The Universal Government of God: God Governs by Judging to bring in Righteousness

The Epistles of 1 and 2 Peter are on the universal government of God, showing us that we live a Christian life under the government of God, God governs by judging, judgement begins from the house of God, and as He judges us, He supplies us with His divine provision as grace. Amen!

This week in our morning revival we come to the topic of Living a Christian Life under the Government of God.

We are still on the Epistles of Peter, and this week we will focus mainly on the first Epistle. God desires to gain a kingdom in this universe, the realm of His divine life, where He can freely exercise His rule and His reign.

In this kingdom of God, there is a government; God governs in His kingdom to deal with any problems.

The government of God in His kingdom deals with all the obstacles and clears out all the problems and frustrations.

Through His government, God deals with and removes all the matters that are not compatible with the nature of His kingdom.

Right now there are many problems, many issues, and many matters that frustrate God in the exercise of His government, so He deals with all these.

Anything that is not compatible with the nature of His kingdom, God will deal with, so that he may bring in an atmosphere of righteousness.

If we look around us, even though we think we elect our officials to carry out righteousness and do justice, we are very disappointed to see that, even with their best intentions, our elected leaders cannot live in righteousness or do righteousness.

Only when God governs will righteousness come in.

Only when He judges all things that do not correspond to His holy, righteous, and glorious nature can His kingdom come in and can there be a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells.

This righteousness will be the condition to uphold His kingdom and the authority of His throne.

In this kingdom, there is the matter of God’s government mainly for the exercising of His judgement to deal with all the negative things – all things, matters, and persons which are contrary to or not compatible with the nature of the kingdom.

Eventually, there will be a certain situation that is brought in, which is called righteousness. In the new heaven and new earth, righteousness dwells there.

Righteousness is not just a condition there; righteousness as a person will dwell in the new heaven and new earth.

While we appreciate the Epistles of Paul, for they are completing the divine revelation in the Bible, we also need to be in the Epistles of Peter to see what the Lord is speaking to us through our dear brother. May the Lord shine on us and in us in this matter.

Seeing the Universal Government of God and enjoying His Provision as we Go through Sufferings

If we read the Epistles of 1 and 2 Peter we will see the universal government of God.

The subject of the first Epistle of Peter is the Christian life under the government of God; it shows us the government of God, especially in His dealings with His chosen people.

This Epistle opens with Peter reminding the scattered ones, the believers in the many places, that they were chosen according to the foreknowledge of the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Christ. Amen!

This shows us the Triune God choosing us (the Father), redeeming us by the sprinkling of His blood (the Son), and sanctifying us (the Holy Spirit).

The Father chose us, the Spirit sprinkled us, and the Spirit leads us to the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus.

Salvation is not just a matter of enjoyment but even more, a matter of obedience.

The Triune God is leading us to the obedience to Christ, who shed His blood for us. This is God’s government.

He wants us to obtain salvation, which is by our obedience.

We are regenerated unto a living hope, receiving an inheritance that is undefiled, eternal.

We are guarded by the power of God through faith unto a salvation that is to be revealed.

On one hand, we have received salvation; on the other hand, we exercise faith and are looking to the full manifestation of the salvation that is yet to be revealed in the coming days.

We exult now in the present time, though for a little while at present, if it must be, we have been made sorrowful by various trials (1 Pet. 1:6).

We have received a wonderful salvation, but we go through trials and are made sorrowful.

These trials are testings through suffering. Human life is full of suffering.

Even as Christians, we suffer. Many times we have bad days.

If we think about it, we probably have more bad days than good days as a whole.

But even in the midst of the many good days we have bad days; actually, it seems that we have more bad days than good ones.

This is because we all go through sufferings and dealings.

God uses sufferings, especially our sufferings as His children, to deal with us, to try us, and to test us so that we can become approved.

The subject of 2 Peter is the divine provision and the divine government, showing us that, as God is governing us, he is also supplying us with whatever we need (2 Pet. 1:1-4; 3:13).

As we pass through trials, sufferings, and dealings, God is supplying us.

He has given to us all things which relate to life and godliness, and He has given us the precious and exceedingly great promises so that we may become partakers of His divine nature.

Peter’s utterance in 2 Pet. 1 is outstanding, even more superb than Paul’s utterance on this matter.

We believers in Christ are given exceedingly precious and great promises so that we can partake of God’s divine nature.

We human beings can partake of God’s divine nature! Amen!

On one hand, we live a Christian life under the government of God, and God governs by judging.

On the other hand, as we live under the government of God, we are richly supplied with His grace and everything we need to live a holy life.

We should not be distraught or discouraged; rather, we should be encouraged, for there is a rich supply for us.

We have the precious and exceedingly great promises of God given to us.

All things which relate to life and godliness are ours, supplying us, as we are passing through these days of our sufferings on earth so that we can partake of God’s divine nature.

Lord Jesus, cause us to see that our Christian life is under the government of God, and God is dealing with us, His chosen people. Thank You, Father, for foreknowing us and choosing us, and thank You, dear Lord Jesus, for accomplishing Your wonderful redemption. Thank You, Lord, for the sanctification of the Spirit which brings us to the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, we have been regenerated unto a living hope and we’re guarded by the power of God unto a salvation that is to be revealed in the coming days! Amen, Lord, even as we are being made sorrowful by various trials, the testings through sufferings, may we enjoy Your divine provision. Hallelujah, God today is supplying us as we go through trials, testing, difficulties, and sufferings. May we enjoy all things that relate to life and godliness and the precious and exceedingly great promises so that we may become partakers of the divine nature! Amen, Lord, we want to partake Your divine nature as we pass through our days of suffering on the earth!

God Governs by Judging to Purify and Clear up the Universe and bring in Righteousness

We believers in Christ live a Christian life under the government of God, and God governs by judging. The judgment of God is for the carrying out of His government (1 Pet. 1:17; 4:17).

Nobody likes judgment. Even though we all know that we will all appear before the judgment seat of God at the end, we try to not think about it, for we don’t like judgment.

We prefer enjoyment, but God is righteous, He has a kingdom, and He governs in His kingdom by judging.

The matter of judgment is not just something that will happen once and for all, at the end of all time on that final day, but there’s a daily judgement, a daily judging.

God governs by judging. The judgment of God carries out God’s government.

A good illustration of this is seen in the design of the tabernacle in the Old Testament, in particular the outer court.

We all like to focus on and get into the spiritual significance of the Holy Place and especially the Holy of Holies, where God is, but in order for us to get in there, we need to pass through the experience of the items in the outer court.

Yes, we want to touch the throne of grace, pray before God, and be intimate with Him in the glory of His presence, but in order for us to get in there, we need to pass through the experiences typified by the outer court.

There is an entrance into the tabernacle; as you enter into the outer court, you see twenty pillars on one side, twenty on the other side, and ten on the other side.

Every two and a half feet there are these bronze pillars sitting on bronze sockets, having silver hooks supporting a silver rod and hanging sheets of fine linen of pure white. Here there’s bronze everywhere and pure white linen.

And in the outer court we see the altar of burnt offerings, made of bronze also, and the laver, also made of bronze.

What does bronze signify? Bronze in the Bible signifies judgment.

Christ was lifted up as a bronze serpent on the cross, as typified by the bronze serpent in the wilderness (see John 3:14-16 with footnotes in the Recovery Version).

Bronze is a type of the judged Christ; Christ was judged by God on the cross, and when we behold Him, we are healed and enlivened.

The first thing we see when we come to the tabernacle is not gold – the divine nature – nor do we see bread or the ark, but we see bronze everywhere; we see judgment.

You have a deep impression that God governs by judging, and if you want to contact God, judgment is present.

You are reminded that you are a fallen man, and the first thing we need to do to partake of God’s grace in His inner sanctuary is to be judged.

The bronze altar was made from the bronze censers of the company of Korah who rebelled against God and were judged by God.

Their bronze censers were melted and the bronze altar was made of them.

On this altar are offered many offerings – the sin offering, trespass offering, peace offering, meal offering, and burnt offering.

And the curtains made of fine white linen signify righteousness. For us to come to God, there has to be righteousness as a result of judgment; only in this way can we be pleasing to God and can fellowship with Him.

We cannot be air-dropped into the Holy of Holies; there is one entrance, one pathway, and one experience – we need to experience God’s judgement and be made righteous.

Everything of man needs to be judged and terminated, and everything of God needs to be resurrected.

We need to be terminated, and Christ needs to live in us.

The altar signifies death and resurrection; it signifies the crucified and resurrected Christ as our everything and as God’s satisfaction.

Everything of the old man, the flesh, sin, and death is terminated there, at the altar, and only Christ comes out.

Once everything is judged, we can come forward to enjoy God, for we are righteous in Christ.

We are ushered into the sanctuary to partake of Christ’s life supply, the bread, the light, the incense in the Holy Place, and eventually enter into the deepest part of the Holy of Holies, where Christ Himself is everything to us.

Here, in the Holiest Place, Christ with His divine glory is transfusing us, making us the same as He is in life and nature in every way.

Before this can happen, however, we need to go through the outer court of judgment which results in righteousness, so that we can be made holy and eventually be glorified in the Holy of Holies.

This is God’s design of the tabernacle and of our spiritual experience of enjoying God and entering into God, even of becoming the same as God.

These three matters, God’s righteousness, His holiness, and His glory, are becoming ours in Christ.

Because 1 and 2 Peter are concerned with the government of God, in these Epistles the judgment of God and of the Lord is referred to repeatedly as one of the essential items (1 Pet. 2:23; 4:5-6, 17; 2 Pet. 2:3-4, 9; 3:7). Amen!

God governs by judging. He judges not just the evil people such as Hitler, Stalin, and other evil men, but He also judges us, those of His household, for His judgement begins from His house.

As believers in Christ, we may think we should not have any sufferings or pain, but the more we love the Lord, the more we’re under His judgment and we experience suffering. Oh, Lord!

Through various kinds of judgment, God is clearing up and purifying us so that there may be righteousness there.

Through various kinds of judgments, the Lord God will clear up the entire universe and purify it so that He may have a new heaven and a new earth for a new universe filled with His righteousness for His delight (v. 13).

He is cleansing and purifying the entire universe to make it a dwelling place for His righteousness, and His judgment begins from His house.

God’s judgment begins from us, His household, and you and I are under God’s judgment.

His grace supplies us and His love holds us as we pass through God’s judgment so that we may become righteous in Christ.

Before we can enter into the sanctuary of God to partake of God in all His riches, we have to pass through the judgment of God so that everything in us and about us is made right with God according to His righteous standard.

Lord, we love You and we worship You. Unveil us to see that we live a Christian life under the government of God. May we realize that God governs by judging. Amen, Lord, may we see that the judgment of God begins from His own household. We open to You, Lord, for You to have a full way in our being. We open to Your purifying, cleansing, and clearing up work through Your judgment. Remove from us and from within us anything that does not match Your nature. Make us holy even as You are, and make us righteous even as You are righteous. We want to advance with You and enter into the Holy of Holies to partake of the riches of Your being in Your presence and be filled with Your glory. Oh Lord, may everything about us and in us be made right with God according to God’s righteous standard! Keep us enjoying You today even as we undergo fiery trials, ordeals, and persecutions, so that You may have a way to remove from us anything that doesn’t match You! Oh Lord, we do not doubt You nor are we disappointed, for God is perfecting us and we are living a Christian life under the government of God!

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, Life-study of 1 Peter, msg. 1, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living a Christian Life and Church Life under the Government of God for the Economy of God (2024 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 2, Living a Christian Life under the Government of God.
• Similar articles on this topic:
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• Hymns on this topic:
  – First the altar, then the fire, / If no loss, there’ll be no gain; / If our all has not been offered, / To the throne we’ll ne’er attain. / If to sacrifice we’re willing, / All forsaking, God t’obey, / He to us will be committed / And thru us His pow’r display. (Hymns #279 stanza 3)
  – We praise Thee for Thy righteousness; / Thy justice, Father, we confess, / And fully testify. / Thou art the judge of all mankind, / In Thee injustice none can find, / Nor wrong to Thee apply. / O holy Father, righteous One, / Thy righteousness upholds Thy throne, / ’Tis a foundation sure. / ’Tis through this righteousness of Thine / That reigns in Christ the grace divine, / And peace we thus secure. (Hymns #21 stanzas 1-2)
  – God’s Kingdom on the earth is now / His sovereign government within; / ’Tis Christ Himself in us to live / As Lord and King to rule and reign. / His life with His authority / Enthrones Him now within our hearts / To govern all our words and deeds / And regulate our inward parts. (Hymns #942 stanzas 1-2)