In order for us as believers in Christ to do the will of God in the kingdom of God, we must live the Christian life under the government of God (1 Pet. 1:17).
Praise the Lord, we are not only believers in Christ and children of God but also citizens in the kingdom of God, and we need to do the will of God in the kingdom of God.
Christ, the heavenly King, always submitted to the Father’s will, taking God’s will as His portion and not resisting anything.
He drank the cup that the Father gave Him to drink, even though this cup was eventually death on the cross. He loved us, He served us, and He did the will of the Father to the end.
He is the only Person in the whole universe throughout time who did the will of the Father in the kingdom of God; He came to do the will of God, He carried out God’s will, and He sought nothing for Himself nor did He speak anything from Himself but He did everything for God and unto God.
Such a One now lives in us as the heavenly King of the kingdom of God; as such a One He not only regenerates us with His life for the kingdom of God but also wants to live the same kind of life in us for the carrying out of the will of God.
So we need to cooperate with the Lord today in our Christian life and church life so that we may do the will of God in the kingdom of God.
Just as the Lord Jesus was daily throughout His life under the judgement of God, so we today live a Christian life under the government of God, and His judgement begins from His house.
The Lord Jesus was a perfect and complete God-man, but He didn’t have an easy life; He didn’t just sail through life and live a perfect life according to His nature, but He was under the judgement of the Father daily, and this judgement consummated in Him being judged on the cross.
Because He was under God’s judgement and He suffered, He is now qualified to save us, heal us, bring us into Himself, and even make us the same as He is.
We now go through the same process as He does; we are saved and regenerated, and because we are children of God, the judgement of God begins from His house, so we live a Christian life under the government of God.
At the same time, however, that we experience the judgement of God which begins from His house, we are supplied with much grace and love, for our Father who judges and disciplines us loves us so much, and He wants us to be conformed to the image of His Firstborn Son.
We live the Christian Life under the Government of God to do the Will of God in the Kingdom of God
In his writings, the Apostle Peter combines the Christian life and the government of God, revealing that the Christian life and the government of God go together as a pair (see 1 Pet. 1:17; 2:21, 24; 3:15; 4:17; 5:5-8).
We should not isolate the government of God (as frightening and heavy as it may sound) from our Christian life; rather, we need to realize that we must live the Christian life under the government of God.
In order for us to do the will of God in the kingdom of God, we must live the Christian life under the government of God (1 Pet. 1:17; 2:24; 5:6-7, 10).
And whenever we are humbled under the governmental hand of God, as He disciplines us and judges in us whatever is contrary to His righteousness, simultaneously He is to us the God of all grace.
On one hand He judges in us to remove anything that matches His nature; on the other hand, simultaneously He is the God of all grace to us, caring for us, loving us, bearing our concerns, strengthening us, and establishing us.
The subject of the first epistle of Peter is the Christian life under the government of God, showing us the government of God especially in His dealings with His chosen people (1 Pet. 1:2).
Peter himself was a person living under the government of God, and eventually he died as a martyr according to the Lord’s word to him; this was the will of the Father to end his course.
So Peter spoke to us from reality, pointing out that there will be dealings with God’s chosen people first, for the judgement of God begins first at the house of God.
The subject of Peter’s second epistle is the divine provision and the divine government; this shows us that, as God is governing us, He supplies us with whatever we need (2 Pet. 1:1-4; 3:13).
On one hand God judges in us whatever doesn’t match Him, and on the other, He gives us the divine provision.
Based on the supply of the divine provision, as seen in 2 Pet. 1:5-10 we are developing by life until we reach the highest development, love as agape, the nature of God’s essence, the inner substance of God!
And this development becomes a rich opening to the eternal kingdom – this is an issue of living the Christian life under the government of God.
God governs by judging; this judgement of God is for the carrying out of His government (1 Pet. 1:7; 4:17).
Both in the world situation, in our work situation, in our family situation, and in the church life, if there’s something that God wants to judge or something in His house that He wants to judge righteously, He will do it; the result is that we’re perfected and established.
The judgement in 1 Pet. 1:17, which is carried out by the Father, is the present and daily judgement of God’s governmental dealings with His children.
He does this so that we may be qualified to partake of His holiness, for without holiness no one can see the Lord. So He disciplines us in His righteousness.
While God is dealing with us, His people, and while He is judging us, His heart is full of feeling, tender love; He is even weeping, like a human father who needs to properly discipline his son – and this makes his son ache, but it is for the benefit of his son!
Our Father loves us beyond description; He wants us to grow into mature sons to express Him in glory, even to become the Israel of God to represent Him; so He has to judge us and discipline us.
God judges everything that doesn’t match His government; therefore, in this age we as children of God are under the daily government of God.
Lord Jesus, cause us to see and realize that our Christian life is a life under the government of God so that we may do the will of God in the kingdom of God. Thank You Father for loving us so much and caring for us in love, and thank You for Your discipline and judgement to remove anything in us that doesn’t match Your government. Thank You Father for the divine provision for us to live under Your divine government; keep us enjoying the divine supply when we pass through the governmental dealings and the discipline of God, so that we may do the will of God in the kingdom of God.
Christ Enables us to take God’s Governmental Dealings Administered through Sufferings
As believers in Christ and children of God, we should live a Christian life under the government of God (John 3:15; 1:12-13; 1 Pet. 4:13-19; 5:6-7).
God doesn’t live or dwell in a place that is unclean, neither is His nature compatible with sin, the flesh, the old man, or the self; therefore, He purifies everything – both the heavens and the earth will be new, and He judges all things, beginning from His household.
Sometimes it seems that, the more we love the Lord, the more difficulties we have; our relatives and neighbours seem to be flourishing and everything goes well with them, but we have health problems, difficulties with the children or with finances, and we suffer. Oh Lord!
The reason we have difficulties and sufferings is because God’s judgement begins from His own household; all genuine believers in Christ and children of God are under God’s judgement.
However, we need to be comforted knowing that we are under God’s government, realizing that we live the Christian life under the government of God, and Christ enables us to live such a life.
The judgement of the Father upon us, His children, is so that we may not be judged in the next age; so we should spend the time of our sojourning here in fear and trembling, knowing that God is governing by judging.
On one hand He graces us, and on the other, He judges us.
The Epistles of Peter reveals the Christ who enables us to take God’s governmental dealings administered through sufferings (1 Pet. 1:6-8; 2:3-4, 19, 21-25; 3:18, 22; 4:1, 15-16; 5:8-9).
The Christ who lived a life under the judgement of the Father is now in us to live the same kind of life; He enables us to do what we naturally can’t do, He enables us to bear what we normally can’t bear, and He enables us to be what we can’t be!
As we go through the sufferings and dealings, we are not left without Christ; rather, He is with us and in us, and He lives in us.
In the death of Christ we have died to sins so that in the resurrection of Christ we might live to righteousness under God’s government; this is to fulfill God’s governmental requirements.
In our Christian life, therefore, we should live in a way that matches the righteous requirements of His government (Psa. 89:14; Matt. 5:6, 10).
Christ – the sinless One, the faultless One – lived under the righteous government of God.
When others reviled Him, He didn’t revile in return, neither did He threaten or tell others off in bitterness or anger; rather, He committed everything to the God who judges righteously.
Such a One wants to live in the same way in us today. Others may revile us or may inflict suffering on us, but we do not counter-attack or defend ourselves but rather, we commit all things to the One who judges righteously.
Christ lived through righteousness, He died for the unrighteous, He is righteous, and now He lives in us so that we may live to righteousness.
Thank You Lord Jesus for being with us and in us to enable us to take God’s governmental dealings administered through sufferings. In ourselves we can’t do it, we can’t bear it, and we can’t be it; but You in us enable us to live a Christian life under the government of God. Thank You Lord for dying for us – You the righteous One died for the unrighteous, and now You can live in us for us to live to righteousness! Amen, Lord Jesus may we in our Christian life live in a way that matches the righteous requirements of Your government by the Christ who lives in us!
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 1 Peter, msgs. 1-2, 5, 7, 11, 21 (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:
– 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)
– Every moment, every member, / Girded, waiting Thy command; / Underneath the yoke to labor / Or be laid aside as planned. / When restricted in pursuing, / No disquiet will beset; / Underneath Thy faithful dealing / Not a murmur or regret. (Hymns #403)
– As we’re daily in this process / And by life are sanctified, / How we thank Him for the blessing / Of the church life He’s supplied. / Here God is our full enjoyment, / Practical and real to us; / Sons we are, and heirs together, / In the church life, glorious! (Hymns #1203)
