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. (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 240)
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. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 240)
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 Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 240)
A. The kingdom of God is related not merely to the Jews but also to the Christians—Matt. 21:43. (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 240)
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. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 240)
E. The kingdom of God with Christ as its reality in life is within the church today—Luke 17:21; Rom. 14:17. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 240)
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 Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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). (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 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. (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens, msg. 1)
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. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 240)
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 Timely Word, msg. 2)
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. (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
B. God’s administration in the Old Testament was by His instant speaking plus His constant, written word through some agents: (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
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. (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
2. These agents were the priests, the elders, the judges, or the kings working together for God’s theocracy; they were the direct administrators. (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
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. (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
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. (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
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). (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
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. (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
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. (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
G. The churches are local in administration but not absolutely independent. (A Timely Word, msg. 2)
H. The teaching of the apostles is the real leadership in the New Testament. (A Timely Word, msg. 2)