To Receive a Kingdom
Matthew 25:14
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
Luke 19:12
He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
It is the nature of a trust that a day must come for a report of the trust to be rendered; and so, after a prolonged period during which His servants trade with the talents he had entrusted to them, Jesus says that "the lord of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them" (Matt. 25:19).
The parable of the talents presents an overall scope of the present dispensation, with particular emphasis on events surrounding the Lord's return and the kingdom which follows. This parable covers the entire period from the Nobleman's departure to his return – that is, from our Lord's Ascension to the Second Advent; and so embraces all who have conducted His business on earth for nearly two thousand years. It covers the period, and the only period, in which the Church of Christ exists, and so is a comprehensive history of the work and judgment of the Church.
The parable of the talents in Matt. 25:14-30 and the parable of the pounds in Luke 19:12-27 are similar in most respects; however, two essential differences distinguish them. The first was the basis on which each was given the talents or pounds. The second difference was between what was actually given (i.e. what the talents were and what the pounds were).
I will offer the definition of the talents and the pounds here, and I will expand upon this definition throughout this section.
The Talents
In the parable of the talents, the Lord delivered unto His servants "all His goods". This refers to all of His business, including the gifts of the Spirit. The Parable of the Talents is obviously a picture of the Judgment Seat of Christ. Since at the Judgment Seat our works will be examined, then it follows that the talents are the works which God has given us to do. These also include the opportunities the Lord gives us to work.
Our Lord's motto for every disciple is - To Every Man His Work.
Mark 13:34
For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
The language in the Parable of the Talents is very similar to that of Mark 13:34, and I believe it is describing the same event. According to Mark, the talents are the work the Lord has given each disciple. And so ample and complex is this work that it is called ministering service (Matt. 23:11), household service (Rom. 14:4), responsible service (John 18:36), worshipping service (Rom. 12:1), succoring service (Heb. 3:5), priestly service (Phil. 2:17), and, as here, bond service. God calls a soul to work the moment that He calls it to life.
It Is Our Work
When our Lord laid down His Divine task, He entrusted it - not to angels, nor to kingdoms, nor to apostles only - but to you and me. It "is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants" - authority for what? - "to each his work." Millions of souls have to be saved, and myriads to be sanctified: countless truths, popular and unpopular, are to be sown over the world: whole continents must receive the light: - and each of us is a designed cog or flywheel in this mighty mechanism of God. Before our creation in Christ - it may have been in eternity past - God chose us for it:
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
It is Our Share
Christ reveals it is an individual allotment. Not, to each some work, nor, to each a work; but, "to each his work." This is an exquisite revelation. Each can give a glory to God which no other being in the universe can - each can do a work for God which from eternity past has been allotted to him alone. How this ennobles and dignifies the saved soul! God has allotted the toil of the whole Church so as to rest in wise distribution upon each of us individually.
It Is Our Task
The size of the task is not stated. It may be a great work, or a small work: the supreme point is that it is my work; and as such I can do it; I ought to do it; and at the Judgment Seat I will be asked if I did do it.
Matthew 25:19
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
Luke 19:15
And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Christ would have us do a small work which He commanded, rather than a large work which He did not; for all planned work is necessary to the building, and planned work only. A man's character is what he is in the dark; a man's work is what he does in the dark: and if I do what God tells me, and how He tells me, I am doing the most supreme thing possible to my soul: and a soul's utmost is always magnificent.
The woman described below did a very small work unto the Lord. We don't know if this was the entire extent of her delegated works (probably not); but notice how the Lord lauds her for this simple task:
Mark 14:8-9
She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
We are weaving our own glory-robes. The "righteousnesses" described below are our righteous works; it is not the robe of righteousness we all receive upon being born again. Note that the wife (bride) has made herself ready:
Revelation 19:7-8
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Revelation 22:12
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
It Is His Vineyard
The work awaits for each of us; we see this from the Parable of the Laborers:
Matthew 20:3
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Matthew 20:6-7
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
It is apparent that the works begin when "the man hires us"; that is, when we are born again: then we are sent into the vineyard. But some training or sanctification may yet be required before we are released to do this particular work.
(1) It possible to find our works. Our Lord would hold no soul responsible for a work unless with the work was granted the power to discover it: but He alone can tell us what it is. His foundations were laid in eternity; His plans for the superstructure were drawn up in eternity also; in eternity He allotted each task to each of us individually by name:
Acts 9:6
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Paul asked the question what the Lord would have him do, and the Lord graciously replied. What the Lord answered Paul, He will also graciously answer us, because He is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). If a person is not sure of the work the Lord has for him, he should ask. We are to ask Him, and we will receive; seek, and we shall find.
Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
(2) It is possible to do it. Christ has not planned work outside our abilities ("to every man according to his several ability" [Mat. 25:15]), or beyond our opportunities: He knows what He made us for, and what we can do best, and He has planned that we should do that. He made us in nature with a view to what we should become in grace: He chose our cradle, and He will choose our grave, and He chooses all the Christian work we are to do between.
(3) It is possible (I think) to know that we are doing it. How is that? God will open the way by circumstances: He will satisfy our conscience that it is right work: He will convince our judgment that it is the right work for us: He will confirm it by the approval of mature Christian friends: and He will establish it with definite blessing.
(4) Then having found it, we must persist in it until He tells us to drop or change it. One kind of firefly, in the tropics, glows only so long as it flies – the moment it rests, it darkens. Wesley's motto - "All at it, and always at it" - is the secret of the luminous life.
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
It Is Our Master
"To each [Christ gave] his work": therefore I am doing it for Him. "Our conversation", says Tertullian, of the early Christians, "is that of men who are conscious that the Lord hears them." When the world puts its ear to our work, it should hear in it all - like the ocean in a seashell - the great Eternity to which we hasten. "The love of Christ constraineth us" (2Cor. v. 14): how this transmutes the daily toil, and the household drudgery, into the golden labor of a better world. "For years", Mr. Moody said, before he died, "my prayer has been that God will let me die when the spirit of revival dies out of my heart."
It Is Our Increase
Are any of us shirking our allotted task? The shirking of the man who prays, and the praying of the man who shirks, is equally an abomination to God. Very soon we shall have to lay all work down. We "must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work" (John 9: 4). Task every faculty; strain every power; break new ground; put no limit to your toil except that which God put when He made you. Let it be said of each of us:
Revelation 2:19
I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
Included in these goods are the empowerment by the Holy Spirit to conduct the Lord's business, for "without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). These are the gifts of the Spirit.
Ephesians 4:7-16
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ...11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:…. 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Here we notice the increase in the talents.
These are grace gifts, and in verse 7 above we see that they are not given equally, but are given "according to the measure of the gift of Christ". In the verse below we see again that these gifts "differ according to the grace that is given to us:"
Romans 12:6
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
And these gifts are distributed unequally among the saints, and are given according to the ability of each:
Matthew 25:15
And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
1 Peter 4:10
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
These gifts are given to profit the entire body of Christ, and are given according to God's will:
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
These gifts of the Spirit are included in the talents. They are given to enhance each man's personal service to the Body of Christ. We are responsible to the Lord to use these talents to provide increase and edification, etc., to the Body. "To whom much is given, much shall be required" (Luke 12:48); thus, the Lord expected five more talents from the one who was given five talents, and two more talents from the one who was given two talents.
Thus we see that some are given larger tasks than others (five talents, two talents, and one talent). But the reward hinges on whether the individual task given was completed (not how big the task was). The same reward was given to the one who was given five talents as to the one who was given two talents.
Matthew 25:21
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
The Pounds
The pounds, however, are given to effect our own personal sanctification; that is, our own personal growth in the fruit of the Spirit. The pound given each man represents the initial measure of faith that is given to each man. From this initial gift of faith, each man is expected to produce the fruits shown. In the measure that each man allows the Holy Spirit to produce this fruit in him, he will be rewarded with ten cities, five cities, etc.
2 Peter 1:3-11
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
From the initial gift of faith, we are to give diligence to add to this faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Notice that each man is given an equal measure of faith:
Romans 12:3
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Thus, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, each man will be held responsible and will be rewarded according to how much he allowed the Holy Spirit (through obedience to His leading) to produce:
In the Parable of the Talents – personal service – good works – to build up the Body of Christ.
In the Parable of the Pounds – personal sanctification – fruit of the Spirit.
However, it is my belief that an abundance of the "fruit of the Spirit" will automatically be accompanied by the good works. They go hand in hand.
John 15:8
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Jesus gave the parable of the pounds to His disciples in a single discourse near the close of His earthly ministry while still in Jericho, before going up to Jerusalem, in order to dispel thoughts which they had concerning the kingdom being established in days immediately ahead (Luke 19:11); and the parable of the talents was given to His disciples in a larger discourse after they had been to Jerusalem in order to provide additional light upon kindred parables. One parable was given preceding Christ's entry into Jerusalem as the nation's King, anticipating His rejection; and the other parable was given following His entry and rejection, only two days before the people of Israel crucified their Messiah (Matt. 26:1, 2).
The overall framework of the parable of the talents and the parable of the pounds is the same. A Nobleman (Christ) called His servants (Christians), delivered something to them (talents or pounds). He then departed into a far country to receive a kingdom (into heaven to receive the kingdom that is presently in the physical possession of the incumbent, Satan), leaving His servants with the promise that He would return (as King, in physical possession of the kingdom).
During the interim, between the time of the Nobleman's departure and return, His servants were to exercise faithfulness to the responsibility with which they had been entrusted (the work given to each man).
Then the day finally arrived when the Nobleman returned, as He had promised; and at that time His servants were called before Him to give an account. Those servants who had exercised faithfulness in their calling were commended and then rewarded by being placed in positions of power and authority in the kingdom which the Nobleman had acquired during the time of His absence. Those servants exercising unfaithfulness in their calling, though, experienced rebuke, rejection, and chastisement. No position in the Nobleman's kingdom awaited them.
So we see that the increase in the pounds has to do with how advanced the Lord was able to bring us along the road of sanctification. And in the parable, one realized an increase of 10 pounds; another realized an increase of five pounds; and the last had no increase at all.
It is important to notice the language of the two who had increase: "thy pound hast gained ten pounds", and "thy pound has gained five pounds". From this language, we see they did not take credit for the increase. It is the Lord who brings the increase – our portion is to abide in His word, and to obey, thus allowing Him to produce the increase. Without our obedience, they will be no increase (no fruit). Remember the parable of the vine?
John 15:4-5
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:7-10
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 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.
So we have two basic requirements to produce fruit: remain in His word, and to obey His word as He reveals it to us. If we do these two things, Jesus will produce much fruit in us. And this will lead us to the ultimate goal, or end, of our faith: Salvation of the Soul.
James 1:21
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
So it is the "engrafted word" that leads to Salvation of the Soul; our portion is to received it with meekness – to receive it with the intention of obedience, or in a spirit of humililty and "meekness".
And thus we see that this is the ultimate goal, the ultimate purpose or end of our faith, the Salvation of the Soul>
1 Peter 1:9
Receiving the end [the purpose, the goal] of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
And having received the Salvation of our Souls at the Judgment Seat of Christ, thus we shall be granted an abundant entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven.
2 Peter 1:10-11
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
That's what Paul said he was doing in Philippians 3 – giving diligence to make his calling and election sure:
Philippians 3:12-14
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 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 press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
-At his request, the Author's name is not given
