THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Kingdom
Message One—An Outline of the Kingdom in the Bible
Scripture Reading: Gen. 2:9; Heb. 1:8; Psa. 105:13; Dan. 4:3b; Matt. 21:43; Rom. 14:17; Matt. 13:37; Mark 4:14, 26; Rev. 20:4, 6
I. The divine life to be received by man is for two things: to express God on the positive side and to deal with God’s enemy on the negative side; to express God, man needs the image of God; to deal with the enemy of God, man needs the authority of God; the divine authority, which is something of the kingdom, is revealed throughout the Scriptures—Gen. 2:9.
II. The Bible reveals that the kingdom of God embraces a wide scope; it embraces eternity without beginning before the foundation of the world, the paradise of Adam, the chosen patriarchs, the nation of Israel in the Old Testament (Matt. 21:43), the church in the New Testament (Rom. 14:17), the coming millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6), and the new heaven and new earth without end for eternity.
III. The kingdom of God as God’s reign in a general way is from eternity past to eternity future (Heb. 1:8; Psa. 145:13; Dan. 4:3b); because the kingdom of God is the reigning of God, it follows God’s existence; God’s existence is from eternity to eternity, without beginning or ending; God’s reigning, God’s kingdom, is also from eternity to eternity, without beginning or ending.
IV. After man became fallen, God chose the race of Abraham; God chose Abraham with the intention of having a kingdom—Gen. 12:1-2:
A. The kingdom is a sphere, a realm, to exercise authority; without the kingdom God can never exercise His authority; for God to accomplish His purpose, He must have a realm, a sphere, as a kingdom for Him to exercise His authority—Matt. 6:10, 13.
B. The accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose depends on the kingdom; if God does not have a kingdom to exercise His authority, He can do nothing—Gen. 12:2; Exo. 19:4-6.
V. The kingdom of Israel was a part of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament times; after God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He told them that they would be to Him a kingdom, a nation; God made Israel a kingdom, a nation, and in that nation God exercised His authority—Exo. 19:4-6.
VI. With the coming of the New Testament dispensation, the kingdom of God turns from God’s reign in a general way to His reign in a particular way in the sense of life; actually, this aspect of the kingdom of God is God Himself in Christ as life—John 3:3, 5:
A. The kingdom of God is related not merely to the Jews but also to the Christians—Matt. 21:43.
B. The Bible reveals that the kingdom of God has never been suspended; in Matthew 21:43 the Lord said clearly that the kingdom of God would be taken from the Jewish people and given to another people, that is, to the church.
C. The kingdom of God as the reign of God is a divine realm to be entered into, a realm which requires the divine life; if we would know the things of the divine kingdom, we need another life, the divine life, God’s life—John 3:3, 5.
D. The kingdom of God is actually the God-man, Jesus Christ, sown as the seed of life into His believers; after this seed has been sown into them, it will grow in them and eventually develop into a kingdom—Matt. 13:37; Mark 4:14, 26.
E. The kingdom of God with Christ as its reality in life is within the church today—Luke 17:21; Rom. 14:17.
VII. By our new birth we have entered into the kingdom of God; on the other hand, as far as the kingdom of the heavens is concerned, we are still on the way to entering into it—John 3:3; Acts 14:22:
A. With the kingdom of the heavens there are three aspects: the external appearance of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 13), the reality of the kingdom of the heavens (chs. 5—7), and the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens (chs. 24—25).
B. On the day of Pentecost, the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens and the reality of the kingdom of the heavens began—Acts 2:1.
C. The appearance of the kingdom of the heavens includes all of the false Christians, but only the victorious, overcoming Christians are in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens.
D. To enter into the kingdom of God requires regeneration as a new beginning of our life, but to enter into the kingdom of the heavens demands surpassing righteousness in our living after regeneration—John 3:3, 5; Matt. 7:21; Rom. 10:13; John 3:3, 5.
E. Whoever is in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today will be in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the millennium—Rev. 20:4, 6.
VIII. If we are going to understand God’s administration in His move in the New Testament today, VIII. We have to go back to the type of the New Testament government in the Old Testament; God’s administration is a direct ruling and governing by God Himself; this direct divine ruling is a theocracy:
A. At Mount Sinai the Lord told the children of Israel that He wanted them to be a “kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation”—Exo. 19:6.
B. God’s administration in the Old Testament was by His instant speaking plus His constant, written word through some agents:
1. God’s administration was neither an autocracy by a dictator nor a democracy of the people; God’s administration among the children of Israel was a theocracy, indicating that God Himself came to govern, to rule, to administrate the people of God directly yet through some agents.
2. These agents were the priests, the elders, the judges, or the kings working together for God’s theocracy; they were the direct administrators.
3. The theocracy among the nation of Israel was according to God’s constant speaking as written in the law or God’s instant speaking as revealed through the breastplate of the high priest by means of the Urim and the Thummim; God’s instant speaking through the prophets was by the Spirit of God coming upon certain persons to enable them to speak God’s word—Exo. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65.
C. In the New Testament, the apostles appointed the elders to carry out God’s administration in each local church—Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5.
D. In the New Testament kingdom, according to the teaching of the apostles, the elders were the direct administrators (1 Cor. 5:13); furthermore, according to the Lord’s instant speaking, all the believers in Christ are priests of God (1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 1:6), including the elders, having Christ as the High Priest living within] them (Heb. 8:1; Rom. 8:10).
E. Today in God’s administration on this earth, besides the ones who are the priests to receive the revelation from the Lord directly and the administrators to carry out what God spoke, there are the prophets and the teachers to help the eldership and the priesthood—Acts 13:1-4.
F. After the apostles appoint the elders and commit the church into the hands of the elders, they did not have the position to administrate the church, but they did have the position, right, and responsibility to charge the elders to do it; in the New Testament the apostles were to keep their hands off of the administration of the local church in its business affairs, not in its need of the apostles’ teaching, instruction, and charge—1 Cor. 5:13; 1 Tim. 5:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:34.
G. The churches are local in administration but not absolutely independent.
H. The teaching of the apostles is the real leadership in the New Testament.
Ministry Excerpts:
THE DIVINE IMAGE
AND THE DIVINE AUTHORITY
Genesis 1 says that God created man in His own image and that He gave man the authority to rule all the created things (v. 26). In the creation of man the two vital things are the divine image and the divine authority. If we are to have the full image of God to express God and to realize the full authority to represent God, to subdue His enemy, to subdue this earth, God Himself must be our life. In the first two chapters of Genesis we see the image and the dominion, the authority, and the life of God, which is signified by the tree of life (Gen. 2:9). To express God and to represent God in a full way we must take God as our life. We must have God living within us and through us. Then we will have the real image of God to express God, and we will realize the divine authority to represent God on this earth to subdue His enemy. The divine life to be received by man is for two things: to express God on the positive side and to deal with God’s enemy on the negative side. To express God, man needs the image of God. To deal with the enemy of God, man needs the authority of God. The divine authority, which is something of the kingdom, is revealed throughout the Scriptures.
THE KINGDOM AND THE CHOSEN RACE
After man became fallen, God chose the race of Abraham. The first race, the race of Adam, failed God. But after the great flood, God began again with a second race of mankind, the race of Noah. This second race also failed God. Then God chose the third race, the race of Abraham, after the time of Babel. The purpose of God’s choosing of Abraham is revealed in Genesis 12:1-2. These two verses tell us that God chose Abraham with the intention of having a kingdom. The Lord told Abraham that He would make of him “a great nation” (v. 2). This great nation is a kingdom. The kingdom is a sphere, a realm, to exercise authority. Without the kingdom God can never exercise His authority. For God to accomplish His purpose, He must have a realm, a sphere, as a kingdom for Him to exercise His authority. This is why the Lord Jesus mentioned the kingdom when He taught the disciples to pray in Matthew 6. At the beginning of the Lord’s prayer and at the end of it the kingdom is mentioned. The beginning of the Lord’s prayer says, “Your kingdom come” (v. 10). The end of this prayer says, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (v. 13).
The accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose depends on the kingdom. If God does not have a kingdom to exercise His authority, He can do nothing. Thus, in the Old Testament God chose Abraham so his descendants could be made a great nation, a kingdom. The children of Israel came into being, and God did make them a nation, a kingdom. Then after God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He told them that they would be to Him a kingdom, a nation (Exo. 19:4-6). God made Israel a kingdom, a nation, and in that nation God exercised His authority. God accomplished certain things by exercising His authority in the kingdom of Israel.
THE KINGDOM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
In the New Testament the first preacher was John the Baptist. The first word preached by him was, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 3:2). When the Lord Jesus began to preach the gospel, He said the same thing as John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (4:17). When the Lord sent the disciples to preach the gospel, He charged them to say, “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (10:7). The book of Revelation tells us that at the Lord’s coming back after His judgment upon the nations, the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of Christ (11:15). Eventually, in the millennium the Lord will rule as a king with all His victorious saints (Rev. 20:4, 6). Revelation shows that in the accomplishment of His eternal purpose God eventually will have a kingdom in which He can exercise His authority to the fullest extent. The Scriptures clearly reveal this line of the kingdom of God in which or through which God can exercise His authority to accomplish His eternal purpose.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
A kingdom is not a simple matter. For example, the United States as a nation, a kingdom, is not a simple matter. The kingdom of God includes many things that need to be understood. In the Old Testament there is the kingdom of Israel. In the New Testament there is the kingdom of the heavens. Then after the church age there will be a period of a thousand years known as the millennium. The millennium is a kingdom of a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6). If we read the Scriptures carefully, we will see that even in the millennium there are some further divisions. The kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament, the kingdom of the heavens in the New Testament, and the millennial kingdom after the church age are parts of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God runs from eternity to eternity. It is a realm, a sphere, in which God can rule and exercise His authority. From eternity past to eternity future there is such a thing called the kingdom of God. In this kingdom God exercises His authority to rule over all things.
THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
Concerning the kingdom of Israel being a part of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament times, Matthew 21:43 says, “Therefore I say to you that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation producing its fruit.” The kingdom of God was already there with the Israelites, but because they did not bring forth fruit, the Lord told them that the kingdom of God would be taken from them. That it could be taken from them means that the kingdom of God was among them already. The Lord took the kingdom from them and gave this kingdom to another people, which is the church.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS AND
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
We must also see from the Scriptures that the kingdom of the heavens is different from the kingdom of God. Most Christians think that the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of God are synonymous terms. When John the Baptist came, he told the people to repent, for the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near (Matt. 3:2). This meant that up until the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom of the heavens had not yet come but had only drawn near. Then when the Lord Jesus came out to preach the gospel at the beginning of His ministry, He said the same thing: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (4:17). Later, in Matthew 10:7, the Lord sent the first group of disciples and told them to say the same thing, that the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near. When the Lord came out to preach the gospel, the kingdom of the heavens had not come yet. On the one hand, the kingdom of God was already among the children of Israel. On the other hand, the kingdom of the heavens was coming.
Matthew 12:28 says, “But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” In this verse the Lord refers to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the heavens. Even then, the kingdom of the heavens had still not come, but the kingdom of God was there by that time.
Another important passage showing this distinction between the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of God is Matthew 11:11-12: “Truly I say to you, Among those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist, yet he who is least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and violent men seize it.” This word indicates that up to this time “the kingdom of the heavens” had not come, and John the Baptist was not in it, because the smallest in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than John. Also, from the time of John until the time the Lord spoke this word was the period of time in which people could endeavor to get into the kingdom of the heavens.
In Matthew 16:19 the Lord told Peter that He would give to him “the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.” Even at the time of Matthew 16 the kingdom of the heavens had not begun, because the keys had not been given. The Lord gave the first key of the kingdom of the heavens to Peter on the day of Pentecost. The kingdom of the heavens started on the day of Pentecost when the church began to be built up. Peter used one key to open the gate for the Jewish believers to enter the kingdom of the heavens on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38-42), and he used the other to open the gate for the Gentile believers to enter the kingdom of the heavens in the house of Cornelius (10:34-48). (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
GOD’S REIGN IN A PARTICULAR WAY
In the Sense of Life
In Adam’s paradise the kingdom of God was there, ruling over Adam. However, with Adam in paradise we cannot see the kingdom of God in life. The same is true of the patriarchs and of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. The kingdom of God was present with them but not in the sense of life. However, with the coming of the New Testament dispensation, the kingdom of God turns from God’s reign in a general way to His reign in a particular way in the sense of life. Actually, this aspect of the kingdom of God is God Himself in Christ as life.
The Lord’s word to Nicodemus in John 3 reveals God’s reign in the sense of life. In verse 3 the Lord says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” To be born anew, to be regenerated, is to have a new birth that brings in a new life. Regeneration is simply to have a life other than the life we already have. We have received the human life from our parents; now we need to receive the divine life from God. Therefore, regeneration means to have the divine life, the life of God, in addition to the human life which we already possess. Regeneration, then, requires another birth in order to possess another life.
Every kingdom has a particular kind of life. The plants in the plant kingdom have the plant life, and the animals in the animal kingdom have the animal life. In the same principle, human beings in the human kingdom have a human life. From the Lord’s word to Nicodemus we can see that, if we would know the things of the divine kingdom, we need another life, the divine life, God’s life.
The kingdom of God as the reign of God is a divine realm to be entered into, a realm which requires the divine life. Only the divine life can realize the divine things. This was the reason the Lord said to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (v. 5). Hence, to see, or to enter into, the kingdom of God requires regeneration with the divine life.
With Christ as the Seed of Life
The fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark reveals that the kingdom of God in the sense of life is with Christ as the seed of life. Verse 3 says, “Behold, the sower went out to sow.” The sower here signifies the Lord Jesus (Matt. 13:37), who was the Son of God coming to sow Himself as the seed of life (Mark 4:26) in His word (v. 14) into men’s hearts that He might grow and live in them and be expressed from within them. The kingdom of God is actually the God-man, Jesus Christ, sown as the seed of life into His believers. After this seed has been sown into them, it will grow in them and eventually develop into a kingdom.
During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus sowed the seed of the kingdom into the human heart. In Mark 4 and Matthew 13 the human heart is likened to soil. Our heart is the field, the soil, into which the Lord Jesus has sown Himself as the seed of life. In the parable of the sower, the Lord Jesus is both the Sower and the seed sown. As the Sower, the Lord sows Himself as the seed of life through His word.
Jesus Christ is the seed of the kingdom of God, and this seed has been sown into those who believe in Him. Now this seed is growing and developing within the believers. Eventually, this growth and development will have an issue, and the issue will be the kingdom.
In the parable of the seed in Mark 4:26-29 we see the development of the kingdom seed. In verse 26 the Lord says, “So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed on the earth.” The “man” here is the Lord Jesus as the Sower, and the “seed” is the seed of the divine life (1 John 3:9; 1 Pet. 1:23) sown into the believers of Christ, indicating that the kingdom of God is a matter of life, the life of God, which sprouts, grows, bears fruit, matures, and produces a harvest.
In verse 27 the Lord continues, “And sleep and rise night and day, and the seed sprouts and lengthens—how, he does not know.” This illustrates the spontaneity of the growth of the seed.
In verses 28 and 29 the Lord goes on to say, “The earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then an ear, then full grain in the ear. But when the fruit permits, immediately he sends forth the sickle, because the harvest has come.” The “earth” is the good earth (v. 8), signifying the good heart created by God for His divine life to grow in man. Such a good heart works together with the seed of the divine life sown into it to grow and bear fruit spontaneously for the expression of God.
Mark 4:26-29 reveals that the kingdom of God in the sense of life is a seed that is sown into the earth and grows until it reaches maturity, at which time it is harvested. The seed is Christ, and we are the soil into which He as the seed has been sown. The seed grows and eventually will produce the harvest, the full manifestation of the kingdom. Therefore, the kingdom is the Lord Jesus as the seed of life who has been sown into us and who grows in us until He reaches maturity at the time of harvest. When the crop is ripe, there will be the harvest, the full manifestation of the kingdom.
The growth of Christ as the seed of life within us is the process of the kingdom. On the one hand, we are in the kingdom; on the other hand, we are in the process of the kingdom. We may use the growth of wheat as an illustration. In a wheat field seeds are sown into the soil. The seed then grows until the tender young sprouts appear. The growth continues until the sprouts bring forth ears, fruit, and eventually are fully ripened. Then there is the harvest of the field. This is a picture of the process and manifestation of the kingdom. Now we are in the process of the kingdom, for today we have Christ as the seed of life growing within us. Eventually, this growth will bring us to the harvest, and that harvest will be the full manifestation of the kingdom.
With Christ as Its Reality in Life
The kingdom of God as God’s reign in a particular way in the sense of life is with Christ as its reality in life. This is revealed in Luke 17.
In Luke 17:21 the Lord said to the Pharisees, “Behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” The word “you” here refers to the questioning Pharisees. The Lord Jesus as the reality of the kingdom in life was not within them but only among them.
In the Lord’s answer to the Pharisees, there is the strong indication that the kingdom of God is actually Christ Himself. The Lord was actually telling the Pharisees that they could not see the kingdom of God, even though it was among them. Although the kingdom of God was present, they did not have the spiritual perception to see it. We need spiritual eyes to see the kingdom of God, which is actually the wonderful person of Christ Himself. The spiritual reality of Christ is actually the kingdom of God in the sense of life.
“Being questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God comes, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, Look, here! Or, There! For behold, the kingdom of God is among you” (vv. 20-21). The Lord’s word that the kingdom of God “does not come with observation” indicates that the kingdom of God is not material but spiritual. Verses 22 through 24 prove that the kingdom of God is Christ Himself, who was among the Pharisees when He was asked by them regarding the kingdom. Wherever the Savior is, there is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is with Him, and He brings it to His disciples (v. 22). He is the seed of the kingdom of God sown into God’s people and developing in them into God’s ruling realm. Since His resurrection, He is within His believers (John 14:20; Rom. 8:10). Hence, the kingdom of God with Christ as its reality in life is within the church today (Rom. 14:17). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 240)