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In this message we shall consider further the expression of the kingdom with human virtues, covering the matter of the highest standard of morality.
When we speak of the highest standard of morality, we are not using the word “morality” in a traditional way. By morality we mean the standard of life God requires. The highest standard of morality is the living of the One — the Lord Jesus Christ — whose life was a composition of God with the divine attributes and man with the human virtues. The Lord Jesus, the God-man, was a composition of the divine essence with all the divine attributes and the human essence with all the human virtues. When He was on earth, He lived a life that was a composition of the divine attributes, especially the attributes of love, light, righteousness, and holiness, and the human virtues. This is the highest standard of morality.
God’s intention in His New Testament economy is that all the believers become a reproduction of Christ, the God-man, who lived a life in which the attributes of God were expressed in the virtues of man. In order to become a reproduction of Christ, we need to be reborn of the pneumatic Christ in our spirit (John 3:6), and then we need to be transformed gradually by the pneumatic Christ in our soul (2 Cor. 3:18). Then spontaneously we shall live Christ (Phil. 1:21), the God-man, by the bountiful supply of His Spirit (Phil. 1:19). We shall also be found in Christ (Phil. 3:9) as our surpassing righteousness in the power of His resurrection. Then we shall express Him in all the human virtues created by God for man. With the divine attributes of the God-man, these virtues will be strengthened, enriched, uplifted, and filled. This is what it means to say that the expression of the kingdom is with human virtues in the highest standard of morality.
The highest standard of morality involves keeping the principles of the law (Matt. 5:17-20). In Matthew 5:17 the Lord Jesus says, “Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.” To fulfill the law here means three things: that Christ kept the law on the positive side; that through His substitutionary death on the cross Christ fulfilled the requirement of the law on the negative side; and that Christ complemented the old law by His new law, as continually expressed by the word, “But I say to you” (vv. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44).
The Lord Jesus came to keep the law on the positive side. When He lived on earth, He kept every aspect of the law. No one else has ever kept the Ten Commandments; the Lord Jesus kept them completely.
Because the Lord Jesus kept the law, He became the perfect One. His perfection qualified Him to die on the cross for us. We all have broken, transgressed, the law, but our transgressions have been dealt with through the Lord’s substitutionary death. On the cross He was our substitute, dying for us to fulfill the law’s requirement on the negative side.
Christ’s fulfilling the requirement of the law through His substitutionary death on the cross brought in the resurrection life to complement the law. The old law, with its keeping demand and punishing requirement, is over. Now, as children of the Father, we only need to fulfill the new, higher law by the resurrection life, which is the eternal life of the Father.
Christ’s substitutionary death brought in the resurrection life. When this resurrection life comes into us, it is able to do the wonderful work of completing the law. It enables us to fulfill the higher law of the kingdom. This resurrection life is much higher than our natural life, for it is actually the divine life, the eternal life, the life on the highest plane. This highest life within us can fulfill the requirements of the highest law. In this way we keep the principles of the law to have the highest standard of morality for the expression of the kingdom in the divine attributes with human virtues.
Matthew 5:20 says, “Unless your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” This surpassing righteousness is the condition for entering into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the millennium. By keeping the highest law to the highest standard, we fulfill the condition for entering into the coming manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
According to Matthew 5:21-26, not being angry with a brother is higher than not murdering. In Matthew 5:21 and 22 the Lord Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to the ancients, You shall not murder, and whoever murders shall be liable to the judgment. But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever shall say, Moreh, shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire.” The law of the old dispensation deals with the act of murder, but the new law of the kingdom deals with anger, the motive of murder. Hence, the requirement of the new law of the kingdom is higher than the requirement of the law of the old dispensation.
It is difficult for us to control our temper and also to keep from condemning others. In verse 22 the Lord speaks about saying to our brother, “Raca” or “Moreh.” The word Raca is an expression of contempt, meaning stupid, good-for-nothing. Moreh, that is, fool, is a Hebrew expression of condemnation indicating a rebel (Num. 20:10). This expression is more serious than the expression of contempt, Raca. Because it is difficult for us not to condemn a brother or not to hold him in contempt, we should not have any confidence in our natural life but instead should experience and enjoy Christ’s resurrection life, which fulfills the requirements of the highest standard of morality.
The Lord’s word in Matthew 5:27-32 reveals that we should have the highest standard of morality in not committing adultery and in not having divorce. Verses 27 and 28 say, “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, that every one who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The law of the old dispensation deals with adultery, whereas the new law of the kingdom deals with the inward motive of the heart.
In Matthew 5:21 and 22 the Lord Jesus speaks about anger, and in 5:27 and 28, about lust. Our anger and our lust constantly damage us and trouble us. In order to have the highest standard of morality for the kingdom in its expression, we need to overcome our anger and lust. In order to do this, we need another life — Christ’s resurrection life, which is the divine life. Because of the anger and lust within us, we need to remain in constant fellowship with the Lord, continually experiencing the dispensing of the processed Triune God. Then we shall experience and enjoy the divine life, the life that can fulfill the highest standard and overcome our anger and lust.
In Matthew 5:31 and 32 the Lord speaks about divorce. “It was said: Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a divorce. But I say to you that every one who puts away his wife, except in a case of fornication, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries one that has been put away commits adultery.” What the Lord Jesus decrees in 5:21-30 as the new law of the kingdom complements the law of the old dispensation, whereas what He proclaims in 5:31-48 as the new law of the kingdom changes the law of the old dispensation. According to the old law, a man could divorce his wife simply by giving her a writing of divorcement. The law of the old dispensation concerning divorce was ordained because of the people’s hardness of heart (Matt. 19:7-8). The Lord’s new decree recovers marriage back to what God designed in the beginning (Matt. 19:4-6). In His original intention and design for marriage at the beginning, God ordained one wife for one husband. Since the Lord has recovered the matter of marriage to God’s original intention, only two things can now break the marriage tie: the death of one of the parties and adultery. Therefore, not having divorce surpasses putting away the wife with a paper of divorce.
Matthew 5:33-37 says, “Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not perjure yourself, but you shall render to the Lord what you have sworn. But I say to you, Do not swear at all, neither by the heaven, because it is the throne of God, nor by the earth, because it is the footstool of His feet, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no; for whatever is more than this is of the evil one.” The old law regarding swearing was that we should not perjure ourselves. The Lord’s new law forbids us to swear in any manner, because the heaven, the earth, Jerusalem, and our head are not under our control but under God’s control.
Our words should be simple and true. Instead of trying to convince others with many words, we should be brief and clear in our speaking. We should be able to say, “Yes, yes; No, no.” Whatever is excessive in our speaking is of the evil one.
Matthew 5:38 and 39 say, “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.” The old law was “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” This is fair, just, and righteous, but it is too low. The new law, given by the Lord Jesus in verse 39, is not to resist one who is evil. Here the Lord says that when someone strikes our right cheek, we should turn to him the other also. To do this indicates that there is no resistance and that we are not avenging ourselves.
In Matthew 5:40 and 41 the Lord continues, “To him who would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever shall compel you to go one mile, go with him two.” If someone claims your tunic, a shirt-like undergarment, give him your cloak also. This will prove that you have no resistance. To turn the other cheek to the striker, to let the one who sues have the cloak also, and to go with the compeller the second mile prove that the believers, through the resurrection life, have the power to suffer and to be meek instead of resisting and to walk not in the flesh nor in the soul for their own interest but in the spirit for the kingdom.
Loving our enemies is higher than loving our neighbors. In Matthew 5:43-45 the Lord Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may become sons of your Father who is in the heavens, because He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” Legally speaking, the old law — to love our neighbor and hate our enemy — is fair and righteous, for a neighbor deserves our love and an enemy deserves our hatred. However, in order to touch our natural being and to reveal how much the divine life can do for us, the Lord requires us to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors. This surpasses loving the neighbor and hating the enemy.
If we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, we behave as sons of the heavenly Father. As sons of our Father, we should deal with the evil and the unjust as with the good and the just (v. 45), love not only those who love us but also those who do not love us (v. 46), and greet not only our brothers but also others (v. 47). To live in such a way is to be virtuous sons of the heavenly Father.
In Matthew 5:48 the Lord Jesus concludes, “You, therefore, shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” For the believers to be perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect is to be perfect in His love. They are the Father’s children, having the Father’s life and nature. Because the believers have the divine life and the divine nature, they can be perfect as the Father is perfect.
The demand of the new law of the kingdom is much higher than the requirement of the old dispensation. If we intend to live in the kingdom, we need to practice the high standard of morality revealed by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 5. The requirements of this high standard of morality can be met only by the Father’s life, not by our natural life. The kingdom of the heavens is the highest demand, and the life of the Father is the highest supply to meet this demand. The requirements in Matthew 5 reveal how much the Father’s life can do for us. These requirements are actually a revelation showing us that the Father’s life can even make us perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.
Since we are sons of the heavenly Father possessing His life and nature, it is logical that we, His sons, should be perfect even as He is perfect. As believers in Christ, we are not only God’s creatures; we are also His regenerated children with the divine life and nature. Thus, we are not God’s creatures trying to imitate Him; we are the Father’s children living the Father’s life. We became children of God when the Spirit of God came into our spirit to regenerate us (John 3:6) and to make our spirit the habitation of God (Eph. 2:22). Now if we walk according to our regenerated spirit, we shall live by the Father’s life and spontaneously fulfill the righteous requirement of the law (Rom. 8:4). In this way we shall become perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Eventually, through our growth in life we shall be the same as He is and live a life with the highest standard of morality for the expression of the kingdom in the divine attributes and with human virtues.
