In this study we will explore the relationship between two Biblical truths:
- The kingdom of heaven is not divided.
- The kingdom of heaven is divisive.
When we combine these truths in their proper relationship to one another we discover the main point of today’s message, the kingdom of heaven is divisively undivided.
The Kingdom of Heaven is Divisive
Matthew 12:22-24
22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
The reason that the kingdom of heaven is divisive is that sin does not want to accept God for who he is.
The Kingdom of Heaven is Not Divided
Matthew 12:25-29
Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.
The reason that the kingdom is not divided is that God will never change who he is.
Praise God that he is too narrow to change, that he is to stubborn to compromise his character, and that he is too inflexible to give up his glory.
God’s grace is not that he changes for us but that he changes us.
We either try to change God, and so reject the kingdom, or let him change us, and so enter the kingdom.
The reason why the kingdom is divisive is precisely that it is undivided. It is God’s refusal to change who he is that causes division in the world.
It is not the nature of God to be divisive. But people are divided in response to his unchanging nature.
Let us praise God that the kingdom is not divided. One day God will divide the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). That will not be a fun experience for a loving God. But we can rejoice that he is willing to divide people in order to keep his kingdom undivided. If the kingdom were divided, God could just let the sheep and the goats all in. That would be the gracious thing to do, right? No! We would live in a divided kingdom for eternity. Jesus is too good to not divide.
The right response to the undivided kingdom is acceptance and repentance!
Matthew 12:30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Matthew 11:20-21
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”