"Again, the kingdom of heaven 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" (Matt. 13:45,4645Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:45‑46)).
"Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Although the kingdom of heaven is likened to both the treasure and the pearl, the important lessons differ.
A treasure may be composed of many pieces, as gold, silver, precious stones. We see both the color and the permanent character of the church typified by them. The pearl is one, not composed of many pieces.
As the stones pass through the fire, different colors are formed, each its own color as designed by the Father of spirits. By contrast, the pearl is formed in living tissue inside an oyster.
Because of constant irritation from foreign matter deposited in the flesh of the oyster, either naturally or by a culturer, the pearl begins to develop. "Nacre," the secretion which accumulates upon the foreign matter, the "seed," forms evenly throughout, and the original shape of the "seed" remains. The moment the irritation begins, the secretion begins to make the pearl.
The inside of the oyster shell is sometimes referred to as pearl, used in making ornate items and is composed of the same nacre as the pearl. If there is no irritation the oyster will spend its life for present advantage garnishing its shell inside, only to rot at the close. If man's conscience is not awakened he never begins to know or to prepare for the future.
He closes his life as he starts it—worthless, dying as he lived. Pearl means worth—no pearl, no worth.
Only sovereignty fashions pearls; only sovereignty fashions the church. When the life of the oyster that has formed a pearl is over, it leaves something of worth. It is sad indeed to see souls pass on their way before our very eyes who will leave nothing but a vessel of clay when they die.
In a natural setting pearls have been found in the bottom of the Sea of Japan and the Indian Ocean.
For our purpose we would rather speak of the cultured pearls than the natural, because they are produced under an orderly procedure.
Pearls are formed only in the sea. A small sea shell, round in shape, having the same specific gravity as the material in the pearl, is mined in the lower Mississippi River Valley. It is minutely small but perfectly round. What a lesson for parents. The beginning of life has much to do with its end. The small shell or seed is shipped to the Sea of Japan where most if not all pearls are cultured.
One seed is placed in each new-born oyster but never until the oyster opens its shell of its own accord. Is this not so in the work of God with each individual soul, as to salvation?
Each oyster with seed implanted has a hole drilled in the shell through which a small dacron line is secured and hung free from a rope let down into the sea to a depth of proper temperature where there is food, plankton, for the oyster. This food is a compound of calcium and protein. If too much of either nutrient is given, an undesirable shade is produced.
Discipline is a necessary part of the culture as we have noticed with the implantation of the irritating seed.
In the book of Proverbs, the second verse begins with the words "To know." "To know" is the experience of a wise man corrected and disciplined. To apply this to the pearl, a picture of the individuals who form the church, unless there is correction and discipline one will never know spiritual things. Repentance is the starting point.
Regularly each oyster is scrubbed, washed, and kept clean. If the poisonous living substance called "red tide" floats past, the oysters are removed from the sea until the danger is over. All of this speaks of the Lord's constant care for the church and its discipline while here on the earth. It takes years of patient handwork, and only sovereignty can produce pearls.
An oyster may live as long as five years. Most pearls are harvested before that time because they may be expelled from the oyster if not removed. They are harvested in different sizes. In a pearl necklace there is a gradation from a large middle front pearl to small ones at the back. How comforting for one who loses a young child to know that that little one is safe in Christ. The material of which the large one is made is the same as the small, Christ formed in each believer. As for God, His way is perfect.
When pearls are nearly ready for gathering, the oysters are moved to the deep cold waters to bring out the luster with the hue.
The lustrous pastel shades of the pearl represent the beauties of Christ formed in us by the Spirit down here, but for heaven. The pearl is a symbol of feminine graciousness. The church has that character, being the bride of Christ. (See Phil. 2.)
The pearl is an emblem of worth, elegance, effulgence, delicacy, intrinsic value, and depth of beauty. These delicate feminine graces are formed within the oyster in the pearl through suffering. There will never be a pearl where there has been no suffering, a necessary element of the Christian life.
Oh, precious pearl,
The fruit of sorrow,
toil, and wasting,
The constant sore,
The bitter grief of emptiness
here tasting;
I cannot close the shell
To pain and nacre's
flowing,
Lest, haply, in the harvest,
Naught but the shell
be showing.
It is rather interesting to observe that pearls are much like persons. Each has its own character and attraction even as each individual. There are no two alike. One may be acquainted with many but there comes a time when one person catches the eye, and that is the one who is really beyond all others, the one desired.
A pearl merchant, during the entire time that he had worked with pearls, never saw the pearl he was seeking. One day, while transacting business, he saw in the display case the pearl that he wanted. There had never been another quite like it in the thousands of pearls that had passed through his hands. There is no price set on pearls until the transaction is made. He paid plenty for his pearl.
Just so with the Lord Jesus. What a transaction for the church. It cost Him all that he had, but He bought it. Never throughout eternity will we know how much we cost Him and how much He loves us. There should be a response in our hearts in keeping with such love.
What a price was set at Gethsemane and paid at Calvary.
The pearl now being formed will be just fitted for His eternal joy and satisfaction. It will be the beauty of the one pearl which will satisfy His heart.
After the pearl is purchased it must be worn or it loses its beauty and luster; it should be washed with soap and water regularly to keep the lustrous beauty intact. All this speaks of exercise of soul and the consciousness that we represent Christ here in this world.
Each of the twelve gates of the heavenly Jerusalem will be fashioned of one pearl. What a display of glory meets the eye of anyone approaching the heavenly city in the millennial day. That heavenly city will come down over the earth in administrative excellence, an exhibition of the unveiled glory of God seen in the church by Christ Jesus. So will the glory be seen throughout eternity.
The beauty is Christ reflected in the church. But what a cost to Him!
"Again, the kingdom of heaven 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" (Matt. 13:45,4645Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:45‑46)).
We have been bought by His precious blood shed at Calvary.
We have been saved by believing in His finished work.
There are mysteries, many. The mystery of the pearl of great price is the mystery that has been opened up by revelation to Paul the Apostle. It is the mystery of Christ and the church. It is this mystery that the angels desire to look into.
How our hearts and voices will swell with praise and worship as the shout opens heaven to receive the church ushering her into the presence of God, into the Father's house.
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first"
One pearl, there never
was another
Thy heart to satisfy,
Eternal woes to cover.
Oh, gracious Lord,
Thy Father's wisdom,
Boundless,
Has through Thy cross
Now wrought a work
So groundless
Except for love,
That would not spare
His darling
To open wide the
heart of God
And fill the heavens
with children,
Precious stones, formed
As His companions ever,
In felicity, Thy bride,
One pearl, the church,
Thy radiant display,
Forever,
Of God's eternal glory.
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