太二四14　这国度的福音要传遍天下，对万民作见证，然后末期才来到。

　　十二26　若撒但赶逐撒但，他就自相分争，他的国怎能站住？

　　　28　我若靠着神的灵赶鬼，这就是神的国临到你们了。

　　我们传福音时，常常忽略了神的国。今天所传的福音，通常给人一种印象，就是福音仅仅是为着得人的灵魂，把人从地狱迁到天堂；为着帮助人得着平安、喜乐和永远的祝福。然而，在新约中，我们对福音却有一种不同的印象。当主耶稣传福音时，祂提到神的国，并且告诉人要为着国度悔改。

　　我们需要看见这件重要的事，就是国度乃是福音的内在素质。福音是为着国度传的，国度是神圣的领域，使神能成就祂的计划；也是神能执行祂权柄，以达成祂心愿的范围。国度是神达到祂目标的唯一途径。所以，马可福音有一个段落启示福音的目的。福音的目的就是要得着国度，神的国乃是福音的目标。

　　神的国不仅是福音的目标，也是福音的结果。……这个结果就是国度。传福音乃是为着产生国度（马可福音生命读经，一三七至一三八页）。

　　Matt. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

　　12:26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

　　28 But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

　　In the preaching of the gospel, the kingdom of God is often neglected. Much of today's gospel preaching gives people the impression that the gospel is only for soul winning, for transferring people out of hell into heaven, for helping people have peace, joy, and eternal blessing. In the New Testament, however, we have a different impression concerning the gospel. When the Lord Jesus preached the gospel, He spoke concerning the kingdom of God, and He told them to repent for the kingdom.

　　We need to see the crucial matter that the intrinsic essence of the gospel is the kingdom. The gospel is preached for the kingdom, and the kingdom is a divine sphere for God to work out His plan, a realm where God can exercise His authority to accomplish what He intends. The only way for God to reach His goal is through the kingdom. Therefore, there is a section in the Gospel of Mark revealing the purpose of the gospel. The purpose of the gospel is to have the kingdom. The kingdom of God is the goal of the gospel.

　　The kingdom of God is not only the goal of the gospel, but also the issue of the gospel....This outcome, this issue, is the kingdom. The preaching of the gospel is to bring forth the kingdom. (Life-study of Mark, pp. 119-121)

　　约翰在启示录一章九节见证，他和其他的圣徒是在神的国里：“我约翰，就是你们的弟兄，和你们在耶稣的患难、国度、忍耐里一同有分的。”……约翰在国度里的事实，再一次证明国度并没有悬起来（马可福音生命读经，一四一页）。

　　圣经很清楚地给我们看见，在宇宙中，撒但唯一所要作的一件事，就是推翻神的宝座。以赛亚十四章告诉我们，撒但要高举他的宝座与神同等（13）。这意思是，撒但要侵犯神的主权，要夺取神的权柄，要推翻神的宝座；撒但在宇宙中要设立他自己的国度。到了马太十二章，主耶稣说到神和撒但这两个国度。祂说，“我若靠着神的灵赶鬼，这就是神的国临到你们了。”（28）“若撒但……自相分争，他的国怎能站住？”（26）这给我们看见，在宇宙中有两个国，一个是神的国，一个是撒但的国。一个是神要掌权，一个是撒但要来夺权；一个是神要设立祂的宝座，通行祂的权柄，一个是撒但要推翻神的宝座，设立他自己的权柄。

　　圣经一开始就说到权柄的问题，创世记一章给我们看见，神给人权柄，管理海里、空中和地上一切的活物（26）。我们都知道撒但是用什么方法把人偷去，撒但那一次所作的，就是引诱人背叛神，也就是夺取神的权柄。人犯罪不只是犯了规，更是反叛、背叛神，把神的权柄摆在一边，不承认神的主权，不让神在人身上掌权。结果，撒但背叛神，人也背叛神。神所造的第一个受造之物是天使，天使中的天使长率领许多天使背叛了；后来神创造人，人也背叛了。可以说，人和撒但勾结起来背叛神（国度之于信徒，四三至四四页）。

　　参读：马太福音生命读经，第六十一篇；马可福音生命读经，第十三、十七篇；路加福音生命读经，第十一、二十二篇；国度之于信徒，第二至三篇；国度，第七至九章。

　　In Revelation 1:9 John testified that he and the other saints were in the kingdom of God: “I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus.”...The fact that John was in the kingdom...proves that the kingdom has not been suspended. (Life-study of Mark, p. 123)

　　The Bible clearly shows that the only thing Satan wants to do in the universe is to overthrow God's throne. Isaiah 14 reveals that Satan wanted to exalt his throne to be equal with God (v. 13). This means that Satan intends to violate God's sovereignty, usurp God's authority, and overthrow God's throne; he intends to establish his own kingdom in the universe. In Matthew 12 the Lord Jesus spoke of two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. He said, “If I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (v. 28). He also said, “If Satan casts out Satan,...how then will his kingdom stand?” (v. 26). This shows that there are two kingdoms in the universe. One is God's kingdom, and the other is Satan's kingdom. One is God's exercise of His authority, and the other is Satan's usurpation of God's authority. One is God's establishing of His throne for the exercise of His authority, and the other is Satan's overthrowing of God's throne for the setting up of his own authority.

　　The matter of authority is mentioned in the very beginning of the Bible. Genesis 1 shows that God gave man the authority to have dominion over all the living things in the sea, in the air, and on the earth (v. 26). The way Satan stole man away from God was to seduce man to rebel against God, to usurp God's authority. When man sinned, he did not merely violate a rule; even more, he revolted against God, rebelled against God, and put God's authority aside, denying God's authority and rejecting God's rule. Just as Satan rebelled against God, man also rebelled against God. The first creatures God created were the angels, among whom the archangel led many to rebel. Later, God created man, who also rebelled. One can say that man and Satan acted as a team to rebel against God. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “What the Kingdom Is to the Believers,” pp. 426-427)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 61; Life-study of Mark, msgs. 13, 17; Life-study of Luke, msgs. 11, 22; CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “What the Kingdom Is to the Believers,” chs. 2-3; CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” chs. 7-9