EXPANSION by W. N. Glenn

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 4, 1899

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 40.

EXPANSION.

By W. N. Glenn

THE Lord Jesus Christ was and is an expansionist. At the time of His first advent to earth, the people who were reckoned as the people of God, who nominally represented His kingdom, had so far departed from its true principles that they had utterly ignored His law and were guided by their own traditions. They had so far wandered from the truth concerning the kingdom that they rejected the rightful King, and finally put Him to death. They were looking for a temporal king, who would give them pre-eminence as a temporal nation. But He set on foot a reformation, beginning at fundamental principles, in order to place the kingdom in its true light before the world.

In starting this reformation, His first admonition to His own people was, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." The injunction to repent showed that they were sinners, transgressors of the law of the kingdom, which He, as well as His forerunner (John the Baptist), was proclaiming. That Jesus Christ began at first principles, of which even His own people had lost sight, is also shown by His declaring to one of their leaders: "Ye must be born again;" "that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Why must the natural man (of whatever nationality) be born again?—Because, "except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God." Thus, the very first thing that Jesus Christ sought to impress upon the people was that His kingdom was a spiritual kingdom.

This is further emphasized in the fact that He in no way sought to interfere with the affairs of civil government as then being administered. Much as the world needed reforming in every department of life, He made no demand upon, or appeal to, the civil government for legal enforcement of reformatory measures. The Holy Spirit, with which He was imbued and led, was the source of reformation, and the Word of God was the standard which He continually held forth.

Being baptized with water and with the Spirit, Jesus Christ set out upon His mission single-handed. Before calling for a single recruit, He met, and personally overcame, His greatest adversary, Satan. Having thus established His right to the dominion, and His ability to maintain it, without other aid than the power of the Spirit, through the Word, He began the work of expansion. In course of time, He had twelve chosen followers, having previously set forth the principles of His kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount. His own character and mode of operation had been given by the prophet David: "I will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation." Ps. 40:8, 9. In sending proof of His Messiahship to John the Baptist, in prison, He said, "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them." Matt. 11:5. Not one word about having secured reformatory ordinances in this or that city, or the formation of any kind of league or civic association. The attitude of the civil powers toward Him is also told by David: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." Ps. 2:2, 3.

Carrying out His theory of expansion, the Lord sent out His twelve followers to disseminate the principles of His kingdom amongst His own people, those who should have known it already. How were they to do this?—His command was, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give." Here is emphasized the difference between the mode of extending the spiritual kingdom and that of expanding earthly nations. The motto of the latter is, Freely take. These "ambassadors" were not sent to negotiate with civil governments for territory, or for the modification of existing laws; they were sent to negotiate with individuals—to offer them eternal life in Christ in exchange for a devotion of their temporal lives to His service; to offer them the true righteousness of Christ in exchange for simple faith and a surrender of their own righteousness, which was as "filthy rags;" to offer them purity of life in exchange for sin; in short, to beseech them for Christ’s sake to be reconciled to God, and thus become heirs of the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.

Further along in His ministry, Jesus secured and sent out seventy other disciples. He sent them "two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come." What were they to do? Were they to "work up a sentiment" by circulating petitions and agitating municipal reforms, and be ready by the time He came to make a popular appeal to the civil authorities for reformatory ordinances?—No; they were to preach the Gospel, and heal the sick, etc. Their mission was the same as that of the twelve; they were to tell the people that "the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you;" but there was no intimation that the kingdom was to be expanded by means of any laws that they could enact. The complaint that Jesus made against them and their rulers was that they had already made void the law of God by their own traditions. A reformation, therefore, meant that they should forsake their own ways and return to the law of the kingdom which had been promulgated ages in the past—a law one jot or tittle of which was not to be abrogated. Jesus Christ continued this manner of expanding His kingdom throughout His earthly ministry, at the very close of which He declared that His kingdom was not of this world. When on trial before a Roman governor on the charge of endeavoring to interfere with the then existing government, His accusers could not convict Him. Moreover, He permitted His life to be taken by sanction of that government, when all the power of earth and heaven was at His command. But God raised Him from the dead, and He again proceeded with the work of expanding His kingdom. By what means? Read the commission to His ambassadors: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and

is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

Note that the Gospel (good news) of the kingdom goes to every creature; it is a peaceful message; but the kingdom includes only such as believe. The government of which Jesus Christ is the head absolutely rejects all who will not believe the Gospel, and show their faith by their voluntary obedience. While His government is an absolute monarchy, it operates only through the "consent of the governed." Not only are they who refuse allegiance left out, and not forced into acquiescence, but if by any means they show a merely nominal adherence, they are cast out. "Whosoever believeth not shall be condemned."

That the present governments of earth have no part or lot in the kingdom of Christ, and that His kingdom will expand to include the whole earth, is amply shown in the Scriptures, emphatically so in the prophecy of Daniel. In explaining the meaning of the image which Nebuchadnezzar had seen in a dream, given by the Lord to show him what should come to pass in the future, Daniel showed him that the God of heaven would eventually set up a kingdom that would "break in pieces and consume" all human governments; and would fill the whole earth. This kingdom of God was represented in the dream by a "stone cut out without hands." Thus, the Lord’s system of expansion, by means of preaching the Gospel of peace, will result in a kingdom that will fill the whole earth, utterly annihilating all the human systems and schemes that ever have existed.

W. N. GLENN.