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Continuing our discussion from part one, as we have seen, in order for anyone to enter the Kingdom of God, they must be clothed in a marriage garment, which is also referred to as garments of salvation, robes of righteousness, and fine white linen. As John informs us in the previous set of verses, this "fine linen is the righteousness of saints." As we have also discussed, this righteousness can only be obtained through complete spiritual renewal and rebirth, which results from faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Stated another way, we must be symbolically washed and spiritually cleansed in the Blood of Jesus Christ, who is the Sacrificial Lamb of God. For this is the cloak, or garment, which covers our sins. This truth becomes evident by verses such as the following:

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."


"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."


"And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many."


"And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."


"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;"


"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."


"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.‭"


"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;"


"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate . . . Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."


"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."


"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."


"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"


"And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."


As some of you will know, this process of spiritual rebirth and renewal is exactly what Jesus tried to explain to the Pharisee, Nicodemus. While it is true that Nicodemus was a Pharisee himself, unlike some of his Jewish brethren, he did in fact recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Consider this group of verses:

". . . Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 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. 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 every one that is born of the Spirit."


As we learned in part one, because the Jews rejected this basic truth and refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, they have been denied entrance into the Kingdom, until such time when they do embrace Christ. In the meantime, billions of Gentiles have found Salvation in Jesus. As the Apostle Paul noted in the Book of Acts:

"Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, WE TURN TO THE GENTILES."


Worse yet, not only did they reject the righteousness which comes through faith in Jesus alone, but those unbelieving Jews did everything within their power to try to disrupt the dissemination of the Gospel of Christ. Thus, the Apostle Paul likewise writes the following in his first Epistle to the Thessalonian brethren:

"For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."


Rather than accept the Garment of Righteousness which is offered to all men so that they can enter freely into the Kingdom, those stubborn Jews chose to be cloaked in their own righteousness. But you see, as I explain in the article entitled "Are You Saved and Sealed, and Healed and Filled?", Jesus ripped that useless cloak away two thousand years ago, as we see by this verse:

"If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin."


The Apostle Paul likewise exposed the unbelieving Jews' vain efforts to establish their own righteousness without Christ in the following verses which are found in his Epistle to the Romans:

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."


But no matter what arguments are presented by the Jews, or by anyone else for that matter, the indisputable truth is that none of us have any righteousness of our own. This truth is made abundantly clear throughout the pages of the Bible, as we can determine by the following group of verses:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."


"They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one."


"If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"


"‭‭For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed ‭the righteousness‭ of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.‭"


"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:‭ Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.‭ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men ‭are‭, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.‭ I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.‭ And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as ‭his‭ eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.‭ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified ‭rather‭ than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.‭"


"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one . . . But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"


Having now explained to you what is meant by the Kingdom of God being within, as well as how we can enter that Kingdom, let me continue to explain why we are told that we must look out and up, and not down and in. To refresh your memory, let me again quote part of the material from the Gospel of Thomas which motivated me to write this series:

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". . . Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the Living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you will dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."

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In examining the previous quote, there appears to be a contradiction with what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Luke chapter seventeen. You may recall from part one that the Lord clearly told them that the Kingdom of Heaven does not come with observation, and that it is within. Yet according to the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus said it is both without and within. In a sense, I can agree that it is without as well, because the Kingdom of God does consist of the born-again Believers who we can visibly see. Likewise, as the Apostles began to establish Churches in Israel, Asia Minor and the surrounding areas, the Kingdom became even more visible; at least to those who had the Spiritual Discernment to see it.

Of course, this invisible Kingdom of God is not recognized by the secular world, because it has no political boundaries, or ruling government, or even a capital city. Well, at least not on the present Earth. At the same time, we likewise know that the Bible tells us that the Lord creates the New Heavens and the New Earth, and that the Heavenly City -- New Jerusalem -- descends from Heaven to set upon this New Earth. This becomes clear by verses such as the following ones:

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."


"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain."


"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."


"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea . . . And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful."


"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."


"But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all."


"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God . . . These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."


"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."


"Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come."


"Him 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."


"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God . . . And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And 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. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done . . . I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."


So looking at it from the perspective of the Kingdom of God being within us the Believers, and us being representatives of that currently invisible Kingdom, we can say that in one regard, the words which Jesus prayed in the "Lord's Prayer" almost two thousand years ago have been fulfilled since the day that Jesus spoke them. Consider the following verses as evidence of this:

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."


But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."


"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."


"And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power."


"But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God."


"Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you."


"But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you."


"And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled."


Although I can make this part of the Gospel of Thomas quote fit my understanding, I must still express some doubt as to whether or not these words were really spoken by Jesus. For my part, I just do not feel comfortable with them at this current time. Concerning the phrase "When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known", here again, this whole idea of knowing ourselves bothers me. As all of the previous verses demonstrate, we are to know Jesus, and know His Word as well. Furthermore, we are to know that we are saved and have Eternal Life, and we are to be thankful that we are known of the Lord. After all, that is where hope and Salvation lie, and not within ourselves. I am reminded of the following verses:

"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God . . . And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life."


"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE HIS. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."


As far as "then you will become known" is concerned, I am not exactly sure what Thomas -- assuming that he even wrote this -- actually meant. The only verse that I can think of which might make some sense out of this is the following one:

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."


Please notice, however, that the emphasis in Jesus' words is not on exalting ourselves. Rather, it's on exalting His Love. He is saying that people will know we are different because they will see God's love shining through us. This is a topic I more amply discuss in articles such as "The Royal Law: Thou Shalt Love", as well as in "Selfishness: A Prophesied Sign of Our Times?". For now, consider the following group of verses:

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."


"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.‭ If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.‭ These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and ‭that‭ your joy might be full.‭ This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.‭ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.‭"


"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."


"Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth."


"But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."


"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing . . . And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."


"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."


"If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:"


"And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."


"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."


"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.‭"


In short, as Christians, we are supposed to exalt the Lord through our loving example; and that is where we all have room for lots of improvement. Our job is to act as God's reflectors of Love, Light and Truth, in order to draw people to Jesus Christ. We are only to serve as prisms which reflect the different aspects of God, just as a prism reflects the different colors of white light. Again, I delve into these subjects in articles such as "The Children of Light: Are You One of Us?" and "This Little Light, Glory of the Lord and Our Bright Future".

Please go to part three for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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