Without the kingdom as the reality of the church, the church cannot be built up; the kingdom produces the church and the church brings in the kingdom with the result of the kingdom and the church, and today we live in the church life by living in the reality of the kingdom of God. Amen!
When some Christians hear about the kingdom of God, they may think that the kingdom is something that comes in the future, for the Lord told us to pray, Your kingdom come.
They may think that the kingdom is not here – the church is here, but the kingdom will come sometime in the future.
In a sense, they are right, but in another sense, such an understanding of the kingdom of God is incomplete and greatly frustrates our experience and enjoyment of Christ.
When John the Baptist came as the forerunner of the Lord Jesus, he preached the gospel by telling everyone to repent and be baptized for the kingdom of God is at hand.
Then the Lord Jesus, when He preached the gospel and when He sent His disciples to preach the gospel, proclaimed that everyone needs to repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.
Actually, the kingdom is not only the rule of God and His reign but even more, the kingdom is the wonderful person of Jesus Christ.
He is the King of the kingdom of God, and He came to sow Himself as the seed of the kingdom into our hearts.
When we repented and believed into the Lord Jesus, we received the kingdom of God into us, and now we are part of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God is in us.
Christ is the kingdom of God as the realm of life, and He dwells in us, lives in us, spreads in us, and makes His home in us.
The kingdom of God is today in the church, for the preaching of the gospel produces the church.
When people believe into the Lord Jesus and repent, confess their sins, and are baptized, they become part of the church.
However, as we live the church life, we need to live in the reality of the kingdom of God.
It is easy to just meet with the saints or regularly attend Christian meetings yet not be in the kingdom of God in reality.
The church is the kingdom of God on the earth today, and we believers in Christ need to live under God’s rule and authority both personally and corporately so that we as the church may bring in the kingdom of God on the earth.
On one hand, yes, we need to pray that the kingdom would come; on the other hand, we cooperate with God to bring in the kingdom of God.
The Kingdom Produces the Church and the Church Brings in the Kingdom of God
The New Testament first presents the kingdom of God. In the Gospel of Matthew, we see the kingdom of God, with Christ as the heavenly King coming to bring in the kingdom of God.
Then, after the kingdom is presented, the church is introduced.
The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom produces believers in Christ as citizens of the kingdom of God, and these believers are built up to be the church.
The kingdom produces the church, and the church brings in the kingdom of God.
![...holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God. Col. 2:19 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and [through] the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. Eph. 4:15-16](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/holding-the-Head-out-from-whom-all-the-Body-being-richly-supplied-and-knit-together-by-means-of-the-joints-and-sinews-grows-with-the-growth-of-God-4-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "...holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God. Col. 2:19 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and [through] the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. Eph. 4:15-16")
In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus mentioned the church only twice, and both times are in the context of the kingdom and related to the kingdom.
When He revealed to Peter that He would build His church upon this rock, the Lord also said that He gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of the heavens to bind and loose on earth what has been bound and loosed in the heavens (Matt. 16:18-19).
The church and the kingdom are intimately related; they go together in the closest connection.
The keys of the kingdom are given to us to make the building of the church possible.
What is the church and how does the church come into being?
When the gospel is preached and the kingdom is received by some human beings, there a church will be built up.
When a company of people accept the government of heaven and are regenerated by the divine life, they are the church in that locality.
The kingdom produces the church, for the presence of the kingdom of God produces the church.
This is half of the New Testament revelation; the other half is that the church brings in the kingdom of God.
When we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior and life by calling on His name, we did not just call, Jesus but even more, we said, LORD Jesus, enthroning Him in the center of our being.
The kingdom produces the church, for when the kingdom of God is set up in the center of the believers, the church is there.
Then we as the church are built up together to be the kingdom of God today, and we pray for the Lord’s kingdom to come (Matt. 6:10).
Even more, when we as the church submit to the heavenly rule, when we are in submission to the heavens, we will be one with the Lord to deal with God’s enemy and to bring in the kingdom of God.
The church brings in the kingdom.
The presence of God’s enemy hinders God’s will from being done on the earth; the church is here to deal with God’s enemy, cast him out, and bring in the kingdom of God. Amen!
If we look around today all we see is the enemy’s rebellion, his vile tactics to wear out the saints and usurp all mankind.
We believers in Christ need to be under the heavenly rule today, and together as the church we need to live in the kingdom of God in reality, so that we may cause the enemy to suffer loss, cast him out, and bring in the kingdom of God.
When the church has ceded to the kingdom the right to rule and has submitted to its sway, the church brings the dominion of the heaven to the earth (Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:15-16).
It is possible, however, for the church life to be without the reality of the kingdom of God.
We may live a normal Christian life, doing our own things, seeking the Lord, meeting with the saints, and being involved in the service in the church life yet without being in the reality of the kingdom of God, for we may not submit to the Lord’s rule nor do we enthrone Him in our being. Oh, Lord!
May we realize that we as the church are for the bringing in the kingdom by means of the authority of the kingdom!
![Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Matt. 18:18 Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose [sins] you retain, they are retained. John 20:23](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Truly-I-say-to-you-Whatever-you-bind-on-the-earth-shall-have-been-bound-in-heaven-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Matt. 18:18 Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose [sins] you retain, they are retained. John 20:23")
God’s purpose in creating man in Gen. 1:26 should be fulfilled by and through the church, for the church is here to express Christ and represent God with His dominion to deal with God’s enemy.
The church is an organic entity filled with God’s life to express God corporately and to bring in the kingdom of God on the earth.
When the church is built up in God’s life and under the heavenly rule, the church expresses God and represents Him with His authority.
Eventually, we see the New Jerusalem as the consummation of the church, the bride of Christ (Eph. 5; Rev. 21-22).
When the New Jerusalem appears, we see the kingdom and the church blending into one.
The New Jerusalem combines in itself both the church and the kingdom, for the New Jerusalem expresses God’s glory and represents God’s authority to exercise His dominion over the whole universe.
May we realize that the kingdom produces the church, the church brings in the kingdom, and the ultimate issue is the kingdom and the church.
May we grant the Lord the ground in our being to exercise His authority in us and bring in His kingdom in us.
May we be those who live in the reality of the kingdom of God in the church life today so that God may be able to express His sovereignty fully and therefore execute His will and display His glory in the church.
Lord Jesus, we want to live in the reality of the kingdom of God in the church life today. We take You as our life, Lord, and we want to live by You. We come to You to eat You, drink You, and enjoy You in spirit so that we may live not by our natural life but by the divine life in our spirit. Amen, Lord, we call on Your name, Lord Jesus, and we enthrone You in the center of our being. We give You the preeminence. Set up Your throne in our heart. We want to be in reality in the kingdom of God as we live the church life. May we see that the kingdom produces the church and the church brings in the kingdom of God. Amen, Lord, may You gain the church as a realm in which You can rule and reign. May there be the nature of the church and the conditions of the kingdom in us and among us so that God may be able to express His sovereignty fully! Amen, Lord, may the church express You in Your glorious image and also represent God with His dominion to deal with God’s enemy and bring in the kingdom of God!
Without the Kingdom as the Reality of the Church, the Church Cannot be Built up!
As seen in Matt. 16:18-19, without the kingdom as the reality of the church, the church cannot be built up.
The existence of the church concerns the kingdom’s rule and reign; the building up of the church is also related to and depends on the reality of the kingdom of God in us and among us.
Regarding the building up of the church, we need to realize that to be built up is not just to meet together and have a good time in the Lord’s presence, sharing our enjoyment of Christ and be in coordination as we serve together.
The building up of the church is to build God’s authority into man.
It is one thing for the church to be the tabernacle of God and the temple of God, the place where God dwells, and it is another thing for the church to be the city of God, the kingdom of God.
In the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, when the people of Israel returned to the holy land, they first built the temple, and then the city had to be built as a protection for the temple of God so that God would have a kingdom on the earth.
Without the kingdom of God as a realm in which the church is built, the church has no protection and the enemy can walk in and destroy it.
To build up the church is for us to build God’s temple as the place where we enjoy God’s presence for God’s satisfaction.
Also, to build up the church is to be in the kingdom of God in reality, for without the kingdom as the reality of the church, the church cannot be built up!
On the one hand, we need to enjoy the riches of Christ and partake of Him in spirit, and we need to come together and share with others concerning the Christ we have experienced; this is to build up the church as the temple of God.
But there needs to be another aspect of the church, the aspect of the church as the city of God, the kingdom of God.
The kingdom needs to be the reality of the church, otherwise the church cannot be built up.
At the end of the Bible, we don’t have the temple anymore: there is only the city, the holy city of New Jerusalem.
Where is the temple? The temple is no more, for God and the Lamb are the temple (Rev. 21:22). Wow!
Today we are so happy to be in the church as the temple of God, the house of God; here we have God’s presence and the riches of Christ are so real to us.
In the church as the house of God, we enjoy the all-inclusive Christ with all the saints, and we apprehend the universally vast dimensions of Christ together with the saints (Eph. 3:16-22). What a wonderful place!
But how about the church as the kingdom of God, that is, the reality of the kingdom of God being in the church – do we experience this today?
For the church to be built up we need not only the outward organizing of things, the arrangements, or even merely the enjoyment of Christ, though all these are necessary.
The way to build up the church is to live in the reality of the kingdom of God in the church life.
God needs a kingdom on the earth, and this kingdom is in the church life.
The keys of the kingdom are given to us to make the building up of the church possible (Matt. 16:18; 18:18; John 20:23).
When the building up of the church takes place, the enemy attacks with all his might; it is then that the keys of the kingdom need to be exercised to shut the gates of Hades.
We need to exercise the subjective keys of the kingdom by denying the self, losing our soul-life, and taking up our cross to follow the Lord so that the gates of Hades would not prevail against the builded church.
May we allow the kingdom of the heaven to assert its authority over us so that we may be built up into the church.
Lord Jesus, may the kingdom be the reality of the church today so that the church may be built up. Amen, Lord, we praise You for working to build up Your church today! Thank You for giving us the keys of the kingdom of the heavens so that we may shut the gates of Hades and cooperate with You for the building up of the church! Amen, Lord, may Your kingdom come in the church! May Your will be done in and through the church! Thank You for bringing us into the church life. May we realize that the church is brought into being through the authority of the kingdom and the church brings in the kingdom. Amen, Lord, we want to be the company of believers today who allow the kingdom of the heavens to assert its authority over them so that we can be built up into the church! We want to not only enjoy You as our life but even more, to be under the heavenly rule today so that we may live in the reality of the kingdom as we live the church life! Amen, Lord, gain the church not only as the house of God but also as the kingdom of God in our experience today!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother James Lee in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1957, vol. 3, “The Kingdom and the Church,” ch, 7, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God (2024 October ITERO), week 3, The Kingdom and the Church.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– 02 – The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building Up of the Church, video message via, Heavenly Foods.
– God’s Government and God’s Grace, via, Shepherding Words.
– The church being the kingdom of God, a portion from, The Kingdom, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
– What Does It Mean to Be in the World but Not of the World? More via, Bibles for America blog.
– The word of righteousness – the kingdom of the heavens, article in, Affirmation and Critique.
– Matthew (Program #54) – The Kingdom Requirements, via, Bible study radio.
– The kingdom as a reality, a portion from, The Kingdom, Chapter 25, by Witness Lee.
– Our Spirit, God’s Kingdom, New Jerusalem, via, New Jerusalem blog.
– The building of the church as the reality of the kingdom of the heavens through the heavenly ministry of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, article by John Pester in, Affirmation and Critique.
– The Church – A Pearl of Great Value, via, Living to Him.
– The reality of the kingdom of the heavens, a portion from, The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee.
– What is the kingdom of God? More via, Holding to Truth in Love. - Hymns on this topic:
– God’s kingdom is God’s reigning, / His glory to maintain; / It is His sovereign ruling, / His order to sustain. / He exercises fully / His own authority / Within His kingdom ever / And to eternity. / Upon the throne, the center / Of government divine, / God reigns, and with His purpose /Brings everything in line. / God’s headship and His lordship / He only can maintain / As King within His kingdom, / O’er everything to reign. (Hymns #941 stanzas 1-2)
– But Christ as life would so transform the saints / That they may be as pearl and precious stone, / As the materials suitable to build / Into His Church to make His Kingdom known. / Cause us to grow in life divine each day / That we may be transformed and built by Thee / Into a body to express Thyself, / That Thou in us Thy Church and Kingdom see. (Hymns #829 stanzas 6 and 9)
– We’re in the local church, / God’s chosen ground; / Here we have Christ as life / And blessings all abound. / “In spirit, on the ground” / Our battle cry; / And we will overcome the enemy / To bring the kingdom nigh. (Hymns #1260)
About aGodMan
Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1957, vol. 3, “The Kingdom and the Church,” pp. 262-263
The church comes into being under the rule of heaven, and by reason of her submission to the heavenly rule, the church brings in the kingdom and deals with God’s enemy. Amen!
The kingdom produces the church, the church brings in the kingdom, and the result is the kingdom and the church.
Amen Lord! May we live the church life under the submission of the heavenly rules!
Amen! The church brings the kingdom to earth by the authority of the kingdom.
The kingdom produces the church, the church brings about the kingdom and the New Jerusalem combines the church and the kingdom.
Aaaaameeen!!
A church comes into being where a company of people accept the government of heaven!!
Such a church deals with God’s enemy and brings in the Kingdom!
Amen!
As per His promise in Matthew 16:18-19, He built the church on Himself as the base of the rock on the day of Pentecost using 120 living stones.
Then after, Peter started using the two keys, one for Jews, and one for Gentiles, to open the gate of heavens to enter into.
Here we can see that:
Praise the Lord for this interchangeable relationship of the two for His eternal purpose of the New Testament economy.
Amen, brother.
The “keys of the kingdom” are given to make the building of the church possible.
However, our salvation alone does not constitute us the church. To be the church in reality we must be willing to submit to the authority of the kingdom.
Where the kingdom of the heavens is in authority, there a church will be built up.
The kingdom produces the church, the church brings in the kingdom, and the ultimate issue is the kingdom and the church.
Our God’s purpose is to bring His heavenly dominion to the Earth.
May our Heavenly Father have mercy on us and make us fully His captives.
We need to be the Lord’s willing bondslave in order for the reality of the church to be present on Earth.
The keys of the Kingdom of the Heavens in Matthew 16:19 are given to make the building up of the church (v.18) possible.
Only when there is a company of believers over whom the Kingdom can assert its authority (the binding and loosing prayers) can the church be built up.
Without this, we are at best saved persons with no relatedness.
The Kingdom produces the church, the church brings in the Kingdom and the ultimate issue of this is the New Jerusalem – the blending of the Kingdom and the church.
This was mentioned through a few messages in the training, I enjoyed this matter of spending time and being permeated saturated and filled with him!
That we may filled for his expression!
And therefore fulfill Genesis 1:26, each morning we should lay our hands on Christ our burnt offering and he takes on our defects, and we take on his aromatic virtues!
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Footnotes in, Holy Bible, Recovery Version