Outline

«　WEEK 4　DAY 1　»

　　John 3:3 …Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

　　5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

　　The first item in the New Testament preaching was the kingdom. The first preacher in the New Testament was John the Baptist, and the first word out of his mouth was, “Repent, for the kingdom” (Matt. 3:1-2). It is not merely a matter of being sinful, of going to hell, or of having peace and joy. It is not merely a matter of repenting so that we may have salvation. We must repent for the kingdom.

　　The word repent means to change your mind, to have a change in your way of thinking. It means to change your way of reasoning, to change your concepts, ideas, philosophy, and even your theology. We all need to repent. Repent from your old concepts. Repent from philosophy and systematic theology. Repent from the old Bible knowledge, from the old expositions and interpretations of the Scriptures. We need to change our point of view.

　　Why must we repent for the kingdom? Because, regardless of the concepts we cling to, we are not for the kingdom. You may be for education or for religion. You may be for Christianity or for so-called churches. You may be for gospel preaching or for the mission field. You may be for doing good. You may be zealous for the spiritual gifts, or you may be seeking the power of God…You must repent. Repent from what you are. Repent from where you are. Repent from what you are doing and what you are thinking. Repent from all your concepts…We all must repent for the kingdom. The New Testament is for the kingdom…If you are not in the kingdom, if you are not living for the kingdom, you need to repent. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” p. 5)

　　Let us consider John 3:3 and 5. Did the Lord Jesus say, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see heaven or enter into heaven”? No!… I was told that if I wanted to go to heaven, I needed another life. I needed to be born again…Strictly speaking, regeneration is not for entering heaven; regeneration is for us to enter into the kingdom.

　　If we want to enter into a certain kind of kingdom, we need a certain kind of life. If we do not have the animal life, we can never enter the animal kingdom…Likewise, if we do not have the divine life, the life of God, we can never enter into the kingdom of God. If we are to enter into the kingdom of God, we must have the life of God. Therefore, regeneration is for us to enter into another kingdom, the kingdom of God. This is much more real than a mere dispensation. This is the kingdom of God, which we enter by being born again.

　　We may say that the kingdom is the Lord Jesus, but it must be the Lord Jesus as the Spirit, not in the flesh. The kingdom is the Lord Jesus as the Spirit. He said to the Pharisees, “If I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28). This verse tells us that the kingdom is simply the reality of the Spirit of God…The Lord Jesus said that because He cast out demons by the power of the Spirit of God, this indicated that the kingdom of God was there. The kingdom is the spiritual realization of the Lord Jesus. When we realize Him spiritually, we have the kingdom.

　　The Spirit of God is the reality of the Lord Jesus. The Spirit is His person, and His person is His reality. Just as the reality of a man is his person, so the reality of the Lord Jesus is His person, and His person is the Spirit. He had the Spirit with Him, and the Spirit was His person. This person, the Spirit, was the reality of the Lord Jesus. At that time, His reality was fully exercised by casting out demons. Thus, that was the kingdom of God. Now we can see that the kingdom is not merely a dispensation or sphere. The kingdom is the realization of the reality of the Lord Jesus. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” pp. 8-9, 15-16)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” chs. 1—3