The Kingdom of God cannot be
received by natural men in the state in which they are born
from their mother's womb. Paul said, Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth corruption inherit
incorruption. He is here commenting upon the
resurrection of the dead, and the manner in which those who
are raised from the dead come forth into the state of incorruption,
which the saints shall enjoy for ever. Yet this picture of
the resurrection at the last trump is a vivid illustration
of that which the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus. Jesus answered
and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Even as the
saints of God are given a new body in the day of the resurrection,
so too must a man be born from above in order to see the kingdom
of God in the present time. Man in his natural state does
not perceive, nor can he benefit from those things which are spiritual
in nature. which only exist in this kingdom
which is not made with hands. While his senses, that is, sight,
taste, hearing, touch, smell, are operative in the natural
realm into which all men are born by natural birth, he is
devoid of the same senses which operate in the spiritual realm
apart from the occurrence of the new birth. Unless a man is
blind, he can look at his surroundings and describe what it is that
he sees. Unless he is deaf, he can hear
the sounds around him. As well, his sense of touch and
smell all form a very basic function which adds to his awareness of
his surroundings. It is his sense of taste, however,
that adds the greatest dimension of enjoyment to his life. Man
needs basic nutrition in order to survive, but it is pleased
the Lord to guide his creation to eat, not simply to exist,
but to enjoy what it is that is eaten. Even hogs and chicken,
which will eat almost anything, will balk at the taste of certain
foods. Among mankind, it is primarily
the taste of food that gives man the impetus to eat it and
to desire the things that he consumes. This sometimes works
to his detriment, such as is the case with doughnuts, cake,
cookies, and ice cream, yet it also works to his benefit as
he learns to appreciate the tastes of many other foods which are
beneficial and useful to the body. This is exactly true when
we consider the things of the kingdom of God. Unless and until
a man is given a taste for the food of that kingdom, no one
can cause him to desire it. Yet when the Lord is pleased
to give a man new taste buds by visiting him with a heavenly
birth, and he is thereby tasted that the Lord is gracious, he
then will desire to feed at his table continually. It is good
to have teachers and instructors who faithfully set forth the
Scriptures as they are recorded in the Bible. But the Scriptures
are also full of warnings about those who would adulterate or
wrest the Word of God from the simplicity of its truth. There
are a multitude of teachers in the present day who walk in craftiness
and handle the word of God deceitfully. They are those who have an agenda
other than the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. They
use the scriptures under the guise of teaching various life
skills, how to keep the law of God, how to be positive and joyful,
have power in prayer. delving into the realm of angels
and demons, signs and wonders, and many forms and schemes, too
numerous to mention, of prophecies which supposedly apprise men
of future things and coming events. None of these things can truly
profit the children of God who have tasted that the Lord is
gracious. A man who has gotten a taste
of grace can be satisfied with nothing else but the clear and
unadulterated word of God, which declares that there is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. They grow
in grace as they feed upon grace, grace, and more grace. This is
the comfort of the sons of God. Christ is all. is their own satisfying
bread.