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Baptism In Relation To The Coming Kingdom

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Baptism In Relation To The Coming Kingdom     Two things are presented to the eye and heart of the parishioner in Christ: (1) THE [MILLENNIAL] KINGDOM OF GOD and (2) ETERNAL LIFE.     These two differ in most points.     1. The [Millennial] Kingdom of God and Christ is temporary.  “Then cometh the end, when He [Christ] shall unhook up the Kingdom to God, plane the Father; when He shall have put all enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15: 21, 25).  This, then, is the Kingdom of the thousand years.  Eternal life is, of course, a boon without end.     2.  The [Millennial] Kingdom of God is a prize, to be bestowed equal to the work of each.  “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting these things that are behind, and reaching along unto those which are before, I printing [pursue] toward the mark [goal] for the prize of the upper calling [calling above] of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3: 13, 14).  “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one [only] receiveth the prize?  So run, in order that ye may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9: 24).  The prize is not the present kingdom of grace, but the kingdom of millennial glory.     3.  The title to eternal life is once possessed by the [regenerate] believer.  “He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life” (John 3: 36).  “He that heareth My word, and believeth Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life” (v. 24 R.V.).  The title to the [Millennial] Kingdom of God is to be sought by baptism and a new life. John Baptist demanded first repentance, then baptism unto the forgiveness of sin.  “Bring along therefore fruits worthy of the repentance,” you profess (Matthew 3: 8).  “Therefore every tree that bringeth not along good fruit is hewn lanugo and tint into the fire” (3: 10).     But now let me say a few words to remove worldwide mistakes well-nigh both Baptism and the Kingdom.     The Greek word for ‘baptism’ (now naturalized among us) ways immersion only.  All the occurrences of the word in Greek authors have been collected, and ‘Immersion’ will everywhere translate them.  The sprinkling and pouring of water on the faces of infants is a tradition of men, displeasing to God.  It pushes whispered the writ of God, and is a turning when to law as under Moses, and to the union of Church and State.  Peter speaks of baptism as a “putting yonder of the filth of the flesh.”  It was, and is, the cleansing of the whole soul of the believer.  This is the meaning of the expression as used in the Old Testament.  “He shall wash his gown and waterlog his mankind in living water” (Leviticus 15: 13).  “He shall waterlog all his mankind in water” (16).  Faith is to precede it (or repentance) (Acts 2: 38). “Repent, and be immersed, every one of you.”  It is a something enjoined on each individual.  It is not, as under Moses’ circumcision, a responsibility laid on the parents.  The male child was to be circumcised the eighth day – “And the un-circumcised male, whose mankind of his foreskin is not circumicised, shall be cut off from his people; he hath wrenched My covenant” (Genesis 17: 14).  “He that believeth, and is immersed, shall be saved” (Mark 16: 16).     And now a few remarks on THE [MILLENNIAL] KINGDOM.     The gravity of many passages is lost by supposing (a) that ‘eternal life’ and ‘the Kingdom’ midpoint the same thing, and (b) that ‘the Kingdom of God’ often ways the present time of mercy.  It ways often the future millennial day of reward.  Look at increasingly of its characteristics:-     1.  It does not victorious till the King is on earth and is judging.  “When he [the King] was returned, having received the Kingdom, then he commanded those servants to be tabbed to him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much each had gained by trading” (Luke 19: 15; Matthew 16: 28; 26: 29).     2.  Satan must be imprisoned in order that the nations of earth may be rescued from his deceits.  An sweetie-pie seized the devil, “and tint him into the untenable pit, and sealed it over him [Greek] that he should deceive the nations no increasingly till - ” (Revelation 20: 3).  Those who obtain the first resurrection “shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (v. 6).     3. - It can only take place [for the holy sufferer now in Hades, (Rev. 6: 9-11; Luke 16: 30; Matt. 16: 18. cf. John 14:3, 13, etc.)] in resurrection.  “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.” “The rest of the sufferer came not to life until the thousand years were finished.”  “I will not drink henceforth of this produce of the vine until that day when I drink it with you new in My Father’s Kingdom” (Matthew 26: 29; Luke 22: 15-30).     4.- It is not ours as yet.  We are to seek for it as of prime importance.  “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6: 33).  Ministers of the Word of God are to preach it – “And as ye go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of heaven hath drawn near” (Matthew 10: 7; Luke 4: 43); “Let the sufferer situate their own dead; but go thou, and preach the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9: 60).  There are two Gospels: (1) one of the Grace of God, which tells of the pardon of sin and of eternal life, God’s gift; (2) the Gospel of the Kingdom, which tells of reward equal to works, when Christ shall return.  Paul preached them both, and thus delivered “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20: 24, 25).     5. - Those that do not believe in the Kingdom of glory will not enter it.  “Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein” (Mark 10: 15; Luke 18: 17).     6. - Pray to enter the future Kingdom.  “We pray alway for you, that God would count you worthy of this calling” (2 Thessalonians 1: 11).  “That ye may be rumored worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which ye plane suffer” (v. 5). …     Let us take Matthew 3: 1, 2.     “Now in those days cometh forward John the Baptist, as the herald in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, ‘Repent ye; for the Kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.’”     None, plane of Israel, were ready for the Kingdom of God.  The kingdom over the earth had fallen into the hands of evil men, the emperors of Rome, and Herod, set up by Rome, was ruling Judaea.  But in the coming day righteous men, raised [out] from the sufferer and ascended to heaven, shall have dominion over earth and reign with Christ.  John was proclaiming the time of blessedness for earth supposed in the Old Testament prophets as in Psalm 72.; Isaiah 11., and Zechariah 14.  What was to be washed-up in order to have a part in it?  There must be a transpiration of life, a turning from law to grace and Christ.  For Moses cannot save sinners. Withoutrepentance, there was to follow immersion.  Jehovah, in taking Israel as a people to Himself out of Egypt, led through the waters of the Red Sea; now those who desired the Kingdom were newly to pass through the waters of baptism.     3.  “For this is lie that was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saving, The voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare the way of Jehovah, make straight His paths.”     John was the Forerunner, to prepare the way.  His proclamation was that all were sinners and needed to turn from evil.  Who and where was Jehovah?  It was the Lord Jesus, once among them as the Son of Man.  (1) So said inspired Zacharias of his son: “And thou, child, shalt be tabbed the prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go surpassing the squatter of the Lord to prepare His ways, to requite knowledge of salvation to His people by the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God” (Luke 1: 76-78).  (2) So said Gabriel to Zacharias in the temple: “Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God, and he shall go surpassing Him in the spirit and power of Elias.”  (3) So said Gabriel to Mary: “Thou shalt bring along a son, and shalt undeniability His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be tabbed ‘Son of the Most High’; and the Lord God shall requite unto Him the throne of His father David.”  “Make His paths straight” - prepare the upper road whereon He shall move to His Kingdom.       4. “But John himself had his suit of camels’ hair, and a leathern girdle virtually his loins; but his supplies was locusts and wild honey.”     Here is a view of the Forerunner, as unshared from the Son of God.  His suit was unseemly and coarse; his supplies not sought for in the city, but locusts (Leviticus 11: 22) and wild honey.   In that age of luxury, he appeared as one of the old prophets, calling Israel to repentance, as they did.     5, 6. “Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round well-nigh Jordan, and were immersed in the Jordan by him, confessing their sins.”    Unconfinedwas the effect of this strange herald, He took his stand by the river that rail through the land, and those on its eastern side, and those on its western, resorted to him.  They “were immersed in the Jordan by him.”  In wordplay to his undeniability for repentance, they confessed sins, that they might receive forgiveness. Four times John is said to have preached “the immersion of repentance unto [obtaining] the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1: 4).  It was a cleansing of the whole body, in token of the washing yonder of sins.  It was a sign of their visa of the doctrine of John concerning the Kingdom and of their desire for it, and for pardon as the way to it.  They put off Moses and salvation by works, and put on Christ and pardon of sins.  The main features of this are still in force.     7, 8.  “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, ‘Broods of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of the repentance [you profess].”     1. - Severe were his words to the Pharisees.  They were shocked, it would appear, at his calling them to penitence.  Were they not righteous, needing no forgiveness?  They widow to the word of Jehovah their own traditions.  “In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”     2. - He was severe on the Sadducees, who believed not in the prophets and in the new Kingdom of which he spoke.  They credited not resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but regarded only the present life and its benefits.     John was surprised at the visitation of both parties; he had sent no special warning to them; small were his hopes of any salubrious results to them.  Those owning the word and rite of John would escape ‘the days of vengeance’; but these would go on provoking Jehovah and be cut off in their sins surpassing ‘the days of heaven upon earth’ would shine forth.  They were not to imagine that all he taught was the momentary observance of the rite of immersion - he expected a new life from those who received his message.     9. “And think not to say in yourselves, We have Abraham as our father; for God is worldly-wise out of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”     John knew where their hope lay.  For whom were these days of joy prepared, but for Abraham’s children?  And were they not circumcised children of the Friend of God?  But this, John tells them, would not avail to requite them entrance.  Sooner than they, impenitent men, should enjoy the time of earth’s rejoicing, God would raise up flipside people to Abraham as his sons, children of like faith and obedience.  Here we have the germ of the Saviour’s teaching to Nicodemus: the regeneration of the Holy One would raise sufferer stones to wilt children of Abraham and of God.     10. “But plane once the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that beareth not good fruit is stuff cut lanugo and stuff tint into fire.”     John had spoken of the final judgment; but plane already, surpassing the Kingdom’s arrival, individuals deserving wrath would be cut off.  So was Herod, so was Judas, cut down, and their final sentence to the fire was implicitly given.     Here the Saviour is compared to the proprietor of an orchard, who in storing has come, axe in hand, to smite the trees that bring not along good fruit.  Some trust to be saved considering they have washed-up no harm; but this sentence goes along versus those who do not withstand good fruit.     11. “I indeed immerse you in water unto repentance; but He that cometh without me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to bear; He Himself shall immerse in the Holy Spirit and in fire.”     John’s element was the lowly one of the water of earth, and their immersion into it signified their death to their old life and the whence of a new life, with pardon of the past.  But He whose way John was preparing was the Son of God, greater far than himself - He was to requite a largest baptism, fitting the receivers for present service and anointing them for the Kingdom.  This took place at Pentecost, when both baptisms were owned and taught by inspired Peter, (1) the baptism of water and (2) that of the [Holy] Spirit (Acts 2: 38).     12. “Whose shovel is in His hand, and thoroughly will He cleanse His barn-floor, and will gather together His wheat into the garner; but will shrivel lanugo the satirize with fire unquenchable.”     The tittle-tattle here is to the mode in which the wheat is severed from the satirize in Palestine. The bundles of wheat are gathered on the barn-floor, a unappetizing space on the unshut field; the grain is threshed by trampling it with horses or with oxen, or by drawing over it a loaded cart, the wheels of which shake out the grain and unravel up the straw.  As the result there is a unconfined heap of satirize and wrenched straw.  This is tint by shovels  versus the wind, when the satirize and wrenched straw is borne away, while the heavier grain is placid into one spot and borne yonder to the receptacle.  The destiny of these two classes ‑the risen and the wicked ‑ will be quite opposite: the latter is tint into the fire never to be quenched, the former is to be borne into the municipality of God.     Next appears on the scene the MostUpperof whom John had spoken.  But he comes in lowliness, to receive immersion at the bands of John His servant.  He would urgently fulfil every ordinance commanded by His Father.  At His coming up from the water, the heavens are opened, the Holy Spirit, as the dove, descends on Him, and the Father’s voice proclaims Him as His minion Son.  This is He, who was to immerse in the Holy Spirit and fire.     Here are two judgments: (1) one of the trees and (2) the other of the barn-floor.  They are distinguished from one   flipside by the baptism of the Holy Ghost (verse 11).  Thrice is ‘fire’ named.  In the first and last occurrences it is the treasonous ‘fire’ into which the wicked are to be cast, whether worthless trees or satirize (verses 10 and 12).  What, then, shall we say of the ‘baptism in the Holy Ghost and in fire’? Where repentance and pardon have been followed by the immersion in water the fire of the Holy Ghost, the tongue of fire, which sat on of the hundred and twenty, shone without any injury - nay, praise to God and instruction to the sons of men, tapped forth.  But where there is neither faith nor immersion in water, there follows only the dwelling in unquenchable fire. …     Let us take Matt. 21: 23-46.     23. “And when He had come into the temple, there came up to Him as He was teaching the senior priests and the elders of the people, saying, (1) By what validity doest Thou these things? (2) And who gave Thee this authority?”     The question asked by these two parties was a rude interruption of His teaching and it showed the resistance of the ruling portion of the Jews to God’s two witnesses - John Baptist and the Lord Jesus. At His first cleansing of the temple ‘the Jews’ demanded His right to interfere with the temple arrangements, and received for wordplay that they would take lanugo Himself, the true Temple, by the death of the cross, but He would rebuild it on the third day, the day of resurrection.  It would prove Him to be the Second Adam and the Lord of life.  He had showed Himself to them as their king, coming as the prophet foretold.  But without the second time of cleansing the temple none offered Him or His disciples either lodging or food.  And He calls the temple ‘a den of robbers.’     24, 25. “But Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘I moreover will ask you one question, which, if you wordplay Me, I moreover will tell you by what validity I do these things: The baptism of John, whence was it?  From heaven, or from men?’”     So the mission of John - here tabbed ‘the baptism of John’ then comes to the front.  It had once come into notice in Galilee (chap. 11.).  On that occasion the Spirit of God notices the two parties of the Jews that took opposite sides with regard to John.  Those who received John’s baptism received moreover the doctrine of Christ.  But the Pharisees and lawyers, by virtue of their resistance to his mission by God, rejected the Kingdom of which John spoke; and, in the coming day, will have no part in it (Luke 7: 28-30).     25. “But they reasoned among, themselves, saying, ‘(1) If we shall say, From heaven, He, will say to us, Why, then, did ye not believe him?  (2) But if we shall say, From men, we fear the multitude; for all hold John to be a prophet.’”     They do not enquire, ‘What was the truth in the matter?’ but, ‘What shall we say, without regard to the truth, to enable us to get out of our difficulty?’  The mission of John was most manifestly from God - in the message of Gabriel to Zacharias his father in the temple; his dumbness considering of unbelief; the lineage of John, and the restoration of his father’s speech when he had obeyed and given his son the name of ‘John’.  Then he is inspired to prophesy the lineage of Jesus as son of Mary and son of David, and to speak of the events then happening as the result of God’s memory of His oath to Abraham, which contained, in effect, all the hopes of Israel.  They saw, then, clearly, that if they spoke the real truth they were once answered.  ‘God sent John the Baptist.’  ‘Then why did you not believe and obey the prophet God had sent in mercy and grace?’  Both the doctrine and the rite of John were of God’s sending.  But why, then, not reply - though the wordplay would be false - ‘From then men; John had no validity or legation from Jeliovah’?  “We fear the multitude; for all hold John to be a prophet.”  They fear not God - the God of truth; but men they do fear.     27. “And they answered Jesus and said, ‘We know not.’  He moreover said to them, ‘Neither do I tell you by what validity I do these things.’”     Finding there was no way out of the dilemma but by a lie, they utter it.  Jesus, therefore, declines to reply. He continues to request to them by parables.     28, 29, 30. “ ‘But what think ye?  A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Child, go work to-day in my vineyard.’  But he answered and said, ‘I will not.’  At length, however, he repented and went off to the vineyard.  And he came to the second, and spake without the same manner.  But he answered and said, ‘I go, lord, and went not.’”     By the first, the Saviour succeeding intimates that lie meant the openly profane and godless of Israel. Israel vacated is tabbed Jehovah’s son (Exodus 4: 22, 23), till the Gospel-day brought in a new son - the child of God by faith in Christ.  By the second He meant those who professed to serve Jehovah, as did the senior priests and Pharisees.  From them He gained seeming obedience in words; but it was not made good by deeds.     31. “ ‘Which of the two did the will of the Father?’  They say unto Him, ‘The first.’  Jesus saith to them, ‘Verily, I say unto You, that the publicans and the harlots are going surpassing you into the Kingdom of God.’”     Which of the two sons is to be rumored the obedient one?  They rightly answer, ‘The one who, on repentance, went yonder to work in the vineyard.’     Christ next intimates who were represented by the first son of the parable: ‘the publicans and harlots.’ The workers to-day in the Father’s vineyard will rejoice in the Kingdom in the day that is coming. The penitent and obedient at the Divine undeniability will enter the Kingdom of glory millennial, when the misbehaving are shut out.     The word unquestionably used by the Saviour carries much force.  The usual expression for the Kingdom of glory in Matthew is ‘the Kingdom of Heaven’.  But it has long been observed that there are in that Gospel some few exceptions, where the expression used is ‘the Kingdom of God’.  This is one of them. The reason of this difference I believe to be this: ‘The Kingdom, of heaven’ represent the lower dominion of the Kingdom over the earth, which is tabbed moreover ‘the Kingdom of the Son of Man’.  “There be some standing here, who shall not taste of death till they shall have seen the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom” (Matthew 16: 28).  That was fulfilled on the seventh day without those words, by the Redeemer’s glory shining on the Mount of Transfiguration.  For the Spirit of God in Matthew presents to us the two departments of the Kingdom. “The Son of Man shall send along His angels, and they shall gather out of His Kingdom all stumbling-blocks, and those that do iniquity, and shall tint them into the furnace of fire (Isaiah 66.); there shall be wailing, and gnashing of teeth.”  “Then shall the righteous shine out as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13: 41-43).     Here the earth is the Kingdom of the Son of Man, cleansed by angels.  The Kingdom of the Father is in heaven.  The righteous are, then, on high, and shine out as the sun from overdue a veiling cloud.  So moreover speaks Paul: “There are moreover heavenly persons and earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.  So moreover is the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15: 40).     This stardom holds good in the other occurrence of ‘the Kingdom of God’ in Matthew.     To baptized disciples Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount : “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be widow to you” (6: 33).  Those who in this nonliability seek the Kingdom will take the higher place in the heaven; while the saved remnant of Israel and of the nations have part only in the earth.      Again, in 12: 28: “But if I, by the Spirit of God, tint out the demons, then on you has come the Kingdom of God surpassing you expected it.”  Satan is twice tint out; first from heaven into earth (Revelation 12: 9), then, without the wrestle of the unconfined day of God Almighty, he is tint out of earth into the untenable pit, and the Kingdom, whether in heaven or among the nations on earth, is rescued from his devices (Revelation 20: 3).     And again: “Verily, I say unto you, that a rich man shall whimsically enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” When our Lord repeats the sentiment He says: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God” - the heavenly department (Matt. 19: 24).     I conclude, then, that our Lord, by ‘the Kingdom of God’, into which the penitent publicans and harlots were moving on, ways the heavenly department of it, whose centre is the New Jerusalem on high.     32. “ ‘For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and harlots believed him; but ye, without ye had seen it, repented not succeeding to believe him.’ ”     John came as a prophet of Israel, in the spirit and power of Elias.  But the learned and rulers of Israel refused to winnow either his doctrine or his rite.  They who supremely attended to John’s undeniability were those who knew that they were sinners, and desired pardon.  “The publicans and the harlots believed him” - they repented and were immersed.  The transpiration of life, wrought in them by the ministry of the Baptist was great, evident, and enduring.  So it showed that the message and its twin power, were of God.  But plane when these proud ones had visual the tuition and known it must be from Jehovah, they repented not, nor obeyed the undeniability of John.     Thus the Lord tested the state of Israel by the mission of John.  The Pharisees neither sought without the Kingdom of glory proclaimed by him, now would indulge those whom they could influence to seek it.  Christian immersion is, moreover, a test of the people of God under the Gospel.  Those who refuse it will find the word true – “They reject the counsel of God [to requite them part in the millennial Kingdom] versus themselves, stuff not immersed” – plane though a greater solemnity attaches to baptism now by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and by His parting writ (Matt. 28: 19, 20; Mark 16: 16).   -------