by our love for one another and will result in a growing like mindedness that redounds to the glory of God. We will look more and more the same because we will reflect the glory of Jesus Christ. If that be homogeneity, we’ll take it.

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 

One Body- That body is the body of Christ. The body of Christ is not divided. All members of Christ are members of His body.

One Spirit- It is also true that there is only one Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Because there is only one Spirit, there must be unity in the revelation and work of that Spirit. The Word revealed by God cannot be of two minds. There is not two words in the Bible. The truth revealed there is cohesive. It holds together. There are parts of Scripture that need study and explaining. There are parts where good and faithful men disagree. But the word is not double-minded. The Word, itself, stands sure. We must get our minds around this.

Now, it is also the case, that most of the Bible is clear. Most of it is not stuck in dispute. Most of it is straightforward and easy to understand. As we move into the latter chapters of Ephesians, this is very clear. The Apostle tells us many things to do. Those commands are not unclear. We must simply obey the words of the Spirit revealed there.

So, we must distinguish those things that talk about the decretal will of God and those things that are related to His prescriptive will for us. Things related to the decree are harder to nail down because they are related to God in His essence. We can know a great deal about the nature of God because He has revealed His nature to us. But God still remains inscrutable in many ways. This is why He sent His Son to live with us and die for us, so that we could know Him. But we who are finite can never attain a complete knowledge of the infinite, not now, not ever. The absolute knowledge of God will always be out of our grasp. We will always be learning, always getting to know Him, more and more, forever. This is an encouraging thought for our lives in eternity. The newness of the knowledge of God will never wax old.

One Hope- God’s forgiveness here and now, what we call being born again, filled with the Spirit, saved. And the hope of the Resurrection, God’s promise of salvation to us that is permanent.

The following Triumvirate go together. One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism. They all point to Jesus Christ. He is the Lord. We have faith in Him. We are baptized into Jesus.

5 One Lord- This is the Lord Jesus. So, it marks out the fact that there is one ruler of all but we must also note that this verse is talking about Jesus, not just God. He is saying that Jesus is that one Lord. Jesus is ruler of all creation. Because there is only one Lord, no other so-called lords are really lords at all. Only Jesus is the ruler of all.

one faith- Our faith is planted solidly on the Son of God. Thus, we are not a people of faith. We reject that modern, liberal interpretation. We do not have faith in faith. We do not have faith in religion. We do not have faith in Buddah, or Allah, or a numerous host of idols. Our faith is faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone. Faith in anything or anyone else is a hopeless faith.

one baptism- Because these three go together, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, only Christian baptism is true connection to the unity of the Spirit. Baptism is being named Christian. It is being washed in the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ. It is being born into the kingdom of God through the waters of life. It is being identified with the bride of Christ, the Christian Church. No other washing will save. There are not multiple baptisms. All true baptisms are baptisms into Jesus, naming in Jesus, being saved by Christ.

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. This is where the Apostle has been going all along with his line of reasoning. There are not multiple lords. There are not multiple faiths. There are not multiple churches. There are not multiple Spirits. There are not multiple truths. This is true because there are not multiple gods in the world. There is only one God. He alone is our Father, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sender of the Spirit.

You may think I am spending too much time on this. Don’t we have it already? No, we don’t. Our culture is beating us down on this. They say that there are many truths, many gods, many spirits, many faiths, many ways to be saved. They do not want us to be exclusive, claiming salvation only in Jesus.

You children growing up in this church are going to be hit with this from every conceivable direction. The mainstream media is going to lie to you every chance they get. In movies, on television, on the internet, on the radio, in print, they are going to say that Jesus is not the only way. They are going to say that Christians are unloving because they keep others away from peace and comfort in their faith, in their lie. But you must remember what you have learned here. You must remember your catechism. You must remember your Bible, one Lord Jesus, one faith in Christ alone, one baptism into Jesus and His Church, one Spirit that leads according to the revealed word in the Bible.

How many Gods are there? There is but one only the living and true God.

EXHORTATION

I pray that God will write this upon the doorposts of your hearts such that it can never be removed that God is very interested in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We have some difficult things to talk about this afternoon. Things that threaten our unity, our peace. But we should be endeavoring to keep that unity and doing so through the bond of peace. How do we do so?

With all lowliness and meekness. With longsuffering, that is patience with one another and putting up with one another, even putting up with one another’s sins, because we love each other.

Eph. 4:2   With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;  3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

All Ate and Were Full

Jesus fed five thousand men and their wives and children with five loaves of bread and two fish. Everyone ate and they were all full. Not only were they full, there were baskets of food left over. This was a remarkable feeding, like manna from heaven.

This is what Jesus does. He feeds us body and soul until we are all full. And when we grow hungry, He feeds us again. Our sustenance is Jesus, Himself. That is what is presented to you here in this meal.

All who eat in faith will be full.

Perfectly Whole

In the beginning, Jesus’s disciples were those of little faith. When they encountered the storms of life, they doubted and feared.

But some of His disciples, some of the least of His disciples, looked upon Him with great faith. One such lady didn’t even try to talk to Jesus, she thought if she could just touch His clothes she could be made well. She did and she was.

Have you touched the hem of Jesus’s garment with the touch of faith? Then, concerning sin, you are made perfectly whole. The stain of shame and guilt is gone. All things are made new in you. You are a new creation in Christ. Thanks be to God.

Matthew 13 Sermon Notes- Kingdom Parables

Matthew 13:1-58

Kingdom Parables

Sermon Notes

You can Listen Here:

 http://providencekirk.com/sermons/2016-sermons/

November 6, 2016

EXHORDIUM

         The Kingdom Parables are stories that tell a story. There is a progression in these parables. I want you to listen for it as I read.

         Today, I want to take fly over of the landscape. We will revisit the text next week with a closer approach. The closer approach makes sense especially for some fine points and for application. But the fly over really is the main point of the text.

EXEGESIS

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.  2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying,

Why didn’t Jesus just speak plainly? He did to those who have ears to hear.

1.   The Spreading of the Gospel of the Kingdgom

2.   Various hearers and believers in the Kingdom

Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Even among the faithful, the fruit is not equal.

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 

11 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.

12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

This does not seem fair to us in our egalitarian age. We want to take from the one who has and give to him who does not. But Jesus turns this around. He is making a particular point about belief and faithfulness that should not be generalized in either direction towards economics. But the principle does apply in many cases. The have nots keep have notting. The haves keep having.

13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

The tension in the kingdom. Hard hearts and soft hearts. Which will you be?

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Jesus speaks of better things for His disciples. But remember that even among the closest of the disciples, there was one who betrayed Him.

18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Jesus speaks riddles to unbelievers but speaks the plain truth to His disciples. Among the hearers of Jesus are those immediately controlled by Satan, those who try to make their way out but can’t seem to get very far when trouble hits, those who seem to make a serious commitment that lasts for a long time until the world and riches and power turns their heads, and then those who believe and stay connected to the root and bear fruit.

Wheat and Tares

Matt. 13:24   Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

3. The Impurity of the Kingdom= The Kingdom will one day be perfectly purified but that is at the end of time when Jesus sorts everyone out. Until then, we must be content with not knowing the condition of hearts.

31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. 33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

4. The Growth and Expanse of the Kingdom

It starts out small, like a grain of mustard seed but it grows into a great tree. It starts out small like a little leaven, a little yeast, but it grows until it fills the whole loaf. The Kingdom grows. The Kingdom starts out small, just a few faithful who really know that Jesus is the King. Then it spreads to 120 and then to 3000 and then to 5000 and then a great multitude, then from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and the uttermost ends of the Earth. Eventually, the who earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

The Kingdom does not just plop down from Heaven. Even the New Jerusalem which came down from Heaven is a paradigmatic city, one that eventually fills the whole earth.

34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:  35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. 

They were secret things but Jesus is revealing them.

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.  37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus preaches hell fire, wailing and gnashing of teeth. His message is not simply one of nice thoughts and platitudes. Jesus came to divide men between believers and unbelievers. The unbelievers will suffer for their unbelief. That suffering is real. Fire, wailing, torment, beastly behavior. Be not unbelieving then.

Matt. 13:44   Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

5. The Value of the Kingdom- Jesus teaches His disciples that the Kingdom is of great value. It is so valuable that you should trade everything you own to get it. If you found that your some land for sale had a gold mine on it, or maybe huge deposits of oil shale, you would go and sell and mortgage everything you could to scrape up enough money to buy that field. The value is much greater than any of your own worth so you greatly increase by your investment.

Or further, if you find that one pearl of great price, a pearl big and beautiful and perfect beyond any you had ever seen. You would trade all that you had to buy that pearl.

The Kingdom is like that. It is of the greatest value. Value is easy to see in a gold mine. It is easy to see in a beautiful gem. The Kingdom is a little harder to discern. Where is its value? Why is it valuable? What benefits do I receive?

It’s main value is in its King, King Jesus. When you come into His Kingdom, you have a High King, who is also Priest. He is the center of the Kingdom and to be His subject is worth expatriating from all other countries to His. The benefits of this Kingdom are manifold, including being related to Jesus, being connected to His brothers and sisters, eternal life, a blessed life in this age and in the age to come an even greater blessing without sin and death.

Further benefits include: The presence of the Holy Spirit to grant us peace that passes understanding. In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. So, in Jesus, in His Kingdom, you can be of great joy even as the world is passing away.

These are just a few of the benefits of the Kingdom but there are many more both in this life and the life to come.

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

6. The Expansive Impure Kingdom- This parable is similar to the wheat and the tares but seems to expand that parable. The great drag net catches fish of every kind. This speaks of the expansiveness of the gospel. It will go out on the waters and gather up people from every tribe and tongue and nation. Not every one who is gathered will be true believers. But we do not have to worry about that or sort them all out. God will do so at the end of the age. Until then, we gather.

50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Again, Jesus preaches hell fire and torment. We do not have to worry about the impurity of the church because God will sort it out. But for those who presume upon God and still lead wicked lives, there is a day of reckoning.

The righteous should respond to Jesus because we love Him and desire to serve and please Him. That is a noble motive. But there is another reasonable motive. The wicked should fear judgment and turn from their wickedness in repentance to the grace offered in Jesus. This motive is not just about the benefits in Christ’s Kingdom or of God’s love towards all people. We strongly exhort unbelievers and the wicked to turn from the wrath to come. God’s wrath will be poured out. For those of us who are walking the grace of God, we can understand this. His grace is so good and so free, to reject it is to deny the God who made you and to trample under the blood of Christ. God would be no good God to leave this business unfinished.

51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

7. New and Old Things in the Kingdom- God’s Kingdom is old and new. The Scriptures of old still apply. God’s promises to His people from the beginning are coming true. But something new is here. The Son has appeared. The Kingdom of Heaven is ruled by Jesus. The Holy Spirit will soon appear in a new and powerful way. The Kingdom of Heaven has come to Earth. It will expand until it fills the whole Earth. It will encompass Jew and Gentile and every Kingdom on Earth.

We talk about continuity in the Old Covenant to New and Discontinuity. Things Old that are the same and things New that are different.

Matt. 13:53   And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. 

EXHORTATION

54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?  55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?  56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?  57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

8. The Barrier to the Kingdom- Unbelief

Jesus seems too normal. His hometown folks have a hard time believing Him. He did not do many mighty works in His hometown because of their unbelief.

Keep in mind that this entire section keeps up the rift with the Pharisees, with the chief priests and scribes. They resist Jesus and His teaching. Jesus then talks about wheat and tares, good fish and bad and punishment at the end of the age. But it is not simply the religious rulers that resist Him. Some of His own family resist Him. Some of the neighbors He new as a boy resist Him. Unbelief raises its ugly head among those closest to Jesus.

This tension of unbelief in the family is a very real theme. We see this sort of thing in the epistles. The writers write to believers exhorting them to believe. This sort of tense language is the language of the Bible.

So, we have it here, a church full of believers, from adults to children. But when the sorting time comes, which pile will you be in, the wheat or the tares? The good fish or the bad? And what characteristic separates you?

It is this one, the only requirement for entry into this Kingdom, belief. Believe in Jesus, His work on the cross for your sin, His resurrection to life for your life.

And once you believe, then act like it. Walk according to God’s Spirit doing the will of the Father. Live a life of faithfulness, which includes the conviction of sin, repentance from dead works and walking in new life and righteousness.