The Pearl of Great Price
Matthew 13:45-46
The pearl of great price is the knowledge of God’s Will. God’s Will is a mystery and the Lord reveals that mystery to His disciples only and not to the world (Eph. 1:9). God’s Will is the integral part of the message of the kingdom of God, which the Lord is only revealing to a few, those who have been given ears to hear and spiritual eyes to see in God’s word (Matt. 13:11, 16-17).
The very proof that God’s Will is a mystery is very simple to demonstrate. How many of those who profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ do God’s Will on this earth daily, just as it is being done by God in heaven (Matt. 6:10)? How would you even know what that Will is, unless it has been revealed to you by God. The Will of God is not only typified as a pearl but also as the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:19). For unless you know the Will, you do not know the Way—if you do not know the Way, you are still religiously deceived, because you have received an incomplete gospel and incomplete message of salvation. This is why an angel of the Lord told the apostles to speak the whole message of this life (Acts 5:20). There were many gospel messages being preached in Jesus Christ's time, just as there are today, but the messages remain incomplete because they are only partial messages. It is because of this missing truth, the pearl of great price, that a person's life cannot change so he or she can become a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17).
Then what is this pearl of great price? What is this hidden knowledge that will allow a person to repent and enter the kingdom of heaven within (Luke 13:3, 5; 17:21)? It is the message of righteousness—it is the Way of righteousness (Matt. 21:32; 2 Peter 2:21). It was simply called “The Way” by the followers of Jesus Christ some 2,000 years ago (Acts 18:25; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14). It was a righteous Way of life, doing as much good for others as they possibly could daily. Jesus being their example, they were doing deeds of kindness and charity continually in their daily walk with God (Acts 9:36). Some of them were actually doing greater works of righteousness than Jesus did while He was here on this earth (John 14:12). Jesus had to return to the Father so He could send His Spirit, which would allow His followers to put on new natures and become new creatures in Christ Jesus (John 14:17-18). This powerful Spirit of truth would allow a disciple of Jesus to crush his evil nature with its evil passions and desires and become a new creation (Gal. 5:24; 6:15).
The disciples were told that if they continually practiced righteous deeds towards one another, God would build in them a new nature. He would form Jesus' new nature in them (Gal. 4:19). They were not only told to engage in good works daily for repentance, but they were also warned not to get weary in well doing, for in due time they would reap the new natures as well as blessings from the Lord (Titus 3:8; 2 Thess. 3:13; Gal. 6:8-9). This is how we overcome our evil natures (by continually doing good) like Jesus overcame and gave us example of how it’s done (Rom. 12:21; 1 Peter 3:10-11; Eph. 2:10; Rev. 5:5). We are to overcome our evil natures by keeping the deeds that Jesus gave us example to keep, if we are not to be hurt in the second death (Rev. 2:26; 2:11).
So the pearl of great price is God’s Will and God’s Will is righteousness—and that righteousness that we are to practice, daily on this earth, is the words that Jesus received from the Father (John 5:19; 8:51). For this is how we enter the kingdom of heaven, when the righteousness comes from our hearts and is no longer hypocritical (Matt. 5:20; 6:1; Eph. 6:6-8). Jesus said His Ways were very easy and pleasant to do (Matt. 11:30). Of course, we will never know unless we put our hands to the plow (which represents doing good works for God for repentance) and force our way into the kingdom within. We cannot look back (Luke 16:16).
Hundreds, if not thousands, are now engaged in righteousness daily for God's glory. It is beyond human words to explain this glorious new Way of life. The Way of righteousness is God’s Way of purifying us for Himself, by being zealous for good deeds for the Lord (Titus 2:7, 14; Col. 3:17). Don't be a goat any longer but a sheep. Be a doer not a hearer. We are all saved by grace, so we should no longer live a disgraceful life before our Maker, but imitate His Way of life daily (Eph. 5:1).
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