“Again, the kingdom of heaven [the heavens] is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
THIS is the sixth parable in this chapter, and corresponds with the address to the Church in Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-137And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 13He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Revelation 3:7‑13)), in which are recognized the principles of brotherly love, holiness, truth, and subjection to the Lordship of Christ, together with the preservation of the word of Christ, and the hope of the Lord's return to receive His Church, which is His body and His bride.
The typical foreshadowing of this period may be found in the times of Hezekiah and Josiah, wherein there was a return to the first religious principles of the kingdom, and such an observance of the Passover as had not been before since the reign of Solomon (2 Chron. 29-31, 34, 35).
In accordance with the interpretation given in the other parable by the Lord Himself (verses 37, 38), the merchant man is the Lord Jesus, and the pearl is the Church, as the object of His desire and self-sacrificing love.
In Ephesians v. 25-27 the same truths are expressed by the Holy Spirit, "Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it.”
In the unity of the Godhead the Divine affections of the Lord Jesus were satisfied in the love of the Father, and in the love of the Spirit; but as the Son of Man, and the second Adam, there needed to be found a helpmeet for Him. And this suitable object, this second Eve, in the Divine eternal counsels, was found in the Church, who was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:44According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Ephesians 1:4)). For this, among the other joys that were set before Him, He endured the Cross and despised the shame; He emptied Himself and became obedient unto death; and though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor.
The Church of God is ONE, as represented by the one pearl-one body though composed of many members; one habitation of God, through the Spirit, though builded of many stones; one, as the purchase of the same all-atoning blood; one, as the workmanship of the same Divine eternal Spirit, and by that one Spirit baptized into one body.
It is unique, it stands alone.
The preciousness of this one pearl consists not so much in its own intrinsic value as in the price paid for its redemption, the skill and labor bestowed upon it.
It was the gift of the Father to the Son in the counsels of eternity; purchased by the Son by His own precious blood, and at the sacrifice of Himself. In order to its formation it was expedient that the Son of Man should go away, and that the Holy Ghost, in His especial office of Comforter, should come and remain with the Church, and in it, until its completion.
As the diver descends beneath the ocean wave, and at no little risk detaches from its rocky bed the rough oyster shell, which contains within itself the precious pearl, and brings it up to light; even so the Lord Jesus descended, not only at the risk, but at the sacrifice of His own life, into those depths of sin, of ruin, and of distress in which the Church lay, in order to bring it up from those depths into the light of life.
And as the pearl is at first embedded in a mass of living, but corruptible flesh, and needs to be separated and cleansed from its surroundings in order that it might appear, in its purity as well as in its beauty, fit gem for the imperial diadem; even so it is with the Church.
Alas! with what a mass of corruptible flesh is it surrounded, and how deeply is it embedded, and what a purification is needed!
But this is the work on which the Lord Jesus is now occupied.
He is sanctifying and cleansing his blood-bought Church with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself, in due time, a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:26, 2726That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:26‑27)), then to present that Church unblameable in holiness before God, even His Father, and before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy; and afterward to appear when He comes with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, "to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe" (2 Thess. 1:1010When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. (2 Thessalonians 1:10)); for "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.”
The pearly aspect of the Church is beautifully and symbolically represented by the gates of the Holy Jerusalem in Revelation 21:2121And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. (Revelation 21:21), where we read that "every several gate was of one pearl." "The twelve gates have one appearance, and this aspect of oneness, and purity, and beauty appears on every side; for those who will compose the Church in glory have all been redeemed by the same precious blood, and sanctified, perfected, and united in one by the same all-pervading and uniting Spirit." (See "Notes on the Book of the Revelation," by the same author).