When we do the will of God in the kingdom of God under the government of God, the issue is the church as the Israel of God, the church that represents God with His authority to deal with His enemy and bring in the kingdom of God on earth. Amen and amen!
May the Lord really gain the church as the Israel of God to represent Him with His authority on earth.
On one hand God judges everything in us and about us that doesn’t match His government, and on the other He supplies us and establishes us.
While God judges us in His government, He cares of us faithfully in His love; as we’re suffering His disciplinary judgement, we can commit our souls to the faithful care of our Creator God! Amen!
As we live under the government of God, the God of all grace will Himself perfect us, establish us, strengthen us, and ground us. Amen!
In 1 and 2 Peter we see a list of at least 16 wonderful things that we experience as we live a Christian life under the government of God enjoying the divine provision:
- We believe in and love the One whom we have not seen; we believe into Him with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Pet. 1:8).
- We are sojourning on earth under the operation of the Triune God (1 Pet. 1:1-2).
- We are being made holy in our manner of life, for God is making us holy even as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:15).
- We are enjoying the milk of the word, the guileless milk of the word of God (1 Pet. 2:2).
- We are coming to Christ as the living stone, the One who is precious and even called preciousness (1 Pet. 2:4, 9).
- We are becoming living stones and we’re being built up into a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5).
- We are becoming a reproduction of Christ – He is our model, and we’re becoming His reproduction (1 Pet. 2:21).
- We are experiencing Christ as the Shepherd of our souls (1 Pet. 2:25). The pneumatic Christ is in our spirit overseeing and shepherding our souls; we all need our souls being shepherded right now, so that we can have peace!
- We are doing the will of God and we are in the will of God; we do it and we’re in it (1 Pet. 3:17; 4:2, 18).
- We are living to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24).
- We are living in the spirit according to God (1 Pet. 4:16).
- We are being good stewards of the great grace of God (1 Pet. 4:10).
- We are experiencing the God of all grace (1 Pet. 5:10).
- We are partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4).
- We are experiencing growth and development in life unto a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom (2 Pet. 1:5-11).
- We are receiving the salvation of our souls (1 Pet. 1:9).
Hallelujah! All these wonderful things happening to us go hand in hand with the righteous judgement of the righteous God in His government.
Shall we not just open our entire being to Him, humble ourselves before Him, and allow Him to be the God in us?
In His Economy God makes us Sons of God and also the Israel of God, the Church
God’s New Testament economy is not only to make us sons of God but also to make us the Israel of God; the real Israel – the spiritual Israel – is the church (see Eph. 1:5; Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:14, 19; Gal. 3:26; 4:6-7; 6:16; Matt. 16:18).
In Gal. 6:15-16 we see that neither is circumcision anything or uncircumcision, but a new creation is what matters, and as many walk by this rule, peace be upon them and mercy – even upon the Israel of God.
On one hand we have been regenerated with the divine life of God to be the children of God, even the sons of God; as sons of God, we express Him in His life and nature, and we live by the divine life to express our Father.
On the other hand, we need to be transformed, perfected, and matured as we live a new creation so that we may be the real Israel of God.
Just as Jacob – a heel-holder, a supplanter – was transformed into Israel – a prince of God, a victor, so we need to be transformed and perfected so that we may become a prince to execute God’s government on earth, exercising His authority.
If we have an orderly walk according to God’s eternal purpose, we will become a new creation in a very practical way, and we shall be the Israel of God, representing God, exercising His authority, and carrying out His administration on earth.
We praise and thank the Lord that, as sons of God, we are His folks, the members of His household.
However, we need to realize that God’s New Testament economy is not just to make us sons of God but also to make us the Israel of God.
We can use the illustration of the royal family in the UK to realize how this is; on one hand the son of the Queen is a prince by birth and enjoys the privileges of the Royal Family, and on the other hand he needs to be trained to be a king.
Becoming a king is not something that happens overnight; there has to be training and being qualified; a king is not qualified simply by developing certain virtues, but him being trained to live and act in a kingly way, and to rule in a responsible way.
By being born of God we are sons of God, part of the divine royal family; however, no matter how joyful, loving, meek, faithful, and self-controlled we are, we are not the Israel of God unless we are trained, perfected, transformed, and equipped.
Hallelujah, we are princes in the Divine Royal Family, and we are kings-to-be, kings-in-training, to be kings reigning in the kingdom of God!
May we open to the Lord to train us to live in a kingly way in the way we eat, drink, speak, laugh, cry, behave, and walk; in all things we need to have the aspiration to live in a kingly way.
The Lord wants to gain the real Israel of God, the church; however, both the church and the nation of Israel are in a low condition, so there’s the need for the Lord to recover the real Israel of God.
On one hand as sons of God we need to develop and live out virtues such as love, joy, peace, meekness, and long-suffering, which are the expression of the Christ who lives in us.
On the other hand, we need to have a second kind of walk so that we may be the Israel of God bearing God’s kingship, representing Him with His authority, and executing His governmental administration.
Lord Jesus, cause us to live in a kingly way so that we may be qualified to be part of today’s Israel of God. Thank You Lord for regenerating us with Your divine life to make us sons of God, those who express God and manifest God by living Christ for Him to be manifested through us. Amen, Lord, we want to live by the divine life so that Christ may live in us and be manifested through us! Even more, Lord, we want to be part of the Israel of God today so that we may represent God with His authority, bear the kingship of God, and execute God’s governmental administration for God! Amen, Lord, gain the real Israel of God in the church today!
Being the Israel of God to Represent God, Exercise His Authority, and carry out His Administration
We need to become the Israel of God, a prince, to execute God’s government on earth (Matt. 6:9-10).
What a responsibility and what a privilege! Through many experiences, Jacob became Israel, a mature one, with the reigning aspect of the mature life portrayed in Joseph, and God had a government on the earth.
Even right now, in the situation that we are in, we must offer prayers to God day and night all over the earth, honoring the governmental authority, considering how to live the church life practically, and executing God’s government on earth as the Israel of God!
We need to pray on a higher level today, realizing that there are spiritual forces in the air, and there’s an intense warfare taking place in that realm.
In the sight of God we are not merely on earth but on the throne, seated together with Christ!
We are like the seeker in the Song of Songs, looking down from the peaks of Amana and Seir; as we look down as the church, we pray governmental prayers, prayers of warfare, prayers of authority, commanding prayers!
We realize that the sovereign God allows this pandemic to go on these days – He surely has a reason, but He always wants to limit the enemy. In the Old Testament it was necessary for God to judge Israel, so He used the nations – but they went too far, so God judged them also.
God has His sovereignty and His will, but the enemy attacks the entire earth and he wants to destroy the entire human race!
The enemy attacks man and in particular he attacks the Lord’s recovery, the churches, the gospel, the work, and the ministry; so the Lord needs the Israel of God to execute God’s government all over the earth, mainly through our praying.
May we be like the disciples asking the Lord to teach us to pray; it’s not “teach us how to pray” as in a method, but “Lord, teach us to pray”, for we need the Lord to teach us to pray to execute the government of God on earth!
We as the many believers in Christ – who are the household of the faith, the new creation – are collectively the Israel of God (Gal. 6:10, 15-16; 3:6, 29).
We are both the sons of God (bearing His image and likeness for His expression) and the Israel of God (having His authority and exercising His dominion to defeat the enemy and subdue the earth) – see Gen. 1:26, 28.
As the Israel of God, we represent God, we exercise His authority, and we carry out His government on earth for the fulfilment of God’s purpose (Gen. 1:26, 28; Luke 10:19; Rev. 12:5, 7-11).
As members of the Body, in the spirit of the Body, we pray and cry out to the Lord of heaven and earth for this, that He may gain the Israel of God in His recovery and all over the earth.
On one hand we are citizens obeying our government and thus living under certain limitations due to the current situation; on the other hand we are saints praying how we should live and how to practice the church life in our situation.
Furthermore, we need to realize that as members of the household of God we are a new creation, we walk in the new creation, and we are becoming the Israel of God, and as such ones we pray and cooperate with Him to carry out His government on earth!
There are many things that God wants to do on earth right now, and we need to stand on the genuine ground of oneness and become the organic entity of the Israel of God to execute and carry out His administration!
God wants His creature man to deal with His creature Satan in order to bring the earth back to God (Psa. 149:7-9).
Satan is actively usurping the earth; he gathers all his forces, the evil spirits, the demons, and the sinful and rebellious people to oppose God and His purpose; who stand on earth for God’s will and purpose, causing the enemy to suffer loss?
We who see the victory of Christ, the Lord Jesus on the throne ministering and interceding for us at every moment, we can cry out to Him to bring forth the Israel of God to recover the earth for God.
God needs man to do the work of God – to reign over His creation, to proclaim His triumph, and to cause Satan to suffer loss!
Dear Lord Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth, Son of Man with all authority, we call on Your name, the highest name! We call on the One enthroned, Lord, exercise Your governmental authority all over the earth! Fulfill Your purpose, accomplish Your will, and gain the Israel of God to cooperate with You! Amen, Lord, gain ground in the church and in all the saints so that You may produce the Israel of God! Produce brothers and sisters all over the earth who are learning through Your enlightening and Your grace to do the will of God in the kingdom of God under the government of God for the church as the Israel of God! Amen, Father God, this prayer we offer to You in the name of Your Son, our Lord, our King, our Savior, and soon we believe, to be our Husband in the eternal marriage! We exalt You, we praise You, we worship You, and we thank You! Amen!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Galatians, msgs. 30, 34-40, 42-43, 46 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Will of God (2020 spring ITERO), week 6, Doing the Will of God in the Kingdom of God under the Government of God for the Church as the Israel of God.
- Hymns on this topic:
– God’s goal is the divine sonship / For His corporate expression / As the household of the faith, / The new creation, and the Israel of God. (Song on, The Central Thought of Jeremiah)
– Lo, the conflict of the ages / Is upon us today, / And the forces of rebellion / Are in total array. / The humanity of Jesus / Now the saints must possess, / His true image and dominion / On the earth to express. (Hymns #1172)
– For Christ the Lord we then would stand, / He is the Conqueror! / For Him we would endure the pain / Until the fight is o’er. / The hour of triumph soon we’ll see- / The Lord will come again; / If now we suffer for His sake, / Then we with Him shall reign. (Hymns #887)
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