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God’s New Testament economy is to build the church with Christ through the kingdom. The church is God’s goal, God’s desire and destination. His intention is to build the church. As we all know, in order to build anything we need certain material. The material for the building of the church is Christ. Along with the material, we also need the method of building. In Matthew 16 we see the goal, the material, and the method. The goal is the church, the material is Christ, and the method is the kingdom.
After the Lord Jesus had asked His disciples to tell Him who they thought He was, Peter received the revelation that He was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Because it is not adequate simply to have the revelation of Christ, the Lord Jesus went on to say, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church” (v. 18). When verse 18 is put with verse 16, we have the complete revelation: Christ and the church, the great mystery of God (Eph. 5:32). Christ is for the church. Peter’s revelation and the acknowledgment of that revelation are the rock upon which the Lord will build His church. Therefore, the church is the goal, and the Christ revealed and acknowledged by the disciples is the material with which the church is built.
Although in verses 16 and 18 we have the goal and the material, we do not have the way. This is revealed in verse 19, where the Lord said, “I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.” Exercising the keys of the kingdom is the way to build the church. In other words, the way to build the church is through the kingdom.
Today the word church is used so lightly that it has become virtually meaningless. Many Christians speak of going to church or of belonging to a certain church. But because of the way they use this term, it has no weight or significance. In the New Testament, however, the word church is a weighty term. Before Matthew 16 this word is not found in the Bible. In the Gospels the word church is used only twice, in Matthew 16 and in Matthew 18. The church is God’s goal in the universe. Thus, the church is something very significant, even though Christians have made it appear to be nothing.
If you consider the history of Christianity, you will realize that the enemy has frustrated the believers from Christ and the kingdom. Not many Christians know Christ as He should be known. As we have seen, for the building of the church we need Christ, because Christ is the material for the building. The church can be built only with Christ.
Christians have also been frustrated from knowing the kingdom. Few Christian teachers today speak about the kingdom. If you examine today’s Christian publications, you will find very little mention of the kingdom. Fifty years ago, many articles spoke of the kingdom, and those involved in evangelical work even spoke of spreading the kingdom. But today this term is used rarely, because the kingdom has become foreign to our understanding. This is due to the subtlety of the enemy. If we are frustrated from knowing Christ and if we neglect the kingdom, we are through with the church because the church is built with Christ and through the kingdom.
If you carefully read the New Testament regarding the kingdom, you will see that today the kingdom is an exercise to us. Therefore, we speak of the exercise of the kingdom. The New Testament also reveals clearly that in the future the kingdom will be a reward to us. Thus, the kingdom is an exercise today and a reward in the coming age. The positive reward of the kingdom is to enter into the joy of the Lord. Matthew 25:21 and 23 both say, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.” In the coming age those who receive this positive reward of the kingdom will be co-kings with Christ. We shall no longer be under an exercise; rather, we shall be reigning with Christ. Today, however, is not the time for us to reign, to be the co-kings of Christ. This is for the coming age. For us today, the kingdom is an exercise. Thus, we are not reigning; we are being exercised. This is the reason that we need to lose our soul. To reign is not to lose the soul but to gain the soul. To be poor in spirit and to suffer for the sake of righteousness is not to reign; it is to be exercised.
Matthew 5:3 does not say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs will be the kingdom of the heavens.” It says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.” When we are poor in spirit, we are in the exercise of the kingdom. The same is true of those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Verse 10 says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.” When we are poor in our spirit and when we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we are in the kingdom. To be poor in spirit and to suffer for the sake of righteousness both mean to lose the soul. On the contrary, to be proud and to consider that we are great is to save the soul. To be poor in spirit is to think that we have nothing, know nothing, and are nothing. In a human sense, this is to suffer and to lose the soul. To lose the soul in this way is the real denial of the self. Those who think that they are everything and know everything do not deny the self or lose the soul. The kingdom is not with those who hold this attitude. Whenever we are like this, we are out of the kingdom. We need the mercy and grace of God to say, “Concerning God’s economy, I know nothing, I have nothing, and I am nothing. I am nobody.” This is what it means to be poor in spirit, to be without human enjoyment, boasting, or pride. As we have pointed out, whenever we are poor in spirit, we are immediately in the kingdom. This is the exercise of the kingdom.
To suffer for the sake of righteousness is definitely to suffer the loss of the enjoyment of the soul. Whenever we are willing to lose the enjoyment of the soul today for the sake of righteousness, we are in the kingdom, and the kingdom is ours. This also is the exercise of the kingdom. It is not a matter of reward or enjoyment, and it is not something we can boast about. Today the entire world is rejecting Christ and the kingdom. The world is also rejecting the followers of Christ. Therefore, we suffer for following Christ, and we lose the enjoyment of our soul today. Because of the kingdom, we are willing to lose our enjoyment. Because of the kingdom, we are willing to deny the self and be poor in spirit. Because of the kingdom, we are willing to be nobody, to know nothing, and to be an empty vessel available to be filled with Christ for the building of the church.
Matthew 5:10 speaks of suffering for the sake of righteousness because, according to the Bible, the kingdom as a whole is a matter of righteousness. Thus, to suffer for the sake of righteousness is to suffer for the sake of the kingdom. If we suffer for the sake of the kingdom, if we are willing to lose our soulish enjoyment today, we are in the kingdom. There is no need for us to enter into the kingdom, for we are in the kingdom already. But what aspect of the kingdom are we in? We are not in the reigning aspect but in the aspect of exercise. To repeat, the reigning aspect of the kingdom is coming, but the aspect of the exercise of the kingdom is present today.
Now we need to see how the kingdom is the way the church is built. According to our experience in the church life, we all have realized that the church cannot be built up with those who refuse to deny themselves. Today not only the worldly people but even Christians are fighting with one another. In every society and organization people think of themselves as being somebody and as having something. This is even true of children in kindergarten. Where can you find a place where people always have the attitude that they are nothing and have nothing and that they are empty vessels? Such people can be found only in the church. If we cannot find people with such an attitude in the church, then there is a question whether that really is the church. The church can only be built up through the kingdom, which we have seen is today an exercise. The Gospel of Matthew reveals that this exercise kills every part of our being. When some hear this, they may say, “The denial of the self is difficult enough. Now you are telling us that the exercise of the kingdom will kill every part of our being. We cannot bear this.” Humanly speaking, I can only agree with you and sympathize with you because I am the same.
In Matthew 19 the Lord Jesus illustrated how difficult it is for us to enter into the kingdom (v. 24). He said that it was even more difficult than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Humanly speaking, no one can enter into the kingdom. As far as we are concerned, it is impossible. But what is impossible with men is possible with God. God has the way for us to enter into the kingdom. His way is not to enlarge the eye of the needle and make it a wide gate so that even a heavily laden camel can get through. Rather, His way is to reduce the size of the camel until it is thin enough to pass through the eye of the needle. It is possible for thin thread to pass through the eye of the needle.
In order for us to pass through the eye of the needle, the Lord must make us as thin as thread. By nature, we are camels. But God has a way to spin us into thin thread. Although I have been a Christian for more than fifty years, I am still in the eye of the needle. Sometimes I have cried out, “Lord, I cannot tolerate Your spinning any longer.” But the Lord said, “Be patient, for I am helping you. You are still too thick. I am spinning you to make you thinner.” There were times when I wanted to be cut off from this spinning process. But at those times the Lord said to me, “It is not up to you. You may want to be cut off, but what will you use to do the cutting? The scissors are not in your hands. I shall neither drop you nor cut you off. Rather, I shall keep on spinning you.” This is the exercise of the kingdom today.
Many years ago we received help regarding this matter of the kingdom. Because we were helped by this, we ministered it to others. There were various reactions to what we ministered concerning the exercise and reward of the kingdom. Some said that it was Hinduism, and others that it was similar to the Catholic teaching of purgatory. But this is not Hinduism, purgatory, or any form of asceticism. It is the experience of Christ.
Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” The mind of Christ needs to become our mind. After Paul tells us that we need to let the mind of Christ become ours, he speaks of how the Lord Jesus was willing to become small and lowly. This is what we mean by spinning. The heavenly, divine spinning brought Christ down from the heavens to the earth. It caused the great Christ to become less than the lowest and smallest. Christ has been spun. He was willing to be spun in this way, for His mind was that kind of mind.
We need to consider the context behind Paul’s word to the Philippians regarding the mind of Christ. To a certain degree at least, the believers at Philippi were not in the kingdom. In their thinking they were regarding themselves as better and higher than others. That was an indication that they did not have the mind of Christ. Thus, the apostle Paul told them that they needed to allow the mind of Christ to become their mind. He pointed out that although Christ was so high and great, He was willing to become lowly and even to be put to death on the cross. When Christ was crucified, He was made nothing. The enemy even challenged Him to come down from the cross. Those who mocked Him said that if He would come down from the cross, they would believe in Him. What a devilish challenge that was! Instead of coming down from the cross, Christ remained there for at least six hours to be nothing. He did not say one word to vindicate Himself. This is the mind of Christ, the only mind good for the building of the church. Only when we have such a mind are we qualified for the building.
If we see this vision and compare it with the situation among the Christians today, we shall realize that the building up of the church is a human impossibility. Perhaps you will say, “Lord, when You were on earth, You said that You would build Your church. But nearly two thousand years have passed, and still we do not see the building. Lord, where is Your building?” If we speak to the Lord like this, He may reply, “You do not see the building because so few have been willing to care for the exercise of the kingdom.” We all love the Lord and the church. But the question is whether or not we are willing to become nothing. As we all know, our spirit is the very depth of our being. To be poor in this part of our being means to realize that we are nothing. Are you willing to be nothing?
Take the example of washing dishes. Sometimes I wash the dishes for my wife. But many times I have had the thought that I would like the young people to know what I am doing and to realize what a good example I am setting for them. This is the magnified self. I know that this is the attitude among many in the brothers’ houses. As you are washing dishes, you may say, “Lord, You know that the others are not willing to do the dishes. But I am doing them, Lord, for Your sake.” This is the ugly self expressed in the washing of dishes. When you wash the dishes and have no thought or feeling about it, that is an indication that the self is gone. It reveals that you are nothing in the matter of washing the dishes. But as long as we have some thought concerning ourselves in this matter, it is a clear sign that self is present. Not only is self present; it is nourished. After some have washed the dishes in such a way, they go into their room and pray, “Lord, thank You that I was the only one to wash the dishes.” This kind of giving thanks comes from the magnified self. If you wash the dishes in this way for several days, you will eventually become angry with those you are living with and no longer wash any dishes. This is an indication of how much we need the exercise of the kingdom.
What is sown in the Gospels grows in the Epistles and is harvested in Revelation. In the Epistles we have the excellent example of the apostle Paul. In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul says, “By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me did not turn out to be in vain, but, on the contrary, I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God which is with me.” It was by the grace of God that Paul was what he was, and by this grace he labored more than others. Grace is God as our enjoyment. When we put 1 Corinthians 15:10 together with certain verses from the book of Philippians, we see that grace is nothing less than the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Christ becoming the life-giving Spirit. Thus, in Philippians 1:19 Paul says, “I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” This is the grace of God. The grace of God is the bountiful, exhaustless, unending supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Today this Spirit is within us. Therefore, Paul could say, “I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me” (4:13). Here Paul seemed to be saying, “I cannot do anything, but I can do all things through Him who empowers me. The One who empowers me is not in the heavens; He is within me. In Him, I can do all things.”
In Philippians 2:12 Paul says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” This is not eternal salvation but the salvation of the soul, the salvation of the kingdom. It is the salvation to receive the reward and to enter into the joy of the Lord in the coming age. This salvation needs to be worked out by us, whereas the eternal salvation does not require our work. Regarding eternal salvation, we simply receive it and have it. But we need to work something out in order to have the salvation of the soul, the salvation that qualifies us to receive the reward of the kingdom. In ourselves we are not able to work out this salvation. But we have One in us who can work it out. This One is God Himself who is working within us both the willing and the working for His good pleasure (v. 13). God works in, and we work out. His inward working requires our willing cooperation. If we are willing to cooperate with Him, He will have the ground and the way to work within us so that we may work out our salvation. There is no need for us to strive or use our own effort to accomplish such a salvation.
As we all know, we must eat in order to have strength. The problem is not with the food, for the food has been prepared and is now in front of us. People may do many things for you, but no one can eat for you. In God’s New Testament economy He first saved us and then put us into the exercise of the kingdom. For this exercise we need Christ and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Although this Spirit is present within all real believers, millions of Christians are not hungry. Therefore, we who are hungry and who are eating Christ must preach the gospel of the kingdom. We need to tell the saints that although they have been saved for eternity, they may nevertheless have a problem with the Lord at the time of His coming back to settle accounts. The Lord will examine our living, behavior, and work since our salvation. This is a serious matter.
The gospel of the kingdom has been completely buried by the enemy. Today we must sound the trumpet of this gospel. When the Lord comes back, He will establish His kingdom of righteousness. At that time He will give us either a positive reward or a negative reward according to our doings. These doings are related to three matters: the denying of the self, the taking up of the cross, and the losing of the soul. The way we deal with these three things will be the basis on which the Lord will settle accounts with us. Then He will decide whether we shall receive a positive reward or a negative one. As those who believe the Bible, we must recognize that such a judgment is coming.
The gospel of the kingdom is for the building of the church. Many Christians today, including some of us in the Lord’s recovery, may be ignorant or negligent of this. It is not sufficient to talk about spirituality. The question is whether or not we are taking Christ as our supply to deny the self, bear the cross, and lose our soul. The reward of the kingdom in the future is an incentive for the building of the church. It is also a warning regarding the building of the church. If we do not live a life that is crucified, resurrected, and overcoming, a life that denies the self, takes up the cross, and loses the soul, we must be warned of the danger of being disapproved.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul says that he was running the race. In this portion of the Word he tells us clearly that he was concerned for himself. First Corinthians 9:27 says, “I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest perhaps having preached to others, I myself may become disapproved.” Paul realized that although he was preaching the gospel of the kingdom to others, he himself might be disapproved, that is, be cast away. Some versions use the word disqualified. In a race some are qualified and others are disqualified; some are approved and others are disapproved. If we are approved, we shall gain the prize, which is the crown. But if we are disapproved, we shall be cast away and not receive the crown.
In Philippians 3 Paul says clearly that he did not count himself to have laid hold. In verses 13 and 14 he says, “Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward.” The way Paul was pressing toward the prize was by knowing Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. He wanted to know how Christ suffered for the kingdom, and he wanted to share in that suffering. Paul realized that Christ had been spun into thin thread, and he wanted to be the same as He, even conformed to His death. Christ had been crucified on the cross to become nothing, and Paul also wanted to become nothing. Paul realized that in himself he could not attain to this. He had to know the power of Christ’s resurrection. Therefore, Paul says that he could do all things in Him who empowered him. This One, the resurrected One, today is the life-giving Spirit. He is the bountiful supply within us. If we are willing to cooperate with Him and open to Him, He will fill us to the brim. The tide of the bountiful supply of the Spirit will fill us and flood us. There will not even be the need for us to swim, for the tide will flood us and carry us on.
In 2 Timothy 4:6 Paul says that he was already being poured out as a drink offering. The next two verses say, “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day.” Notice in verse 8 that Paul does not speak of a crown of mercy, grace, or love, but a crown of righteousness. In 2 Timothy 4:18 he says, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will save me into His heavenly kingdom.” Here the apostle Paul even uses the term heavenly kingdom. This refers to the reward of the kingdom. No doubt, Paul will be one of the co-kings with Christ, one reigning over the nations during the thousand years. That will be Paul’s reward and enjoyment.
To receive the kingdom reward is to have the uttermost enjoyment of the Lord in a particular way. Today we enjoy Christ, and in eternity we also shall enjoy Christ. But the Christ we enjoy today and shall enjoy in eternity is the common portion. After the millennium Christ will be the common portion to all His believers. But during the millennium He will be a particular portion to the overcomers, to His co-kings. This particular portion will be the prize, the reward, to His faithful followers. This is the reward of the kingdom, which is altogether a matter of enjoyment. Today we have a marvelous foretaste of the sweetness of enjoying Christ. But if we exercise ourselves in the kingdom today, the topmost, particular portion of the enjoyment of Christ will be ours.
Even today, as we are under the exercise of the kingdom, we are enjoying Christ. Apparently, it is not a pleasant matter to deny the self, to take up the cross, and to lose the soul. However, when we enter into the exercise of the kingdom, all this becomes an enjoyment. Once you have tasted it, you will never want to leave it. You will desire to deny yourself because the best enjoyment of Christ is in self-denial and in the losing of the soul. If you do not believe me, I ask you to try it. Some may say, “This sounds like Hinduism. I don’t want to suffer this.” If you hold this attitude, you will find it difficult to pray or to smile inwardly. The only smile you will have will be an outward, manufactured smile. You may claim to be happy, but you will have no happiness deep within. But those who are willing to take Christ as their life by His bountiful supply, denying the self, taking up the cross, and losing the soul, will be full of joy. What joy they will have! When the time comes for them to praise the Lord, their joy will burst forth. Which do you prefer — an outward smile or this deep joy?
I am not an angel; rather, I am a human being. At times I may be offended by a brother. However, if I do not deny myself, bear the cross, and lose the soul when I am offended, I shall be saving my soul. Whenever I save my soul like this, I cannot pray or read the Bible well. Furthermore, I cannot even sit comfortably or rest well. But if, by the Lord’s mercy and grace, I take Christ as my bountiful supply and live by Him, exercising myself under the kingdom, I shall lose my soul. I deny myself, take up my cross, and have joy. This is the enjoyment of Christ.
To deny the self, to take up the cross, and to lose the soul is not a Hindu teaching or a form of asceticism. On the contrary, it is an enjoyment of Christ Himself deep in our inward being. What comfort and intimacy this is! How real is the presence of Christ! This is the enjoyment of the exercise of the kingdom. This will qualify us to receive the reward of the kingdom so that we may enter into the highest enjoyment of Christ in His millennial reign.
The matter of the exercise of the kingdom should not merely be a teaching to us. It must be our genuine experience today for the building of the church. If we continue in this exercise, the kingdom will be ours, the church will spontaneously be built up, we shall be qualified to reign with Christ in the kingdom, and we shall be rewarded with the special enjoyment of Christ in the coming age.
As an exercise, the kingdom is ours today, and we are in it (Matt. 5:3, 10). As a reward, the kingdom will be our enjoyment in the future, and we shall enter into it (v. 20; 18:3). In the exercise of the kingdom today, we are under the heavenly ruling; but in the reward of the kingdom in the next age, we shall rule as kings over the nations. Hence, in the exercise of the kingdom today, being ruled by the heavens, we are losing our soul, that is, losing the enjoyment of our soul; but in the reward of the kingdom in the future, ruling over the nations, we shall save our soul, that is, gain the enjoyment of our soul.
