The genuine church is the kingdom of God in this age; we as believers need to live the kingdom life in the church life by living and walking according to the mingled spirit.
The church comes into being when the authority of the kingdom is exercised over a group of people, and when we allow the kingdom of God to be manifested among us and rule in us, we live in the kingdom of God and are built up into the church.
On the one hand, the church is brought forth as a result of the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom and through the authority of the kingdom. On the other hand, for us to live in the kingdom life today in the church life, we need to exercise the keys of the kingdom and allow God to exercise His authority over us.
When the Lord Jesus mentioned the church in Matt. 16:18, right away He mentioned the gates of Hades who try to prevail against it. Wherever the church is, the kingdom of darkness tries to prevail.
The church is not a social gathering of people who believe into God and who meet together; the church is the place where the authority of the kingdom of God is being exercised over a group of people.
When the kingdom of the heavens is able to assert its authority over us, we can be built up as the church. When we hold Christ as the Head and enthrone Him as the King in our being, we can grow up into Him in all things, and we can be built up as the church.
Christ has the unique headship in the church, and no man can replace His authority in the Body. As we are being grouped together in the church life, we need to realise that the purpose of the vital groups is the live the kingdom life – the God-man life.
This means that we need to learn to exercise the authority of the kingdom by being one with the Head and one with one another, and by living the kingdom life in the church life.
When we encounter situations that need the exercise of the authority of the kingdom, we as the church can stand with the heavens to release on earth what has been released in the heavens, and to bind on earth what has already been bound in the heavens.
The church life is practiced in the realm of the vital groups, in small groups, and every such group is a miniature, a representation of the church.
We seek to be vital, living, and active, and the purpose of this is that we live the kingdom life in the church life and exercise the authority of the King, the One whom we have enthroned in our being and whose life we live.
The Genuine Church is the Kingdom of God in this Age; we live the Kingdom Life in the Church Life
The kingdom of God and the church cannot be separated, for the church in reality is the kingdom, and the kingdom is the reality of the church in this age.
The genuine church is the kingdom of God in this age, and today we as believers in Christ need to live the kingdom life in the church life (see Matt. 16:18-19; 18:17-18; 13:44-46; Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 4:20; Eph. 2:19; Col. 4:11; Rev. 1:4-6).
Each time the Lord Jesus spoke of the church, He mentioned it in relation to the kingdom; this indicates how intimately the kingdom and the church are related (see Matt. 16:18-19; 18:17-18).
On the one hand we need to live the church life together with all the saints, and on the other, we need to realise that the genuine church today is the kingdom of God in this age, and so we need to lie the kingdom life in the church life.
Romans 14:17 further proves that the church in this age is the kingdom of God. As Paul was speaking concerning receiving all the believers in the church life even as God has received them, he says that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Some people say that, when the Lord was rejected by the Jews, He “suspended” the kingdom of God, and He will come again to bring in the kingdom of God at His second return.
However, in Rom. 14:17 Paul doesn’t say that the kingdom of God will be righteousness and peace and joy…but that the kingdom of God IS – it is today, now.
It is correct to say that the present age is the age of the church and the next age will be the age of the kingdom; however, it is also correct to say that the kingdom of God is here today, for the kingdom is the reality of the church and the living of the church.
When the authority of the kingdom of God operates in us, righteousness, peace, and joy will characterize our daily life.
Actually, righteousness, peace, and joy are the expression of Christ; when He is expressed through us, He is righteousness toward ourselves, peace toward others, and joy with God.
To live the kingdom life in the church life we need to be strict and righteous toward ourselves, making no excuses for ourselves. To live the kingdom life in the church life is to live peacefully toward others, pursuing peace and seeking to be at peace with them.
To live the kingdom life in the church life we need to live joyfully before God in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is of joy, and when we live in the mingled spirit, we are full of joy toward God.
In 1 Cor. 4:20 the kingdom of God refers to the church life (see v. 17), implying that, in the sense of authority, the church in this age is the kingdom of God.
In Eph. 2:19 we are told that we are fellow citizens with the saints, indicating that we’re not only members of God’s household but also fellow citizens in the kingdom of God, the sphere wherein God exercises His authority.
In Rev. 1:6 we are told that where the church is, there the kingdom of God is; the church represents the kingdom.
Lord Jesus, may we live the kingdom life in the church life today. May we realise that the genuine church is the kingdom of God in this age. Hallelujah, we are fellow citizens of the kingdom of God together with all the saints, and as we live the church life we can live the kingdom life! Amen, Lord, may we live in the kingdom of God today by being righteous toward ourselves, peaceful toward others, and joyful toward God. May Christ be expressed through us as righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit as we live the church life today!
We Live the Kingdom Life in the Church Life by Living and Walking in the Spirit
In the church life today we are in the kingdom of God, and therefore we are under the rule, government, discipline, and exercise of the kingdom of God (see 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5).
This means that there are many fleshly activities and negative things such as sinful conduct, fornication, division, etc which should not be practiced among us, for those involved with these things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Those who practice these things have no share in the practical church life today and they will not inherit the kingdom of God in the coming kingdom.
In the Lord’s recovery, at the same time we are both in the kingdom and in the church, as typified by the treasure and the pearl in Matt. 13:44-46.
But although the church today is God’s kingdom, we are in the kingdom in reality only when we live, walk, and have our being in the mingled spirit, and not in the natural man (see Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16, 25).
Simply by understanding that the genuine church today is the kingdom of God in this age doesn’t mean that we automatically live in the reality of the kingdom.
We are in the reality of the kingdom in the church life today only when we live and walk by our mingled spirit.
The reality of the church is the kingdom of God, but the reality of this kingdom is in the spirit; the Spirit of reality is the reality, and when we live in the mingled spirit and walk according to the spirit, we are in the reality of the kingdom.
If we behave according to the old man or live in the flesh or the self, we are out of God’s kingdom in a practical way, even though we may be in the realm of the church life. Whenever we are in the flesh, we are in the old realm of the fallen human nature, which has been usurped by Satan in full to form his kingdom.
This means that, even though we were regenerated by God to be citizens of the kingdom of God, we may still live in the kingdom of Satan and not in the kingdom of God whenever we do not live in the spirit.
It is only when we live, walk, behave, and have our being altogether in our spirit – and not in our natural man – that we are int he kingdom of God and, in reality, we are the kingdom of God.
Therefore we today need to live the kingdom life in the church life by living and walking in the mingled spirit.
When we meet together, we need to live and walk in the spirit, and we need to exercise our spirit; otherwise, our meeting is a social gathering of believers in Christ.
As we live our daily life and take care of all the daily activities, we need to live and walk in the spirit; when we live in the flesh or in the self, we do not live in the kingdom of God, but when we mind the spirit, turn to the spirit, walk according to the spirit, and live in spirit, we spontaneously live the kingdom life in the church life.
A very simple way to live in spirit is to call on the name of the Lord; according to 1 Cor. 12:3, no man can say, Jesus is Lord, or O Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit.
Only when we are in the mingled spirit, touching the spirit, can we declare that Jesus is Lord. When we say, Lord Jesus, we declare that He is our Lord, and we uphold the authority of Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, we want to live in the kingdom of God in reality by living, walking, and having our being in the mingled spirit. Save us from living and walking in the flesh or in the self. Save us from still living in the kingdom of Satan and under the authority of darkness. Dear Lord Jesus, keep us turning to You, setting our mind on the spirit, and living and walking in the spirit so that we may live the kingdom life in the church life today. May we be not only in the realm of the kingdom of God yet living in the kingdom of Satan – may we be in the reality of the kingdom today by living in the mingled spirit!
This article can also be read in the Romanian language / Citiți acest articol în limba română vizitând următorul link, Trăim viața împărăției în viața de biserică trăind și umblând în duhul.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. James Lee for this week, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 209, 241-242, 252 (by Witness Lee), 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 3, The Kingdom and the Church.
- Hymns on this topic:
# 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)
# The essence of the Kingdom is / A life that’s under heaven’s rule, / A life whose nature is divine / With Christ experienced in full. (Hymns #944)
# Living out His resurrection, / Dying to the flesh and soul-life. / Living by the mingled spirit, / Natural man we will deny. / Now we’re living in the Body, / Every day we’re overcoming, / Striving for the peak of Zion, / Watching for our Lord’s appearing. (Song on, God has called us for His purpose)
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