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Scripture Reading: Matt. 24:40-44; 25:21; Ezek. 1:22, 26; 2 Tim. 4:8; Matt. 24:14
I. We must live in the kingdom’s reality in order to be transferred into the kingdom’s manifestation to participate in the Lord’s joy and to rule and reign with Him — Matt. 25:21; Rev. 19:7-9; 20:4, 6.
II. When we live in the kingdom’s reality by allowing Christ as the life-giving Spirit to rule within us, we will hasten the coming of the Lord in the kingdom’s manifestation — Matt. 6:10; 2 Pet. 3:12:
А. In order to be under the inner ruling of the Lord’s throne, we need a clear sky, a clear fellowship, with Him — Ezek. 1:22, 26:
1. To have a clear sky means that we have no clouds or darkness between us and the Lord — cf. 1 John 1:9.
2. To have the throne means that we are under the ruling of the heavens, the ruling of His inner presence; this is to allow God to have the highest and most prominent position in our life — Col. 1:18b; cf. Dan. 4:26b; 2 Cor. 2:10b.
3. The highest point in our spiritual experience is to have in our inner being a clear sky with a throne above it.
B. When we live in our spirit under God’s heavenly rule, we have the presence of God in a heavenly situation — Ezek. 1:26; cf. Exo. 24:10:
1. Because we are standing on the earth for God’s interest, God can be the God of heaven and of earth — Ezra 5:11-12; Dan. 2:18, 37; cf. Gen. 14:19, 22; Matt. 11:25.
2. When we live in our spirit under God’s heavenly rule, heaven and earth are connected; that is, God and man are joined as one — Gen. 28:12-17; John 1:51; Eph. 2:22.
C. The One sitting on the throne is the Man-God, and His intention is to work Himself into us to make us the same as He is in His expression and to make us people of the throne — Ezek. 1:26; Rev. 3:21:
1. God desires to bring us to the throne because of the rebellion of Satan against God’s throne — Isa. 14:12-15.
2. In order to sit with the Lord on His throne, we must allow Him to rule within us in all things:
a. To reign in life is to be under the ruling of the divine life — Rom. 5:17, 21; Matt. 8:9; cf. Heb. 4:16; Rev. 22:1.
b. When we are living in our spirit under the ruling of the divine life, this life enthrones us as kings to reign over Satan, sin, and death — Rom. 6:6; 7:11, 24; 8:6.
c. If we overcome to reign in life in this age through the enjoyment of God’s complete salvation (the abundance of grace and the abundance of the gift of righteousness), we will participate in the Lord’s authority and be co-kings with Him in ruling over the whole earth in the coming millennial kingdom — Rev. 2:26; 20:4, 6.
D. A life under the kingdom’s rule is a life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit — Rom. 14:17; cf. 1 Cor. 12:3.
III. In order to enjoy the Lord as our reward in the kingdom age, we must be those who love His appearing — 2 Tim. 4:7-8, 18; Matt. 24:40-44:
А. We need to fight the good fight against Satan and his kingdom of darkness for the interests of God’s kingdom (1 Tim. 6:12), run the course for the carrying out of God’s economy according to His eternal purpose (Heb. 12:1), and keep the faith for participation in the divine riches in God’s economy (1 Tim. 3:9; 2 Tim. 4:7).
B. We need to be trained by the grace of God to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts that we may live a God-expressing and flesh-restricting life, awaiting the blessed hope of Christ’s appearing in His glory — Titus 2:11-13.
C. We need to determine to gain the honor of being well pleasing to the Lord by remaining under the constraint of His love to live to Him so that we can be rewarded by Him at His judgment seat — 2 Cor. 5:9-15; Matt. 16:27; Rev. 22:12.
D. We need to run the race by subduing our body to serve God’s holy purpose so that we may win the Lord as our prize and not be disapproved and rejected by Him at His judgment seat — 1 Cor. 9:24-27; 2 Cor. 5:10.
E. We must be careful in our work not to mar God’s building with the worthless materials of our natural man and our flesh; instead, we should build the church with the virtues and attributes of the Triune God to produce the New Jerusalem as a miraculous structure of treasure so that we may receive the reward of the kingdom — 1 Cor. 3:12-17.
F. At His second appearing Christ will be the morning star to His overcomers who watch for His coming; to all the others He will appear only as the sun — Rev. 2:28; Mal. 4:2.
G. The entire Bible concludes with the desire for the Lord’s coming expressed as a prayer — Rev. 22:20.
IV. In order to enjoy the Lord as our reward in the kingdom age, we must preach the gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations before the end of this age — Matt. 24:14; cf. 1 Cor. 9:27:
А. The gospel of the kingdom emphasizes the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of the Lord — Matt. 28:18-20.
B. The gospel of the kingdom is the sowing of Christ as the seed, the gene, of the kingdom of God into God’s chosen people that He might grow in them, live in them, and be expressed from within them to develop into God’s ruling realm — Mark 4:26-29.
C. God’s unique purpose in this age is to have the gospel preached that the church might be built up to consummate the New Jerusalem — Eph. 3:8-11.
D. The overcomers who preach the gospel of the kingdom become the riders of the white horse — Rev. 19:11, 13-14.
E. The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom is the greatest sign of the end of this age.
