Ⅰ
The book of Judges shows that Israel had offended God by rejecting Him as their King; it is a great wickedness, a great evil, in the sight of God if we reject Him as our King, our Lord, our Head, and our Husband—1 Sam. 8:7; 12:17, 19; Judg. 21:25; 17:6; Luke 19:11-14; Jer. 11:13; Ezek. 16:24:
A
We should continually take, experience, and enjoy Christ as our King, our Lord, our Head, and our Husband so that He can be our blessing to make us a channel of blessing to the saints and all the churches—Matt. 2:2; John 1:49; Heb. 7:2; Isa. 32:1-2; 33:22; Phil. 2:9-11; Rom. 14:6-9; 2 Cor. 4:5; Col. 2:19; Eph. 1:22-23; 2 Cor. 11:2-3; Hosea 2:19-20; Num. 6:23-27; Psa. 128:5; 48:2.
B
Matthew 1:1 speaks of Christ as “the son of David, the son of Abraham”:
１
Because we are rebels, we need to repent and receive Christ as the son of David, that is, as our authority, as our Sovereign and King, so that He may rule in us and over us in God’s kingdom.
２
If we have Christ as the son of David, the greater Solomon, we will also have Him as the son of Abraham, the real Isaac; this means that the more we take Christ as our King (the son of David), the more we are under His ruling, and the more we are under His ruling, the more we enjoy Him as our blessing (the son of Abraham); this is the blessing of the processed Triune God consummated as the all-inclusive Spirit—v. 1; Gal. 3:14, 16, 29.
３
This will cause us to become channels of blessing for the saints’ progress (their growth in life) and for their joy of the faith (their enjoyment of Christ); we have been called to bless others, so we, as a blessed people, should always bless others that we may inherit blessing—Phil. 1:25; 1 Pet. 3:9.
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 14:9 For Christ died and lived again for this, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.Matt. 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Gal. 3:14 In order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
[In the New Testament the gospel is] presented first with these words: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 4:17). This indicates that the gospel is presented first not in the way of life, as in John, but in the way of the kingdom, as in Matthew. The reason for this is that there is the need of a kingdom, a realm, a sphere, for God to exercise Himself to give us His all-inclusive being. Even in John, the Gospel of life, we are told that if we are not regenerated, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5). There is the need of a kingdom so that God can exercise Himself to dispense Himself into us as our life blessing. Therefore, in the gospel we receive Jesus Christ first not as life but as the King. If we do not repent and receive the Lord as the King-Savior [Matthew], we cannot have Him as the Slave-Savior [Mark], the Man-Savior [Luke], and the God-Savior [John]. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2758)
Today’s Reading
We need to repent not only because we are sinful but also because we are rebellious. We are even enemies of God. We need to repent of our rebellion…. If we did not rebel, we could not sin. Because we are rebels, we need to repent and receive Christ as our authority, as our Sovereign and King, that He may rule in us and over us in God’s kingdom. This is the reason that in Matthew 1:1 Christ is presented first not as the Son of Abraham for the blessing but as the Son of David for the kingdom.Once there is the kingdom, the kingdom becomes the realm, the sphere, for God to exercise Himself to bless us….We may not realize that the blessing requires a sphere of God’s authority, a sphere under God’s administration. Without such a sphere, there is no way for God to come in to bless us. If we are not under God’s administration, receiving Him as our Sovereign, there is no way for Him to bless us. Therefore, in our experience our Savior, Jesus Christ, must first be the Son of David for the kingdom and then the Son of Abraham for the blessing.
To receive Him as the Son of David is to recognize His kingly status and to realize that we should be under His kingship and sovereignty. He comes to us not merely as the Savior but as the King-Savior. If He is not the King to us, He cannot be our Savior. If we are not under His authority, His administration, we cannot be saved. Salvation comes to us under His administration, under His kingship. If we say, “O Lord Jesus, I take You as my King,” we will be saved to the uttermost.
If we have Christ as the Son of David, the greater Solomon, we will also have Him as the Son of Abraham, the real Isaac. This means that if we have the kingdom, we will also have the blessing. This is the blessing of life, the blessing of the processed Triune God consummated as the all-inclusive Spirit. Many of us can testify that by receiving Christ as our King we enjoy the processed Triune God as our blessing. The more we are under the Lord’s ruling, the more we enjoy the Triune God as our blessing. Matthew 28:19 speaks of the believers’ being baptized into the Triune God—into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This is the enjoyment of the Triune God. As the Son of David and the Son of Abraham, Christ brings us into the Triune God. As long as we have the Son of David and the Son of Abraham, we have the Triune God, and we are in the Triune God. This is the divine blessing in the divine kingdom. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2758-2759)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 265; Life-study of Philippians, msg. 7; CWWN, vol. 7, pp. 1191-1196