弗二19　这样，你们不再是外人和寄居的，乃是圣徒同国之民……。

　　罗十四17　因为神的国不在于吃喝，乃在于公义、和平、并圣灵中的喜乐。

　　以弗所二章十九节使我们有根据，能说现今召会乃是神的国。这里提到的同国之民，是与国有关，不是与家有关。家是由家人组成，而不是由国民组成。……我们是神家里的亲人；……我们是神国里的国民。

　　虽然现今召会乃是神的国，但我们只有在灵里生活行动的时候，才是在神国的实际里。每当我们照着旧人行事为人，或是在肉体或己里生活，我们实际上是在神国之外。这就是说，当我们在肉体里，我们就是在堕落之人的性情这个旧范围里，这堕落之人性的范围，完全被撒但篡窃以形成他的国。因此，一位真基督徒若活在肉体里，而不活在灵里，实际上，他可能就是活在撒但的国里，而不是活在神的国里。只有当我们在灵里生活、行动、行事，并全人都在灵里，而不在天然的人里，我们才是在神的国里，我们也实际地是神的国（新约总论第七册，二二一至二二二页）。

　　Eph. 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints...

　　Rom. 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

　　Ephesians 2:19 affords us the basis for saying that the church today is God's kingdom. The citizens mentioned here are related to a kingdom, a nation, not to a family. A family is composed of members, not of citizens....We are members of God's household;...we are [also] citizens of God's nation, of God's kingdom.

　　Although the church today is God's kingdom, we are in the kingdom in reality only when we live and walk in spirit. Whenever we behave according to the old man or live in the flesh or the self, we, in a practical way, are out of God's kingdom. This means that when we are in the flesh, we are in the old realm of the fallen human nature, which has been fully usurped by Satan to form his kingdom. Therefore, a genuine Christian, if he lives in the flesh instead of in the spirit, may live in a practical way not in the kingdom of God but in the kingdom of Satan. Only when we live, walk, behave, and have our being altogether in our spirit, not in our natural man, are we in the kingdom of God and, in reality, are the kingdom of God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2236)

　　神的国也是召会的生活。罗马十四章十七节很强地证明这一点。……根据某些圣经教师的说法，国度还没有来到。他们宣称现今是召会时代，下一个时代才是国度时代。但是在罗马十四章十七节，保罗不是说神的国“将不在于”；他乃是用现在式说神的国“不在于”。十四章是说到接纳信徒，照上下文看，国度就是今日的召会生活。召会生活的实际乃是国度。十二章说到身体生活，十四章说到国度生活。这指明在罗马书，国度生活就是身体生活的实际。

　　在一面意义上，说今世是召会时代，来世是国度时代，这样说是对的。然而，在另一面意义上，神的国今天就在这里，因为国度是召会的实际，也是召会的生活。因此，召会就是国度。

　　正当的召会生活乃是国度生活。我们若活在我们里面之活神的管治下，也就是活在诸天之国的管治下，我们将会有马太五至七章所记载的那种生活，也会有实行在召会生活中的国度生活。因此，我们不能把神的国和召会分开。

　　我们在罗马十四章十七节看见，神的国作为召会生活，有公义、和平并圣灵中的喜乐。当神国的权柄运行在我们身上，公义、和平、喜乐会成为我们日常生活的特征。

　　公义、和平并喜乐事实上就是基督的显出。当基督彰显出来，祂就是我们对自己的公义，对别人的和平，并在神面前的喜乐。

　　信徒在召会中过国度的生活，就会对自己是义的。这就是说我们要严格地对待自己，不为自己找借口。

　　在召会中过国度的生活，也要我们对别人有和平。……对别人，我们必须竭力追求和平，一直寻求与人有和平。这和平就是基督自己从我们这人活出来。

　　在召会中过国度的生活，也要求我们对神要有圣灵里的喜乐。圣灵乃是喜乐的灵。我们若不喜乐，就指明我们不在圣灵里。我们若真正过国度生活，就会在神面前有喜乐，赞美祂。每当我们过一种生活，对自己是义的，对别人是和平的，我们在神面前就会有圣灵里的喜乐。这种生活就是神的国作召会的生活（新约总论第七册，二二三至二二五页）。

　　参读：新约总论，第二百零九篇、二百四十一至二百四十二、二百五十二篇。

　　The kingdom of God is the living of the church. A verse that strongly proves this is Romans 14:17....According to some Bible teachers, the kingdom has not yet come. They claim that now is the dispensation of the church, and the next dispensation will be that of the kingdom. But in 14:17 Paul does not say that the kingdom of God shall be; he uses the present tense and says that the kingdom of God is. According to the context of Romans 14, which speaks of receiving the believers, the kingdom is today's church life. The reality of the church life is the kingdom. Romans 12 speaks of the Body life, and Romans 14, of the kingdom life. This indicates that, in Romans, the kingdom life is the reality of the Body life.

　　In a sense, it is correct to say that the present age is the church age and that the coming age will be the kingdom age. However, in another sense, the kingdom of God is here today, for the kingdom is the reality of the church and the living of the church. Hence, the church is the kingdom.

　　The proper church life is the kingdom life. If we live under the rule of the living God within us, that is, under the rule of the kingdom of the heavens, we shall have the kind of life recorded in chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew. We shall also have a life of the kingdom practiced in the church life. Hence, we should not separate the kingdom of God from the church.

　　In Romans 14:17 we see that the kingdom of God as the living of the church is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. When the authority of God's kingdom operates in us, righteousness, peace, and joy will characterize our daily life.

　　Righteousness, peace, and joy are actually the expression of Christ. When Christ is expressed, He is our righteousness toward ourselves, our peace toward others, and our joy with God.

　　As the believers live the kingdom life in the church, they will live righteously toward themselves. This means that we must be strict with ourselves and make no excuses for ourselves.

　　To live the kingdom life in the church also means that we live peacefully toward others....Toward others we must endeavor to pursue peace, continually seeking to be at peace with them. This peace is Christ Himself lived out from our being.

　　Living the kingdom life in the church also requires that we live joyfully to God in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of joy. If we are not joyful, this indicates that we are not in the Holy Spirit. If we are truly living the kingdom life, we shall be joyful with God, praising Him. Whenever we live righteously toward ourselves and peacefully toward others, we shall live joyfully to God in the Holy Spirit. Such a living is the kingdom of God as the living of the church. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2237-2239)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 209, 241-242, 252