Outline
H
When we exercise that part of us which is the new creation—Christ Himself as the element of the kingdom of God—we are living in the kingdom of God.
I
The overcomers will inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God so that they can enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens—2 Tim. 4:18.
Ⅴ
In the Gospel of John we see many aspects of the believers' living in the realm of the divine species—1:16; 15:4a, 9, 11; 4:23-24; 14:2, 20, 23; 17:22-24:
A
"Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace"—1:16.
B
"The water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life"—4:14b.
C
"He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me"—6:57b.
D
"If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there also My servant will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him"—12:26.
E
"In My Father's house are many abodes…I go to prepare a place for you"—14:2.
F
"In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you"—v. 20.
G
"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him"—v. 23.
H
"Abide in Me and I in you"—15:4a.
I
"If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you"—v. 7.
J
"As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love"—v. 9.
K
"These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full"—v. 11.
L
"These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace"; "My peace I give to you"—16:33a; 14:27b.
M
"Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given to Me, that they may be one even as We are"—17:11b.
N
"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one"—v. 22.
O
"I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one"—v. 23a.
P
"Father, concerning that which You have given Me, I desire that they also may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory"—v. 24a.
Morning Nourishment
Mark 4:26-29 …So is the kingdom of God: as if a man cast seed on the earth,…and the seed sprouts and lengthens…The earth bears fruit by itself: first a blade, then an ear, then full grain in the ear. But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he sends forth the sickle, because the harvest has come.In Mark 4:26-29 the Lord Jesus said that the kingdom is like a man who sows seed into the earth. The seed grows, the blade appears, the ear appears, and finally it is harvested. The kingdom is a seed that is sown into the earth and that grows until it reaches maturity, at which time it is harvested. The seed is the Lord Jesus as the shining One. We all are the soil into which the Lord Jesus as the seed has been sown. The seed grows and eventually will produce the harvest, the full manifestation of the kingdom. Thus, the kingdom is the Lord Jesus as the seed of life who has been sown into us and who grows in us until He reaches maturity at the time of harvest…The growth of the seed within us is the process of the kingdom. On the one hand, we are in the kingdom, but on the other hand, we are in the process of the kingdom… Today we have the seed of the kingdom growing within us. This growth of the kingdom will bring us to the harvest, and that harvest will be the full manifestation of the kingdom. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” p. 19)
Today’s Reading
The Lord Jesus said that if He cast out demons by the Spirit, then the kingdom of God had come upon them [Matt. 12:28]. A demon is a dirty, unclean, evil spirit, but the principle of being a demon simply means rebellion. Originally, demons were a kind of created being. When Satan rebelled against God, they followed him and became demons. Therefore, demons indicate rebellion. If in your daily walk there are some things that are not under God’s ruling, some things still in rebellion against God, those things in principle are demons. They need to be cast out by the Lord Jesus. We must pray, “Lord Jesus, come and cast out my demons. Even today I am rebellious.” You may be rebellious in your shopping. Perhaps you went to the department store although the Lord Jesus within you told you not to go. Once in the store, you picked up an item, and even though the Lord Jesus told you to drop it, you bought it, and you still have it at home. This is rebellion, the principle of a demon.Are you always under the ruling of Christ? We may say that we love Him yet not accept His ruling. We may say that Christ is our life, but Christ as our life may not be very real to us. It may simply be a term, not a reality… The life of the Lord Jesus is a ruling life. In every kind of life there is a ruling element, which is its life law and regulation. We may have the life of Christ within and yet not be under the ruling of His life. So, in a sense, we may be still possessed by many demons. We need the Lord Jesus to cast them out. Then we will truly be in the kingdom. The kingdom is the realization of the reality of Christ. We have been transferred out of darkness into the kingdom of Christ. Yet, in our daily living, we may lack the reality of the kingdom.
All those who are in the church are also in the kingdom of God…However, not all those who are in the church are in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, because not all of them are overcomers. Only the overcomers in the church are in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens…It includes only the believers who are living a heavenly life and are overcomers. Those who are being disciplined today in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens are those who will reign in the future in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
The appearance of the kingdom of the heavens, Christendom, is related to the nominal Christians. The church and the kingdom of God are related to the saved ones. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens and the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens are related to the overcoming believers. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” pp. 16-17, 454-455)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” chs. 49—50