Scripture Reading: Gen. 9:1-7, 18-27; Matt. 16:18-19; John 3:3, 5; Rom. 14:17; Rev. 11:15
Ⅰ
Noah and his family lived a life in resurrection, and this life in resurrection was a shadow of the kingdom—Gen. 8:4, 18; 9:1-7:
A
As the head of a new race after the flood, Noah was the deputy authority under God; this was a shadow of the kingdom of God, the reality of which is in the church life and the manifestation of which will be the kingdom in the millennium—Gen. 9:6; Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 14:17.
B
The ruling with God-given authority among men on the new earth signifies the reigning of God's kingdom in resurrection life—Gen. 9:6; Heb. 12:28.
C
In God's government, Noah was a good example; although he made a mistake and had a failure, he nevertheless was strong to represent God in speaking governmentally—Gen. 9:18-27.
D
Satan usurped man to misuse man's God-given authority over others to form nations—10:8-10; 11:1-4.
Ⅱ
The New Testament is a book of the kingdom of God; the entire New Testament is on the kingdom—Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Rev. 11:15; 12:10:
A
The kingdom of God is a divine sphere for God to work out His plan; it is a realm where God can exercise His authority to accomplish what He intends— Matt. 6:10.
B
The kingdom of God is the ruling, the reigning, of God with all its blessing and enjoyment—v. 33; Luke 12:32; Col. 1:13.
C
As God incarnate, the Lord Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God, to establish a realm in which God can carry out His purpose through the exercise of His authority—John 1:1, 14; 3:3, 5; 18:36.
D
The New Testament preaches the gospel in the way of the kingdom; the gospel is for the kingdom, and the gospel is proclaimed so that rebellious sinners might be saved, qualified, and equipped to enter into the kingdom—Mark 1:14-15; Matt. 4:17; Acts 8:12.
E
The eternal kingdom of God is the increase of Christ in administration—Mark 4:26-29; Dan. 2:34-35, 44.
F
The kingdom of God is the Lord Jesus as the seed of life sown into His believers and developing into a realm over which God can rule as His kingdom in His divine life—Luke 17:20-21; Mark 4:3, 26.
G
The kingdom of God is the shining of the reality of the Lord Jesus; to be under His shining is to be in the kingdom—9:1-2.
H
The kingdom of God is a realm not only of the divine dominion but also of the divine species, in which are all the divine things—John 3:3, 5:
１
God became man to enter into the human species, and man becomes God in life and nature but not in the Godhead to enter into the divine species— 1:12-14; Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4.
２
To enter into the divine realm—the realm of the divine species—we need to be born of God to have the divine life and nature—John 1:12-13.
I
The kingdom is the church life today; thus, to practice the church life is to practice the kingdom—Rom. 14:17.
J
The work of the church is to bring in the kingdom of God—Matt. 13:43; 6:10; 12:22-28; Rev. 11:15; 12:10.
K
The kingdom produces the church, the church brings in the kingdom, and the ultimate issue is the New Jerusalem—the kingdom of God in eternity in the new heaven and new earth—21:1-2, 10; 22:1, 5.
L
Those who always put God's kingdom before them—that which touches God's will and His enemy—are the most useful workers in the hands of God—Matt. 6:33; 7:21; 25:21, 23; Col. 4:11.
Ⅲ
A person who represents God with His authority (a deputy authority) must have the following qualifications:
A
He must submit to authority—Matt. 8:8-9.
B
He must realize that in himself he has no authority—28:18; 2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10.
C
He must know God and God's will—Eph. 1:9; 5:17.
D
He must be one who denies the self—Matt. 16:24.
E
He must be one with the Lord and live in constant and intimate fellowship with Him—1 Cor. 6:17; 1:9; 1 John 1:3.
F
He must not be subjective and not act according to his own feeling—2 Cor. 3:5.
G
He must be kind and gracious in dealing with others—Luke 6:35; cf. Rom. 5:15-16; 1 Cor. 2:12.
H
He must be a person in resurrection, living in the resurrection life of Christ— 2 Cor. 1:9; 4:14; Num. 17:1-10.
I
He must take a lowly place before God—14:5; 16:3-4, 22, 45; Matt. 11:29; Rom. 12:16; Luke 14:7-11; 1 Pet. 5:5-6.
J
He must be able to bear offenses—Exo. 16:7; Num. 14:2, 5, 9, 27; Matt. 6:14-15; 1 Cor. 4:6-13.
K
He must have a consciousness of his inability and unsuitability—Exo. 3:11; 4:6-7, 10; 2 Cor. 3:5; 1 Cor. 15:10.
L
He must be one who represents God properly—Num. 20:2-13; 2 Cor. 5:18, 20; Eph. 6:20.