Jul 11
15
“Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but unto those who are outside, all these things are said in parables.” Mark 4:11
By “the kingdom of God” is meant the same thing as “the kingdom of heaven,” that is, the internal kingdom set up in the heart by the power of the Spirit–that kingdom which shall stand forever and ever, and last when time shall be no more. This the Lord calls a mystery. And if it is a mystery, it will have these three marks–
it will be beyond nature, sense, and reason;
it will be hidden from the wise and prudent;
it will be revealed unto babes.
Let us see if we can find these marks belonging to the kingdom of heaven set up in the heart. It certainly is above nature, sense, and reason, that God should dwell in a man’s heart, as the Apostle says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory;” and again, “You are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them” (2 Cor. 6:16). That God should take up his abode in a man’s heart; that Christ should be in a man; and the Holy Spirit should make the body of his saints his temple; how can nature, sense, and reason understand such a mystery as this? When one of the ancient martyrs, I think it was Polycarp, was brought before Trajan, when the Emperor asked him his name, he answered, “I am Polycarp, the God-bearer, for I carry God in me!” At this answer the Emperor laughed, and said, “Let him be thrown to the wild beasts.” That was the only answer a persecuting tyrant could give. That a man frail and feeble, whom a lion could tear to pieces in a few moments, carried God in his bosom!–how could the wise and prudent Trajan believe a thing so unheard of? Yet it is a mystery revealed to babes; for they receive it in the love of it under divine teaching, as one of the mysteries that God the Spirit makes known in the heart. J.C. Philpot
“For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” Mark 4:28
Faith, I believe, has in it always a measure of assurance. For what is assurance? It is merely the larger growth and fuller development of faith. The nature of assurance is much misunderstood. It is often considered something distinct from faith. This is not the case. It is merely faith in a fuller, larger development. The word “assurance” in the original has a very simple, yet beautiful meaning. It means literally “a full bearing;” and the word is applied sometimes to a large crop of corn or fruit, and sometimes to the tide coming in with a fuller wave. Now it is the same corn which grows in the fields, whether the crop be much or little; it is the same tide that comes up the river whether in a scanty or full flow. So it is with assurance and faith–it is the same faith, only increased, enlarged, bearing more abundant fruit, or flowing in a more abundant tide.
Assurance in Scripture is not confined to faith; there is “the full assurance of understanding” (Col. 2:2), that is, a fuller measure and amount, a greater enlargement of understanding to know the truth of God. The understanding is the same; but there is a larger measure of it. So there is the full assurance of hope, that is, a hope strengthened and enlarged, bearing more fruit and flowing in a fuller tide. But it is the same hope; the same in kind, though larger in degree; a stronger anchor, and yet an anchor still (Heb. 6:19). Similarly there is the full assurance of faith (Heb. 10:22), that is, a larger, fuller measure of faith; a richer crop, a more abundant tide. Thus you have a measure of the assurance of faith if you have faith at all. In fact, if you have no assurance of the truth of these things, why do you follow after them? Why do you hang upon them, why do you hope in them, and why do you seek the power and experience of them in your soul? Have you not arrived at this point yet? “We have not followed cunningly devised fables; these things that I am following after are realities; these objects set before me are certainties.”
I grant that you may be much exercised about your saving interest in them. Still, unless you know that they are certainties, why do you believe them? Why are you anxious to know your saving interest in them? Why do you sink in doubt and fear for lack of clearer evidences of a saving interest in them? And why do you spring up in peace and joy the moment that a little light from them beams upon your soul, and a little sweetness out of them drops into your heart? Because you know that these things are realities. So far then you have an assurance that they are certainties, and in due time, as God is pleased, you will have the assurance in your own breast, not only that they are certainties, but that you have them in your own sure and certain possession. J.C.Philpot