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Scripture Reading: Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 14:26-27, 33; Matt. 7:21-23
God’s Word reveals that He has given the kingdom, the authority, and the glory to His Son. God’s Son, the Lord Jesus, has completed everything pertaining to the receiving of the kingdom and the exercising of authority. Now only one thing is lacking—there are not enough people on earth who are willing to submit to His authority. Hence, He saves us through the gospel for the purpose of making us His kingdom. This concept, this thought, however, has not been prevalent in the church in the past. Very few have had the concept that their salvation is for them to be the Lord’s kingdom. For this reason the Lord has not been able to establish His kingdom on the earth.
Logically, since all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord (Matt. 28:18), He should reign. However, people on earth rebel against Him; few submit to His authority. This is the reason that the Lord sent His disciples to preach the gospel in all the earth and to disciple all the nations (v. 19).
Matthew 28 clearly says that the goal of the gospel is to make us the Lord’s disciples. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to preach the gospel to disciple all the nations. The meaning of the word disciple is different from that of believer. The emphasis of believer is on believing in the Lord. When a person believes in the Lord, that person becomes a believer. We may say that once a person believes, all the problems are solved, and that person is a believer. The word disciple in Greek has an emphatic sense of being trained and led. Therefore, a disciple is one who has been trained, ruled, and disciplined. In other words, he is one who has been dealt with by authority and who submits to authority.
When we believe in the Lord, we become believers. However, the Gospel of Matthew says that our believing in the Lord is for us to become His disciples. On one hand, the Bible reveals the gospel as the gospel of grace, which is for us to become believers through faith. On the other hand, the Bible says that the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom, which is for us to become the Lord’s disciples, those who are trained, ruled, disciplined, and dealt with by the Lord’s authority. According to the gospel of grace, God is pleased to freely grant us grace, and we can receive this grace simply by believing. However, this gospel is also the gospel of the kingdom through which God desires to bring us under the ruling of the heavenly authority so that we may become His kingdom, those who are ruled by God’s authority.
Matthew reveals the gospel of the kingdom (24:14). Chapter 28 says that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord (v. 18). The Lord desires to rule and reign, but there are few on earth who are willing to be ruled by Him. Hence, He has sent out His disciples to preach the gospel of the kingdom. In Matthew the gospel is called the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel that the Lord sent His disciples to preach is the gospel of the kingdom, which is to bring people to Him and make them His disciples that they may be led, trained, taught, dealt with, and ruled by Him in His kingdom. This is what it means to be a disciple.
To be a believer today is rather simple and easy, but it is not as simple to be a disciple. Luke 14 records that when many came to follow the Lord Jesus, He said to them that if anyone does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and even his own soul-life, he cannot be His disciple (v. 26). The Lord did not say that he is unworthy to be His disciple but that he cannot be His disciple. To be a believer is simple, but to be a disciple is not. To be a disciple, one needs not only to love the Lord above all but also to hate everything apart from the Lord. He needs to give the Lord not only the highest position but also the unique position.
In Luke 14:27 the Lord went on to say that whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Him cannot be His disciple. In Luke 14 the Lord spoke the phrase cannot be My disciple three times (vv. 26, 27, 33). In the final instance He said, “In the same way therefore everyone of you who does not forsake all his own possessions cannot be My disciple.” To be a believer is simple. Once we pray, confess, repent, believe, and receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we are a believer, a saved one. However, it is inadequate to be merely a believer. Every believer should also be a disciple, one who is trained, ruled, led, disciplined, and dealt with by the Lord’s kingdom. Because the Lord’s desire is for us to be His kingdom and be trained under His authority, after we have become believers, we must learn to submit to His authority in order to become His disciples.
Everyone in the world is created by God and governed by Him. Now God has given the kingdom, authority, and glory to His Son, has made Him King, has anointed Him to be the Christ, and has given all authority to Him so that He may receive the kingdom and rule and reign. This is what God did and declared to the universe in the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus. But how did the world react? What kind of response has the world given?
Human history in the last two thousand years is fully depicted by one sentence in Luke 19. The Lord Jesus revealed in a parable that when He would be raised from the dead and would be about to receive the kingdom, the people on earth would declare, “We do not want this man to reign over us” (v. 14). In the past two thousand years, in all of world history with all the experiences of mankind, men have been continually declaring, “We do not want Jesus to be our King; we want to be kings. We do not want to hand over the government to Him; we want to keep it in our hands. We want to act according to our own will; we do not want to be ruled or restricted by Him. We absolutely do not acknowledge His right over us; we belong to ourselves. We have our kingdoms, and we are the kings. We have the final say in everything. We act in whatever way we want to. We have our own sovereign rule. We do not want this Jesus to be our King.” Those in the world still have this attitude today. It is difficult to find one out of tens of thousands who is being ruled by the Lord Jesus. This is the case not only with the unbelievers; even among the believers it is still difficult to find one who is ruled by the Lord.
Many Christians like to ask, “Am I not allowed to do this? Am I forbidden to do that? Why should I not watch movies? Why should I not smoke? I am simply eating, drinking, making merry, and having some entertainment with my friends. What is so bad about that? These things are not immoral, so why should Christians not do them?” It seems that wherever we go, we hear these kinds of questions. Actually, after one is saved and regenerated and thus becomes a Christian, the question is not whether things are moral or immoral or whether it is all right to do certain things, but whether one is being ruled by the Lord.
As the Lord’s disciples, we should not ask, “Why should we not do this thing?” Rather, we should ask, “Is it the Lord’s desire that I do this thing? Am I ruled by the Lord in doing this? Am I under God’s authority in this matter?” Being a Christian is not a matter of being moral but a matter of being ruled; it is not a matter of doing good but a matter of allowing the Lord to reign. Sometimes we should not do even the good things. If we do a good thing without the Lord’s permission, we are still not in subjection to His authority.
Those in the world today rebel against God not only by sinning and doing evil but also by doing good, because their doing good is initiated by themselves. They think that because they have the ability to do good and have a free will, a desire, and a good and compassionate heart, they should simply do it. This is completely under their control; there is no need for Jesus to interfere. They have the final word. They desire to do good, give alms, help others, and be virtuous people. This is entirely their right and determination and has nothing to do with Jesus. With this kind of attitude, while they are doing good, they are actually rebelling against God, because in all their good deeds God does not have a part, nor are they under God’s ruling.
As the Lord’s disciples, we should not have this attitude. Rather, we must be clear that the Lord’s primary focus is not that we would do good but that by being saved we would be brought under His authority and ruling. In the past our doing evil was rebellion toward Him, but our doing good also was rebellion toward Him, because we did not acknowledge His authority. Now because we repent and submit to Him, we should not take good or evil or morality as our standard. Instead, we should live under His ruling and government. If He forbids us, we should refrain from doing not only evil things but even good things. We must be restricted by Him and accept His ruling.
Because we are ruled by the Lord, in our daily living we should not do things such as losing our temper or scolding others; furthermore, when we desire to speak good things about others, praise them, show our good feeling toward them, or even love them, we should not be careless but should check with the Lord. If He does not want us to love someone, we should not dare to do so. If we love someone when the Lord does not want us to, we are rebellious. We should not think that since loving others is a good thing and there is nothing wrong with it, we can love freely according to what we see fit, regardless of the Lord’s feeling and His authority as the King. We need to remember that this is disobedience. It is rebellion, and it is to be without restraint.
If a brother or a sister has this attitude and intention, sooner or later a day will come when this person will be bolder and more unruly before the Lord, and as a result, many problems will be brought in. Such unruliness begins with doing good and loving others. Unruliness that begins with love will bring in an unruliness of hatred. If a person’s love is not restricted, ruled, placed under the Lord’s authority, and reigned over by the Lord, this person will be increasingly unruly in the matter of love. Eventually, in the matter of hatred also, he will be unruly, not being restricted by the Lord.
The Lord said in Matthew 7, “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, was it not in Your name that we prophesied, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name did many works of power?” (v. 22). To prophesy is good, to cast out demons is good, and to do works of power also is good. However, in response to those who did good in His name, the Lord said, “I will declare to them: I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (v. 23). The Lord called these persons “workers of lawlessness.” Those who prophesied, cast out demons, and did works of power were workers of lawlessness. The word lawlessness indicates that they did things without the Lord commanding them to do so. Their prophesying, casting out demons, and doing works of power were not what the Lord commanded them to do, but they did them anyway. Although they did them well, what they did was lawlessness. Although they did good things, they did these things outside the Lord’s restriction. Although they did good things, they were not subject to the Lord’s authority. Hence, even though they did something good, they were rebellious against the Lord. This is lawlessness.
Parents all know this kind of situation. Sometimes a child does something good, but he does it disobediently. Although he does a good thing, he is not subject to his parents’ restriction. He has an attitude, a spirit, and an expression that rebel against his parents. He may say to his parents, “Do you not want me to do this thing? I think this is very good, and I have decided to do it.” Perhaps it is truly a good thing, but the parents do not want the child to do it. Nevertheless, he does not submit to their authority, their restriction, and insists on doing it. To his parents he is a rebellious son, not in evil things but in good things.
We often are in this kind of situation before the Lord. Some claim that they are serving the Lord, but they are not restricted by the Lord, not subject to His authority, and not ruled by Him. Apparently, they are serving the Lord, but actually, they are not in the Lord’s kingdom or under His ruling, and the Lord’s authority has no ground in them. One day such persons will say, “Lord, we cast out demons, prophesied, and did works of power in Your name.” The Lord will say to them, “I have never acknowledged you or approved you. To Me, your prophesying, casting out demons, and doing works of power are all lawlessness. You are workers of lawlessness.”
Perhaps some may ask why doing good things is lawlessness. We may use an illustration to answer this question. In a boarding school the students live in a dormitory. According to school regulations, everyone must turn off the light and go to bed at a certain time. Suppose there is a student who is very diligent; he stays up to study with the lights on even after the time allowed. This is lawlessness. This is a refusal to keep the regulation, to be restricted, and to submit to the authority of the school. This student may cover up the door and windows with black curtains and study secretly with the light on in his room. He is not playing cards, gambling, gossiping, or doing foolish things; instead, he is studying diligently. Diligence in studying is a good thing. However, it is in this good thing that he is not restricted. To the school he is a lawless person, because he violates school regulations and disregards the school’s authority. Though this example is not perfect, it more or less illustrates how doing good things can be lawless.
Sometimes when the brothers and sisters are stirred up, they zealously preach the gospel and work for the Lord. Sometimes they are so zealous that they do not care about the Lord’s will and authority; they simply set their heart to preach the gospel. This kind of zeal is unruly because the Lord is set aside. These brothers and sisters regard neither the Lord’s will nor the Lord’s authority and ruling. They may defend themselves by saying, “Is it wrong for us to preach the gospel?” Someone may exhort them, saying, “Brothers, based on certain reasons, perhaps for the time being you should not preach the gospel.” But they will say, “What is wrong with our preaching the gospel? It is obviously a good thing to preach the gospel.” It is true that preaching the gospel is a good thing, but we still must preach the gospel under the Lord’s ruling and training. In the matter of preaching the gospel, we must consider, Am I allowing myself to do what I please, or am I allowing the Lord to restrict me? Am I doing this under the Lord’s authority or based on my zeal? Living and serving the Lord in a proper way is not a matter merely of good or evil, right or wrong; it is a matter of whether we are under His authority.
In the past years there have been many who did good things and served the Lord but were unruly. They reasoned, “As long as it is a good thing, we can do it.” However, as disciples of the Lord today, we should not ask merely whether a certain thing is good or evil, right or wrong. Rather, we should ask, “Do I do this because of the Lord’s ruling in me? Do I do this because the Lord commands me to do so? When I do this thing, am I restricted by the Lord? Do I do this under the Lord’s authority? In my concept, am I for morality or for the kingdom? Do I want to express my kindness and good deeds or the Lord’s authority, ruling, and reigning?” This is what we should ask.
Today as saved ones, we should be not only believers but also the Lord’s disciples. We must be an anti-testimony on the earth. The living of the people in the world today declares that they do not want the Lord to reign over them, but we should be an anti-testimony, expressing in our living that we allow the Lord to reign, that we submit to His authority, and that we are absolutely ruled by Him. Because we allow Him to reign over us, to rule us, and to restrict us and we submit to His authority, we cannot do many things that others can do.
In many people’s daily living, in matters such as their clothing, eating and drinking, handling of situations, spending, attitudes, and speaking, they declare that they do not want the Lord Jesus to reign over them. However, as the Lord’s disciples, we should declare that we allow Jesus to reign over us and that we submit to His authority in our motive, intention, speaking, attitude, spending, apparel, daily living, and relationships with relatives and friends—in all things great or small. People in the world dress and adorn themselves as they please; this is an indication of rebellion. We should not live in this way. We must be restricted and ruled by the Lord. He is our King, and we should not be careless or unruly. We should not be loose in our appearance and clothing, for the Lord does not allow us to be loose. People in the world act and behave as they please; they speak and adorn themselves according to their preference, plainly indicating that they themselves are the lord and king. We, however, should not follow the manner of the worldly people or be fashioned according to this age. We must be an anti-testimony. Our daily walk, living, and behavior on the earth, and even our attitude, must be an expression and declaration to the world that we are ruled by the Lord Jesus, that we are His kingdom, and that we are subject to His authority. This is what it means to be the Lord’s disciples.
One time someone told me gravely, “A brother spoke on the podium about the sisters’ makeup. His word was too straightforward and not proper. He said that the sisters’ use of makeup causes them to look like demons and monsters. After some sisters heard this, they were very angry. They complained to me, asking if merely wearing a little makeup caused them not to be spiritual. Is it not permissible to simply tidy their appearance and put on some lipstick?” The brother who said this to me was a gentleman who had been highly educated. He said, “Brother Lee, I think this kind of speaking is unnecessary and excessive. The sisters’ wearing a little makeup is not immoral or shameful to the Lord. They only desire to make themselves prettier. They are neither stealing from others nor losing their temper. What is wrong with makeup?” He asked me to tell the brothers not to speak this kind of message but to say that it is all right for the sisters to wear some makeup. He thought that wearing makeup was not immoral, sinful, or shameful to the Lord.
After hearing his words, I told him that I could say this to the brothers, but even if I did, it would be pointless. If I told them to say that it is all right for the sisters to wear some makeup, some sisters would say, “Hallelujah! There is a speaking brother who says that we can wear makeup. He is even broader and has more grace than our parents. Our parents rebuke us every day and do not allow us to wear makeup or dress in a certain way. Now a leading brother says that we can wear some makeup. This is wonderful!” But there would surely be another group of sisters who would absolutely not wear makeup. The brother asked me, “What is the reason for that?” I replied, “What is the experience of our salvation? What is its meaning?” He said, “To be saved is to have our sins forgiven and to have the Lord in us that we may have His life.” I told him, “Your answer is wonderful. Even if I tell the sisters that it does not matter if they wear some makeup, the Lord Jesus in them will say, ‘Wrong—it does matter.’ I may be loose in speaking about this, but if the sisters are truly saved, the Lord’s ruling in them will not and cannot be loose.” This is not a matter of speaking a certain teaching or instruction. Everyone who has been trained by the Lord in life knows how important His inward restriction is.
Not long after our salvation, although we may not have heard many messages on the kingdom, we often sensed a kind of restriction in our experience. In 1942 in the place where I labored in northern China, there was a young lady who had a strong disposition. Her home was in Chefoo, but she attended college in Shanghai. That year she came back from Shanghai during the summer vacation. In those days the church in my locality was blessed very much with the Lord’s presence. Her mother and female cousins had become sisters among us. They invited her to come to our meetings. At that time we were holding a week of gospel meetings, and there were a great number of attendants. When I was on the podium one evening, I noticed someone who stood out. In those days almost all the ladies who came to hear the gospel had similar hairdos, but there was one person whose hair was arranged like a high tower; it was this young lady. At that time a certain style of fixing women’s hair in place had been introduced, but most women still kept their hair close to their head. This young lady was the only person there with a high tower on her head, and it immediately caught people’s attention.
As I was preaching the gospel in the meeting, I was afraid to look at her, because she looked very peculiar, and her apparel was a distraction to the gospel. She came to hear the gospel the first day and the second day. When she came on the third day, the highest layer of her “tower” was gone. This became the topic of people’s conversation. Because her former appearance was odd and out of the ordinary, her toppled “tower” naturally drew people’s attention. Later, I asked her cousin why her “tower” was gone, and I found out that it was because she had believed in the Lord. I then intentionally asked her cousin, “Believing in the Lord and salvation are something inward; why would something outside of her be changed?” Her cousin answered, “We do not know what happened, and we dare not ask, because she is a person with a strong disposition.”
Not long after those gospel meetings she became a sister in the church life. When I looked at her closely, I saw that all her makeup was gone. Some time later, even her clothing was changed. Her relatives and friends told me, “Everything has changed. She discarded all her clothes of the past. She bought new fabrics and found tailors to make new clothes.” I then asked why she had such a change. None of the speaking brothers had touched the subject of appearance. In our gospel meetings we never mentioned anything about her kind of hairdo. Why would she have such a change?
Half a year later, in 1943, there was a strong revival. Everyone stood up one by one in the meeting to give a testimony and consecrate themselves to the Lord. At the beginning of one meeting this sister stood up. When she stood up, she said, “I am a prodigal son who has returned to the Father’s house.” Before she finished saying this, she began to weep. All the attendants also began to weep, and no one spoke anything. She stood there, wiping away her tears and testifying of how she was saved, how she was changed, how she discarded everything she had owned, and how the Lord was touching her now. I truly worshipped the Lord inwardly. This is the gospel, this is salvation, this is the church, and this is what it is to be a Christian. No one had taught her outwardly, but she had the Lord’s reigning and ruling inwardly. It was the Lord who required her to change her appearance. This is the Lord’s kingdom.
I asked the brother who had questioned the strong word spoken concerning makeup, “Do you think that all the brothers and sisters listen to me? Would the sisters arrange their hair like a tower simply because I told them to do so? Would they get rid of their tower simply because I told them to do so? Absolutely not. This is altogether a matter of the Lord Jesus’ reigning in them. You may not allow Him to reign, and I may not allow Him to reign, but among all the saved ones, there must be some who will allow Him to reign.” Those who allow Him to reign are His disciples who are trained, taught, disciplined, and ruled by Him in His kingdom. They are subject to His authority. Their living, walk, and conduct declare, “Jesus is my King; Christ is my authority. I am His kingdom, and I am subject to His authority. Others may do certain things, but I cannot. They may be permitted to do certain things, but I am not permitted. They may do things as they please, but I cannot, because there is an authority, a throne, and a kingdom in me. There is a heavenly sphere, an enthroned King, and One who governs me within.” This is to be a Christian, this is to be a disciple, and this is the reality of the kingdom.
Today we should live a life as an anti-testimony to the world. We should not only go against the worldly trend, but we should also go against the worldly and degraded condition of all Christianity. The people in the world do not allow the Lord to reign over them, nor do most in Christianity allow the Lord to reign over them. However, we saved ones must be an anti-testimony on the earth and allow the Lord Jesus to be our King to rule and reign over us. We must acknowledge His authority and come under His ruling in the great and small things in our living. Although the world rebels against Him and rejects His reigning, we should be able to say, “Lord, come to us, reign over us, and reign in us. We submit under Your throne.” In this way we will be blessed, for the kingdom will be ours.
Moreover, our living, walk, and conduct should influence others to be subject to Christ. If we all live under the Lord’s ruling and reigning, it will be difficult for others not to be influenced by us after spending some time with us. If they are with us for a period of time, they will be influenced by us to come under the authority of the Lord Jesus. Whether they are believers or not, they will be influenced by us to submit to the Lord’s authority.
Sadly, there are many Christians whom others should not come close to, because after they come close to these Christians, they will become loose and unruly. The reason for this is that these Christians themselves are leading a sloppy life without the Lord’s restriction and ruling. Hence, when people have contact with them, they are naturally influenced to be loose and unruly. This kind of Christian usually says, “It is not difficult to be a Christian. I have been baptized for more than twenty years, but I still go to the movies and have some entertainment once a week. We do not need to be restricted much to be Christians; we only need to make sure not to do evil things.” Actually, a great many believers are like this. When some older sisters see the change of apparel in a young sister who is ruled by the Lord, they are too timid to say anything at first. After a while, however, they cannot stand it and say, “Does the Lord want you to dress like an old lady? Why do you need to dress like that? Young people should look like young people and be more lively. We are not from the country. Since we are living in a large metropolitan area, does it really matter if we slightly improve our appearance and apply some cosmetics? I am an old Christian who has met with the church for years, and I love the Lord, but in my clothing I look younger than you. Why should you not dress younger?”
We need to realize that these older sisters are actually saying, “We do not want Jesus to reign over us.” Those who hear such a word must be very wary. When such a word is repeated many times, it will eventually produce an effect. Loose and unruly brothers and sisters enjoy doing this kind of work. If there is no effect the first time they speak such a word to a young sister, they will speak again and again until the day they are able to change the sister, not from being evil to being good or from being good to being evil, but from having the Lord’s authority and ruling to not having the Lord’s authority and ruling. A seed of corruption will be planted into the listener and eventually grow and produce fruit.
We have seen some brothers and sisters who have not changed much in more than twenty years; they have been leading a shallow Christian life. Apparently, they pray, read the Bible, and love the Lord zealously, but they remain unchanged, holding the authority in their own hands, never allowing the Lord to touch them and rule in them, and never learning to be subject to His authority.
These brothers and sisters have a negative influence on others, an influence of rebellion. We need to beware of this kind of person, and we need to beware of those who are in contact with them. We should not receive this kind of negative influence of rebellion. As long as we remain on the earth, we should always have a positive influence on others by causing them to be subject to the authority of Christ and to be ruled by Him. When people have been with us for a long time, they should be brought under the Lord’s authority and be His kingdom.
Furthermore, if today we truly live in the kingdom and are the Lord’s disciples, we will do all that we can and spend all that we have to preach the gospel, to bring people under the authority of the gospel, and to make them the Lord’s disciples. As long as we have any strength and breath, we must spread the name of the Lord Jesus. As long as we have some material riches and power, we must spend these for the propagating of the gospel so that our Lord may be preached, tens of thousands may be drawn to Him, and His kingdom may spread. If we are those who live in the kingdom, we will surely do all that we can and spend all that we have for the propagation of the gospel. As we live in the world, we should not only be an anti-testimony and produce a positive influence, but we should also do all that we can and give all that we have for the gospel in order to spread the Lord’s kingdom.
Fifty or sixty years ago during the Chinese revolution of 1911, there were many overseas Chinese who did all that they could do and spent all that they had, exhausting everything, for the propagation of the revolution. Eventually, they overthrew the Manchu Dynasty and established the Republic of China. Today we must see that it is not right for darkness to reign and for Satan to rule. Our Lord should be the King, the kingdom should be returned to Him, and the government should be on His shoulders (Isa. 9:6). By what means can we accomplish this? Should we use missiles and cannons? This is not our way, nor does the Lord want us to use this way (John 18:36). What way then should we use? We must use the gospel. The Lord’s desire is that we would preach the gospel. His desire is that we would sweat for the gospel and even shed our blood for the gospel. He desires that we would pour out all that we can and all that we have on the gospel.
I hope that many young people among us will pray, “Lord, I am willing to give my life for Your gospel. I am a saved one and am Your disciple. I will allow You to reign, and I am subject to Your authority. Lord, in this age of darkness I desire to be an anti-testimony, have a positive influence on others, and give all that I can and all that I have for the spreading of Your gospel to bring tens of thousands of souls into subjection to You, the glorious King.”
When the King of kings and the Lord of lords comes back in victory, all those who love Him, submit to His authority, live for Him, and give their all for the propagation of the gospel today will enter into incomparable glory. One day the Lord will come; He will reign, He will receive His kingdom, He will rule, and He will judge. May the Lord be gracious to us that today we will allow Him to reign, will be His kingdom, will allow Him to rule, and will allow Him to judge so that on that day we can reign with Him and enjoy the blessing of His eternal presence.
