аЯрЁБс>ўџ ўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ§џџџўџџџўџџџ   !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstўџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџRoot EntryџџџџџџџџВZЄ žбЄРOЙ2К FћВ1ЧuCONTENTSџџџџ фCompObjџџџџџџџџџџџџVSPELLINGџџџџџџџџџџџџHўџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџeed powerful! They are indeed the Word of God! Because of the spiritual substance behind them! Because there is substance behind them. The scriptures of other religions may contain nice thoughts, and even ideas that are true, and moral, and good. But there is no spiritual reality and substance behind them! They are like the wizard in the wizard of Oz, with a great appearance, but just a little wimpy man hiding behind a curtain. But our Scriptures are not just true, moral, and good; they are life! They are reality! Because Christ, the Living Person, fills every word with substance and reality! And this is where words become powerful! Our Christ, and our Scriptures, are the opposite of the wizard of Oz analogy. Christ comes in lowliness and flesh, but behind this humble broken man is the great big eternal holy God! We have the Bible is plain language, yet behind it is the heart and mouth of the very eternal and living God! Yes, God created all things by his word! Because He knew that behind each word there was power and ability to accomplish what He spoke! Yes, like Abraham, we believe in the God who  gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. (Romans 4:17), or  calls those things that are not as though they were ! For in his word is power! Yes, in his word is substance and reality and authority. This is why we believe the Bible is the Word of God and why we benefit from it! And so may the Bible be more than words on our tongue, and verses in our mind. But may it be expressed in our lives! May the substance and power so packed in the words of Scripture, be unpacked in our daily lives that men may see Christ in us! And so, may the Word of God on our tongue, come from a life that is expressing the very woCHNKWKS фјџџџџTEXTTEXTъМFDPPFDPPРFDPPFDPPТFDPCFDPCФSTSHSTSHЦSTSHSTSHЦ2SYIDSYIDPЦSGP SGP dЦINK INK hЦBTEPPLC lЦ BTECPLC ŒЦFONTFONTЄЦ<STRSPLC рЦ:PRNTWNPRЧŠFRAMFRAMЄсˆTITLTITL,тNDOP DOP zт"are true, and moral, and good. But  The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up (gr. Hid). Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. A parable: My definition. A story that utilizes common every day occurrences, objects, geography, persons, jobs, etc., to illustrate spiritual truths. Spiritual truths, as we know, can be hard to define and express adequately with words alone. We, in our great wisdom, try to express spiritual truths with big words, fancy logic, and wordy definitions. But Jesus, in his wisdom, used parables to express spiritual realities and truth. Jesus used very little theological jargon. You don t hear the words  justification ,  sanctification ,  Trinity ,  regeneration ,  predestination ,  grace , coming from the lips of Christ. But the ideas, the spiritual reality of these things, are every where to be found in the actions and teachings of Jesus Christ. If these things would have only been words, there would have been no redemption, no salvation, no forgiveness, no reconciliation, no relationship with the Father and the Son. Christ brought, not just words, but the spiritual reality that gives the words meaning. That is why Jesus Christ is the Living Word! He is the reality and substance of who God is and what God does! God s word was not just sounds uttered or letters written on a page! No, it was Him coming into our midst, taking on flesh, healing our sicknesses, receiving us by grace, bearing our sins, giving himself over to death, rising from the dead, ascending into heaven, sitting at the Right of God as King, sending his Spirit to fill the earth and fill his Church! It is Christ living in you and me! That is the Word of God! And the words he has given us in the Bible are indrds we speak! For if it is, it will be spoken in power, with reality behind it! Two Greek words for parable: 3850 parabole- parable, an illustration that teaches in a story or extended figure of speech; proverb, a short pithy saying: 3952 paroimia- figure of speech, proverb, maxim. So, back to the parable! And let us remember, behind this parable, and within these words, is transforming power! We see ourselves as we are; but Christ sees us as he has destined us to be in Him! And by his word and power he is making us what we are destined to be; he is making us what we already are in the eyes of God! And remember, God s perception is the true reality! God s eyes see unclouded, while we behold dimly in a glass. And as God opens our eyes to see as He sees we are transformed!  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). May God answer for us the prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesians,  that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may KNOW what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of HIS GLORIOUS INHERITANCE IN the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is HIS BODY, THE FULLNESS OF HIM WHO FILLS ALL IN ALL (EVERYTHING)!!!!!!! (Ephesians 2:17-22). Cool side note: Ephesians 1:11 says that we have an inheritance in Christ. Ephesians 1:18 says that God has a glorious inheritance in us!!!! Amazing!!!!!! What is our inheritance? JESUS CHRIST! That is our common inheritance! In Matthew 13 Christ is teaching about the kingdom of God through parables. Christ tells some parables  outside of the house beside the sea where great crowds are gathered to hear him . While other parables he spoke in a house with his disciples only. Christ gave the parable of the hidden treasure to his disciples only and not to the crowds. The parable says that a man was walking through a field. And while walking through a field he found, or discovered, a hidden treasure. How he found it, we don t know. It was covered in the field, so he didn t just stumble upon it. Yet, the element of surprise and joy is as spontaneous as if he did just stumble upon it. No, I believe he was seeking a treasure, and his joy was fulfilled in finding it in this field. When he found this hidden treasure, he subsequently hid it again. Why? Because this man is no thief. He is the author of justice, and so he abides by justice. This man does not own the field, and so he does not rightly own the treasure, though he found it. So, he abides by justice and sells all that he has to buy the field. And by buying the field he obtains, rightfully, his treasure! And he did all this, not in fear, or begrudgingly. He didn t sit around wondering and debating if it was worth it all to sell all he had to obtain this field that contained his treasure. No, joy laid hold of his heart. Duty and fear may take you far, but only so far. But joy, when it grips you, knows no limits. Joy was the reason and motive for this man selling all to obtain the field possessing his beloved treasure! Feel the excitement of this treasure seeker who has come across the very desire of his heart. And follow his joy as it leads him to sell all to obtain the field. No cost is too great!!! And feel his momentary pain as he sells all he has. As He gives everything up. As he lays aside everything he had and knew and was familiar with. Yes, he was quick to give all for his treasure, but this doesn t exempt him from the pain of sacrificing all. And then follow along still as the momentary pain of sacrifice is overshadowed again and replaced with abiding joy as he actually buys and purchases the field, and by doing so, rightfully obtains his beloved treasure. And then imagine all the future joy as he looks at all the different jewels, and coins, and gems that make up the treasure. Imagine the pleasure of his eyes as he looks upon their brilliance. Imagine the pleasure of feeling as his fingers touch the beautiful, smooth jewels. See him take each jewel one by one and delight in each individual jewel that makes us his treasure. Imagine the joy of his ears as he drops the jewels back into the treasure and hears them cling against all the other jewels in the treasure he has yet to inspect! Yes, this was his joy, it is his joy, and it will forever be his joy! Now, what does this parable mean for us. Unfortunately, Christ does not interpret this parable for us. Other parables in this chapter Christ explains clearly. But not so with this parable spoken exclusively to his beloved disciples. Yet, Christ spoke, not to leave us in the dark, but to enlighten us with his truth. So with the help of the Holy Spirit and the rest of Scripture, we can rightly interpret, believe, and receive this passage of Scripture. Christ speaks in parables to separate the wheat from the chaff. He gives us parables to distinguish the true believer from simply the eager hearer. Christ wants us to be true believers. He desires us to be wheat. So, may he give us ears to hear and eyes to see, that we may be true disciples indeed! I ll share with you the commonly held interpretation of this passage. It says that the man in the parable represents the Christian believer. The treasure represents Christ, or God s kingdom. And the idea is that the person, upon discovering Christ, or God s kingdom, should give up everything to follow Jesus! You know, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me& if you want to find life, lose it, if you want to gain life, let it go& & .sell all that you have, give it to the poor, and follow me. You know the Scriptures. And so, the commonly held view (or at least what I consider the common interpretation to be) is that Christ is encouraging his disciples, and us, to give up all to possess the kingdom. This is a fine thought, and holds very much truth. But it s like starting a novel at the end instead of at the beginning. You are missing a lot, indeed, everything. Because even the ending, without knowing the whole story, gets you no where at all. And so it is with many Christians, I think. Many Christian try so hard to give up everything to please Christ, but yet feel like Jesus is never pleased with them. They see relationship with God as a big bloody altar filled with nothing but pain and sacrifice. And there are others who see relationship with God in the same way, but out of fear of having to even go through the whole ordeal of sacrifice never even enter into relationship with God in Christ. Or, if they do ENTER relationship, they never go very far, thinking that forgiveness of sins and eternity in heaven is quite nice, but that it is much easier to just skip all of the rest that is related to sacrifice, pain, and suffering, and be content with forgiveness and heaven.! But dare I say that heaven is not the end of the Gospel, nor is it the ultimate purpose of God. God isn t just trying to get people into heaven and out of hell. God s purpose is so much greater than us just making it through earth so we can live an eternity in mansions, skipping upon gold streets. That would get boring in about 2 weeks. I believe God s purpose is hinted at in this parable. But to see God s purpose we must interpret this parable in whole different light. Here is what I believe this parable means in light of the whole of Scripture. First of all, we already noticed that Christ speaks this parable to his disciples only, and not to the crowds. Indeed, I believe this parable is for his Church, not for unbelievers. It is for those who already believe, not for those who have yet to come to Christ. In the passage of Scripture before this parable Christ is explaining a parable he gave earlier about wheat and weeds. You know, the one about the wheat being the children of God and the weeds being the children of the devil. And how, at the end of the age, God s angels will harvest the earth, taking first the weeds and throwing them into the fire, and then taking the wheat and gathering it into his barns! And in his explanation of the this parable I believe Christ gives us two major keys in our interpretation of the parable of the hidden treasure: 1) in the parable of the wheat and weeds the field is the world! The field represents the world, the earth, and all that is in it. 2) the man in the parable of the wheat and weeds is not a christian, or an ordinary man, it is the Son of Man Jesus Christ. Christ is the man and ordinary people are described as an inanimate object. So, based on these two keys, I think it safe for us to say that the field in the parable of the hidden treasure is the world. And that  the man is the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. And that the inanimate object, in this case, the treasure, represents us, his disciples. And I believe that Scripture, in many places, confirms this interpretation. God says of his people in Exodus 19:5-6,  Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession (or, as the King James says,  My peculiar treasure ) among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Peter quotes this in 1 Peter 2:5, 9 as applying to the Church,   you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ& .but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession (or, as the King James says, a  peculiar People ), that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. You, see, his Church is his chosen people. We are his treasured possession, among all the people of the earth. Here we are, hidden in the earth. Hidden from the natural eye. We are human like everyone else. We age, get sick, have kids, get married, work jobs, and are touched by the corruption of sin like everyone else. Yet, within us there is a hidden treasure. The perfect, holy, and incorruptible life and nature of the Son of God! Our destiny is great. We are the children of God. We are the bride of Christ. We are kings and priests, yet hidden before the eyes of men. In many ways, no different than them. Yet in God s eyes, we are as his Son is:  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world DOES NOT KNOW US is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him ,because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3,  whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 1 John 2:6  By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17 We are hidden in this present age, but will be unveiled in the last days, at the coming of the Jesus Christ! So, the hidden treasure is God s elect, God s chosen, the Church of Jesus Christ chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. The field is the world, in which the Church is hidden. Then there is the man who is searches and finds. I say that this man was searching, and that this is hinted at in this parable. But even if say that s phooey, then look at the parable of the pearl of great price right after this parable. It says,  the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls& . . So this man is both a seeker and a finder. And two greater words could never be used to describe the mission and heart of our Lord Jesus Christ! Luke 19:10,  For the Son of Man came to SEEK and to save the lost . Luke 15:6,  rejoice with me, for I have FOUND my sheep that was lost. Luke 15:32,  It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive, he was lost, and is found. Notice the connection between joy, celebration, and gladness, and seeking, finding, and saving. This is in complete harmony with the parable of the treasure! Yes, the man who seeks and finds and buys the treasure is the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. And we, God s elect, Christ s Church, are the treasure. Buying, in this parable, is the same thing as saving. We were hidden in a field that was under the power of an enemy. Ephesians 2:1-3 says,  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of THIS WORLD, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. The Bible calls Satan,  the God of this world, or age. He gained his limited authority in the garden, when man rebelled against God and became a slave to sin and Satan. At that point our stewardship over the earth was forfeited and Satan became,  the god of this world and  the prince of the power of the air . The one who worked outside of man to tempt him became the spirit that works IN the children of disobedience. But, in this midst of this fallen world, before the fall even occurred, Christ had chosen out a holy bride. He had elected a holy people by grace to be restored to Him! But in order to bring this elect to Himself he had to purchase his people- even the whole world- by his blood! The Bible says that man who found the treasure,  IN JOY went and sold all that we had to purchase the field! The Bible confirms that this is Christ! Philippians 2:6 says,  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. When is says he  made himself nothing it means  he made himself of no reputation , and that  he emptied himself . He gave up all, not only by emptying himself of his divine glory and rights and becoming a true human being, but also by dying on the cross and giving away his own life according to the will of God. 2 Corinthians 8:9,  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. Yes, Christ sold all that he had! His very life! He gave it up! Why? To purchase for himself a people, and the whole world! And he did it for the joy set before Him! Hebrews 12:2,  Looking unto Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Yes, there was pain, suffering, and shame, at the time of sacrifice. The cross was no easy thing for the Son of God. But it was the hope of joy that drove Christ to the cross, and it was joy that overshadowed the suffering as Christ rose from the dead triumphant! When Bible says that the man sold all that he had and bought the treasure. The word for treasure in Greek is agorazo. It means to buy, purchase; it refers to buying and acquiring possessions as in a market place. It also refers to setting a slave free through purchase! Used often of God s purchase of sinners! This word bought, used in the parable of the treasure, is the same word used in Revelation 5:9,  And they sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed (or bought) people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And look at verse 10,  and you have made them a kingdom of priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth! Christ ransomed, or bought us, by his blood!, Revelation 14:4,  It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed (bought) from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb We are bought from among mankind as the first fruits of a new creation. It is also used in 1 Cor. 6:20, 7:23, and 2 Pet. 2:1 Christ has bought both the Church and the world with his own blood. Listen to the Scriptures:  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subject to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God! For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies! And this hope is now hidden from sight,  for in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.: Romans 8:18-25  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself ALL things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Colossians 1:19-20  For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. 1 John 2:2,  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. Jesus said,  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to myself. God ultimate purpose is  in the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. Ephesians 1:10 Here we see how this is all bigger than going to heaven and escaping hell. Christ has purchased a treasure, and he has purchased the world that the treasure is hidden in! So what is the purpose of this treasure? 1) For Christ s own joy and pleasure 2) To shine the light of Christ s glory, worth, and brilliance upon the field. To enlighten the field with the light of Christ s brilliance. Christ is the treasure that dwells in us (2 Cor. 4:7). It is his light that shine through us. We are like transparent jewels ablaze with the light, brilliance, and color of our beautiful master! We are the jewels, the living stones, by which God builds his kingdom. We are the New Jerusalem, the Lamb s wife, destined to shine his light in all the earth, that the nations may walk in the light of her glory. Revelation 21:9-27 Yes, it is with his treasure that he builds up his holy city: Ephesians 2:11-22 1 Peter 2:5 Behold, all of this. We are valued by God! He chose to value you us. And in his great love he purchased us with his own laid down life! By his blood he made us his own special treasure. And we are the treasure that brings him pleasure and joy. Oh what pleasure he takes in each jewel that shines with his brilliance and love! And we are the treasure through which Christ reveals himself, his Father, and their great love to the world, John 17:20-26. There is so much more that could be spoken about. So much more to say. But it is far better now for us to simply believe and live this thing out! We find it s not so difficult to give up all, when we realize that he has already given all and we are already his! And not only are we his, WE ARE HIS TREASURE! And we are his instrument of destiny. opitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. Jesus said,  And I, when I am lifted up from theSdfH J lnЂмик< > D-F-//ŒEŽE†KˆKєXіXК\М\иdlfnfˆhŠh&i(ilboмrоrœtќwЖxЦyоyрyКzМzцp€ў€ў‚Р‚Т‚>ƒ@ƒ‚ˆђˆєˆіˆж‹и‹ ŽŽъŽ:Ш‘@”ž• • –Ђ–œ˜ž˜ЖšИš.0˜ š ј њ ЬЂЮЂ^Ѓќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќ+^Ѓ`ЃЪЃЬЃŠЄ$Њ&ЊаЋвЋ№ЋђЋ^­„­†­ЖЎИЎžЏ ЏDАFАTБ№БђБГГTГўЕЖЌЗЎЗдЗжЗRИxИИ’И*Л,Л$М&МфОцОшОъОќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќќдд(2‚"'(Š  л)л @ЗS ЗВ(Ж(цОъО№о№д "  "PS"  "PS"  Dѓ7џџџџDѓ7 "№ " tt^ЃъОРТъОФ(Dѓ7Times New Romanџs^ " " "ЄјУьШXX–)– BHP Deskjet 3900 Seriesœ„Cя€ъ odXXLetterџџџџDINU"4PАлы?PIUPH dLetter [none] [none]Arial4PРРРРРРd€?COMPAQ_OWNER<Automatic>General Everyday PrintingdxB xB tI {C zE uD џџџџwkswp.exec:\Program Files\Microsoft Works\wkswp.exe*winspoolHP Deskjet 3900 SeriesUSB001Fџџџ"\В"€‘"бV"$c"№` "№``""A."@џџџ"\В"№љ"бV"$c"№` "№``"."The Parable of the Hidden Treasure.wps""иp"иpp (" )"d we are his instrument of destiny. opitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. Jesus said,  And I, when I am lifted up from theўџ џџџџВZЄ žбЄРOЙ2КQuill96 Story Group Classџџџџє9Вqyyy…Ї1yА1ЪLyбL