God has a government in the universe, and He also has a government in the church; God desires to execute His government in the universe through the church.
We can see this matter of the government of God both in the Old and in the New Testament. Our God is not merely a God of love, life, and grace, but also a God of government.
He has both the system of grace and the system of government, and these two systems complement each other, going together in parallel.
This means that, even though we’re regenerated by the Lord and we are enjoying Him as our life, we still need to be under God’s government.
We thank and praise the Lord for bringing us into the church life where we eat, drink, and breathe Jesus, and where we enjoy Him together with all the saints as our all-inclusive good land.
However, at the same time that we enjoy Him, we also are under His rule, for He is the Lord, the King, and the Head; He is both our life and our Head, and He is both our supply and the One on the throne.
We see this in type with the children of Israel who, on the one hand, were the people of God enjoying His presence and His blessing, and on the other hand, they were under His rule exercised through their leaders.
If we look at the entire Bible as a whole, we can see that the children of Israel – the chosen people of God in the Old Testament – is the greatest collective type of the church.
In their history we see many types of our experience, and the things that they experienced are for us to learn and not lust and fail as they did.
Today we the believers in Christ are members of the Body of Christ, the church, and we are the real people of God; we need to read the Bible and see the history of the people of Israel, learn from it, and enjoy and experience the Lord as both our life and our Lord.
In the history of the children of Israel we see that they were redeemed by God, they enjoyed God’s provision, they built God’s habitation, they inherited the good land, they were degraded and were captured and taken into captivity, they were recovered to the genuine ground of oneness, and they were awaiting the coming of Christ.
As the church, we are chosen and redeemed by God, we enjoy Christ and the Spirit as our life supply, we build God’s habitation, we inherit Christ as our allotted portion, we are degraded and the Lord is recovering us, and we await the Lord’s second return.
What an all-inclusive type of the church we see in the people of Israel!
God has a Government in the Universe and there is also a Government in the Church
In this universe God has a government; He is God, the Creator, the Ruler, the One who is above all things and rules over all things, and He governs and administrates the universe.
When we turn to our spirit, we will realize that there’s a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne there is One sitting – this is God, the One who rules over all things (Rev. 4:2).
However, we also need to realize that there’s a government in the church, for God rules and reigns in the church as the kingdom of God.
When many believers hear about the words government or administration, they think these are not related to the church; this is due to the degradation of the church and the spoiling of these words by the Roman Catholicism.
For this reason, many of the more spiritual believers in Christianity have the concept that it’s better to have no government or administration, because this can be misused.
Many think that, as long as they have God’s life and walk in the light of God with the Lord, everything is alright; they don’t need government.
But we are not wiser than God; He has a government in the universe, and He also has a government and administration in the church.
We cannot neglect the government of God, neither can we ignore the administration of God.
When we think about the church, the first thing we think of is not government; we may think mainly of grace, love, light, and enjoyment.
But God has two systems – the system of government and the system of grace, which complement each other.
We may gravitate toward grace, and it is not wrong but rather normal to do so, for we are in the age of grace, but we should not think that God’s government has ceased or has been suspended until the kingdom age.
God is still governing; He is still administrating both in the universe and in the church in this age, and according to His economy for this age, His government is present, and judgement begins from His house.
It is a fact that God has a government in the universe, and there is also a government in the church (Rev. 4:2; 5:6; Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5).
God’s government is especially present and real in the church life; if there is God’s government, it should be seen, experienced, and found in the church, even in the proper church life.
Once we have a proper view of this matter, immediately within all of us there will be an attitude of fear and an outward condition of trembling.
The church is not a “free market place” or a place that is lawless, a place where there’s no government but anarchy; rather, the church is a place where God has a government, God rules, He is on the throne, and God’s government is here in the church.
The church is the kingdom of God today; the kingdom is a matter of government.
The universe today is in disorder because God’s government has not been honored. The church is in disorder whenever we do not honor God’s government, and our personal Christian life is in disorder whenever we neglect God’s government.
May we be before the Lord concerning this and tell Him,
Lord Jesus, cause us to see that God has a government in this universe and that there’s also a government in the church. Thank You Lord for not only saving us and bringing us into the church life to enjoy You as love, light, joy, peace, grace, and everything positive, but also for bringing us under God’s rule. We acknowledge the administration and government of God in the universe and also in the church. May we be filled with an attitude of fear and an outward condition of trembling regarding God’s government, and may we live in the church life as the reality of the kingdom of God today.
God desires to Execute His Government in the Universe through the Church
Every book of the Bible shows us God’s government and administration. If we look at Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and every book in the Old Testament we see God’s government and administration.
Especially in the story of the Israelites leaving Egypt and journeying to the god land, we see a very tightly knit coordination and building which is fully under God’s government and administration.
Our God is not loose; He doesn’t just deliver us from the world and then lets us wander in the wilderness…and then shows us the way to Canaan, etc.
Rather, what we see in Exodus and Numbers and Deuteronomy is a situation full of God’s government and administration.
He didn’t let things get by loosely; everything both great and small was under God’s government and administration.
Even the way to wash their clothes, what to eat, and the way to shave their beards was not left to their choice but was under God’s rule.
We may say that this is in the Old Testament, but now in the New Testament we are under God’s grace, not under the law….but we need to realize that our God is a God of order, discipline, principle, and rule.
He is not loose, He is not a God of confusion but a God with principles, rules, order, and discipline.
He wants to establish His administration and government in the universe, and in the age of grace He wants to execute His government in the universe through the church.
When the Bible mentions the church there are words full of life and the Spirit, but also there are words full of government and administration.
In the church life we need to realize that God desires to execute His government in the universe through the church.
This is why He wants to head up all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10); when all things are headed up in Christ in the church, then He can execute His government in the universe through the church (Eph. 1:10, 22-23).
Eventually, when God’s throne is established in the church and His government is exercised in the church, then through the church God will execute His government in the entire earth and in the universe.
We need to see that we are in a very important position as the church; the Lord must be able to govern, rule, and administrate fully and freely in the church, so that He can take the earth and establish His throne and kingdom on the earth through the church!
This affects the way we practice the church life, for we realize that in the church life we are under the government and administration of God, and we are being headed up in Christ so that through the church God may execute His government in the universe.
The elders in the church are the deputy authority of God, and in order for them to manage a church properly, they need to know that God desires to execute His government in the universe through the church.
In the books of Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus, we can clearly see God’s government; there’s hardly a book among the New Testament epistles that doesn’t touch the government of the church.
May we be those who take the lead to be headed up in Christ and be under His government today so that He may have a way to execute His government through the church.
Lord Jesus, may we see and know that God desires to execute His government in the universe through the church, and may we take the lead to be headed up in Christ today. Amen, Lord, we take You as our Lord, our King, and our Head; we acknowledge Your government and administration in the church. Hallelujah, there is a throne set up in heaven and upon the throne there is One sitting – Jesus Christ, the God-man, the One exalted by God! Lord, we give You the freedom to rule and reign in us and in the church so that You may have a way to take the earth and establish Your throne and kingdom on the earth through the church!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” ch. 1, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Deuteronomy, week 11, Aspects of the Church Life under the Government of God.
- 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. (Hymns #941)
– 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)
– Today we must learn to submit to His throne, / How to have a strict life and His government own; / His authority then we’ll be able to share, / O’er the nations to rule with God’s Son as the heir. (Hymns #947)
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