«　WEEK 7　DAY 5　»

　　2 Sam. 7:12-13 …I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

　　16 And your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you; your throne will be established forever.

　　David’s house refers to Christ, David’s kingdom refers to Christ’s kingdom, and David’s throne refers to Christ’s throne. The kingdom of David is Christ’s kingdom, and David and Christ have one throne (Isa. 9:7; 16:5; Luke 1:32; Acts 2:29-31). The prophets spoke of David and Christ as one (Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5; Amos 9:11). Christ is the real David (Matt. 12:3-4…). Hence, God’s response to David [in 2 Samuel 7:12] made Christ one with David and with David’s seed. This implies that God’s intention in His economy is to build Himself in Christ into His chosen people, making Him and His people one. God’s intention from eternity to eternity is to make Himself us that we may become Him in life, in nature, and in constitution but not in the Godhead. Eventually, through God’s building work the all-inclusive and all-extensive Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God, becomes every member in the Body of Christ and every person in the new man (1 Cor. 12:12; Col. 3:10-11). In the church, in the Body, and in the new man, Christ is all, and He is in all. (2 Sam. 7:16, footnote 1)

　　God promised David that his house, his kingdom, and his throne would be established forever before God (2 Sam. 7:16). This refers to Christ inheriting the kingdom and throne of David His father. In the house of David, only the kingdom of Christ and His throne will last forever (Dan. 7:14). The word of God conveyed by the archangel Gabriel also confirmed that the covenant of David was fulfilled in Christ. This word says, “The Lord God will give to Him the throne of David His father, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). Therefore, God’s promise to David that his house and his kingdom would be made sure and that his throne would be established forever was fulfilled in Christ.

　　According to the covenant which He made with David, God caused David’s son Solomon to succeed David to the throne (1 Kings 1:39) to build the holy temple for God (1 Kings 6:1). Before his death, David gave to Solomon his son the pattern for the building of the holy temple (1 Chron. 28:11-19). After Solomon succeeded to the throne of David, he built the holy temple according to the pattern that his father had seen. This temple became the proper and firm dwelling place of God’s desire. At this point, God not only obtained a kingdom to express His authority, but He also gained a house to express His glory. (Truth Lessons—Level Two, vol. 1, p. 96)

　　The kingdom of God is God’s reign, comprising eternity past, the patriarchs and the kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament, the church in the New Testament in this age, the millennial kingdom in the coming age, and the new heaven and new earth in eternity future. The kingdom of the heavens is the ruling of the heavens. It is a part of the kingdom of God, including the church in this age and the millennial kingdom in the coming age. The kingdom of Christ and of God, the kingdom of the Lord (God) and of His Christ, and the eternal kingdom of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ all refer to the millennial kingdom in the coming age and the new heaven and new earth in eternity. The kingdom of the Father refers to the heavenly part of the millennial kingdom, whereas the kingdom of the Son of Man refers to the earthly part of the millennial kingdom. (Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 2, p. 170)

　　Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 2, lsns. 23-24; Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 23; Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 41