徒二六18　我差你到他们那里去，叫他们的眼睛得开，从黑暗转入光中……，

　　西一13　祂拯救了我们脱离黑暗的权势，把我们迁入祂爱子的国里。

　　天使的堕落和人类的堕落，影响宇宙有多大，给神的难处有多大，你们注意过么？神要受造之物接受祂的权柄，而这两类受造之物却都拒绝了神的权柄，以致神不能在受造之物身上建立祂的权柄。虽然如此，神却不肯撤退祂的权柄。神可以收回祂的同在，祂绝不收回祂权柄的制度。神的权柄在什么地方，神就在什么地方有地位。所以神一面维持权柄制度，一面建立祂的国。撒但虽然干犯神的权柄，人也天天干犯神的权柄，天天背叛神，神却不让这个背叛继续下去，祂要设立祂自己的国。圣经中为什么称神的国作诸天的国呢？（太四17，可一15）。……因为背叛不只是世界背叛，连宇宙诸天中的天使都背叛了。

　　主如何建立神的国呢？主是以顺服建立神的国。主在地上一切所行的，没有一样是不顺服的，没有一样阻挡神的权柄。主完全顺服，完全让神的权柄通行，就在那个范围内设立了神的国，通行了神的权柄。照样今天召会也要因着顺服，而有神权柄的通行，有神国度的彰显（倪柝声文集第三辑第一册，一六二至一六三页）。

　　Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God...

　　Col. 1:13 Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

　　Have you ever realized how much the universe was affected by the fall of the angels and man and how big a problem this made for God? God desired that His creatures would accept His authority; however, both kinds of creatures rejected His authority. God was unable to establish His authority over the creatures. Nevertheless, God did not call back His authority. God can call back His presence, but He will never call back His system of authority. Wherever God's authority is, God is given a position of prominence. On the one hand, God maintains His system of authority, and on the other hand, He establishes His kingdom. Although Satan rebelled against God's authority, and although man daily violates His authority by rebelling against Him, God will not let this rebellion continue. He will establish His own kingdom. The Bible calls the kingdom of God the kingdom of the heavens because rebellion is not limited to just the world (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15). The angels in the heavens rebelled as well.

　　How did the Lord establish God's kingdom? He did it through submission. Whatever the Lord did on earth was entirely based on submission. He did nothing that opposed God's authority. Everything was in submission, in perfect cooperation with the authority of God. In this realm the Lord set up the kingdom of God and executed His authority. The church today must also allow God's authority to have a free way and manifest His kingdom through submission. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” pp. 147-148)

　　神……定意要亲自成为人，要在祂儿子里成为人；这个讲究实在太大。神在祂儿子里成为人，就把祂的权柄都交托给祂的儿子。所以，神的荣耀都在祂儿子身上；可以说，祂的儿子就是祂权柄的具体表现。因此，神的荣耀都在祂儿子身上。当主耶稣来成为一个人时，祂站在那些犹太人中间，他们有人问祂说，“神的国几时来到？”主耶稣回答说，“神的国就在你们中间。”（路十七20~21）

　　当主耶稣说这句话时，祂的意思是，神的国就是祂自己，祂在犹太人中间，就是神的国在他们中间。祂要那些犹太人不要以为神的国在这里，或神的国在那里；事实上，神的国就在他们中间，祂就是神的国；神所有的权柄都在祂身上，神的宝座也在祂身上。

　　当你信主的时候，你是接受了主耶稣作救主，你祷告说，“主，我接受你到我里面。”然而，你并不知道你所接受的这一位主，不仅是救主，不仅是生命，祂还是王；祂就是国度，祂就是权柄。……神的国今天不只在你们中间，神的国今天就在你里面；这个国就是基督，就是你的救主，在你里面作了权柄，在你里面设立了宝座，更是在你里面登上宝座。

　　你我作主的门徒，……必须清楚知道，主不是重在要我们行善，乃是重在把我们救来，摆在祂的权柄之下，摆在祂的管治之下。我们从前作恶是背叛祂，我们从前作好也是背叛祂，因为那时我们根本不承认祂的主权。现在我们悔改了，我们归顺了祂，不是以好坏为标准，也不是以道德为依归，乃是要服在祂的管治之下，受祂的管理。不要说是坏的，即使是好的，如果不是祂要我们作的，我们都不该去作；我们要受祂的约束，接受祂的管治（国度之于信徒，四三至四五、一○七至一○八页）。

　　参读：权柄与顺服，第六篇；国度之于信徒，第三、六至七篇。

　　God determined to become a man; He became a man in the Son. This is a great matter. God became a man in the Son and entrusted all His authority to the Son. Therefore, all of God's glory is in the Son. We can say that the Son is the embodiment of God's authority. When the Lord Jesus stood as a man among the Jews and was questioned by some of them as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered, “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:20-21).

　　When the Lord Jesus spoke this word, He meant that He Himself was the kingdom of God—His being in the midst of the Jews was God's kingdom being in their midst. He did not want the Jews to think that the kingdom of God was “here” or “there”; actually, the kingdom of God was in their midst (v. 21). He Himself was the kingdom of God. All of God's authority was with Him, and God's throne also was with Him.

　　When we believed in the Lord, we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior and prayed, “Lord, I receive You into my being.” However, we did not know that the Lord whom we received is not only the Savior and the One who is life but also the King. He is the kingdom, and He is the authority....Today God's kingdom is not only outside of us but also within us. This kingdom is Christ, our Savior, who is the authority in us, having set up His throne in us and been enthroned in us.

　　As the Lord's disciples, we...must be clear that the Lord's primary focus is not that we would do good but that by being saved we would be brought under His authority and ruling. In the past our doing evil was rebellion toward Him, but our doing good also was rebellion toward Him, because we did not acknowledge His authority. Now because we repent and submit to Him, we should not take good or evil or morality as our standard. Instead, we should live under His ruling and government. If He forbids us, we should refrain from doing not only evil things but even good things. We must be restricted by Him and accept His ruling. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “What the Kingdom Is to the Believers,” pp. 427-428, 470-471)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” ch. 6; CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “What the Kingdom Is to the Believers,” chs. 3, 6-7