Please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 5. Matthew, the fifth chapter. We will begin with the first verse.
And seeing the multitudes, He went up into the mountain:
and when He had sat down, His disciples came unto Him:
and He opened His mouth and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted?
It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house.
Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:48:
Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 6:1:
Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father Who is in heaven.
Matthew 6:33:
But seek ye first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 7:21:
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and by Thy name do many mighty works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.
Every one therefore that heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.
And every one that heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof.
May we just look to the Lord.
Our Father, we have read Thy Word, and now we ask Thy Holy Spirit to breathe upon Thy Word and make it living and operative in each of our lives. To Thee be all the praise and glory, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
We mentioned last night that the kingdom aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ must be recovered at the end of this age. It is because we are told in Matthew 24 that the gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the habitable parts of the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are living in a very difficult time. As we find in the book of Hebrews, the Lord said that one day not only the earth will be shaken, but even the heavens will be shaken. All that can be shaken will be shaken away. Why? The unshakable kingdom is coming.
I believe that every one of us senses very deeply in our hearts that we are in the days of great shakings. We find shakings everywhere—not only in the physical world, but even in the spiritual realm. We find great shakings happening on this earth.
Is there a witness for the nations that there is a kingdom that cannot be shaken? The church is entrusted with this testimony. We are to preach the gospel of the kingdom as a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.
Is there such a witness today? When everything is being shaken, when people find themselves puzzled, confused, frightened, tangled, terrified, do we have a testimony to give to the world that there is a kingdom that cannot be shaken?
It is more than just a matter of preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Yes, the gospel of the kingdom must be preached. We must tell the world that the kingdoms of this age, the kingdoms of this world, are shakable. But we believe that there is a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and it is coming.
But it is more than just preaching; it is to be a witness. And how can it be a witness unless it is something that has been wrought into our very being? In other words, the gospel of the kingdom is not only something to be preached, but it is something to be demonstrated, that the world may see in us that there is a glorious kingdom coming. It will give them hope, and it will be a witness and a testimony to the nations.
And when that testimony and witness is there, the end shall come.
You know, sometimes I wonder why it is that the end seems to be approaching and yet receding. Why is it that the coming of the Lord is so near and yet so far? I wonder whether it is because the gospel of the kingdom has not been preached as it should; whether it is because the gospel of the kingdom is not a witness to all the nations; whether it is because God’s people are not really living in the reality of this unshakable kingdom.
Put another way, this unshakable kingdom is still in the making. It has not been ready yet, and because of that, the end is delayed.
Dear brothers and sisters, if we can see this in that light, I do believe that it will give us serious thought, and we should be before the Lord. Before the kingdom of God shall appear upon this earth openly, it has to be a reality in the spiritual realm. And this is our responsibility.
Before we go into what we would like to hear this morning, I think probably there is some clarification that needs to be made. What is the difference, or is there any difference, between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven?
Now, in the Scripture, you will find that the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are sometimes used interchangeably. You may find in Matthew the term the kingdom of heaven, and then, in the same relationship or the same incident, you may find in the other Gospels the kingdom of God. So, in one sense, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven can be used interchangeably.
And yet, at other times you will find that they cannot be used interchangeably. What is the kingdom of God?
When we think of a kingdom, immediately we know that it means reign, dominion, rule. Wherever God rules and reigns, there is His kingdom.
The psalmist said in Psalm 90:2, “From eternity to eternity, Thou art God.” Our God is God from eternity to eternity. And because He is the eternal God, therefore His kingdom is the kingdom of all ages, and His dominion is unto all generations. We find that in Psalm 145. In other words, the kingdom of God is from eternity to eternity. Wherever God reigns, there is His kingdom.
What is the kingdom of heaven? The kingdom of heaven means the heavens rule over the earth. We find this first in Daniel.
In Daniel 4, we find it is said, “That thou mayest know that the heavens do rule.” Now, it is a term that is used especially by Matthew. In the whole Bible, you cannot find this term used other than you find it in Matthew.
In the Old Testament, the only place where it comes closest to this is what we have just quoted: Daniel 4:26, “The heavens do rule.” It gives the meaning of the kingdom of heaven.
And then the only other place in the New Testament that gives the same sense is in 2 Timothy 4, when Paul says, “The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto His heavenly kingdom.” The kingdom of heaven.
Aside from these two places in the whole Bible, the kingdom of heaven is used exclusively by Matthew. Why? It does carry a very special meaning.
The kingdom of heaven is a section of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is from eternity to eternity, and then, within this eternity-to-eternity kingdom, there is a part of it, there is a section of it, which is called the kingdom of heaven.
And because of this, you will find that sometimes the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven can be used interchangeably. Why? Because the kingdom of heaven is part of the kingdom of God. But the kingdom of God is of greater extent than the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is especially related to Christ. And because it is related to Christ, it is especially related to the church.
Christ is the One Who comes down from heaven, and yet He is in heaven. Wherever Christ rules, there is His kingdom. So, the kingdom of heaven actually begins with John the Baptist.
Do you remember our Lord Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force”? In other words, from the days of John the Baptist, when he came to preach and said, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” up to the present—that is, to the time when our Lord Jesus was speaking, and to our time—the kingdom of heaven is here.
And it will continue on through this age to the age to come, until one day, when everything shall be in subjection to Christ. Then He will subject all things to God, that God may be all in all. That is in eternity to come. The kingdom of heaven will have come to a close.
So, dear brothers and sisters, just remember this: the kingdom of heaven is, in a very special way, related to Christ and to the church. And this is the gospel of the kingdom in which we are interested.
The Gospel according to Matthew is the gospel of the kingdom. We mentioned already last night that it begins with the coming of the King, the birth of the King, and it continues on with the proclamation of the kingdom. The whole book of Matthew speaks of the King and the kingdom.
And you will find in the Gospel according to Matthew that there are three different aspects of the kingdom of heaven presented to us. These are the three peaks in the Gospel of Matthew.
One is Matthew 5, 6, and 7. We all know it as the Sermon on the Mount. That is one aspect of the kingdom of heaven. May we call it the spiritual reality of the kingdom.
Then we have the second peak in Matthew 13. We find all these parables, and the parables that our Lord Jesus spoke are the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. May we call it the outward appearance of the kingdom.
And then the third peak is found in Matthew 24 and 25. There we have prophecy. We may call it the public manifestation of the kingdom.
These are the three aspects of the kingdom of heaven. And I do believe that we need a clear understanding of all these aspects in order to know what the kingdom of heaven really is, what its relationship is to us, and what our part is in it.
Now, this morning we will concentrate on the first aspect: Matthew 5, 6, and 7.
Matthew 5, 6, and 7 is what we commonly call the Sermon on the Mount. There are many different interpretations of the Sermon on the Mount.
Some people think that the Sermon on the Mount gives us Christian ethics. Our Lord Jesus gives us Christian ethics. He tells us how we should behave. It is the highest ethical standard in the whole world.
Even people who do not believe the Bible is the Word of God respect Matthew 5, 6, and 7. They will throw away the whole Bible, but they will not throw away Matthew 5, 6, and 7. Why? Because they think it is the highest standard of ethics in this world.
Other people think that the Sermon on the Mount gives us the perfect law. The law of Moses, given on Mount Sinai, is not perfect. It is God’s law, but the law is not perfect because of the weakness of men. But here, our Lord Jesus has given us a perfect law. There is nothing better than this.
Some people say the Sermon on the Mount is an ideal. It is something that everybody should aspire to, but you can never arrive at it. It is ideal.
But then other people disagree and say that the Sermon on the Mount must be kept. We must do what the Sermon on the Mount teaches us.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, what is the Sermon on the Mount? What is it in relation to us?
After our Lord Jesus had proclaimed the message of the kingdom—“Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”—then He began to call people to be His disciples. A number of disciples were gathered to Him. They heard the call, they repented, they left everything, and followed the Lord. They put themselves under the rule of Christ, their King.
Then, in Matthew 5, we are told that our Lord Jesus went up to the mountain, to the high place, and His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
First of all, dear brothers and sisters, the Sermon on the Mount is not directed to the world. Even though there were great crowds there, our Lord Jesus did not address Himself to the crowds. He addressed Himself to the disciples.
The Sermon on the Mount is not for the world; the Sermon on the Mount is for the disciples. In other words, if you are a disciple of Christ, then it is for you. If you are not a disciple of Christ, it means nothing to you.
It is not an ethic. It is not a moral standard. It is not something that our Lord Jesus gives to this world as an ideal aspiration. No. The Sermon on the Mount is spoken to the disciples of our Lord Jesus.
Only the disciples can hear such words, because only the disciples are able to enter into the reality of them. So, dear brothers and sisters, unless we are disciples of Christ, it is more than just a matter of being believers.
We believe in the Lord Jesus. In believing Him, we receive from Him forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and all the blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
But to be disciples is to give our all to Him, to put ourselves in His hands, and let Him form us, fashion us, work in us, and work upon us. He transforms us and conforms us to His own image. These are disciples, and only to these people is the Sermon on the Mount given.
So, dear brothers and sisters, let us be ready. If we really want to hear the words in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, then first of all, we have to put ourselves in the hands of our Lord Jesus, to be His disciples, to be discipled by Him.
Number two: the Sermon on the Mount is not a new law. Sometimes we think that Moses gave us the Ten Commandments, but our Lord Jesus gave us a new law. It is the perfect law. No.
What is a law? Law, commonly understood, is a standard given to us for us to keep. In other words, a law is a demand upon us that we must try our best, exert our utmost strength, to do it. If we do it, we shall live; if we do not, we die. Now, that is law.
Is there anybody who is able to keep the law of Moses? There is no one. No one can keep the law of Moses. How can anyone keep the new law of Christ, which is a hundred times more difficult than the law of Moses?
The law of Moses, in a sense, controls outward conduct. But the new law would even control our intention. If Christ gave a new law to His people, we would be condemned a hundred times over.
No. The Sermon on the Mount is not a new law. The Sermon on the Mount is life. It is a new lifestyle.
The Sermon on the Mount is an impossibility. It is an impossible thing for anyone to keep or to do, and yet it is possible to keep and to do. Why?
Because there is a life there. If there is not the life of Christ in us, no one can do what the Sermon on the Mount demands. But the Bible says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
It is because we have the life of Christ in us, and this life has a new nature. If you live according to this new nature, this will be your lifestyle.
It is supernaturally natural. It cannot be natural, but it can be supernaturally natural. If we try to keep the Sermon on the Mount with our fleshly strength, we will all be doomed.
But thank God, we are given the life of the Son. With the life of the Son in us, this is the way that the Son lives. It cannot be any other style.
Now, this is the Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, it is grace; it is not law. If we take the Sermon on the Mount as law, we will be condemned.
And I do believe that many Christians, with the best of intentions, find themselves unable to keep the Sermon on the Mount, and they feel condemned. This is not the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount.
On the contrary, the Sermon on the Mount is grace. Grace works in us, and when we allow grace to work in our lives, this will be the result of it. It will result in glory: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The tape ends here. The cassette is marked: “Part missing—machine breakdown.” This concludes Brother Kong’s ministry on The Gospel of the Kingdom, Part 2, May 1980.