The direction of the Lord’s move today
is to bring in
the kingdom of God
as the spreading of the divine life
for God’s eternal administration:
The kingdom of God
is actually Christ Himself
sown into the believers
in the church age.
The kingdom of God
is spreading
in Christ’s increasing
to be
the enlarged, upcoming kingdom,
which the Lord will bring in
at His coming back:
This is signified
by the stone
(Christ)
that became
a great mountain
(the kingdom in the millennium),
as revealed in Daniel 2:34-35.
This enlarged, upcoming kingdom of God
will be God’s universal government
in the new heaven and new earth
for God’s eternal administration
in the fulfillment of
God’s eternal economy in Christ,
as God’s ultimately consummated household administration
in eternity.
The kingdom of God
is Christ the Savior Himself:
Wherever the Savior is,
there the kingdom of God is.
The kingdom of God
is with the Savior,
and He brings it
to His disciples.
The kingdom of God
is the Savior
as the seed of life
sown into God’s chosen people
and developing into a realm
over which God can rule
as His kingdom
in His divine life:
The entrance into the kingdom
is regeneration,
and the development of the kingdom
is the believers’ growth
in the divine life.
Since His resurrection
Christ has been within His believers;
thus,
the kingdom of God
is within the church today.
The kingdom
is the church life,
in which
the faithful believers live,
and it will develop
into the coming kingdom
as a reward
to be inherited
by the overcoming saints
in the millennium.
Eventually,
the kingdom of God
will consummate in the New Jerusalem
as the eternal kingdom of God,
an eternal realm
of the eternal blessing
of God’s eternal life,
which all of God’s redeemed
will enjoy
in the new heaven and new earth
for eternity.
Such a kingdom,
the kingdom of God,
is what the Lord Jesus
announced as the gospel, the good news,
to those
who were alienated from
the life of God.
We need to see
the relationship
between the kingdom and the church:
The Bible
first presents the kingdom
and thereafter presents the church;
the presence of the kingdom
roduces the church:
The life of God
is the kingdom of God;
the divine life
is the kingdom,
and this life
produces the church:
The kingdom
is the realm of life
for life
to move, work, rule, and govern
so that life
may accomplish its purpose,
and this realm
is the kingdom.
The gospel
brings in the divine life,
and this life
has its realm,
which is
the kingdom;
the divine life
with its realm
produces the church.
The kingdom
is the reality
of the church;
therefore,
apart from the kingdom life,
we cannot live the church life:
The reality
of the kingdom of the heavens
(Matt. 5—7)
is the content
of the church life;
without the reality of the kingdom,
the church is empty.
Since the kingdom life
issues in the church life,
as we live corporately
in the kingdom life,
we spontaneously live
the church life.
Without the kingdom
as the reality of the church,
the church
cannot be built up:
The church
is brought into being
through the authority
of the kingdom.
The keys of the kingdom
are given
to make
the building of the church
possible.
The genuine church
is the kingdom of God
in this age;
today
the believers
live the kingdom life
in the church:
Each time
the Lord Jesus
spoke of the church,
He mentioned it
in relation to the kingdom;
this indicates
how intimately
the kingdom and the church
are related.
In the church
as the kingdom,
we are
under the kingdom’s rule, government,
discipline, and exercise.
As those
who are under the dispensing
of the Divine Trinity,
we need
to live a kingdom life
in the church,
growing and developing
in the divine life
until we reach maturity.
The church
brings in the kingdom;
the work of the church
is to bring in
the kingdom of God:
The church
was brought into being
for the purpose of
bringing in the kingdom:
The work of
the church on earth
is to bring in
the kingdom of God;
the work of the church
is governed by
the principle of
the kingdom of God.
The church
is responsible
for bringing heaven’s will
down to earth
and for carrying it out
on earth.
The church
should pray
to bring in
the kingdom of God;
if there is
no prayer,
the kingdom cannot come:
The church
must be
the outlet of heaven,
allowing heaven’s authority
to be expressed
on earth.
Genuine prayer
is a joint labor with God
to bring His kingdom
to the earth
and to carry out His will
on earth.
Hits: 0
7 replies on “To Bring In the Kingdom of God (1) The Kingdom of God as the Spreading of the Divine Life for God’s Eternal Administration”
Prophecy note, 26 February 2017
The direction of the Lord’s move today
is to bring in
the kingdom of God
as the spreading of the divine life
for God’s eternal administration:
The kingdom of God
is actually Christ Himself
sown into the believers
in the church age.
The kingdom of God
is spreading
in Christ’s increasing
to be
the enlarged, upcoming kingdom,
which the Lord will bring in
at His coming back:
This is signified
by the stone
(Christ)
that became
a great mountain
(the kingdom in the millennium),
as revealed in Daniel 2:34-35.
This enlarged, upcoming kingdom of God
will be God’s universal government
in the new heaven and new earth
for God’s eternal administration
in the fulfillment of
God’s eternal economy in Christ,
as God’s ultimately consummated household administration
in eternity.
The kingdom of God
is Christ the Savior Himself:
Wherever the Savior is,
there the kingdom of God is.
The kingdom of God
is with the Savior,
and He brings it
to His disciples.
The kingdom of God
is the Savior
as the seed of life
sown into God’s chosen people
and developing into a realm
over which God can rule
as His kingdom
in His divine life:
The entrance into the kingdom
is regeneration,
and the development of the kingdom
is the believers’ growth
in the divine life.
Since His resurrection
Christ has been within His believers;
thus,
the kingdom of God
is within the church today.
The kingdom
is the church life,
in which
the faithful believers live,
and it will develop
into the coming kingdom
as a reward
to be inherited
by the overcoming saints
in the millennium.
Eventually,
the kingdom of God
will consummate in the New Jerusalem
as the eternal kingdom of God,
an eternal realm
of the eternal blessing
of God’s eternal life,
which all of God’s redeemed
will enjoy
in the new heaven and new earth
for eternity.
Such a kingdom,
the kingdom of God,
is what the Lord Jesus
announced as the gospel, the good news,
to those
who were alienated from
the life of God.
We need to see
the relationship
between the kingdom and the church:
The Bible
first presents the kingdom
and thereafter presents the church;
the presence of the kingdom
roduces the church:
The life of God
is the kingdom of God;
the divine life
is the kingdom,
and this life
produces the church:
The kingdom
is the realm of life
for life
to move, work, rule, and govern
so that life
may accomplish its purpose,
and this realm
is the kingdom.
The gospel
brings in the divine life,
and this life
has its realm,
which is
the kingdom;
the divine life
with its realm
produces the church.
The kingdom
is the reality
of the church;
therefore,
apart from the kingdom life,
we cannot live the church life:
The reality
of the kingdom of the heavens
(Matt. 5—7)
is the content
of the church life;
without the reality of the kingdom,
the church is empty.
Since the kingdom life
issues in the church life,
as we live corporately
in the kingdom life,
we spontaneously live
the church life.
Without the kingdom
as the reality of the church,
the church
cannot be built up:
The church
is brought into being
through the authority
of the kingdom.
The keys of the kingdom
are given
to make
the building of the church
possible.
The genuine church
is the kingdom of God
in this age;
today
the believers
live the kingdom life
in the church:
Each time
the Lord Jesus
spoke of the church,
He mentioned it
in relation to the kingdom;
this indicates
how intimately
the kingdom and the church
are related.
In the church
as the kingdom,
we are
under the kingdom’s rule, government,
discipline, and exercise.
As those
who are under the dispensing
of the Divine Trinity,
we need
to live a kingdom life
in the church,
growing and developing
in the divine life
until we reach maturity.
The church
brings in the kingdom;
the work of the church
is to bring in
the kingdom of God:
The church
was brought into being
for the purpose of
bringing in the kingdom:
The work of
the church on earth
is to bring in
the kingdom of God;
the work of the church
is governed by
the principle of
the kingdom of God.
The church
is responsible
for bringing heaven’s will
down to earth
and for carrying it out
on earth.
The church
should pray
to bring in
the kingdom of God;
if there is
no prayer,
the kingdom cannot come:
The church
must be
the outlet of heaven,
allowing heaven’s authority
to be expressed
on earth.
Genuine prayer
is a joint labor with God
to bring His kingdom
to the earth
and to carry out His will
on earth.
Day 6
Matt. 7:21
Not everyone
who says to Me,
Lord, Lord,
will enter
into the kingdom of the heavens,
but he
who does
the will of My Father
who is
in the heavens.
2 Cor. 10:4
For the weapons of our warfare
are not fleshly
but powerful
before God
for the overthrowing of strongholds.
The church,
which is formed of
individual saints
who are put into Christ,
is the corporate Christ;
it is
the combination of
all the small portions of Christ
in the saints.
As the Body of Christ,
the church is
the continuation of Christ.
Everything
that belongs to Christ
belongs to the church.
The position
that Christ attained
is the position
that the church has attained.
The works
that Christ accomplished
are sustained and perpetuated
through the church.
The cross of Christ
produced the church,
and the church
brings in the kingdom.
Hence,
the church stands
between the cross and the kingdom.
The present age
is the time
for the church
to practically realize
the victory of Christ.
The Head
has overcome;
now
the Body
must also overcome.
The Lord
destroyed the devil
on the cross
and produced the church
with resurrection life.
Today
God
is establishing His kingdom
on earth
through His church.
The church
must continue
the victorious work
that Christ
has carried out
against Satan.
It is responsible
for bringing heaven’s will
down to earth
and for carrying it out
on earth.
The prayer ministry
of the church
is a prayer on earth
that results in
a move in heaven.
Brothers and sisters,
we must remember
that the prayer in Matthew 18
can never be covered
by prayers
that are
in the nature of spiritual edification.
It can never be covered
by personal prayers.
We often can ask God
for what we lack,
and God answers our prayer.
There is
a place for personal prayers.
We often feel
that God is near to us.
Thank the Lord,
He hears prayers
that are
for spiritual edification.
We should not despise
this kind of prayer.
We admit
that it is wrong
for a brother or a sister
not to receive an answer
for his or her prayer,
and it is wrong
for us
not to feel
the presence of God.
We should pay attention
to personal prayers
and prayers for
our own spiritual edification.
This is particularly true
for young brothers and sisters.
If they
do not have
these kinds of prayers,
they cannot go on properly.
However,
we must also see
that prayers are
not just for individuals
and for spiritual edification.
Prayer is
for ministry and work.
This prayer is
the ministry of the church
on earth;
it is
the work of the church.
It is
the responsibility
that the church
bears before God.
The prayer of the church
is the outlet of heaven.
The prayer of the church
means that when God
wants to do something,
the church prays
about that matter first
so that it
can be fulfilled
and God’s goal
can be accomplished.
The ministry of the church
is the ministry of
the Body of Christ,
and the ministry of
the Body of Christ
is prayer.
…God has many things
stacked up in heaven.
He cannot accomplish
any of them
because there is
no outlet
for Him
on earth.
There are
numerous things
stacked up
in heaven.
Yet
God
cannot resolve them
because the church
has not exercised
its free will
to stand
on God’s side
and fulfill
God’s goal.
Brothers and sisters,
you have to remember
that the highest and greatest work
of the church
is to be
the outlet of God’s will.
The church
becomes
the outlet of God’s will
through prayer.
This prayer
is not a fragmentary prayer
but a prayer
that is
in the nature of a ministry,
a prayer
that is
in the nature of a work.
God
gives man vision
and opens man’s eyes
to see His will.
When this happens,
man takes his place
to pray.
Genuine prayer
is a joint labor
with God
to bring His kingdom
to the earth
and to carry out
His will
on earth.
Hence,
prayer is
nothing less than
a spiritual battle.
Prayer
overturns
the power of darkness
and opens
the way
for God’s will
to be executed
on earth.
Day 5
Matt. 6:10
Your kingdom come;
Your will be done,
as in heaven,
so also on earth.
Rev. 11:15
And the seventh angel
trumpeted;
and there were
loud voices
in heaven,
saying,
The kingdom of the world
has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
and He will reign
forever and ever.
The four Gospels
record only two occasions
when our Lord on earth
made reference to the church,
and both of these
are in the book
which specifically proclaims
the kingdom.
From that fact
we may know
how intimately
the kingdom and the church
are related.
Throughout the New Testament
we find these two
advancing together
in the closest connection.
When the Lord said,
“Upon this rock
I will build
My church,”
He immediately added,
“I will give to you
the keys of
the kingdom of the heavens”
[16:18-19].
We have received
the unique, eternal, common salvation,
but we
need to be faithful
in taking the Lord’s way
in order to receive
the reward
of entering into His joy
and of reigning with Him
over the nations
in the coming kingdom.
As those
who are under the divine dispensing
of the Divine Trinity,
we need to live
in the reality of
the kingdom of the heavens
today.
We need
to live
a kingdom life
in the church,
developing ourselves
in the divine life
until we reach maturity.
Then
we shall have
a rich entrance
into the coming kingdom
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Those
who are faithful
and reach maturity
will receive a reward
from the Lord,
but those
who are not faithful
will suffer
dispensational punishment.
The incentive
of the reward
and the warning
concerning punishment
should encourage us
to live
in the reality of
the kingdom of the heavens
today,
to be faithful
in taking the Lord’s way,
and to be diligent
to grow and mature
in the divine life.
Notice
the word “kingdom”
in Revelation 1:6.
This shows us
that not only where
the Lord Jesus is,
but also where
the church is,
the kingdom of God is.
Not only does
the Lord Jesus Himself
represent the kingdom of God;
the church also
represents the kingdom of God.
The important point here
is not a matter of
future reward or position
in the kingdom.
…The vital matter
is that God
wants the church
to represent His kingdom.
The work of the church on earth
is to bring in
the kingdom of God.
All the work of the church
is governed by
the principle of the kingdom of God.
The saving of souls
is under this principle,
and so is
the casting out of demons
and all other works as well.
…We must stand
on the position of
the kingdom of God
whenever we work,
and we must apply
the kingdom of God
to deal with
the power of Satan.
The Lord
wants us to pray,
“Our Father
who is in the heavens,
Your name
be sanctified;
Your kingdom
come;
Your will
be done,
as in heaven,
so also on earth”
(Matt. 6:9-10).
If the coming
of the kingdom of God
was automatic,
the Lord
would never have taught us
to pray in this way.
But since the Lord
asked us
to pray in this way,
He simply showed us
that this is
the work of the church.
…Some people think
that whether or not
we pray,
the kingdom of God
will come automatically.
But if we know God,
we will never say this.
The principle of God’s work
is to wait for His people
to move.
Then
He will move.
Since the work of the church
is to stand for God
and not give any ground to Satan,
what manner of living
should we have
to accomplish this task?
All our sins and unrighteousness
must be dealt with,
our consecration to God
must be thorough,
our soul-life
must be put to death,
and our natural man
must be abandoned.
Before the new heaven and new earth come,
there must first be
the kingdom.
…Once the kingdom comes,
eternity is ushered in.
…We may say
that the kingdom
is the introduction
to the new heaven and the new earth.
Day 4
Eph. 2:19
So then
you are
no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are
fellow citizens
with the saints
and members of
the household of God.
1 Cor. 4:20
For the kingdom of God
is not in speech
but in power.
Because the kingdom of heaven
is able to assert its authority
over a company of men,
that company of men
can be built up
into a church.
It is necessary
at this point
to recapitulate.
Why was the church
brought into being?
For the purpose of
bringing in the kingdom!
How was the church
brought into being?
By means of
the authority of the kingdom!
God’s purpose
was to bring His heavenly dominion
to the earth,
and apart from the church,
His goal
could not be attained.
He needed a people
who would subject themselves
to the dominion of heaven,
so that under that dominion
they might be built up
into the church.
The keys of the kingdom
are given
to make
the building of the church
possible.
Where the authority of the kingdom
is absent,
there
the building of the church
will be lacking.
Anyone
who refuses to submit
to the authority of the kingdom
can at best be
a saved person;
he will never be built
into the structure of the church.
Through regeneration
we have entered
into the kingdom of God
to live
in the reality
of the kingdom of the heavens.
This is
a corporate matter
experienced by
enjoying the dispensing
of the Divine Trinity
in a corporate way.
First,
we experience
the dispensing of the Divine Trinity
corporately
by entering into the kingdom of God
and living in the kingdom.
Then
we experience
the dispensing of the Divine Trinity
corporately
by living in the church life.
The Christian life
has two aspects.
…The divine dispensing
is first for our individual Christian life
and then for the corporate Christian life.
The individual Christian life
is a personal matter,
but the corporate Christian life
is a church matter.
Each time
the Lord Jesus
spoke of the church,
He mentioned it
in relation to the kingdom.
This indicates
how intimately
the kingdom and the church
are related.
In Matthew 16:18
He speaks of the church
in a universal way,
indicating that the universal church
is intimately related to
the kingdom of the heavens.
Then
in Matthew 18:17
He speaks of the church
in the local sense,
indicating that the local church
is also related to
the kingdom of the heavens.
In particular,
the local church
is related to
our life
as brothers in the kingdom.
This is proved
by the fact
that Matthew 18
is concerned with
the proper relationship
between brothers
in the kingdom.
This relationship
involves the local church life.
From eternity to eternity
God is
the King,
the sovereign almighty Ruler
of the whole universe.
The entire universe
from eternity to eternity
is the kingdom of God.
…The Lord Jesus
came to work out
God’s intention
of bringing His kingdom
into this world.
God’s intention
is to have the earth
controlled by the heavens.
For this reason
He needs
to bring His kingdom
to the earth.
The whole earth
needs to be brought
under a heavenly rule and government.
The Lord Jesus
came to bring the earth
under the rule
of the kingdom of the heavens.
When the Lord Jesus
comes back,
He will subdue
the whole world,
and the kingdoms of this world
will become
the kingdom of our Lord.
At that time
the kingdom of the heavens
will be manifested
in an open way.
The kingdom of the heavens
will become
the ruling power
and will govern
in a manifested, open way,
not in a mysterious and hidden way.
Now
the kingdom of the heavens
rules within the church
in a hidden, mysterious way,
but at that time
the kingdom of the heavens
will be fully manifested.
The kingdom of the heavens
simply means
the heavenly rule and government.
If you are
in the reality of
the kingdom of the heavens,
you are
under the rule of the heavens.
Day 3
Matt. 5:3
Blessed are
the poor in spirit,
for theirs is
the kingdom of the heavens.
Rev. 1:9
I John,
your brother
and fellow partaker
in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance
in Jesus,
was on the island
called Patmos
because of the word of God
and the testimony of Jesus.
Because the kingdom
is the reality of the church,
according to the New Testament revelation,
we cannot live the church life
apart from the proper kingdom life.
This is
why we
have emphasized the fact
that the gospel
preached at the beginning
of the New Testament
concerns not salvation
but the kingdom.
To enter the kingdom of God
is to be regenerated.
We may talk about regeneration
without realizing
that regeneration
is for the entry
into the kingdom.
We are regenerated
into the kingdom.
This means
that regeneration
results in the kingdom,
for regeneration
issues in an entrance
into the kingdom.
When God
regenerated us,
He regenerated us
into His kingdom.
Just as the kingdom and the church
are interrelated,
so the kingdom and God’s salvation also
are interrelated.
If we
do not participate in God’s kingdom,
it will be difficult
for us
to enjoy His salvation.
Of course,
we cannot realize
the kingdom life
unless we receive
God’s salvation,
a salvation
that becomes
the supply to us
for our enjoyment.
The enjoyment of this supply
is for us
to live a kingdom life
in the church.
We need
to be deeply impressed
with the fact
that the reality
of the kingdom of the heavens
is the content
of the church life.
This means
that without the reality of the kingdom,
the church is empty.
The reality of the kingdom
is actually Christ Himself
as our life.
Christ as life
is the essence, the substance,
for us
to live a proper life
so that in this life
we may be built up
with other believers
to bring in
the real church life,
which is
a glorious expression of Christ
as the embodiment of the Triune God.
Because Christ
is the embodiment of the Triune God,
when Christ is expressed,
the entire Triune God
is expressed.
This expression
depends on
whether or not the believers
live a life
that is
the reality of the kingdom,
a reality
that is fully revealed and described
in chapters 5 through 7
of the Gospel of Matthew.
These chapters
are a complete message
on the constitution
of the kingdom of the heavens,
and this constitution
is the reality
of the kingdom life.
This reality
is the genuine content
of the church life.
It is crucial
for us
to see
that we experience
the dispensing of the Divine Trinity
corporately
by living in the kingdom.
As we live corporately
in the kingdom life,
we spontaneously live
the church life.
The kingdom life
issues in the church life.
Without the kingdom
as the reality of the church,
the church
cannot be built up.
For the building up of the church,
we need
the kingdom
as the reality of the church.
Although the kingdom
is the reality of the church,
we cannot say
that the church
is the reality of the kingdom.
We can say only
that the kingdom
is the reality of the church.
The kingdom of God
is the living of the church.
A verse
that strongly proves this
is Romans 14:17.
“The kingdom of God
is not eating and drinking,
but righteousness
and peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
According to some Bible teachers,
the kingdom
has not yet come.
They claim
that now is
the dispensation of the church,
and the next dispensation
will be that of the kingdom.
But in 14:17
Paul does not say
that the kingdom of God
shall be;
he uses the present tense
and says
that the kingdom of God is.
According to the context of Romans 14,
which speaks of receiving the believers,
the kingdom is
today’s church life.
The reality of the church life
is the kingdom.
Romans 12
speaks of the Body life,
and Romans 14,
of the kingdom life.
This indicates
that, in Romans,
the kingdom life
is the reality of the Body life.
Day 2
John 3:3
Jesus
answered and said to him,
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
Unless one is born anew,
he cannot see
the kingdom of God.
Rom. 14:17
For the kingdom of God
is not eating and drinking,
but righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Matt. 16:18-19
…Upon this rock
I will build My church,
and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it.
I will give to you
the keys of the kingdom of the heavens…
The opening proclamation
of the New Testament
is this:
“The kingdom of the heavens
has drawn near”
(Matt. 3:2).
The New Testament
calls immediate attention
to the matter of the kingdom.
But after a while,
when the disciples
have come to know Him,
the Lord raises
the question of the church.
The church
was a mystery
that had been hidden
throughout all the generations of the past,
and it was
not until the Lord Jesus
had brought His disciples
to the point of recognizing Him
as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,”
that He
spoke openly of the church.
When Peter said,
“You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God,”
the Lord
came in at once with the word:
“Upon this rock
I will build My church”
(Matt. 16:16-18).
It was
as though He was saying:
“I am
the Son of God, the Christ,
for this purpose
—the building of My church.
The Bible
first presents the kingdom
and thereafter presents the church.
Where the kingdom of heaven
is in authority,
there a church
will be built up.
A church comes into being
where a company of people
accept the government of heaven.
So it would appear
to be the presence of the kingdom
that produces the church.
We must see
the difference or the relationship
between the kingdom and the church.
This is very hard
to discern
and to understand clearly.
We have seen
that any kind of life
is a kingdom,
so the kingdom
is the life itself.
The kingdom of God
is the life of God,
but the church
is not the life,
nor is the life the church.
The church
is the product of life.
The divine life
is the kingdom
and this life
produces the church.
The New Testament concept
is that the gospel
brings in the kingdom.
The gospel
does not bring in the church,
but the gospel
brings forth the church.
Thus,
the gospel
brings in
the kingdom of God,
and the gospel
also brings forth
the church of God.
This is
why the gospel is called
the gospel of the kingdom
in the New Testament.
There is not a verse
in the New Testament
that tells us
that the gospel
is the gospel of the church.
The gospel of the kingdom
brings forth, produces,
the church
because the kingdom
is the life itself
and the church
is the issue, the produce, of life.
As you can see,
the kingdom and the church
are very closely related.
The New Testament
refers to
the preaching
of the gospel of peace.
This peace
produces the church.
No verse, however,
tells us
to preach the church.
The Bible
also tells us
to preach forgiveness of sins
and to preach the gospel of the kingdom
but never to preach the church
because the church
is the product of
what is preached.
The Lord told Peter
in Matthew 16:18-19
that He
would build His church
upon the revelation of Christ
which Peter
had received
from the Father.
Immediately after this
the Lord said to Peter,
“I will give to you
the keys of the kingdom of the heavens”
(v. 19).
Without the kingdom
as the reality of life,
the church
could never be produced
or built up.
To produce the church
and to build up the church,
we need the kingdom.
The kingdom actually is
the reality of the church.
We cannot say, however,
that the church
is the reality of the kingdom.
We can only say
that the kingdom
is the reality of the church.
The gospel
brings in the divine life
and the divine life
has its realm
for it
to move, to work, to rule, and to govern
that this life
may accomplish its purpose.
This is
the kingdom,
and this divine life
with its realm
produces the church.
Day 1
Luke 17:21
Nor will they say,
Behold,
here it is!
or, There!
For behold,
the kingdom of God
is in the midst of you.
John 3:5
Jesus answered,
Truly, truly, I say to you,
Unless one
is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God.
The direction of the Lord’s move today
is…to bring in
the kingdom of God
as the spreading of the divine life,
which is Christ.
The kingdom of God
is actually Christ Himself
as the seed of life
sown into His believers
in the church age
and spreading in His increasing
to be
the enlarged, upcoming kingdom of God,
which He will bring in
at His coming back.
This is signified
by the stone
(Christ)
that became
a great mountain
(the kingdom in the millennium),
as revealed in Daniel 2:34-35.
This upcoming, enlarged kingdom of God
will be God’s universal government
in the new heaven and new earth
for God’s eternal administration
in the fulfillment of God’s eternal economy in Christ
as God’s ultimately consummated household administration
in eternity.
Luke 17:22-24 proves
that the kingdom of God
is the Savior Himself,
who was among the Pharisees
when He was questioned by them.
Wherever the Savior is,
there the kingdom of God is.
The kingdom of God
is with Him,
and He brings it
to His disciples.
He is
the seed of the kingdom of God
to be sown into God’s chosen people
to develop into God’s ruling realm.
…Since His resurrection
He has been
within His believers.
Hence,
the kingdom of God
is within the church today.
The entrance into the kingdom
is regeneration,
and the development of the kingdom
is the believers’ growth
in the divine life.
The kingdom
is the church life today,
in which
the faithful believers live,
and it will develop
into the coming kingdom
as a reward
to be inherited
by the overcoming saints
in the millennium.
Eventually,
it will consummate in
the New Jerusalem
as the eternal kingdom of God,
an eternal realm
of the eternal blessing
of God’s eternal life,
which all God’s redeemed
will enjoy
in the new heaven and new earth
for eternity
—Revelation 21:1-4; 22:1-5, 14.
…Such a kingdom,
the kingdom of God,
is what the Savior announced
…as the gospel, the good news,
to those
who were alienated from
the life of God.
We have pointed out
that the kingdom of God
is a kingdom of the divine life.
We may use
the human kingdom
as an illustration.
Just as mankind
is a kingdom of the human life,
so the kingdom of God
is a kingdom of the divine life.
If we were not human beings,
we could not understand
the kingdom of human life.
Dogs, for example,
cannot understand
the human kingdom,
because they
do not have a human life.
But if a dog
could receive the human life,
it would then be able
to understand
the human kingdom.
In a similar way,
we know the kingdom of God
by the divine life
because God’s kingdom
is a kingdom of
the divine life.
As those
who have received
the divine life,
we not only know
what the kingdom of God is;
we become
parts of this kingdom.
If a dog
could be born of the human life
and thereby become
a human being,
this human being
would automatically become
a part of the human kingdom.
Do you not have
the divine life?
Yes,
you have
the divine life,
and because you
have this life
you are
part of the kingdom of God.
…The kingdom of God
is the spreading,
…the propagation,
of Christ
as life
to His believers
to form a realm
in which God rules
in His life.
…The Lord Jesus
must have helped His disciples
to have the proper realization
concerning the kingdom of God.
The disciples
must have begun to see
that they
were part of
the propagation, the spreading,
of Christ,
and thereby were part of
the kingdom of God.