"A Pearl Of Great Price"
Jesus said, "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." (Matthew 13:45-46)
Our Lord is teaching that the kingdom of heaven (the church) is of more value to us than all other things, That man may possess many things of material value is inferred by the "goodly pearls" owned by the merchant man. However, the value of these pale into insignificance when compared to the kingdom of heaven. All material things, regardless of value, will serve us only a short while. They will be of no value to us at all when we come to death's door. We cannot take them with us. I am reminded of two people speaking of the death of a very wealthy man. One said, "I wonder how much he left?" The other replied, "He left it all." So shall we.
The kingdom or the church of Christ is not temporal. It does not serve mankind only in this life. By its very nature, it prepares man for life beyond death. Only those who have served God in the church faithfully may expect to live with God and the redeemed in heaven. Therefore, the church or kingdom should be unto us what the pearl of great price was to the merchant man. We should seek the kingdom of heaven above all other things. (Matt. 6:33) "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
You will note that the value of the "goodly pearls" was invested in the pearl. Hence, in purchasing the pearl of great price, the merchant man did not lose anything at all; he simply increased his wealth. So it is with the person who obeys the gospel and becomes a member of the Lord's church. He does not have to forego or give up the good things of this life. He simply utilizes these things in service to God in the church. He uses them to the glory of God. Whereas, before he used them for his own desires, "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." (1 Peter 4:16) Again, "Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." (Eph. 3:21) As the merchantman invested all he had in the pearl of great price; the Christian invests his time, talents and material possessions in the service of God. By so doing he lives a richer life here on earth and saves his soul in eternity. He who fails to do this loses all. "For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt. 16:26) Most people do not place much value on their soul until it is too late.
Is the church or kingdom of heaven the "one pearl of great price" to us? Or do we place greater value on things of this life? The answer is ours and ours alone. No one can answer for us. We may deceive ourselves and think that we place a greater value on the church than we do on things of this life. Hence, we should strive to be completely honest with ourselves in determining this matter.
Our eternal destiny depends upon our correct judgment in the matter, That which we esteem highly, and regard as of great price, is kept safe from harm or anything that might mar its beauty or lessen its value. Do we seek to keep the church from harm or had influence? If so, we guard our lives lest we do anything that would shed forth a bad influence. The church has suffered great hurt, in many places, because of the ungodly and hypocritical lives of members. Paul spoke of those in his day who walked (lived) in such a way they were enemies of the cross of Christ. (Phil. 3:18) If we do not represent the Cause of Christ, in its true light, by our lives, we too, are enemies of the cross of Christ. If our lives are such that people with whom we come in contact are led to glorify Christ in obedience to his will; we may know that we are letting our light shine. I do not know if Jesus selected the pearl for this purpose or not, but it does no violence to scripture to note that the pearl is perfect in its native state. It needs no polishing, shaping or chipping to make it beautiful. In fact, to so handle the pearl would mar its beauty and ruin its value. So it is with the church of our Lord. It is perfect as it came from God and as it is pictured in the Sacred Word. Its organization, worship, mission and work, as set forth in the scriptures, is a thing of beauty and perfectness. They need no altering nor changes of any kind wrought by man. In fact, anytime man seeks to improve upon that which comes from God, he simply succeeds in marring its beauty and decreasing its value. To change or alter the worship, organization, mission and work of the church renders the church of no value at all to man in so far as the salvation of his soul it concerned. By the same authority we change the work of the church we can change the worship of the church. God has specified both worship and work. We dare not engage in worship not authorized in the New Testament. To engage in work not authorized would be equally fatal. This is why we insist on scriptural authority for everything the church does as well as authority for everything the individual does.
The organization of the church is pictured clearly in the scriptures. Each church was to have elders and deacons. (Phil. 1:1; Acts 14:23) The elders were to have the oversight of only the flock among them. (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2) Paul said to Titus, "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting (left undone) and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:" (Titus 1:5) Members were to "obey them that have the rule over you...." (Heb. 13:17) Any church which changes or alters this pattern of organization becomes unscriptural.
For the church to truly be the pearl of great price, we must keep it exactly as it is pictured in the scriptures. We must not allow man to tamper with any phase of the church. Then, and only then, the world can see the church as it really it and not as man has dressed it up.
— 41326 Kathlean, Fremont, Calif.