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In this lesson we will go on to look at the matter of the believers’ corporate experience of the dispensing of the Divine Trinity through entering into the kingdom of God.
As believers in Christ, we are living the kingdom life in the church life because the church is the kingdom of God in the present age (Matt. 16:18-19; 1 Cor. 6:10; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5). In one sense, the church is God’s family, God’s home (2:19; 1 Tim. 3:15); in this home we enjoy grace and receive the life supply. In another sense, the church is also a kingdom. The church is a family, a home that is full of grace and life, yet the church is also a kingdom, a government. The church is our home, and the church is the kingdom. In our home we have the enjoyment of love, the supply of grace, and the riches of life. In the kingdom we have rule, exercise, and discipline.
Romans 14:17 is strong proof that the church is the kingdom of God: “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Here the apostle does not say will be; rather, he uses the present tense is in reference to the kingdom of God. Romans 14 speaks of receiving the believers; hence, according to the entire context, the kingdom is the church life. The reality of the church life is the kingdom. Romans 12 speaks of the Body life, and Romans 14 speaks of the kingdom life. This indicates that in the book of Romans the kingdom life is the reality of the Body life.
Romans 14 says that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. When the authority of the kingdom of God is operating within us, righteousness, peace, and joy become the characteristics of our daily living. Righteousness, peace, and joy mean a great deal; these items are the expression of Christ. When Christ is expressed, He is our righteousness toward ourselves, our peace toward others, and our joy before God.
When the believers live the kingdom life in the church, they live a life that is righteous toward themselves. This means that in the practical kingdom life in the church today, we must be strict with ourselves and make no excuses for ourselves. Toward ourselves we must be strict and righteous in everything we do.
Furthermore, in living the kingdom life in the church, the believers live a life of peace toward others. This means that our relationship with others must have the characteristic of peace. Toward others we must endeavor to pursue peace, continually seeking to be at peace with them. We must be careful to maintain peace with everyone related to us. This peace is in actuality Christ lived out from our being. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all men.” Ephesians 4:3 tells us to be “diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.” Peace and righteousness are always related to one another. Without righteousness, we cannot have peace. Righteousness must come first; then peace follows. If we deal with ourselves in righteousness, we will have peace with others.
Lastly, to live the kingdom life in the church we need to live a joyful life toward God in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of joy. If we have no joy, this indicates that we have failed and are not in the Holy Spirit. If we truly live the kingdom life, we will be joyful toward God and praise Him. If our living is righteous toward ourselves and peaceful toward others, we will have joy toward God in the Holy Spirit. Then the kingdom will be manifested in our daily life in the church life.
In Colossians 4:11 the apostle Paul told the saints in Colossae that his co-workers were fellow workers for the kingdom of God. This indicates that their work in the gospel for the establishing and building up of the churches was for the kingdom of God. This means that the reality of the kingdom of God is the reality of the church in the present age and that what the apostle and his co-workers did was to establish and build up churches.
Revelation 1:9 says, “I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus.” This verse clearly indicates that today we are partakers of the kingdom. John knew that he was in the kingdom. To him, the kingdom was not only for a future age but was a present reality. Thus, he could say that he was a fellow partaker in the kingdom. This kingdom is the kingdom that we have entered through regeneration (John 3:3, 5). Without being regenerated into God’s kingdom, we would have no way to be fellow partakers in the kingdom. Having been regenerated into the kingdom, we should remain in it, partaking of the kingdom by accepting the heavenly ruling of the divine nature. Furthermore, in Revelation 1:9, in regard to the kingdom, John said that he is our “brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus.” This indicates that for tribulation and the kingdom, endurance is needed. To endure the tribulation related to the kingdom, we need the endurance in Jesus.
In Matthew 5:10-12 the Lord Jesus said that His believers would suffer persecution for the sake of the kingdom. If we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we are in the kingdom. The more we are in the kingdom, the more we will suffer and be persecuted. Therefore, being in the kingdom today is not a matter of glory but a matter of bearing reproach and persecution. Although we are fellow partakers in the kingdom of Jesus, we are not yet co-kings with Christ. When He comes back, we shall be His co-kings in the kingdom of Christ. That will be the time of glory. However, today is not a day of reigning but a day of suffering. At present, we are not in the reigning aspect of the kingdom but in the suffering aspect.
For this reason Paul and Barnabas told the disciples, “Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). The tribulations they spoke of were mainly due to persecution from the Jewish religion. All believers in Christ experience persecution from religion. If there were no religion in the world today, we would not suffer much persecution. Most trouble, persecution, and opposition can be traced back to one source—religion. While we suffer, we are in the kingdom, a realm in which we are being exercised, trained, and prepared so that we may be qualified to reign in the kingdom of Christ as His co-kings.
The kingdom of God was the main subject of the apostles’ preaching in Acts (8:12; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31). The kingdom of God is not a material kingdom visible to human sight but a kingdom related to the divine life. The kingdom of God is the spreading of Christ as life in His believers, forming a realm in which God rules through His life. The kingdom of God is actually Christ Himself (Luke 17:21) as the seed of life sown into His believers (Mark 4:3, 26) and developing into a realm that God rules as His kingdom through the divine life. To enter into the kingdom of God is to enter into the full enjoyment of Christ as the kingdom. However, the whole world opposes God’s people entering into the full enjoyment of Christ as the kingdom. Throughout the centuries religion, in particular, has been utilized by God’s enemy to keep God’s people from entering into the full enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ as the kingdom of God. For this reason we must experience many tribulations to enter into the kingdom of God.
We should expect opposition and be prepared for it. Nevertheless, in all the tribulations we must endeavor to enter into the realm of the full enjoyment of the resurrected and ascended Christ as the kingdom of God. When we have the enjoyment of such a Christ, we will be under the divine rule. In this way, we will become the kingdom of God, which is the proper church life. The kingdom of God is the church life, and the church life is the realm of the enjoyment of the resurrected and ascended Christ.
We partake of the kingdom not only in tribulation but also in endurance. For both tribulation and the kingdom we need endurance. If we lack endurance, we will only be able to withstand persecution for a limited time. However, as we live in Christ, we partake not only of His life and holiness but also of His endurance. When we abide in Christ, we partake of His endurance and acquire the endurance to bear suffering and opposition. The Lord’s word is even called the word of endurance (Rev. 3:10). The word of the Lord’s endurance is the word of the Lord’s suffering. The Lord today is still bearing rejection and persecution through His endurance. We are fellow partakers not only of His kingdom but also of His endurance. Hence, His word to us is the word of endurance. To keep His word of endurance, we must bear His rejection and persecution.
The world opposes and rejects the Lord Jesus, but He does not resist or fight back. He simply endures. As we have fellowship with Him and abide in Him, we partake of His endurance. As His followers, we must follow Him with endurance (Heb. 12:1). In this way we can also endure persecution and opposition. This is strong proof that we are waiting for the Lord’s coming back. We are waiting for His coming back by being fellow partakers in His kingdom, tribulation, and endurance.
If we live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens and partake of the kingdom, we will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5). Inheriting the kingdom of God is different from entering into the kingdom of God through regeneration. We have already been regenerated into the kingdom, and now we need to grow and develop in the divine life. The issue of our growth and development will be our inheritance of the kingdom of God. Unless we grow to maturity in the proper development of the divine life, we will have no way to inherit the kingdom.
First Corinthians 6, Galatians 5, and Ephesians 5 all speak of inheriting the kingdom of God. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 Paul asks, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” To inherit the kingdom of God in the next age is a reward to the saints who seek righteousness (Matt. 5:10, 20; 6:33). The unrighteous believers cannot inherit the kingdom of God. According to the Lord’s word in Matthew, we must be absolutely righteous in order to inherit the coming kingdom as a reward. The Lord even says that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees (5:20). Because God’s kingdom is established upon righteousness, we must be righteous in order to inherit it.
First Corinthians 6:9-10 speaks of various kinds of persons who cannot inherit the kingdom of God. To enter into the kingdom of God, we need only to be regenerated (John 3:3, 5), but to inherit the kingdom of God, we need to live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today. No sinful person or unrighteous person has any part in the coming kingdom of God. The word inherit in 1 Corinthians 6:9 implies enjoyment. To inherit something is to enjoy it. Thus, to inherit the coming kingdom means to enjoy the kingdom. The coming kingdom will be a joyful inheritance to the overcomers. Moreover, according to Matthew, the manifestation of the kingdom will be a reward to the overcoming saints as their enjoyment with the Lord. Therefore, to inherit the kingdom is not only to enter the kingdom; it is to receive the kingdom for our enjoyment as a reward. This should be an incentive for us to live an overcoming life, a life that is sinless and righteous. By living a righteous life we shall be qualified to inherit the coming kingdom.
Concerning the works of the flesh, in Galatians 5:21 Paul says, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” The inheritance of the kingdom of God refers to the enjoyment of the coming kingdom as a reward to the overcoming believers. This is not a matter of a believer’s salvation. The believers who practice the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21 will not inherit the coming kingdom as a reward.
In Ephesians 5:5 Paul again speaks of those who have “no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” The kingdom of Christ is the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:4, 6; Matt. 16:28) and also the kingdom of God (13:41, 43). The believers have been regenerated into the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5), and they are in the church life, living in the kingdom of God today (Rom. 14:17). Only the overcoming ones, not all believers, will participate in the millennial kingdom. In the coming age the unclean, defeated ones will have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
According to John 3, all the regenerated ones are in the kingdom of God. Romans 14:17 also indicates that the church life is the kingdom of God today. However, the kingdom will be more manifest in the millennium than in the church life today. Only in the millennium does the kingdom of Christ also become the kingdom of God. Therefore, the term the kingdom of Christ and of God does not refer to the kingdom as realized in the church life today but to the manifestation of the kingdom in the coming millennial kingdom. Presently all believers are in the kingdom of God, but not all of them will have an inheritance in the coming millennial kingdom. In the church as the kingdom of God there are both those who are defeated and those who are overcoming. However, only the overcoming ones will inherit the kingdom during the millennium.
Shortly before his martyrdom, Paul indicated that he firmly believed that the Lord would bring him into the heavenly kingdom. Therefore, he said to his spiritual son Timothy, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will save me into His heavenly kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:18). The heavenly kingdom is “the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43), “the kingdom of My Father” (26:29), “the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Eph. 5:5), and “the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:11), which will be a reward to the overcoming saints. It equals the crown of righteousness in 2 Timothy 4:8 and is an incentive to the believers to run the heavenly race. Paul had the assurance to triumphantly declare that he would be saved into this heavenly kingdom.
God’s salvation and the kingdom are mutually related. Salvation is a matter of enjoyment and supply. We live the kingdom life by God’s salvation with its enjoyment and supply; however, the kingdom life in this age also involves exercise and discipline. Nevertheless, we live the kingdom life by God’s salvation with its enjoyment and supply. In His salvation, God gives us enjoyment, but in the kingdom, He disciplines us. In the kingdom, we apply what God gives us in His salvation so that we may be exercised according to the nature of the kingdom and the development of the divine life. Today the kingdom is an exercise and a discipline to us, but the coming kingdom will be a reward to the faithful believers who walk on the Lord’s way. To those who deviate from and leave the central line of God’s New Testament economy, it will be a punishment. As a future reward, the kingdom is an incentive, encouraging us to be faithful to take the way of the Lord. As a punishment, the kingdom is a warning, cautioning us not to be disobedient to the vision we have seen.
When the Lord Jesus comes back, the indifferent and unfaithful believers will not receive the same reward as those who are faithful. If the Lord were to give the same reward to both the faithful and the unfaithful, He would be unrighteous. Paul realized that the Lord is the righteous Judge; hence, he said, “There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8). The crown, a symbol of glory, is given as a prize, in addition to the Lord’s salvation, to the triumphant runner of the race (1 Cor. 9:25). In contrast to salvation, which is of grace and by faith (Eph. 2:5, 8-9), this prize is of righteousness through works (Matt. 16:27; Rev. 22:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). The believers will be recompensed with such a reward, not according to the grace of the Lord but according to His righteousness. Hence, it is the crown of righteousness. The Recompenser is the Lord as the righteous Judge, not as the merciful God or the gracious Redeemer. Salvation was prepared according to the Lord’s love and grace, whereas the reward is prepared according to His justice and righteousness. For this reason, the Lord cannot give, in His righteousness, the same kind of reward to both the faithful and the unfaithful.
Once we are saved, we are eternally saved. Our salvation cannot be lost. However, when the Lord comes back, whether or not we will receive a reward is still a question. Paul says, “If anyone’s work which he has built upon the foundation remains, he will receive a reward; if anyone’s work is consumed, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:14-15). The reward is based on the believer’s work after he is saved, whereas salvation is based on faith in the Lord and His redemptive work. The loss in verse 15 is the loss of reward, not the loss of salvation. The salvation that we have received in Christ is not by our works (Titus 3:5) and is eternal, unchangeable in nature (Heb. 5:9; John 10:28-29). Hence, those believers whose Christian works are not approved by the judging Lord and who suffer the loss of reward will still be saved. God’s salvation as a free gift to all believers is for eternity, whereas the Lord’s reward to those believers whose Christian works are approved by Him is for the kingdom age. This reward is an incentive for their Christian work.
Those believers whose Christian works are not approved by the Lord at His coming back will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Cor. 3:15). Through fire surely indicates punishment. This word should be a solemn warning to us today concerning our Christian works. We have already received the Lord’s unique, eternal, common faith (Titus 1:4), but we still need to be faithful in taking the Lord’s way so that we may receive a reward, that is, to enter into His joy and to be co-kings with Him in the coming kingdom to rule over the nations.
As those who are under the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity, we need to live in the reality of kingdom of the heavens. We need to live the kingdom life in the church life and to develop ourselves in the divine life until we reach maturity. Then we will richly enter into the coming kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The faithful and mature ones will receive a reward from the Lord, but the unfaithful will receive dispensational punishment. The incentive of the reward and the warning concerning punishment should encourage us to live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today, faithfully taking the way of the Lord and diligently growing unto maturity in the divine life.
As the believers in Christ, we are presently living the kingdom life in the church life because the church is the kingdom of God in the present age. In Romans 14:17 we see that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. When the authority of the kingdom of God is operating within us, righteousness, peace, and joy will characterize our daily living. When we live the kingdom life in the church life, we are righteous toward ourselves, peaceful toward others, and joyful before God in the Holy Spirit. We not only live such a kingdom life but also work for the kingdom of God, practically building up the church and thereby partaking of the kingdom. We have already been regenerated into the kingdom; hence, we should remain in it, partaking of it by accepting the heavenly ruling of the divine nature.
Furthermore, in Revelation 1:9 John spoke concerning the kingdom, saying that he is our brother, a fellow partaker in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance in Jesus. This indicates that for tribulation and the kingdom, endurance is needed. For us to endure tribulation for the kingdom, we need the endurance in Jesus. When we experience tribulation, we must endeavor to enter into the realm of the full enjoyment of the resurrected and ascended Christ as the kingdom of God. The world opposes and rejects the Lord Jesus, yet He does not resist or fight back. He simply endures. As we have fellowship with Him and abide in Him, we partake of His endurance to endure persecution and opposition. This is strong proof that we are waiting for the Lord’s coming back.
If we live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens and partake of the kingdom, we will inherit the kingdom of God. To inherit the kingdom of God is not the same as entering the kingdom; it is to receive the kingdom as a reward for our enjoyment. This should be an incentive for us to live an overcoming life, a life that is sinless and righteous. The believers have been regenerated into the kingdom of God and are living in the kingdom of God in the church life. However, not all believers will participate in the millennium; only the overcomers will. The faithful and mature ones will receive a reward from the Lord, but the unfaithful will receive dispensational punishment. The incentive of the reward and the warning concerning punishment should encourage us to live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today, faithfully taking the way of the Lord and diligently growing unto maturity in the divine life.
