{"id":868,"date":"2011-07-15T06:30:55","date_gmt":"2011-07-15T06:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=868"},"modified":"2011-07-15T06:30:55","modified_gmt":"2011-07-15T06:30:55","slug":"%e2%80%9cunto-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-%e2%80%9d-mark-411","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=868","title":{"rendered":"\u201cUnto 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.\u201d Mark 4:11"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cUnto 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.\u201d\u00a0Mark 4:11<\/a><\/p>\n

By \u201cthe kingdom of God\u201d is meant the same thing as \u201cthe kingdom of heaven,\u201d that is, the internal kingdom set up in the heart by the power of the Spirit\u2013that 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\u2013
\nit will be beyond nature, sense, and reason;
\nit will be hidden from the wise and prudent;
\nit will be revealed unto babes.
\nLet 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\u2019s heart, as the Apostle says, \u201cChrist in you, the hope of glory;\u201d and again, \u201cYou are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them\u201d (2 Cor. 6:16<\/a>). That God should take up his abode in a man\u2019s 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, \u201cI am Polycarp, the God-bearer, for I carry God in me!\u201d At this answer the Emperor laughed, and said, \u201cLet him be thrown to the wild beasts.\u201d 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!\u2013how 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
\n\u201cFor the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.\u201d\u00a0Mark 4:28<\/a>
\nFaith, 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 \u201cassurance\u201d in the original has a very simple, yet beautiful meaning. It means literally \u201ca full bearing;\u201d 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\u2013it is the same faith, only increased, enlarged, bearing more abundant fruit, or flowing in a more abundant tide.
\nAssurance in Scripture is not confined to faith; there is \u201cthe full assurance of understanding\u201d (Col. 2:2<\/a>), 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<\/a>). Similarly there is the full assurance of faith (Heb. 10:22<\/a>), 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? \u201cWe have not followed cunningly devised fables; these things that I am following after are realities; these objects set before me are certainties.\u201d
\nI 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.\u00a0 J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cUnto 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.\u201d\u00a0Mark 4:11 By \u201cthe kingdom of God\u201d is meant the same thing as \u201cthe kingdom of heaven,\u201d that is, the internal kingdom set up in the heart by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,44,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-j-c-philpot","category-gospel-preaching","category-taught-of-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":869,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868\/revisions\/869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}