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Thus far in these messages on the conclusion of the New Testament we have covered five persons: God, Christ, the Spirit, the believers, and the church. Now we come to the kingdom. Like the church and the New Jerusalem, the kingdom is a corporate person. According to chapter two of Daniel, Christ, the heavenly stone, will eventually become a great mountain filling the entire earth (vv. 34-35, 44-45). This is the kingdom as the increase of Christ. In this message we shall begin to consider the aspects of the kingdom.
The first aspect of the kingdom is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is God’s reign in a general way over the entire universe. This general way of God’s reign is the way of authority and power. God rules the heavens, the earth, all created things, and man in a general and objective way.
The kingdom of God as God’s reign in a general way is from eternity past to eternity future (Heb. 1:8; Psa. 145:13; Dan. 4:3b). Because the kingdom of God is the reigning of God, it follows God’s existence. God’s existence is from eternity to eternity, without beginning or ending. Therefore,
The Bible reveals that the kingdom of God embraces a wide scope. It embraces eternity without beginning before the foundation of the world, the paradise of Adam, the chosen patriarchs, the nation of Israel in the Old Testament (Matt. 21:43), the church in the New Testament (Rom. 14:17), the coming millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6), and the new heaven and new earth without end for eternity.
At this point I would refer you to the chart printed with this message. The seven items included in the kingdom of God can be found in the six circles on the chart. The first circle corresponds to the first item — eternity without beginning before the foundation of the world. The second circle, signifying the dispensation before law, includes two items — the paradise of Adam and the chosen patriarchs. The third circle, signifying the dispensation of law, corresponds to the fourth item, that is, to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. The next circle, signifying the dispensation of grace, corresponds to the church in the New Testament, and the fifth circle, signifying the dispensation of the kingdom, corresponds to the sixth item, which is the coming millennium. Finally, the last circle corresponds to the seventh item, the new heaven and new earth without end for eternity.
Let us consider the fourth and fifth circles in more detail. The column underneath the fourth circle indicates that five matters are included here: the kingdom of the heavens being near (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7), the beginning of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 16:18-19; 13:24; 22:2), the church (1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 1:22b-23), the reality of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5—7), and the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 13:24-42). The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is in the church, and outside the church and close to it is the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. Within the church circle there is a smaller, dotted circle signifying the reality of the kingdom of the heavens as the reality of the church life. This dotted circle includes only the overcoming believers. Among the believers there are many defeated ones. Although they are defeated, they, as genuine believers, are members of the church. For this reason, the circle of the church is bigger than the dotted circle of the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. Furthermore, the two other dotted circles indicate that outside the church there are the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens — Christendom — and the world, the nations.
After the dispensation of grace, there will be the dispensation of the kingdom, the millennium, as represented by the fifth circle. The dotted line through this circle indicates that in the millennium there will be two sections or two parts: the heavenly part and the earthly part. The heavenly part will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, which will include Christ and the overcoming saints. Whoever is in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today will be in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the millennium. However, according to Matthew 13, that which constitutes the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens will be thrown into the lake of fire and burned. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, composed of the overcoming saints, will actually be the New Jerusalem during the millennium. The second part of the millennium is the earthly part. In the center of this part we have the saved Israelites as the priests teaching the restored nations to serve God. These restored nations will be the peoples around Israel. In the millennium the overcoming saints will be the kings, the saved Israelites will be the priests, and the people will be the restored nations.
After the millennium will come the fullness of the ages, that is, eternity without ending. In eternity future there will be the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem as the center. In this center there will be all God’s chosen, called, redeemed, sanctified, transformed, conformed, perfected, and glorified saints. These saints will include those of the Old Testament and of the New Testament. On the one hand, these saints will be kings ruling over the purified nations; on the other hand, they will be priests serving God and Christ. Hence, the kings and priests will be in the New Jerusalem, and the people purified at the end of the millennium to be the people in eternity will be the nations sustained and maintained for eternity by the leaves of the tree of life (Rev. 22:2).
If we study the chart carefully, we shall see the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the heavens, which is actually a part of the kingdom of God, God’s reign in a general way by authority and power.
We have seen that God’s kingdom is first His reign in a general way. In this way God rules His creation by authority and power. The kingdom of God is also God’s reign in a particular way in the sense of life. God’s reign in this way is by Himself as life. God’s reign in this particular way does not involve that much exercise of authority and power.
In Adam’s paradise the kingdom of God was there, ruling over Adam. However, with Adam in paradise we cannot see the kingdom of God in life. The same is true of the patriarchs and of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. The kingdom of God was present with them but not in the sense of life. However, with the coming of the New Testament dispensation, the kingdom of God turns from God’s reign in a general way to His reign in a particular way in the sense of life. Actually, this aspect of the kingdom of God is God Himself in Christ as life.
The Lord’s word to Nicodemus in John 3 reveals God’s reign in the sense of life. In verse 3 the Lord says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” To be born anew, to be regenerated, is to have a new birth that brings in a new life. Regeneration is simply to have a life other than the life we already have. We have received the human life from our parents; now we need to receive the divine life from God. Therefore, regeneration means to have the divine life, the life of God, in addition to the human life which we already possess. Regeneration, then, requires another birth in order to possess another life.
Every kingdom has a particular kind of life. The plants in the plant kingdom have the plant life, and the animals in the animal kingdom have the animal life. In the same principle, human beings in the human kingdom have a human life. From the Lord’s word to Nicodemus we can see that, if we would know the things of the divine kingdom, we need another life, the divine life, God’s life.
The kingdom of God as the reign of God is a divine realm to be entered into, a realm which requires the divine life. Only the divine life can realize the divine things. This was the reason the Lord said to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (v. 5). Hence, to see, or to enter into, the kingdom of God requires regeneration with the divine life.
The fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark reveals that the kingdom of God in the sense of life is with Christ as the seed of life. Verse 3 says, “Behold, the sower went out to sow.” The sower here signifies the Lord Jesus (Matt. 13:37), who was the Son of God coming to sow Himself as the seed of life (Mark 4:26) in His word (v. 14) into men’s hearts that He might grow and live in them and be expressed from within them. The kingdom of God is actually the God-man, Jesus Christ, sown as the seed of life into His believers. After this seed has been sown into them, it will grow in them and eventually develop into a kingdom.
During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus sowed the seed of the kingdom into the human heart. In Mark 4 and Matthew 13 the human heart is likened to soil. Our heart is the field, the soil, into which the Lord Jesus has sown Himself as the seed of life. In the parable of the sower, the Lord Jesus is both the Sower and the seed sown. As the Sower, the Lord sows Himself as the seed of life through His word.
Jesus Christ is the seed of the kingdom of God, and this seed has been sown into those who believe in Him. Now this seed is growing and developing within the believers. Eventually, this growth and development will have an issue, and the issue will be the kingdom.
In the parable of the seed in Mark 4:26-29 we see the development of the kingdom seed. In verse 26 the Lord says, “So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed on the earth.” The “man” here is the Lord Jesus as the Sower, and the “seed” is the seed of the divine life (1 John 3:9; 1 Pet. 1:23) sown into the believers of Christ, indicating that the kingdom of God is a matter of life, the life of God, which sprouts, grows, bears fruit, matures, and produces a harvest.
In verse 27 the Lord continues, “And sleep and rise night and day, and the seed sprouts and lengthens — how, he does not know.” This illustrates the spontaneity of the growth of the seed.
In verses 28 and 29 the Lord goes on to say, “The earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then an ear, then full grain in the ear. But when the fruit permits, immediately he sends forth the sickle, because the harvest has come.” The “earth” is the good earth (v. 8), signifying the good heart created by God for His divine life to grow in man. Such a good heart works together with the seed of the divine life sown into it to grow and bear fruit spontaneously for the expression of God.
Mark 4:26-29 reveals that the kingdom of God in the sense of life is a seed that is sown into the earth and grows until it reaches maturity, at which time it is harvested. The seed is Christ, and we are the soil into which He as the seed has been sown. The seed grows and eventually will produce the harvest, the full manifestation of the kingdom. Therefore, the kingdom is the Lord Jesus as the seed of life who has been sown into us and who grows in us until He reaches maturity at the time of harvest. When the crop is ripe, there will be the harvest, the full manifestation of the kingdom.
The growth of Christ as the seed of life within us is the process of the kingdom. On the one hand, we are in the kingdom; on the other hand, we are in the process of the kingdom. We may use the growth of wheat as an illustration. In a wheat field seeds are sown into the soil. The seed then grows until the tender young sprouts appear. The growth continues until the sprouts bring forth ears, fruit, and eventually are fully ripened. Then there is the harvest of the field. This is a picture of the process and manifestation of the kingdom. Now we are in the process of the kingdom, for today we have Christ as the seed of life growing within us. Eventually, this growth will bring us to the harvest, and that harvest will be the full manifestation of the kingdom.
The kingdom of God as God’s reign in a particular way in the sense of life is with Christ as its reality in life. This is revealed in Luke 17.
In Luke 17:21 the Lord said to the Pharisees, “Behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” The word “you” here refers to the questioning Pharisees. The Lord Jesus as the reality of the kingdom in life was not within them but only among them.
In the Lord’s answer to the Pharisees, there is the strong indication that the kingdom of God is actually Christ Himself. The Lord was actually telling the Pharisees that they could not see the kingdom of God, even though it was among them. Although the kingdom of God was present, they did not have the spiritual perception to see it. We need spiritual eyes to see the kingdom of God, which is actually the wonderful person of Christ Himself. The spiritual reality of Christ is actually the kingdom of God in the sense of life.
“Being questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God comes, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, Look, here! Or, There! For behold, the kingdom of God is among you” (vv. 20-21). The Lord’s word that the kingdom of God “does not come with observation” indicates that the kingdom of God is not material but spiritual. Verses 22 through 24 prove that the kingdom of God is Christ Himself, who was among the Pharisees when He was asked by them regarding the kingdom. Wherever the Savior is, there is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is with Him, and He brings it to His disciples (v. 22). He is the seed of the kingdom of God sown into God’s people and developing in them into God’s ruling realm. Since His resurrection, He is within His believers (John 14:20; Rom. 8:10). Hence, the kingdom of God with Christ as its reality in life is within the church today (Rom. 14:17).
