Read the following parable of the Wicked Husbandmen.
|
Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, |
They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto Him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. - Matthew 21:33-41 |
What is meant by the following in the parable?
- The householder that planted a vineyard
- The vineyard with its hedge and tower
- The husbandmen in the vineyeard
- The duty and behavior of the husbandmen
While it teaches the reality of both, Scripture clearly distinguishes an external relationship to God's church and covenant from a saving, internal one - the Church Visible from the Church Invisible.
This distinction, however, does not refer to two separate, distinct churches, but to the one church of God viewed from two different perspectives. One view emphasizes God's perspective. He sees all those who gather together to worship Him in their hearts. He knows all those who are inwardly called by the Holy Spirit and
|
How do the Parable of the Tares in Matthew 13 and the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25 teach similar lessons regarding the Church Visible and Invisible? |
