And our text this morning is
found in John chapter 18, verse 36. I know we read Matthew 18,
but we're... Our text is in John 18, verse
36, and the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. My kingdom is not
of this world. My kingdom is not of this world. The whole verse reads, Jesus
answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were
of this world, then would my servants fight that I should
not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from
hence. We considered on a previous occasion
these words. It's about a month ago now. And I would remind you that this
is a most important subject. How important it is and how necessary
it is that we truly understand the true nature of Christ's kingdom
and the true nature of his kingship. The basis of all the oppositions of the
Jews to the Lord Jesus was their mistaken views concerning Messiah's
kingdom and his kingship. They were expecting the Messiah
to set up a temporal kingdom in the earth. And when the Lord
Jesus was presented to the Jews as their king by Pontius Pilate,
they rejected him. Then came Jesus forth wearing
the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate saith unto them,
Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore
and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him! Crucify him! And then we read
there in John 19, and it was the preparation of the Passover
at about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, Behold
your king! But they cried out, Away with
him! Away with him! Crucify him! Pilate saith unto
them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, we
have no king but Caesar. They rejected him. And so was
fulfilled that which was written in their law in the book of Isaiah
the prophet. Who hath believed our report?
And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow
up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground.
he hath no form nor comeliness and when we shall see him there
is no beauty that we should desire him he is despised and rejected
of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were
our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not their
language was this We will not have this man to reign over us.
We will not have this man to reign over us. They despised
him and they rejected him. They wanted a king that looked
like a king, that behaved like a king. They didn't want a king
who was born into a poor carpenter's family. A king who at his birth
was laid in a manger, an animal's feeding trough. They didn't want
a king who had not where to lay his head. a king who would ride into Jerusalem
sitting upon an ass, an occult, the foal of an ass, with an army
consisting of a dozen fishermen and tax collectors and such like.
They wanted a king who would be wearing a golden crown, not
a crown of thorns. They wanted a king who would
ascend a royal throne, not one who would be lifted up on a Roman
gibbet. They wanted a king who would merely defeat the Romans,
not a king who would conquer death and the devil. A misunderstanding, then, of
the nature of Messiah's kingdom led, ultimately, to the destruction
of the Jewish state and nation, for they knew not the time of
their visitation. And a misunderstanding of the
nature of Christ's kingdom has led to many an error It has led
to many a wicked practice in the professing Church of Jesus
Christ. This then is a vital doctrine
which we are considering this morning from the words of our
text. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ which he spoke before
Pontius Pilate. My kingdom is not of this world. And again I would remind you
that the kingdom of Christ of which we are speaking and of
which Christ speaks here is the gospel church. The scriptures
speak of Christ's providential government of the world as God and they speak of his gracious
government of the hearts of his people. his church as the only
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. It is the
latter, of course, which we're considering this morning, a kingdom
not of this world, the kingdom of grace. All men, of course,
are subject to Christ's providential government of the world, whether
they acknowledge it or not. But not all are subjects of the
kingdom of his grace. there must be a translation into
this kingdom. As Paul writes to the Colossians,
he speaks of the Father, which hath made us meet to be in partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered
us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his
blood, even the forgiveness of sins. the kingdom of God's dear son
or the son of his love is the church which he has purchased
which he has redeemed with his own blood and this kingdom is
founded on the everlasting and unchangeable covenant of grace
You know, the theocracy of Israel, the Jewish state and kingdom
was founded upon the old covenant, the covenant which was made at
Mount Sinai. And all the promises of that
old covenant were of a temporal and an earthly or worldly nature,
like the kingdom itself. All the promised blessings of
the covenant of grace, however, are of a spiritual and an internal
and an eternal nature, exactly suited to Christ's kingdom, which
is itself spiritual, internal, and eternal, a kingdom not of
this world. We've already considered, as
I say previously, about a month ago now, something of the spiritual
nature of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, that it is
spiritual as opposed to secular. We have noted that the subjects
of Christ's kingdom are spiritual. They are not of the world, even
as He is not of the world. Remember how the Lord Jesus prays
in His high priestly prayer, there in John 17, for those whom
the Father had given Him. John 17, verse 14, I have given them thy word, and
the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. Christ's kingdom is not of this
world, and neither are his subjects. They are born from above. Jesus
answered Nicodemus, you remember. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. The subjects of Christ's spiritual
kingdom are spiritual men and women. They are made spiritual
by the new birth, and that is their translation into this kingdom. Marvel not that I said unto thee,
ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit. Being born of the Spirit, We see and we feel something
of the poverty of our own works. We see and feel something of
the spirituality of the law of God in our consciences. We see and feel that we cannot
fulfill that law, that perfect law of God, because of the corruption
of our fallen nature. And not only that, but we see
and feel that we cannot of our own selves repent and believe
the gospel. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. All these are the spiritual
subjects of the spiritual kingdom, the poor in spirit. and the administration
or government of the kingdom is likewise spirit Christ reigns
in his church by the sceptre of his word and so Christ continues
in his high priestly prayer they are not of the world even as
I am not of the world sanctify them through thy truth thy word
is truth those are truly subject to Christ who are subject to
his word We read in Ecclesiastes where the word of a king is,
there is power. Christ exercises his supreme
authority in the church by means of his word. and the ministers
of state in Christ's kingdom are also spiritual. They are
the pastors and teachers which the ascended Lord has given to
his church. They are his ambassadors, as the apostles were. As Paul
tells the Corinthians, now then, we are ambassadors for Christ.
As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's
stead. Be ye reconciled to God. Although
men who are spiritually taught, spiritually equipped, and spiritually
sent, as Joseph Harcourt said, Jesus sends his Holy Spirit,
and the Spirit sends the man. And as the kingdoms of this world
are often involved in warfare, for nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom, well so it is with Christ's kingdom.
Only the warfare in which Christ's kingdom is involved is of an
altogether different nature to the kind of wars which plague
this world. The conflict in which the church
is involved is spiritual, for we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. The great adversary of the kingdom
of our Lord Jesus Christ is spiritual. It's that wicked spirit called
in the Scriptures the devil and Satan and the God of this world. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 3, But
if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom
the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them." As we said last time, Christ's
kingdom is not of this world, but its enemy is. And as the kingdom is spiritual,
and as the warfare is spiritual, and as the enemy is spiritual,
well so the weaponry of the kingdom is spiritual. For though we walk
in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling
down of strongholds. Well, these were some of the
things that we were considering last time as we considered the spiritual
nature of Christ's kingdom from these words of the Lord Jesus,
my kingdom is not of this world. Let us go on to consider the
internal nature of Christ's kingdom. that Christ's kingdom is indeed
of an inward nature the Lord has told us in Luke 17 verse
20 and when he was demanded of the
Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come he answered them
and said the kingdom of God cometh not with observation neither
shall men say lo here or lo there for behold the kingdom The alternative rendering of
those words of the Lord Jesus in the margin is, "...the kingdom
of God cometh not without which show, neither shall they say
lo here or lo there, for behold the kingdom of God is within
you." As we consider the inward nature of Christ's kingdom, we
shall see, I trust with the Lord's help and blessing this morning,
that it does not consist in mere externals, that it consists primarily
in the inward graces of the Holy Spirit and then thirdly that
though these things be so there is yet an outward manifestation
of the kingdom and of the kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ so firstly
then Christ's kingdom does not consist in mere externals external
pomp and outward splendor adds to the dignity of an earthly
monarch but all Outward things, all such outward appearance,
can only detract from the sublime glory of Christ our King. An earthly kingdom is enhanced
by the grandeur of its palaces, the affluence of its people,
the extent of its trade, the elegance of its buildings, its
fine ceremonies of state, and so on. But the glory of the Gospel
Church, which is the Kingdom of Christ, is Christ himself. Nothing can be added to the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. His beauty and his glory, the
glory of his majesty is beyond compare. Nothing can be added
to the glory of our heavenly monarch. How vain it is then
to erect fine buildings and to invent elaborate ceremonies and
to don gorgeous vestments and to pretend that the Kingdom of
Christ consists of these paltry things. All such trappings add
nothing to the glory of Christ. They are in fact an insult to
the infinite glory of His Majesty. Now of course, we do thank God
for our building. We do. We thank God for our building. But what is the glory of Salem
Baptist Chapel? Well, surely it's this, that
the Gospel is preached here, that the Word of God is taught
here. In this respect, Salem Baptist Chapel is far more glorious
than Portsmouth Cathedral or any other cathedral in the land.
Christ's kingdom does not consist in mere externals, such as buildings,
vestments, ceremonies, choirs, incense, bells, or any other
such thing. And neither does it consist in
the mere externals of the law, For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost. Or how we need to be aware, how
we need to be careful, too, of holding to the mere externals
of the Christian religion. Think of Christ's terrible denunciation
of the Jews. and the religion of the Scribes
and Pharisees in Matthew 23 verse 25 Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For ye may clean the outside
of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion
and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse
first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside
of them may be clean also. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres,
which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full
of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also
outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of
hypocrisy and iniquity." What solemn words. May the Lord deliver
us from such a religion as that. Beware of a mere outward conformity. to the kingdom of Christ. For
the Lord seeth not as man seeth. For man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. It's not enough
to be baptised. It's not enough to join the church.
It's not enough to take the bread and the wine at the Lord's Supper.
It's not enough to sing the hymns, to bow the head in prayer, to
attend all the services. Good though all these things
undoubtedly are, Just think of the thief on the
cross. He did none of those things,
did he? Luke 23 verse 42, And he said
unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt
thou be with me in paradise. Oh, there were no externals to
that man's religion, none at all. He certainly didn't wear a suit
and tie. Now I'm not saying that we should not dress smartly when
we assemble together for the worship of God. We should. But
we must beware of trusting to these external things and of
imagining that real Christianity consists merely in these things. Now we live in a day in which
great emphasis is put on the body and upon outward appearance. and very little attention is
given to the soul and to the things of the spirit. If we're not careful, we can
be swept along by the spirit of the age. Paul says, under
the inspiration of the Spirit of God, exercise thyself rather
unto godliness. For bodily exercise profited
little, that is, it profited for a little time. but godliness
is profitable unto all things having the promise of the life
that now is and of that which is to come and Peter addresses
the women in the church who's adorning let it not be that outward adorning
of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on of apparel
but let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is
not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which
is in the sight of God, of great price. But for after this manner,
in the old time, the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned
themselves." Remember what is written in the Psalms concerning
the Gospel Church. We sang it just now in the Metrical
Version. What's written of the gospel church and of the kingdom
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the king's daughter is all glorious
within. The king's daughter is all glorious
within. Now this brings us to our second
point, that Christ's kingdom consists primarily in the inward
graces of the Holy Spirit. Again, to quote the Apostle Paul,
for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Yes, the kingdom of God
is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. It consists
in the inward graces of God, the Holy Spirit. It is in the new birth that the kingdom
of grace is established in the heart. Real religion is heart
religion. There must be that inward renewing
of God the Holy Ghost. A new heart also will I give
you and a new spirit will I put within you, God says by the prophet
Ezekiel. And that's exactly what the thief
on the cross experienced. Matthew in his gospel tells us
that both the thieves were mocking Jesus upon the cross. We read
there in Matthew 27 of how the chief priests mocked him with
the scribes and elders and then in verse 44 of that chapter,
the thieves also which were crucified with him cast the same in his
teeth. Both thieves mocked him. Ah,
but then it seems as if one of the thieves has a change of heart.
We read in Luke's Gospel, again there in Luke 23, verse 39, And
one of the manifesters which were hanged roiled on him, saying,
If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering
rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art
in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we
receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done
nothing amidst. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Oh, this man
is given a new heart, a new spirit is put within him and he sees
Jesus, the innocent yet crucified man, that man who is true almighty
God, he sees in that man the salvation that he needed. Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He hears and
he receives the gracious promise of the Lord Jesus. And Jesus
said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with
me in paradise. Oh, he had no works to boast
of. He was a thief. He had no outward religion to
trust in. There was no outward show. He
was stripped naked and dying. Ah, but he knew a gracious change
of heart, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ. He knew an inward work of God
the Holy Ghost in his very soul. And that is in reality what the
kingdom, what that kingdom which is not of this world is. It consists
in the inward graces of God the Holy Ghost. And that dying thief
had a gracious experience of the kingdom of God. when it came
into his soul, and when he was translated into that kingdom,
being born from above. All true religion is heart religion.
Christ's kingdom is primarily internal, as opposed to external. There is so much, of course,
which is written in the Holy Scriptures concerning the heart
and We can think of just these few verses in the Proverbs, just
as a sample. Proverbs chapter 2, the opening
verses. My son, if thou will receive
my words and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline
thine ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding. And in verse 10 of that chapter,
when wisdom entereth into thine heart, as knowledge is pleasant
unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding
shall keep thee. In the next chapter, in chapter
three, verse three, let not mercy and truth forsake thee, bind
them about thy neck, write them upon the table of thine heart.
So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight
of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In chapter
4 verse 20, My son, attend to my words, incline thine ear unto
my sayings, let them not depart from thine eyes, keep them in
the midst of thine heart. And finally here in Proverbs
chapter 23 verse 26. My son, give me thine heart. Mark those words, my son. If
we are the adopted sons of God, if we are the regenerated sons
of God, then this is God's word to us. My son, give me thine
heart and thine eyes shall observe my ways. We can think of the words of
our Lord Jesus Christ to the Jews and again what solemn words
they are. In Matthew 15 verse 7. Ye hypocrites, where did Isaiah
prophesy of you, saying, this people draweth nigh unto me with
their mouth, adonareth me with their lips, but their heart is
far from me. but their heart is far from me.
Christ's kingdom does not consist in mere externals. It consists
primarily in the inward graces of God the Holy Ghost. We must
ever bear this in mind in the third place, that though these
things be so, there is yet an outward manifestation of the
kingdom and of the kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those
who are brought into this kingdom and those in whom this kingdom
is established must and shall be brought to confess the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore I give you to understand
that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed
and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the
Holy Ghost." Even the thief as he was dying
on the cross by the Holy Ghost addressed Jesus as Lord and he
said unto him Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom
and so Paul says in Romans that if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation." Although the kingdom of Christ
is primarily internal, there is yet an outward manifestation
of that kingdom in the profession of faith. We see it in the ordinance
of baptism, of course. Baptism is an outward ordinance
but it expresses the inward work of the Holy Spirit and it expresses
the believer's union with Christ in his death and resurrection. Romans 6 verse 3. Know ye not
that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized
into his death? therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death that like as christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the father even so we also should
walk in newness of life and we see in the new testament
god's revealed will for believers is that they should be joined
together and worship together in local churches we see We read
in the book of Acts, and the Lord added to the church daily
such as should be saved. The church, as we've said before,
is the visible expression of the kingdom of God, Christ's
kingdom, here upon this earth. Although it's a kingdom which
is not of this world. Yet is it a kingdom which is
to be seen in this world. He's not altogether invisible.
Jesus said to his disciples and he still says to his church and
people, ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on
a hill cannot be hid. We read in the Psalms, behold
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity. The gospel church is to be beheld. It's the visible expression of
Christ's kingdom here upon earth. Christ says in Isaiah, and he says, Behold, I and the
children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders
in Israel from the Lord of hosts which dwelleth in Mount Zion.
You know, a sign is something which is to be seen, isn't it? And so the Apostle writes to
the Hebrews, partly whilst you were made a gazing-stock, both
by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst you became
companions of them that were so used. The verb there, to make
a gazing-stock, is in the Greek theotrydso, from which we get
our word theatre, to make a theatre. The Lord's people are, as it
were, set forth as a spectacle, that gawked at by the world. so it was with the apostles of
course as Paul writes to the Corinthians for we are made a
spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men and again
that word spectacle there in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 9 is theatron
theatre we made a theatre to the world so although The Kingdom
of Christ is primarily spiritual and internal. There is yet an
outward and physical manifestation of that Kingdom. The Kingdom
of Christ, established and erected and set up in the heart of the
believer, must and will express itself outwardly. We are to walk
in love, as Christ also loved us and has given himself for
us. Love is the royal law. It's the royal law of the kingdom
of our Lord Jesus. James says, if you fulfil the
royal law according to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself, ye do well. Those who walk according to this
royal law show plainly that they are in the kingdom and that the
kingdom is in them real love, that love which is
the fruit of the spirit proceeds from it and it can only proceed
from hearts which have been purified by faith that faith which worketh by love
And so Peter teaches us in his first epistle, seeing you have
purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren. See that you love one another
with a pure heart, fervently being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. As you know, where there is love,
there will be the covering of sin. See Proverbs chapter 10
and verse 12. Hatred stirreth up strifes, but
love covereth all sins. Charles Bridges in his commentary
on that verse says, love covers, overlooks, speedily forgives
and forgets. And then referring to the parable
of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 which we read, He
says, what is our brother's all against us compared with our
all against God? And how can we hesitate to blot
out a few pence who look for the covering of the debt of 10,000
talents? Oh, remember Christ's solemn
warning there. At the conclusion of that parable
of the unforgiving servant, Matthew 18 verse 33, shouldest not thou
also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had
pity on thee, and the Lord was wrath, and delivered him to the
tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him? So
likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from
your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Mark the words, from your hearts,
from your hearts. So likewise shall my heavenly
Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not
everyone his brother their trespasses. Although Christ's kingdom is
primarily internal, yet there is an outward manifestation of
it. My little children, Let us not love in word, neither in
tongue, but in deed and in truth. Surely if we are Christ's true
subjects, we will want to obey Him in all things, and that from
the heart, from hearts renewed by grace. But God be thanked
that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. As we
draw to a conclusion I would just note once again that the
entrance into this kingdom is entirely by grace. For by grace
are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is
the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast. Where
There is the gracious work of the Spirit of God in the heart.
There will be a will and a willingness to enter into this kingdom. In Matthew 11 verse 12 we read,
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom
of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force.
The alternative rendering in the margin is, And from the days
of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven is gotten
by force and they that trust men. oh there will be a pressing
into this kingdom there will be a pressing into this kingdom
as Paul writes to the Philippians Philippians 3 verse 14 he says
I press toward the mark for the prize of a high calling of God
in Christ Jesus the verse previous to that he
says brethren I count not myself to have apprehended but this
one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I praise to
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus." Oh, people will not need to be
forced, or coerced, or manipulated, or pressurized. They will force
themselves, as it were. They are made willing, you see,
in the day of Christ's power, and under the gracious exercise
of His kingship. For so it is written of Christ
in Psalm 110, The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength
out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. O are we those who are pressing
into this kingdom! Let us ever pray in the words
of the patterned prayer which Christ has taught us. Thy kingdom
come. Thy kingdom come, let Thy kingdom
be established in my heart and in the hearts of others. May
we be established in the kingdom of Thy grace here below, that
we might be brought to the kingdom of Thy glory hereafter. Well,
we've considered the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom and
the internal nature of Christ's kingdom. If the Lord will, this
evening we shall consider the eternal nature of Christ's kingdom. May the Lord bless his word to
each one of us. May we each know something of
the power of him and the grace of him in our own heart's experience. My kingdom is not of this