Scripture Reading: Heb. 1:13; 2:5, 7-8; 4:9; 6:5; 8:8-12; Matt. 5:3; 11:28; 12:29; 16:18; 26:29; Luke 10:18-19; 11:20; 18:30; John 6:47; Ezek. 36:26-27; Jer. 31:31-34; Rom. 6:5; Zech. 13:1; Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:16-18; 1 Pet. 1:5; Eph. 2:8a; 2 Tim. 1:10; 1 Cor. 15:55; Rev. 11:15; 12:9; 20:1-2, 4-5, 14a; Col. 1:13
God's riches are available for man to enjoy. However, they are mainly for man to enjoy in the age of the kingdom and not in the age of the church. In the age of the church God's riches are not as abundant. However, the church and the kingdom are closely related. As soon as the church age passes away, the kingdom age will come. All of God's provisions for the church are a preparation for the kingdom age. The salvation described in 1 Peter 1 has to do with the coming age. In God's eyes He has prepared only one set of blessings for those in this age and the next age; there are not two sets of blessings. Therefore, God wants to have a group of people in the church age who will have a foretaste of the riches of the kingdom in the coming age.
In Luke 18, the Lord mentions one kind of eternal life, which we inherit in the coming age. It is for the kingdom and not for the church. However, in John 6 the Lord says, "He who believes has eternal life" (v. 47). Actually, the eternal life that Christians receive in the church age is no different from the eternal life that God's children receive in the kingdom age. But the eternal life in the kingdom is a general blessing, whereas the eternal life in the church today is a foretaste and a pledge.
Zechariah 13:1 says that in that day there will be an opened fountain for the people of Israel for sin and for impurity. In the church believers are already experiencing the forgiveness of sins. This is a foretaste.
Hebrews 4 mentions another Sabbath rest, which is enjoyed in the kingdom. But in Matthew 11:28 the Lord said, "Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest." This is something that we can enjoy today.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 refers to the kingdom age, in which God will lead the Israelites back to their own land and give them a new heart and a new spirit. In the church we are regenerated and have a new heart and a new spirit. For God's chosen people, the Israelites, both the indwelling and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be experienced in the kingdom (Joel 2). But in the church today we have a foretaste of these gifts (Acts 2).
Jeremiah 31 shows us that the new covenant is something that God will establish with the house of Israel. But today the church is enjoying all the contents of this new covenant (Heb. 8:8-12).
The resurrection spoken of in Revelation 20 is in the future. But today Christians are resurrected with Christ already.
Joel 2:28-32 tells us that the Holy Spirit will be poured out in the future, but in Acts 2 the church experienced it first.
Revelation 20:14 says that death will be thrown into the lake of fire. This is something that will happen in the future. However, 1 Corinthians 15 says that the power of death has been removed in the church (vv. 55-57), and Christ has nullified death (2 Tim. 1:10).
Revelation 20 speaks of both death and Hades being cast into the lake of fire. However, Matthew 16:18 says that the gates of Hades cannot prevail against the church.
Revelation 12 says that Satan will be cast to the earth, and his messengers will be cast down together with him. In Luke 10, however, the Lord said that when the disciples preached and cast out demons, He saw Satan falling out of heaven. He also gave authority to the disciples to tread on serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Revelation 12 and Luke 10 are related. Today the church has overcome Satan already. In the eyes of the church Satan has already been cast down.
Compare Hebrews 1:13, Luke 10:19, Revelation 20:1-2, and Matthew 12:29. On that day the enemy will be made the Lord's footstool. But today the disciples have received authority from the Lord to tread over serpents and scorpions. At the beginning of the millennium, the angel will bind up Satan for a thousand years. But today the church already has the ability to bind Satan.
These Scriptures show us that the church can possess many things today; it does not have to wait until the future. Hebrews 6:4-5 shows us that the church can taste the heavenly gift, the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come. May the Lord open our eyes to see the position of the church, the riches of the church, the authority of the church, and everything that the church has obtained as a foretaste in this age. "The age to come" in Hebrews 6 can be realized today as a foretaste. In the coming age, that is, the kingdom age, there will be many kinds of powers. At that time Christ will reign as king, Satan will be bound, and the church will be victorious. Yet today, the church can have a foretaste of the powers of the coming age. The feast is in the dining room, but in the kitchen we can have a foretaste of the food. In the coming age we will be in the dining room; today we are in the kitchen.
From this we see that a Christian is one who lives in the realm of the kingdom. Today we should stand on kingdom ground and execute our "extra-territorial right." This is what it means to be a real Christian. We should live in the kingdom today. A diver who dives deep into the sea cannot withstand the water pressure around him. This is why he has to put on a diving suit and be supplied with air that comes from above the surface of the water. We can say that he lives in the sea on the one hand and that he lives above the surface of the water on the other hand. Today Christians should be those who live on earth yet who draw their power from heaven.
Many have read Colossians 1:13 and realize that the Lord has saved us from the authority of darkness. But their understanding of their transfer into the kingdom of His Beloved is only doctrinal; they do not have much real experience of it. However, the kingdom should be an experience for today. We do not have to wait for the kingdom age to come before we can have the kingdom experience. Even before the kingdom age comes, we can have a foretaste of the kingdom. The Chinese have an idiomatic expression: "Commanding the lords through manipulating the king." The words commanding and manipulating are precious. Today, Christians are commanding the world by exercising the kingdom influence.
In Matthew 12:28 the Lord said, "But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." In this verse we see that the kingdom is both in the future as well as now. The Lord also said in John 14:12, "He who believes into Me, the works which I do he shall do also; and greater than these he shall do because I am going to the Father." The greater work here can only be accomplished through the prayer of the whole church. No one can deal with the warfare of this world. Yet the church can exercise the authority that it has received from the Lord to deal with and rule over the things of the world, because God is well-pleased to give the church the kingdom (Luke 12:32). Hence, Christians should have a foretaste of this authority and should exercise this authority.
In the prayer meeting the church should not only have the pitch of peace, but also the pitch of war. When I was in London, I asked Brother Sparks, "What is the most difficult thing to do in the prayer meeting?" He said, "The most difficult thing for the church to do at the prayer meeting is to maintain a war-pitch." Christians today must be spiritual warriors to bring in the kingdom. This is the most important aspect in our foretaste of the powers of the age to come.
