THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Gospel according to Matthew
Message Five—Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom to the Whole Inhabited Earth
Scripture Reading: Matt. 24:40-44; 25:21; Ezek. 1:22, 26; 2 Tim. 4:8; Matt. 24:14; 28:19-20a; Gen. 9:26-27; Rev. 21:2-3
I. “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come”—Matt. 24:14: (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
A. The gospel of the kingdom, which includes the gospel of grace, brings people not only into God’s salvation but also into the kingdom of the heavens—Acts 20:24; Rev. 1:9: (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
1. The gospel of grace emphasizes forgiveness of sins, God’s redemption, and eternal life—Luke 24:47; John 3:15-16. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
2. The gospel of the kingdom emphasizes the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of the Lord—Matt. 28:18. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
B. The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole earth for a testimony to all the nations before the end, the consummation, of this age: (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
1. The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, signified by the white horse in the first seal in Revelation 6:1-2, will be a sign of the consummation of this age. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
2. The gospel of the kingdom is a testimony to all the nations (Gentiles); this testimony must spread to the whole earth before the end of this age, the time of the great tribulation—Matt. 24:6. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
C. The gospel is for the kingdom, and the gospel is proclaimed so that rebellious sinners might be saved, qualified, and equipped to enter into the kingdom—4:17; Mark 1:14-15; Acts 8:12. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
D. Repentance is mainly for us to enter into the kingdom of God; unless we repent—that is, have a change of concept—we cannot enter into the kingdom— Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
E. Through regeneration we receive the divine life and are transferred into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love—John 3:3, 5, 15. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
F. We should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and not be anxious concerning our material needs—Matt. 6:19-34. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
G. We need to be today’s Jonah, bearing the unique sign of the crucified, buried, and resurrected life that has become the reigning life—12:38-41; Rom. 5:17. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
H. We should follow the Lamb wherever He may go to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth for the propagation and development of the seed of the kingdom to consummate this age—Rev. 14:4; Mark 4:26. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
I. “I believe that the churches in the Lord’s recovery will bear the burden to bring this gospel to all the inhabited earth. The gospel of grace has been preached in every continent, but not the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel of grace is the lower gospel, but the gospel of the kingdom is the higher gospel. This higher gospel will be brought to every continent through the churches in the Lord’s recovery” (Life-study of Matthew, p. 719). (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
II. ”Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”—Matt. 28:19-20a: (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
A. In Matthew the goal of the gospel of the kingdom is to bring people into God to make them citizens of the kingdom of the heavens—v. 19; Rom. 14:17. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
B. Through His death Christ entered into His resurrection to carry out His ministry in the stage of inclusion through His Body to accomplish God’s eternal economy—Matt. 28:18; Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:16; 3:9-11. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
C. Because all authority was given to Him, the heavenly King sent His disciples with His authority to disciple the nations, causing them to become the kingdom people for the establishing of His kingdom—Matt. 28:18-19. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
D. The Lord charged us to baptize the believers “into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”; to baptize people into the name of the Triune God is to immerse them into all that the Triune God is and to bring them into spiritual and mystical union with Him—v. 19. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
E. For the discipling of all the nations, the Lord Jesus charged us to teach the believers to observe all that He has commanded us—v. 20a. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
F. The Lord commissioned the disciples to save and gather all God’s chosen people from Jerusalem through Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth—all the world, all the nations—Acts 1:8. (2006 MDC, msg. 5)
III. In order to enjoy the Lord as our reward in the kingdom age, we must preach the gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations before the end of this age—Matt. 24:14; cf. 1 Cor. 9:27: (2001 ST, msg. 12)
A. The gospel of the kingdom emphasizes the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of the Lord—cf. Matt. 28:19-20. (2001 ST, msg. 12)
B. The gospel of the kingdom is the sowing of the Triune God in humanity (Col. 2:9) as the seed, the gene, of the kingdom of God, into God’s chosen people that He might grow in them, live in them, and be expressed from within them to develop into God’s ruling realm—Mark 4:26-29. (2001 ST, msg. 12)
C. God’s unique purpose in this age is to have the gospel preached that the church might be built up to consummate the New Jerusalem—Eph. 3:8-11. (2001 ST, msg. 12)
D. The overcomers who preach the gospel of the kingdom become the riders of the white horse—Rev. 19:11, 13-14. (2001 ST, msg. 12)
E. The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom is the greatest sign of the end of this age. (2001 ST, msg. 12)