Answers to Correspondents: Kingdom of Heaven and God; Typical Teaching of Red Sea

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The Presbyterians profess to hold new birth by baptism in a worse way than Episcopacy, though they have no formulary to bring it under the eye. It was held by all the Reformers, but where sacramental grace is held, the root of popery and ecclesiastical hostility to the truth is always found. As regards the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God, only dispensationally spoken of, and is the kingdom of God when the King is in heaven; but kingdom of God is a more general term, we learn, it "is not meat and drink". Kingdom of heaven is only used in Matthew in contrast with Messiah on earth. John never speaks of dispensation, but of the reality of the things of God being revealed, and it is used here. (John 3)
The Red Sea I believe to be Christ's death and resurrection, and thus redemption, by which we are brought to God, as is thus said. You have not the saints raised in Romans, he is looked at as we are, a man living on the earth, but haying Christ as his life, forgiven and justified, and reckoning himself dead, and giving himself up to God, as one alive in Christ from the dead. Red Sea redeems us, but from enemies, but out of flesh, and so sin and Satan's power. Pharaoh was not an enemy, but an oppressor. Jordan is death experimentally- death with Christ. Then, after being risen, fighting begins. 1880. J. N. D.