What is the Significance of the Parables on the Treasure & the Pearl of Great Value in Matthew 13:44-46?

     Have you ever heard that the Bible is about life and building?  I didn't see this truth until I attended the Life-Study of Matthew training when I was a college student. When I first heard this, it made me feel like this surely proves that the Bible is the word of God because who else could have done this?   

   As I read Chapters 38-39 of the Life-Study of Matthew which are on the parables in Chapter 13 of Matthew, I saw in a new way the connection between these parables and other parts of the Bible.  Witness Lee's statement on pages 474-475 really helped me get how they relate to one another: 

“In the first four parables [sower, tares, mustard seed, and leaven]  the Lord revealed the life that grows Christ into the kingdom.  In the next two parables [treasure in the field and the pearl taken out of the sea] He revealed the matter of transformation for building.  This brings us back to the basic thought of the Bible—life and building” (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Matthew. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1977, Print).

I took a picture of a friend's painting of Butchart Gardens
that someone gave to them.

     How can you see life and building in the Bible?  In the Genesis the first book  of the Bible you see a beautiful garden in chapter 2 with a tree called the tree of life, and there’s a river flowing through it (both of these signify life), and in that land it mentions there is gold, bdellium, and onyx stone (all of them building materials).

     But what is amazing is seeing that all these items are in the last two chapters of Revelation.   If you read Revelation 21-22 you will see in the New Jerusalem the tree of life growing on both sides of the river of life, and you can also  see the same materials--gold, pearl, and precious stones, but now they're built up into a spiritual city. 

   Witness Lee has written extensively on on the topic of life and building.  Several years ago I read a book called God's New Testament Economy and chapter 33 is called The New Jerusalem--The Basic Elements of Its Structure.  This book really helped me understand how the New Jerusalem is symbolic of of all the spiritual work that God has done in His redeemed people to make them His eternal dwelling place. 

Other blogs on the Life Study of Matthew:

You can listen to excerpts from the Life Study of Matthew along with excellent commentary by tuning into the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.    

Do You Skip the Genealogy in Matthew?
What is the Focus of the Gospel of Matthew?
What is the Sermon on the Mount Really About? (Part 1)
What is the Sermon on the Mount Really About?  (Part 2)
Why is the Crucial Significance of Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13?
How Does Jesus Calm the Stormy Sea in Matthew 8:23-27?
How Does the Great Physician Heal our Hearts in Matthew 9:12?
Have You Seen the Battle Between the Two Kingdoms in Matthew 12:26-28?
What is the Connection Between the Kingdom & the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:3-23?
What is the Significance of the Parables on the Treasure & the Pearl of Great Value in Matthew 13:44-46?
What is Walking By Faith All About in Matthew 14:22-33?
What Lesson Did Peter Learn on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-13?
How Does Matthew 18 and 19 Relate to the Kingdom?
What Does Peter's Denial of the Lord Teach us in Matthew 26:69-75?