The Sons of the Kingdom

The Sons of the Kingdom

“The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.” Read Matthew 13:38-43.

“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matt. 4:17.

“For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Rom. 14:17.

Jesus bore this kingdom within Him, but it became visible through His body. That is how close it had come. This kingdom will be established throughout the entire world at Jesus’ return. Then this prayer will be fulfilled, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

When the Holy Spirit filled the one hundred and twenty people in the upper room, they, too, received the kingdom of heaven within themselves, and it was manifested through their bodies wherever they went. In the same way, all the saints have borne the kingdom of heaven within themselves, and it has always been manifested through them. These are the sons of the kingdom.

Just as wheat grows and increases and matures until the harvest, so will also the sons of the kingdom. During their life which they now live in this world they are being filled more and more with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The tares also increase and mature. They are the sons of the wicked one. They are driven by the lusts in their flesh during their time in the world, and their inner man is increasingly filled by evil.

Now is the time of grace, and God lets it rain over the evil and over the good; He also lets the sun rise over the just and over the unjust. However, Jesus will come again as a King to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth. Then He will separate the evil ones and cast them into the fiery furnace. The time of grace and the time of the tares will have come to an end. Then the sons of the kingdom will shine like the sun in the Father’s kingdom.

Jesus instructs us about these things so we can understand how great it is to be sons of the kingdom. When Jesus establishes the kingdom of heaven, the hidden life with which the sons of the kingdom are filled will spread over the entire world. They will shine like the sun in that kingdom.

The maturing process revealed the difference between the wheat and the tares. The separation among people can be made only after the time of grace is over, and Jesus is delaying His return to save as many people as possible. 2 Pet. 3:9.

When Jesus began to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, He said, “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” Read Luke 6:21-49.

Now Satan is the god of this world, and people try to find satisfaction in this world. They thirst—they try to be happy—but some of them cannot laugh. They are revolted by it all. These are blessed, for they can only be satisfied by the kingdom of heaven. When they hear about it they become converted and are saved. They are the wheat.

It has happened more than once that certain people could not believe that they were of the wheat, for in their hunger and thirst for satisfaction they had gone far on sins’ ways and were badly treated by Satan. They did not know any better. They tried what the world could offer them, but when they were offered the kingdom of heaven they were converted, and Jesus says, “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”

Who is it who has an ear for such a life and hungers for it? It is the wheat that hungers like that. They may very well have been evil and requited evil with evil, but that kind of life could never satisfy them. They didn’t know that it could be different in this world. But when they heard about the kingdom of heaven—the life for which Jesus came to save us—they had an ear for it. This is something for which they hungered and thirsted, and only this life could give them joy.

Therefore we can, with great boldness, proclaim to people that they should become converted, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We do not have to water down the life that Jesus proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount in order to win people. If we do that we will win tares. We can only bring in the wheat with the Sermon on the Mount.

The wheat have hearts and ears for the kingdom of heaven, and they cannot be sated with anything except to bless, give, and do Jesus’ words. They build their lives on the rock. They are exposed to storms here in this world, just like the tares, and through these storms their lives are manifested as the only thing that endures.

Just think how they will laugh when Jesus comes again, when the kingdom that is within them—their life—spreads throughout the whole world. Their house—their life—will stand for all eternity. But woe to those who are sated with this world and who can laugh now; they will be poor on that Day. Then they will hunger and weep. Their house will fall to pieces on that Day. They are children of the wicked one. They did not have ears and hearts for anything but sin and the pride of this world. They are the tares that will be cast into the fiery furnace; then there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Therefore, brothers, seeing this is how matters stand, let us with great boldness proclaim repentance and the kingdom of heaven so we can be along in bringing in the wheat.