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Scripture Reading: Matt. 5:20, 48; 7:21; John 3:3, 5; Rev. 22:1-2a
There is a strong thought concerning the kingdom in the Word of God. If we read through the Scriptures carefully, we will see that from beginning to end God desires to obtain a sphere for His reign. How does God obtain this sphere of reign? Or we may ask, how does God bring in this kingdom? He does it by His life. Hence, in the Bible life is always linked to the kingdom. In the beginning of Genesis we see that God’s desire is that man would exercise dominion for Him on the earth (1:26). Dominion is related to the kingdom. God’s desire that man would exercise dominion for Him on the earth indicates that God intends to establish His kingdom on the earth through man. After Genesis 1, which speaks of God’s desire that man would exercise dominion for Him on the earth, Genesis 2 presents the tree of life (v. 9). This indicates that for man to exercise dominion for God on the earth and bring in the kingdom, he must have God’s eternal life within him. If man does not have God’s eternal life, he will never be able to bring God’s authority to the earth. Therefore, the very beginning of the Bible reveals that God links life to dominion. Hence, the focus of Satan’s work is also related to this matter. Satan took man away from the tree of life because he knew that if man did not receive God’s life, he would have no way to bring God’s authority to the earth. The kingdom as the sphere of God’s reign altogether depends on God’s life.
Thus, the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). He also said, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (v. 5). God’s kingdom is a matter of God’s reign; man’s regeneration is a matter of man’s receiving God’s life. In order for man to touch God’s reign and bring God’s authority to the earth, he must receive God’s life inwardly. If man does not have God’s life, he will have no way to bring in God’s reign.
The highest requirements in the Bible are the requirements of the kingdom. We may say that God’s requirements in the Old Testament are the requirements of the law, and God’s requirements in the New Testament are the requirements of the kingdom. We all know that the law commands us not to kill, not to swear falsely, not to steal, and so forth (Exo. 20:13-17; Lev. 19:11-12). All these are the requirements of the law. The requirements of the kingdom in the New Testament, however, are higher than the requirements of the law. The kingdom requires man not to be angry with others. Not only should there not be the act of murder, but there also should not be the motive to murder, which is anger (Matt. 5:22). All the requirements of the kingdom touch man’s heart within man. The requirements of the law are outward, but the requirements of the kingdom are inward. The law requires that man not break an oath or swear falsely, but the kingdom requires that man not swear at all but that his word should be, “Yes, yes; No, no,” without the need of swearing (vv. 34-37). The law requires that man be perfect according to the letter of the law, but the kingdom requires that man be perfect even as the heavenly Father is perfect (v. 48), meaning that man must be perfect as God is perfect. The law requires an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth (Exo. 21:24; Lev. 24:20), but the kingdom requires that whenever someone slaps us on our right cheek, we must turn to him the other also (Matt. 5:39).
Here we clearly see two kinds of requirements. One kind is low, and the other is high. The requirements of the law are relatively low and somewhat attainable. The requirements of the kingdom, however, are high, difficult to fulfill, and even unachievable. For instance, the requirement not to murder is reasonable, but the requirement not to be angry with someone is exceedingly difficult. This shows a contrast. Under this contrast we may think that although it is possible to meet the requirements of the law, it is absolutely impossible to fulfill the requirements of the kingdom.
Actually, it is also impossible for man to meet the requirements of the law. When God gave the law to man, He never intended that man would keep it; He knew that man would not be able to keep it. Man simply cannot meet the requirements of the law. What then is the use of the requirements of the law? The requirements of the law are intended to prove that man is impotent toward the law. Because man originally thought that he was able, God seemed to say, “I will put the requirements of the law before your eyes and see if you are able to keep them.” We all know that man fell in relation to the law; man violated every item of the requirements of the law. Therefore, we can conclude that the requirements of the law are intended to show man’s impotence.
The requirements of the law had already exposed man’s inability, but then God gave man higher requirements, that is, the requirements of the kingdom. Anyone who reads Matthew 5 through 7 acknowledges that the requirements there are too high for man to keep. I have heard many brothers and sisters say, “Matthew 5 through 7 is altogether unattainable.” Who can have no anger in himself? Who can have a righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees? Who can turn to someone his left cheek when he is slapped on his right cheek? Who can be perfect as God is perfect? When we read all these requirements, we can only say that they are beyond our reach; they are exceedingly high and unattainable.
However, the requirements of the kingdom are not meant to be met and fulfilled by us; they are to be met and fulfilled by God’s life. The requirements of the kingdom speak forth how able God is; the requirements of the law, on the other hand, speak forth how impotent man is. The Lord Jesus said, “Only with difficulty will a rich man enter into the kingdom of the heavens...It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (19:23-24). I do not know if anyone has seen an eye of a needle large enough for a camel to pass through. Actually, no matter how large the eye of a needle can be, it cannot make possible the passage of a camel. Even if we have never seen a camel and do not know how big it is, at least we have seen the eye of a needle. Even the largest eye of a needle is not large enough. No matter how large the eye of a needle could be, a person could not pass through it. How then could a camel pass through it? The Lord Jesus used such an illustration, telling the disciples that it is even more difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of the heavens than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. This means that entering into the kingdom of the heavens is impossible with man. Upon hearing and understanding this, the disciples immediately asked the Lord, “Who then can be saved?” (v. 25). This is a good question—who can be saved? This is an impossible thing.
Hence, the Lord answered immediately, “With men this is impossible” (v. 26). With man, the fulfilling of God’s requirements is certainly impossible; it is unattainable by man. It is impossible for man to be perfect as God is perfect. Likewise, it is impossible for man to have a righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees. It is even more impossible for man not to have any filthy thought or any anger. No one can fulfill any of these requirements. When someone slaps us on our right cheek, we need to turn to him the other also—this is not something that we can do. This is as impossible as requiring a cat to fly.
Who then can enter into the kingdom of the heavens? The Lord Jesus said, “With men this is impossible,” but He went on to say, “with God all things are possible” (v. 26). Hallelujah! With man this is impossible, but with God it is possible. Hence, to enter into the kingdom depends not on man but on God. The requirements of the kingdom cannot be met by man; they can be met only by God.
How does God meet the requirements of the kingdom? He does it by coming into us to be our life. In the New Testament we must see two things, the kingdom and life. These two are great and weighty things. The Lord said, “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (4:17). He also said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens” (5:20). The requirements for entering the kingdom of the heavens are great. However, there is a life that can meet these requirements. God’s Word says, “Everyone who believes into Him [the Lord Jesus] may have eternal life” (John 3:15); “he who has the Son has the life” (1 John 5:12); and “unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). This means that if we are regenerated, we can see the kingdom of God; if we have God’s life, we have the way to enter into the kingdom of God.
In the New Testament we find not only the kingdom but also life. Whereas the kingdom is a demand, life is a supply. We see a strict demand in the New Testament. This demand is not the law but is something higher than the law. It requires us not merely to be perfect or excellent but to be like God and ultimately to be perfect as God is perfect.
Is anything higher than God? Is there anything more perfect than God? The kingdom requires us to be as high as God and as perfect as God. God’s Word says, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees” (Matt. 5:20). The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is the righteousness of the moralists and the law keepers. If our righteousness does not surpass this kind of righteousness, we cannot enter into the kingdom. This shows how high the requirements of the kingdom are. We must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (v. 48); this is to be perfect as God is perfect. This is a high requirement that cannot be met by man; with man it is impossible. However, with God it is possible. How can it be possible with God? It is possible through His entering into us as our life. When He enters into us as our life, He supplies us with the power that enables us to do what we otherwise cannot do.
It is regrettable that although many of God’s children know that God’s life is in them, they have not seen the requirements of God’s kingdom. It may be that some do not fully understand the Lord’s word regarding this matter. How can God’s children know that God’s life is in them yet neglect the kingdom requirements? One time a sister asked me, “Is the Lord Jesus in me as life?” I said, “Yes.” Then she asked, “Is the life of the Lord Jesus not powerful?” I said, “Yes, it is powerful. There is no question about this.” Then she continued, “I have a problem. You know that I am definitely saved, that I truly have the Lord’s life in me, and that the Lord’s life is powerful. However, there is a temper in me that I can never overcome.”
I then asked her, “What temper?” She replied, “I have been married for several years, and everything has been fine except my temper. Before I was saved, I realized that it was a problem. I believed in Jesus mainly in the hope that I would stop losing my temper. I knew that in myself I had no way to restrain my temper. In a gospel meeting I heard someone say that the life of the Lord Jesus is powerful and that if we rely on Him and receive His life, we can overcome our temper. It is because of such a gospel that I believed in Jesus. I am truly saved and have the Lord’s life. The first two weeks after I was saved, this life was truly powerful, but it has not worked since then. I always pray and ask the Lord to strengthen me so that I may not lose my temper. However, the more I pray, the more I lose my temper. Now I even doubt that I truly have the life of the Lord Jesus and that His life is truly powerful. Moreover, my husband teases me, saying that after I believed in Jesus, I was fine and did not lose my temper for only two weeks and that now my temper is worse than before.”
She told me that she was very sad when her husband teased her, but it seemed impossible for her not to continue believing in Jesus. Something within had laid hold of her, making it impossible for her not to believe in the Lord Jesus. If you asked her not to pray, she would be unable to fulfill your request; if you asked her not to read the Bible, she would be unable to do that; if you asked her not to go to the meetings, she would not be able to stay away from the meetings. However, she could not overcome her temper. What could she do? I believe that many people have this kind of experience.
Some people are troubled by smoking; they are unable to stop smoking. They say that they cannot overcome even a small cigarette. A brother once told me, “In the past I heard someone say that once he was saved, the life of the Lord Jesus was so powerful that it got rid of his cigarettes. I also believed in Jesus, and from the time that I was baptized, I have attended the Lord’s table meeting every Lord’s Day. Why do I still smoke? Very often before the Lord’s table meeting, I smoke heavily at home. After half an hour of smoking, I am satisfied, and I go to the meeting. Can it be that even the life of the Lord Jesus does not have the power to solve my problem?” Many of us have similar problems.
I asked the sister who wanted the Lord to help her not to lose her temper, “Since the day of your salvation, have you ever consecrated yourself to the Lord and allowed Him to rule in you? To do so, you must tell the Lord, ‘Lord, from now on, I am not my own; I am Yours. Lord, may You be the Lord and King. I give myself to You. I give You the permission to be enthroned in me and be the King of kings in me.’ Have you ever told this to the Lord?” She replied, “Frankly, I do not have the boldness to pray like this. After I was saved, I heard messages about consecration, but I was afraid to consecrate myself, because once I consecrate myself and the Lord Jesus truly comes to reign in me, what shall I do? This is not a joke. This can be compared to the fact that before I was engaged to my husband, I could make all the decisions myself, but after our engagement I was accountable to him in everything and had to hand over everything to him. Now whatever he says is final. Therefore, if I give myself to the Lord Jesus, I know that I will not be allowed to joke. If the Lord comes to reign in me, He will tell me, ‘You must not do this, and you must not do that.’ What shall I do then? This is serious; hence, I have not dared to consecrate myself to Him.”
I continued and asked her, “How do you live as a Christian?” She said, “I know that the Lord has saved me and that He lives in me as my life. I also know that I should consecrate myself to Him and allow Him to be the Lord, but I dare not do it. Therefore, I use my own effort in everything, and when I fail in anything, I ask Him for help. For example, because I cannot overcome my temper, I ask Him to help me overcome my temper.” After I heard this, I laughed. I said to her, “The Lord Jesus is not cheap. You cannot buy Him with the small price that you pay. The Lord Jesus will not be your Savior according to what you desire. You ask Him to help, but He will not help. You must ask Him to be the Lord. You need to give yourself to Him, allow Him to be the King of kings, allow Him to set up His throne in you, and allow Him to reign in you. In this way all the problems will be solved easily. If instead of giving the ground to the Lord Jesus, you reign over everything, and you pray and ask for His help only when you have a problem and cannot get through, it is impossible for Him to help you. He will not do such a thing; He never gives help to people. Rather, He desires to be your life within you so that He may meet the requirements of the kingdom Himself.”
I told this sister that the kingdom requirements were a matter of the Lord’s reigning in her and that she needed to give the throne and authority to the Lord and allow Him to establish His kingdom in her. I said, “Strictly speaking, today the Lord does not care to be the Savior in us; He cares to be the King in us, desiring to set up His throne in us and make us into His domain. He desires to make us His kingdom so that He may reign in us. Hence, He has placed the highest requirements on us, and He would not allow us to lose our temper or even to have a small impure thought. He desires to reign in us and rule over our being. He is never loose; He requires us to be perfect as God the Father is perfect. If your desire is only to stop losing your temper, He will not help you. He does not require you merely to refrain from losing your temper, for this is too low; rather, He requires you to allow Him to rule in you, reign in you, and establish His domain in you.”
I continued, “Sister, do you want to be saved by Him? Do you want to know His resurrection power? Do you want to know the power of His life? If so, you must submit yourself before His throne and have a time to give yourself to Him, telling Him, ‘You are my Lord. You are the King of kings. I give myself to You that You may be the King and the Lord in me. All that I am is Yours; the ground and the authority in me are Yours.’ If you give yourself to the Lord in this way, allowing Him to gain the ground in you and reign in you, you do not need to worry about whether or not you will lose your temper, because your temper will be His responsibility. As long as you submit to His authority, ruling, and throne and allow Him to establish His kingdom in you and make you His domain, everything related to you will spontaneously be His responsibility.”
This sister absolutely believed this word, but she still had a hesitation within. She told me, “I believe your word. There is no doubt about it. However, if I allow the Lord to reign in me, and He actually reigns in me, what will happen to me?” This is our situation. We ask the Lord to reign in us, which means that we want Him to reign in us, yet we wonder what will happen to us when He actually reigns in us. Are we asking Him to be our King merely out of politeness? If so, we are deceiving ourselves and others; we do not actually want Him to reign in us.
Every one of us more or less has this kind of experience. In fact, many people today still do not have the boldness to consecrate themselves to the Lord. Others may have only a partial consecration. Such persons do not have a thorough consecration and dare not have a complete consecration. This is because they think that after they consecrate themselves completely and Jesus is enthroned, they will be finished. After they are saved, many Christians have this kind of experience to one degree or another.
Many Christians confess that not long after they were saved, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus asked them to allow Him to have room in them. However, when they had this inward sense to allow the Lord Jesus to have room and reign in them, they began to consider the cost, fearing what would happen once they gave themselves to the Lord and He truly reigned in them. There was a little girl about ten years of age who was truly saved. One day we asked her, “Are you saved?” She replied, “I am saved.” Then we asked her, “Do you have the Lord’s life?” She said with assurance, “I have the Lord’s life.” We asked further, “Do you love the Lord?” She said, “I love the Lord.” We then asked her, “Why do you love the Lord?” She answered, “Because the Lord Jesus died for me.” As she said this, she shed tears. We continued, “What is the expression of your love for Him?” To our surprise, she answered, “I love Him, but I dare not express it.” Her answer was quite meaningful. We asked her, “Why not?” She said, “Our teacher in the children’s meeting told us that if we love the Lord Jesus, we must give ourselves to Him. If we love the Lord Jesus, we need to consecrate ourselves to Him; this is an indication of our love for Him. Furthermore, He is not pleased if we give Him just anything; He delights only in us. Our teacher told us that unlike us, the Lord Jesus does not love money; He loves only our person. If we would give ourselves to Him, He would be very happy.” This teacher was quite experienced in that he was able to speak very well and touch the children’s feeling.
I then asked the little girl, “Why are you afraid to give yourself to Jesus?” She said, “Because I like to wear pretty clothes.” I said, “It does not matter whether you like to wear pretty clothes. The Lord Jesus also likes you to wear pretty clothes.” She replied, “But I am afraid that if I give myself to the Lord Jesus, one day He may not want me to wear pretty clothes. Then what shall I do? This is the reason I cannot give myself to Him.” Although this is merely a child’s story, you and I have been such a child.
In 1932 and 1933 this child’s experience occurred in me. At that time I truly knew that the Lord Jesus wanted me to give myself to Him. If you had asked me, “Do you love the Lord Jesus?” I would have answered without any hesitation, “I love the Lord Jesus. He died for me to be my Savior. I love Him.” If you had asked me, “Since you love Him, how do you express it?” I would have told you, “No matter how I express it, He does not like it. I have tried reading the Bible, praying, and offering material riches, but He did not like any of these things.” I was clear inwardly at that time that the Lord was saying to me, “I do not want anything else but you. You must drop your job and everything you have and give yourself to Me. I want only your person.” Therefore, for a period of almost two years I dared not pray, “Lord, I consecrate myself to You.” I dared not say this because I was afraid that the Lord would answer, “Fine, then drop your job and serve full time!” This was a painful experience for me. I knew that I had to believe in the Lord Jesus and that I had to love Him, yet I loved Him but dared not express it.
Today many Christians are in this kind of situation. If you ask them, “Have you believed in the Lord?” they will say, “I have believed in the Lord.” If you ask them, “Do you love the Lord?” they will say, “I love the Lord.” If you go on and ask them, “How do you express your love for the Lord?” they will not dare to answer. This reveals a problem. Because man is deceived by Satan, he is not willing to allow the Lord Jesus to establish His kingdom in him. The gospel saves us so that we may become the Lord’s kingdom. God regenerates us with His life so that we may have the throne of His Son in us. Salvation is not for us to go to heaven; it is for us to be made into a kingdom. Satan seeks to overthrow God’s authority in the universe. He is unwilling to let God’s authority be brought to the earth. In the meantime, he also usurps the earth among the worldly people so that God’s kingdom cannot come to the earth and His authority cannot be exercised among men. Through His Son’s dying for man, being raised from the dead, cleansing away man’s sins with His blood, and regenerating man with His life, God brings His throne, His authority, and His kingdom into the saved ones so that they may have His authority in them and become His kingdom.
In a general way, all the saved ones constitute God’s kingdom. The church is the place where God exercises His authority, and the throne of God’s Son is set up among the churches. His authority and reign should have the ground in all the saints. However, many saved ones have been deceived. Although they all have God’s life, the Lord Himself, and the Lord’s throne, authority, and kingdom in them, many will not submit to the Lord’s authority, allow the Lord to be seated on the throne within them, or allow Him to establish His kingdom and obtain His domain in their being. They will listen to messages, attend meetings, study the Word, and pray, but they will not yield the authority within them to the Lord Jesus. We must realize that if this is our situation, we cannot be a living and strong Christian, the power of the Lord Jesus cannot be expressed through us, and the divine life cannot be a supply to us.
Revelation 22 shows that the river of water of life proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (vv. 1-2). Hence, when God and the Lamb are enthroned in our being and are able to rule and reign in us, this life will be manifested as power that supplies us inwardly. Suppose we are weak and we tell the Lord, “Lord, strengthen me.” This kind of prayer never works. Every Christian can testify that this kind of prayer is ineffective. Those who always tell the Lord, “Lord, I am weak; please make me strong,” know that the Lord never makes people strong. Why is this? It is because the Lord desires only to set up His throne within us; He cares only for the authority, the ground, and the dominion within us. We must give Him the dominion. God has already made Him Lord and Christ and has given Him all authority in heaven and on earth. The entire universe is His domain; we are the only ones who do not give Him the authority. God has made Him King, but we alone do not honor Him as King. Rather, we are our own king, and we do everything by ourselves. Until today there is no room for Christ in us; our inner being is not Christ’s domain but our own domain. In everything we are the lord, we are in control, and we have the final word. The Lord Jesus is frustrated in us. He is the Lord who is enthroned in heaven, but He is not enthroned in our heart. Yet we still ask Him for help. Obviously, it is impossible for Him to fulfill our request.
Some brothers and sisters ask the Lord for help not only in spiritual things but also in material things in their living. They always pray, “Lord, bless us. The house we are living in is not very good; please bless us that we may have a better house.” They ask for the Lord’s blessing also on material things related to their eating, drinking, and clothing. However, the Lord told us, “Do not be anxious for your life, what you should eat or what you should drink” (Matt. 6:25). Rather, we should “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,” and all the things we need will be added to us (v. 33). Many times God is merciful to us, but often He grants us His mercy without much joy. When a disobedient child asks his parents for something to eat, although the parents give him what he asks for, they do so without joy. This is because they know that if they refuse him, he will be hungry, but they know also that he is a disobedient child. This is truly the heart of every parent. When a child does not listen to his parents or behave according to his parents’ will, the parents are not happy, though they give him what he desires.
Many brothers and sisters have prayed to God, and it seems that God answered their prayers. However, He did not answer them happily. God knows that we are His children, and if He does not take care of us, we cannot live on the earth. If He does not take care of us, we cannot get through all our difficulties. He takes care of us, but He is not happy, because we completely disregard His authority, we do not care for His kingdom, and we do not allow Him to be the Lord. All we care for is ourselves. Hence, it is not pleasant for Him to answer our prayers. In Matthew 6:31-33 the Lord Jesus told His disciples that they should not seek material things because all these things are what the Gentiles are anxiously seeking. He told them that instead, they needed to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and allow Him to reign in them and establish His domain in them. In this way all their daily necessities would be added to them. They would be cared for by Him, would enjoy His riches, and would experience His power.
The manifestation of the Lord’s power and the expression of the Lord’s riches through us are based on His being able to set up His throne and establish His kingdom in us. When we have His kingdom and His throne in us, His riches will flow out from within us. When His throne is set up in us, His life will flow into us and become our inner supply. Today many brothers and sisters are not able to overcome sins. They pray again and again, but they still fail. They reckon themselves dead, but the more they reckon themselves dead, the more they are alive and unable to die. What is the reason for this? This is because they have not allowed the Lord to set up His throne in them. We must see that life flows out of the throne, and the supply of life is for the fulfilling of the kingdom requirements. Life is not merely for us to overcome the small problems related to sins but for the kingdom to reign in us.
A sister once told me, “I think that the hardest thing for me is the matter of dealing with my hired servants; it is truly not easy to treat them properly.” When the sisters feel that their attitude toward their servants is poor, and they do not have the peace within, they should earnestly confess to the Lord. Sometime later, however, they will find that they still cannot be kind to their servants. They know that this is not right, but no matter how much they pray, their prayers are in vain. Thus, they are greatly bothered. We must ask such a sister, “In your daily life, do you make all the decisions, or does the Lord make the decisions? Has the Lord set up His throne in you? Whose domain are you? If you are your own domain, you make the final decisions, and the Lord is not on the throne, then you should not expect that you will be able to treat your servants properly, for the Lord’s life will not help you; His life is not to meet this need of yours. Instead, the Lord’s life is for the kingdom requirements.” Therefore, the sister should not be concerned about how she treats her servants. Rather, when she goes home, she should prostrate herself before the Lord, give herself to Him, acknowledge His authority, receive His throne, allow Him to reign in her and obtain His domain in her, yield her inner being to Him completely, and say to Him, “Lord, from today on I am Your kingdom, Your domain. Your throne is in me. Please reign in me.” Then everything will be solved. She will experience life flowing and supplying her within, and she will spontaneously be kind to her servants. This is amazing.
All the enemies will be defeated by this. When Christ is on the throne, all the enemies will fall. However, when we are on the throne, all the enemies will rise up. This was the story with the children of Israel. In the Old Testament when the children of Israel allowed God to be their King, all the enemies around them fell and were subdued. However, whenever the children of Israel forsook God, rejected God’s authority, and acted according to their own will, their enemies all rose up. As a result, the holy city was trampled, the holy temple was destroyed, the Ark was captured, and the people of God became captives. The principle is the same today. We should never expect that God will come to help us; He never offers such help. Rather, He desires to rule and reign in us, to obtain His domain and establish His kingdom in us. There is no need for us to pray, to beseech Him, or to look to Him. As long as we give Him the throne and the domain in us, receive Him as the Lord of all and the King of kings, take Him as our King and our Head, and submit to His authority, all the enemies will fall, and all our problems will be solved.
At that time we will see that God’s life is in us, the throne is set up in us, and life is flowing out of us and becoming a supply of power to us. Then it will be easy and sweet to love not only our servant but even our enemy. We will be able to take the way that men cannot take, live a life that men cannot live, and do the things that men cannot do, for with men this is impossible, but with God this is possible. God in us becomes the “possible” One; He becomes our life and our supply.
Therefore, we need to see that His salvation, His gospel, is for Him to obtain a domain, to make us His kingdom, that His Son may be enthroned in us and be the Head and the King of kings in us. The solution to all our problems depends on our giving ourselves to Him so that His kingdom can become a reality in us. The reigning of Christ is our exercise, and the throne of Christ is our living. If this is our experience, we will immediately see the supply of life satisfying the requirements of the kingdom and enabling us to do what man cannot do. This is what is meant by Matthew 19:26, which says, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
