After seeing the eternal forgiveness, the instrumental forgiveness, and the restorative forgiveness, today we want to look deeper into the governmental forgiveness (related to discipline) and the kingdom forgiveness (related to God’s administration).
In the Bible the word forgiveness and the principle of God’s forgiving us is used a lot, but not all forgiveness are the same.
For example, when the Lord forgives our sins at the time of our regeneration, this is one kind of forgiveness, but when He forgives the sins of those whom the church forgives (John 20:23), this is another kind of forgiveness.
When we forgive others and as a result are forgiven by the Lord, this is one kind of forgiveness, but when someone sins and is sick and the elders come to pray for him, he will be forgiven – this is a different kind of forgiveness.
We thank the Lord for the ministry of brother Watchman Nee who, in his collected works, has dug out in God’s word five kinds of forgiveness: eternal forgiveness, instrumental forgiveness, restorative forgiveness, governmental forgiveness, and kingdom forgiveness.
Eternal forgiveness is granted by the Lord Jesus to all those who believe into Him; by repenting and believing into the Lord, we are forgiven of all our sins, and this forgiveness is eternal. Hallelujah!
And when someone believes into the Lord but doesn’t realise that he is forgiven by Him, the church is God’s instrument to declare God’s forgiveness to man.
The church cannot in and of itself forgive others; rather, because the church is the Body of Christ, the church can proclaim the forgiveness of sins which God has already accomplished.
Furthermore, after we believe into the Lord, we still make mistakes, sins, and offences, so we still have sins; when we confess our sins to the Lord and repent, the Lord forgives us of our sins and cleanses us of all unrighteousness.
How wonderful it is to have God’s salvation and enjoy the Lord’s forgiveness in all its aspects! However, there are two more aspects of God’s forgiveness which may not be that pleasant, but they are absolutely true and experiential according to both the word of God and our Christian experience.
Governmental Forgiveness: Related to God’s Discipline and His Way of Dealing with us
The governmental discipline is related to God’s discipline and His way of dealing with us. We may not be so acquainted with this one, so we need to dig deeper into God’s word to know more, otherwise we may want to “forgive and receive” someone who is under this kind of forgiveness, and we may cause trouble in the church.
We need to love and forgive someone as a brother, but if a person is under God’s governmental forgiveness and he is under His discipline, and we go against that, we will go against God’s government and discipline.
Why would God forgive us and yet discipline us?
God may allow us to fail and even to sin, but He will not allow us to do this indefinitely; if we continue to sin, He will discipline us, and this discipline may come in the form of sickness, difficulties, and, in extreme cases, it may even be death, so that w may learn not to sin so lightly.
The governmental forgiveness involves God’s arrangement, His sovereignty, His discipline, and His hand; God’s government is His way of doing things – it is His administration.
God’s governmental forgiveness is related to the way that God manages, rules over, and deals with us.
In Gal. 6:7 we are told that whatever we sow, we also will reap; if we sow unto the flesh, we will reap corruption of the flesh. We can’t just say that, if we repent and confess our sins, God forgives us; yes, God does forgive us, but He may also discipline us.
If we look at the case of king David, he committed two great sins: murder (he murdered Uriah) and adultery (with Uriah’s wife). But then David had a sincere and thorough repentance (see Psa. 51), and God confirmed that He has forgiven him; however, God still disciplined David by allowing the first child he had with Uriah’s wife to die, and by allowing the sword to never leave his house.
Forgiveness was there, but the consequences of sin were also there; though David prayed and fasted for God not to let the child die, nothing changed God’s mind.
Governmental forgiveness is an unfailing principle, and it is more serious if a person bearing responsibility is involved.
In 1 John 5:16 we are told of a “sin unto death”, a sin that brings in God’s governmental dealing with a person. If a brother commits a sin unto death, we should not try to receive him or pray for this dealing to be removed, for we will do this against God’s governmental administration.
The punishment of God’s governmental dealing with His children is NOT at all related to eternal perdition, but it is a dispensational dealing according to the divine government, a dealing that is related to our fellowship with God and with one another.
Whether or not a sin is unto death depends on God’s judgement according to the sinning believers’ position and condition in the house of God.
When we sin against God, He will forgive us when we confess our sins to Him; our fellowship with Him can be restored, but God may change His way with us, for our sins have consequences.
David confessed his sins and admitted his guilt in order to be forgiven by God (2 Sam. 12:13; Psa. 51), but God would cause the son born to Uriah’s wife to die and the sword to not depart from David’s house (2 Sam. 12:7-15).
When we are under God’s governmental discipline, the only thing that we can do is not to resist God but to learn to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand (see 1 Pet. 5:5-7). If we reject God’s governmental hand, we will encounter even more problems and more dealings.
We shouldn’t try to get out of God’s governmental dealing but rather, accept His dealing and His discipline, and humble ourselves.
After Moses struck the rock in Meribah (Num. 20:10-12, 24; 27:14), he fell under God’s governmental hand. In being angry when God was not angry, Moses did not represent God rightly in His holy nature, and in striking the rock twice, he did not keep God’s word in His economy; thus, Moses offended both God’s holy nature and His divine economy.
Moses did not properly represent God; God was not angry with His people, but Moses expressed anger, and he misrepresented God before His people, who were looking at him to see what is in God’s heart.
Because of this, even though he was intimate with God and may be considered a companion of God (Exo. 33:11), Moses lost the right to enter into the good land. In all that we do and say concerning God’s people, our attitude must be according to God’s holy nature, and our actions must be according to His divine economy; this is to sanctify Him.
As it relates to others, we must learn to be generous to them, and we must also learn to forgive. We should not criticize others lightly, condemn them easily, keep complaining about the conduct of others, and continue to count the ill-treatment that we receive from them, for this will bring us under God’s governmental hand.
If we are severe toward others, then God will also be severe toward us (see Matt. 6:15; 18:23-35). We need to learn to fear God, revere Him, respect Him, honour God, and be in awe of God (Psa. 2:11-12; 86:11; 2 Cor. 5:10-11; Isa. 11:2).
And when others are in trouble, it is the time for us to help them, not the time for us to criticise them (cf. Gen. 14:14-16). There are many brothers who have fallen miserably today for one reason only – they have criticised others too severely in the past; therefore, many of their weaknesses today are the very weaknesses that they criticised in the past. Oh Lord Jesus!
May we be generous toward others so that we may avoid God’s governmental hand, and may we learn to love and forbear one another in the church life and in our daily life (Eph. 4:32).
Lord Jesus, save us from falling under Your governmental hand, May we realise that we will reap what we sow, so we should sow unto the Spirit so that we may reap unto the Spirit the fruits of the Spirit. Oh Lord, keep us coming to You, confessing our sins, and opening to You about all things. May we learn to humble ourselves under Your mighty hand and not resist You with pride. May we learn to be generous to others and always forgive. May we not criticise others lightly neither condemn others easily. Lord, save us from complaining about the conduct of others, and save us from counting the ill-treatment we receive from them. Dear Lord, may we have a fear of God, a respect toward God, and be in awe of God, and may we be generous toward others and forgive them and bear them in love.
Kingdom Forgiveness: Relates to Administration, the Discipline in the Next Age
The last kind of forgiveness is the kingdom forgiveness, which relates to God’s administration. There are some sins that will not be forgiven in this age, only in the next age.
For example, if we treat people too harshly or have an unforgiving spirit in this age, we will be disciplined in the kingdom age. If we judge, we will be judged, and if we condemn, we will be condemned.
What measure we judge with, it shall be measured to us in return (Luke 6:37-38).
If we are like the ungrateful slave whom the Lord has forgiven his large debt but we do not forgive the little debt of our fellow slaves in the Lord, the Master will be angry with us and will deliver us to the torturers until we repay all that was owed (Matt. 18:33-35).
If we treat others in a mean way and criticise others mercilessly, God will deal with us in the same way in the future (Matt. 7:1-2). Oh Lord Jesus!
May the Lord grant us the grace to be those who do not judge others or despise them but show mercy to them! May we receive the Lord’s grace not to deal with others in meanness, sharpness, or severity, so that we can obtain mercy from God on that day (2 Tim. 1:16, 18).
Amen, Lord, grant us the grace to be those who show mercy to others and not condemn them or deal with them in meanness, sharpness or severity. Lord, may we be those who show mercy to our fellow slaves in the Lord so that we may also obtain mercy from God in that day! Amen, Lord Jesus, save us from having an unforgiving spirit in this age. Save us from treating others in a mean way or criticising others mercilessly.
The Importance of Not Confusing the Different Kinds of Forgiveness: not going against God’s Government
Many believers believe in a God that is loving, merciful, and compassionate, and they would never believe that God wants to “not receive” someone, especially since that one is a believer.
How can a loving God not receive His own children and forgive them?
It is important for us believers in Christ to not confuse the different type of forgiveness, otherwise we could find ourselves going against God’s government, and we may incur some discipline ourselves.
Especially those of us who are involved in carrying out God’s administration in the church, which is the kingdom of God in this age, we need to be clear about these kinds of forgiveness. To forgive a person is not the same as to receive a person; we may forgive a person, but we may not be able to receive them.
For example, in 1 John 5:16 we are told that there are some brothers we can pray for, but some we may not even receive.
In 2 John 9-11 we are told that everyone who goes beyond and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God, and we should not even receive him into our house or say, Rejoice to him, for if we do, we share in his evil works. Yes, we can forgive others, and we may love them, but that doesn’t mean that we can receive a person.
In Rom. 16:17 Paul exhorts us to mark those who make divisions and causes of stumbling contrary to the teaching which we have learned, and turn away from them.
This is quite radical: those who cause division and cause the saints to stumble, we may forgive them if they repent, and we love them in the Lord, but we cannot receive them. This is the word of God; if we receive such a one, we are one with him.
In 2 Thes. 3:14 Paul said that the saints should mark and not mingle (keep company) with anyone who does not obey the word through his letter to the saints.
In Titus 3:10 Paul says that a factious man, a divisive person, one who causes parties and factions in the church, after a first and second admonition we should refuse. We do not refuse someone immediately but after two admonitions, if he still causes problems and parties, we should refuse.
In 1 Cor. 5:11 also we are told not to mingle with anyone who is called a brother yet he is a fornicator or a covetous man, an idolater or a reviler, a drunkard or a rapacious man; with such ones we should not even have a meal! Oh Lord Jesus.
May all those involved in caring for the saints in the church not make a mistake in this matter. May we all be sobered in this and realise that we have the responsibility to care for others in the kingdom according to the spirit, and we need to realise the forgiveness of God.
In His forgiveness sometimes we need to be those who are loving and forgiving, but sometimes we may need to understand that there are five kinds of forgiveness, including some who may not occur in this age.
This article can also be read in the Romanian language / Citiți acest articol în limba română vizitând următorul link, Iertarea guvernamentală, iertarea împărăției și să nu acționăm împotriva guvernării lui Dumnezeu.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 50, ch. 40, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Development of the Kingdom of God in the Church Life and the Christian Life (2019 spring ITERO), week 4, Living the Kingdom Life by Taking Care of Others according to the Spirit and by Realizing God’s Forgiveness.
- Hymns on this topic:
# O Lord, give us grace for Thy Kingdom to live, / To be trained that Thou may the reward to us give; / Make the Kingdom’s reality our exercise, / That its manifestation may be our great prize. (Hymns #947)
# He who sows unto his own flesh / Reaps corruption of the flesh, (trouble) / He who sows unto the Spirit / Will reap eternal life. / God’s not mocked, / Do not be deceived, / For whatever you sow, you will reap, / You will reap what you sow; / Sow the life seed. (Song on, He who sows unto his own flesh)
# Built up in love together, / Not one would criticize; / To perfect one another, / We all would exercise. / Each one from self delivered, / The natural life forsakes; / In grace each trained in spirit / The Body-life partakes. (Hymns #867)
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