The kingdom of God is the spreading of Christ as life into His believers to form a realm in which God ruled in His life; we enter into this kingdom by repentance, we share in this kingdom in the church life, we aspire to have the reward of the kingdom in the coming age, and the eternal kingdom will be ours to inherit and enjoy.
Many times when people think of the kingdom of God they think it is like a kingdom on earth, where there’s a selfish and corrupt king who rules over his subjects, being non-related to them and doing things in his own way to gain his own benefit only.
But the kingdom of God that the New Testament speaks of is the realm of the divine life, the realm of Christ Himself spreading in man and growing in man to obtain an inward, spiritual, divine kingdom in humanity. Such a concept is not easy to understand if we are not regenerated to have the divine life.
Truth be told, it is impossible for a dog to understand the human kingdom unless the dog is born in the human kingdom.
How can a dog understand a man unless he himself becomes a man? Then, by virtue of having the human life, he understands man.
It is similar with the kingdom of God. It is impossible for a natural man with a natural understanding to see the kingdom of God. It is impossible to see the kingdom of God if we are not in the kingdom of God.
This is why the Lord Jesus and the disciples preached the gospel of the kingdom and told everyone to repent for the kingdom of God.
We need to repent for the kingdom, that is, we need to have a change in our mind, a turn in our concept, so that we may open to the Lord and receive the divine life in addition to our human life, and then by virtue of this life with its capacity, we can see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus was a pious and God seeking man, but he could not see the kingdom of God unless he was born again. Only when we are born of water and the Spirit can we see and enter into the kingdom of God.
Once we are in the kingdom of God, we enjoy God Himself in Christ, who is the unique content of this kingdom. In the kingdom of God we have God Himself who is being wrought into us, and Christ is spreading Himself in us to increase in us for the kingdom.
Christ comes into us, into our spirit, through regeneration, and He spreads from our spirit into all the parts of our inner being to enlarge the kingdom of God in us.
If we are in the development of the kingdom of God today and we cooperate with the Lord for the enlargement of His kingdom in us and through us, we will be brought on to maturity, and the Lord will richly award us the entrance into the millennial kingdom, where we will rule and reign with Him on earth for one thousand years.
And eventually, the kingdom of God will be an eternal kingdom, an eternal blessing for all those redeemed by God to enjoy for eternity. May we see the kingdom of God, enter into it, enjoy it today, be in its development, be rewarded with the kingdom and enter into the full enjoyment of its blessing for eternity.
We Enter into the Kingdom of God by Repentance and Believing in the Gospel to be Regenerated by God
To enter into the kingdom of God people need to repent of their sins and believe in the gospel so that their sins may be forgiven and so that they may be regenerated by God with His divine life (Mark 1:15; John 3:3, 5).
In Acts 17, as he was preaching the gospel, Paul said that God commands all men everywhere to repent. It is absolutely the word of God that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, and Rom. 10 tells us to believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and we are saved.
But the gospel is not something light and quick, and we water down the gospel if we simply ask others to call oh Lord Jesus two or three times to be saved. Sinners need to repent.
The Lord Jesus came preaching the gospel, and He asked people to repent and believe in the gospel. People need to have a change of mind, a change in view, for Christ bore their sins in His body on the cross, so they need to repent.
Part of our experience of entering into the kingdom of God is repenting of our sins, receiving forgiveness of sins in Christ, being justified, having Christ as our righteousness, and being born of the Spirit to have the life of God.
This matches the nature of the kingdom of God and addresses the rebellion in us and in the universe.
According to Rom. 3:23, sin is coming short of the glory of God, thus expressing the self the fallen human being; what we need is the gospel of the glory of God, who is in the face of Jesus Christ, to shine in us.
According to 1 John 3, sin is lawlessness; the gospel of the kingdom addresses the lawless element on our being in such a way that, under the convicting work of the sanctifying Spirit, we are enlightened, we repent, we turn, we have the joy of salvation, and there’s much joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.
Preaching the gospel of the kingdom for repentance and forgiveness of sins should be our practice, and there should be an impact, for those who are forgiven much, love much.
The Lord wants to forgive sinners, and the result will be a tremendous love from the sinners toward such a forgiving God, for they are delivered from the authority of Satan and brought into the kingdom of God.
Lord Jesus, we want to be one spirit with You to preach the gospel of the kingdom for all men everywhere to repent, receive forgiveness of sins, and be born again with the divine life. Amen, Lord, may those who hear our speaking have a real turn, a real change in concept, and a dynamic experience of their salvation. May the gospel of the kingdom be preached to the whole inhabited earth for a testimony, so that many sinners would repent, be forgiven, be regenerated, and be brought into the kingdom of God.
We Share the Kingdom of God for our Enjoyment of God in His Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Spirit
All the believers in Christ can share the kingdom of God in the church age for their enjoyment of God in His righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
After repenting and being regenerated to enter into the kingdom of God, we have Christ as our righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit to live the church life as the kingdom of God today.
The kingdom of God today is the church, and we need to live in the church life to enjoy and share the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the ruling, the reigning, of God with all its blessing and enjoyment.
This kingdom is the goal of the gospel of God and of Jesus Christ, and we enter into this kingdom by repenting and believing into the Lord, so that our sins may be forgiven and we may receive the divine life matching the divine nature of the kingdom.
Now, having been regenerated, we can see, understand, and perceive the things concerning the kingdom of God, for this kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, and when we exercise our regenerated spirit, we can live and know the kingdom of God.
In this kingdom Christ is our righteousness, our peace, and our joy in the Holy Spirit for us to live the church life as the reality of the kingdom today.
We need to enjoy Christ as our righteousness, our peace, and our joy in the Holy Spirit for the church life as the kingdom of God. If we don’t enjoy the Lord, we don’t live in the kingdom.
We may think that, if someone really knows us, they will never love us; but the Lord knows us deeply and personally, and He still loves us.
We may also think that joy is superficial, but those who are happy in Jesus are the deepest persons on earth because they live in the reality of the kingdom!
Many times our Christian life is a paradox: on one hand there are many hard situations, our heart may be hurt and even broken, but in the midst of it all, the kingdom of God is a reality, and we are full of peace and joy in the Lord.
Lord Jesus, we want to share the kingdom of God for our enjoyment of God in His righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Thank You Lord for becoming our righteousness, our peace, and our joy for the enjoyment of the kingdom of God in the church life today. Lord, we look to You and we want to enjoy You in the midst of all our situations. May we be kept in Your enjoyment in the church life as the reality of the kingdom of God today!
The Kingdom of God will be a Reward for the Overcoming Believers and an Eternal Blessing for God’s Redeemed
The kingdom of God will become the kingdom of Christ and of God for the overcoming believers to inherit and enjoy in the coming kingdom age, so that they may reign with Christ for a thousand years (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 20:4, 6).
If we are those who cooperate with the Lord for the development of the kingdom of God in us and in the church life today, we will be counted worthy to inherit the kingdom of God.
In His wisdom God has made a section of the kingdom of God – the millennial kingdom – a reward to the overcoming believers; today we need to be those who grow in life for the development of the kingdom, and are matured to become the overcomers in the churches who accomplish God’s purpose on behalf of the church and for the church.
May the Lord grant us to be the faithful believers, those who live in the church life today and allow the Lord to spread into every part of our being to saturate us and permeate us with Himself, until we may receive the coming kingdom as a reward.
As the eternal kingdom, the kingdom of God will be an eternal blessing of God’s eternal life for all of God’s redeemed to enjoy in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (21:1-4; 22:1-5, 14, 17).
We need to be diligent to make our calling and selection firm, for in doing these things we will by no means ever stumble; rather, in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to us (2 Pet. 1:10-11).
Our destiny as believers is to enjoy the eternal blessing of God’s eternal life for eternity in the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem; this will be our entrance into the eternal kingdom of God, and all of God’s redeemed will be there enjoying God for eternity. Hallelujah!
Lord Jesus, make us Your overcoming believers in this age who will inherit and enjoy the kingdom of God and of Christ in the coming kingdom age, reigning with Christ for one thousand years. Amen, Lord, grow in us, saturate us, spread in us, mature us, transform us, and gain our full cooperation in our lifetime so that we may be those who see Your purpose and are one with You in the Body to fulfill Your purpose in the church and for the church. Amen, Lord Jesus, may You gain what You are after in us and through us!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Acts, msgs. 4-5 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Propagating the Resurrected, Ascended, and All-inclusive Christ as the Development of the Kingdom of God (2018 fall ITERO), week 8, The Development of the Kingdom of God.
- Hymns on this topic:
# We must repent for the kingdom’s at hand; / All that we do, think, or feel, or have planned / Must be abandoned and changed in our mind; / Leave all the world and self-seeking behind. (Hymns #1301)
# With a life strict to self we must righteousness hold, / Kind to others in peace, and with God joyful, bold; / In the Kingdom’s reality e’er to remain, / For its manifestation prepared thus to reign. (Hymns #947)
# If we’re for the Lord’s recovery; / If the earth the Lord’s would be; / If we would bring in the kingdom; / Follow churches constantly. / Follow all the local churches; / Thus, the kingdom we will see. / Follow in the churches’ flowing / For the Lord’s recovery. (Hymns #1247)
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