Will you please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew—Matthew 6.
We will read from Matthew 6:9-13.
After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
And in the King James Version, you say, “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou hast gathered us together unto the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And we do thank Thee for Thy precious promise: “Where two or three are gathered together unto My name, there am I in the midst of them.”
So, Lord, we just believe that Thou art here in our midst. And our prayer is that Thou wilt grant the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may see Thee, we may see Thee, we may hear Thee, and we may be transformed and conformed to Thy image.
Lord, we just trust Thy Holy Spirit to move among Thy people and finish Thy new creation. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
The burden that the Lord has given to me is on this matter of the kingdom of God.
In the first session that I am responsible for, we say, “Thine is the kingdom.” The kingdom belongs to God.
But oftentimes we find that our emphasis on the concept of kingdom is more upon a place—a domain, a sphere, a territory—than upon the Person, the sovereign rule of God.
I think probably the best way for us to understand what the kingdom of God is, if I may use what I think Louis XIV once said, is this: “I am the state.”
In other words, the empire of France was not only his domain over which he ruled, but he boastfully said, “I am the state.” He put his own imprint upon that country. Now, of course, with him it was boasting, but with our Lord Jesus it is true.
If we want to really understand what the kingdom of God is, I think the best way to put it is: the Lord is the kingdom. “I am the kingdom,” because He puts His imprint upon the domain over which He rules.
He is the Creator. He created everything according to His character, so that what He has created will manifest Himself. And then, over all things, He rules; and He rules again according to His character. So this is the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is spiritual. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. In order to inherit the kingdom of God, we must be born from above.
He that is born of the Spirit is spirit, and he who is born again can not only see, but can enter into, the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is the kingdom of truth. It is a kingdom of reality. Anything that is false, passing, or unreal does not belong to the kingdom of God. Only that which is eternal, which is real, and which has spiritual reality in it belongs to the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God, we say, is love. Love is the rule of the kingdom of God. Anything that is not of love does not belong there.
The kingdom of God is the kingdom of light. God is light, and there is no darkness in Him. If there is any darkness anywhere, we know it is not in the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is a kingdom of righteousness, where God has all His rights given, honored, respected, and obeyed. This is the kingdom of God.
Now, in the second session on this subject, we say, “The heavens do rule.”
The kingdom of God, in the broad sense, covers all, because God is the Creator of all things. Therefore, He rules over all, whether obedient or rebellious.
But in the strictest sense, or in the real sense, the kingdom of God is where God’s sovereign rule is gladly accepted, and His character is formed in His people.
And that people, we may say, is the true manifestation of the kingdom of God, for the kingdom of God is the corporate expression of God Himself.
Even though there was rebellion among the angelic beings, and we even find rebellion among men, no matter what, we find that God is still on the throne. Nothing can escape His government. The heavens do rule over the kingdom of men.
Now this morning, we would like to go a step further, and it is on this matter of “Thy kingdom come.”
We are all familiar with this prayer. We call it the Lord’s Prayer. And somebody will correct it and say, “Now, it is not the Lord’s Prayer. It is the prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches His disciples to pray.” In other words, it is the church’s prayer. It is the prayer of the church.
Now, I personally believe that our Lord Jesus would never teach anything that He does not do Himself. In other words, it is true that it is a prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches His church to pray, but certainly this is a prayer of our Lord Jesus Himself.
This is His prayer, and He asks us to join with Him in this prayer.
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
What is the name? “Our Father who art in heaven.” How do we sanctify that name? How do we honor that name?
The best way to honor, the most practical way, the real way to sanctify that name, is to hold to that name, to be under that name, to be put under the authority of that name, and to let the character of our Father in heaven characterize us.
We remember in the so-called Sermon on the Mount it is said, “Be ye therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The best way to honor the name of the Father, to sanctify the name of our Father in heaven, is that we be like Him. Like Father, like son. That is the best way to honor the Father.
The best way to sanctify the Father is to let His character be our character, that heavenly character of our Father be our character. And that is the way that His name is honored.
You know, sometimes we think the Lord’s Prayer, or the prayer of the church, is concerning something that is in the future.
One day in the future, the name of God the Father will be hallowed, will be sanctified. And that is true, because one day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. And when that day shall come, certainly the name of God is sanctified.
But, you know, if you read the context, you find the Lord’s Prayer, or the prayer of the church, is not just concerned with the future. It actually is concerned with now.
Matthew 5, Matthew 6, and Matthew 7—the so-called Sermon on the Mount—deals with the spiritual reality of the kingdom of God.
It deals with the spiritual principles of the kingdom of God. And we know when you come into this matter of principle, or when you come into this matter of spiritual reality, you are no longer bound by time or space. It is timeless. It is spaceless. It is eternal. It is forever.
So the whole atmosphere of the so-called Sermon on the Mount is spiritual principles and spiritual reality. And because of that, it is no longer bound by time. It is timeless.
Therefore, you find in this prayer, this prayer is also timeless. We cannot just dismiss this prayer to the future—that is to say, one day this will happen. It is an expectation, an anticipation of some future day.
Now, that is true. There is an expectation there. There is the anticipation of the full realization of all God’s purpose. That is true. But let us remember that this prayer begins today.
Let Thy name be hallowed—not only in a future day, but even now, here on this earth. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
The will of God is done in heaven. The will of God is done by the angelic host in heaven. But the will of God must also be done on earth as it is in heaven.
And who will do the will of God on earth? The saints, the Christians, the believers, the church.
In heaven, we find that God’s will is being done. There is no question about it. The angelic host just carries out the will of God, executes the will of God, and does what God wills.
But the problem now is on earth. The will of God is supposed to be done by the saints, to be executed by the church. But has the church executed the will of God on earth? Are we doing the will of God on earth as it is in heaven?
And this is our prayer—not only in a future day. One day His will will be done in the whole universe. All His plans, all His counsels, will be fully realized. That is true.
But we have to remember that in that prayer, we are praying not just for the future day. We are praying that now His will will be done on earth in us, as it is in heaven.
And then you find, in between these two petitions: “Thy kingdom come.”
You know, brothers and sisters, I have to confess that I always felt that when I prayed, “Thy kingdom come,” I was thinking of the future.
I thought that I should pray that God would one day bring His kingdom upon this earth. “Thy kingdom come”—it is not here yet. But I want to pray that it will come on earth one day.
I wonder if this is our concept. I wonder if, when we are praying the so-called Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” how do you feel? Are you just looking forward to the future?
Or do you think that as you pray, “Thy kingdom come,” it is to come now? It is to come into your life. It is to be a reality even today. Are you thinking in that way?
Thy kingdom come.
Now, if “Thy name be sanctified” is for today, if “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is for today, then “Thy kingdom come” is also for today.
As we pray, we want to see the kingdom of God come upon us, to be a reality in our midst, even here and now.
Name. Kingdom. Will.
Name speaks of the Person—God, our Lord Jesus. May His name be respected, not with the lips, but with a life that is under His name.
And His name may not be put to shame because of us. Rather, His name will be glorified, will be magnified.
Kingdom speaks of the sovereign rule of God. Here we are called by His name. If we put ourselves under His name, then surely His sovereign rule is over us. We become His kingdom.
And His will, no doubt, is being done upon earth in us, as it is in heaven.
The prayer that our Lord Jesus teaches us to pray is to begin with God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will.
You know, oftentimes we find that our prayer is rather self-centered. Our prayer does not go beyond our immediate family, probably. We are more interested in our interests and concerned with our concerns.
But the Lord Jesus wants to bring us to the right order: that we should be concerned with God’s concern first. We should be interested in God’s interest.
Not always, all the time, just be concerned with ourselves, with our own welfare, with our own interest. But we need to be delivered and to be interested in God’s interest, to be concerned with God’s concern.
And that is His name, His kingdom, His will. These are the things that we need to seek first: the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Of course, when we are praying that kind of prayer, even though it may sound a little bit objective—that is, it seems to be something outside of us—we are praying for His name, for His kingdom, for His will.
But, brothers and sisters, you will find we are very much involved in that prayer. Because when we are praying for His name to be hallowed, by whom? By us.
We are praying for His kingdom to come. Where? Upon us. We are praying for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Where on earth? Among us, in us.
We are very much involved when we are praying that kind of prayer. It does not mean that we are just standing far away, praying that prayer, and God will answer it outside of us.
No, God will answer that prayer within us—in us and among us. We are very much involved in that prayer.
To put it another way, if you do not want His kingdom to come, then do not pray that prayer.
Because if you start to pray that prayer and God is answering you, you get into trouble.
And then, after we pray, “Thy name, Thy kingdom, and Thy will,” the Lord said, “You may continue on to pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’”
That is for our physical need. God knows our physical need. He will supply our needs. “Give us this day our daily bread.”
“Forgive us our debts, our trespasses, as we forgive our debtors.” This is our psychological need, or our soulical need.
As our brother mentioned, God created us with a spirit, with a soul, and with a body. Now, our body has a need. We need daily bread, and we can pray for that.
We are not commanded to pray for tomorrow’s bread, but we are asked to pray for today’s bread. God knows our daily need. We depend upon Him to supply us with our physical need.
And then we are all created with our soul, and our soul has need too. And for the need of our soul: “Forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
As our brother mentioned in the morning prayer, if we do not forgive people, if we have an unforgiving spirit, then you will find your soul is in trouble.
We need to forgive our debtors because He has forgiven us so much. And who are we to hold anything against anybody?
And if we forgive, He will forgive us. So our soul will be healthy. Our soul will be sound. We will be in peace and in rest. And God knows that we need it. We need to pray that prayer.
Oftentimes we find among God’s people an unforgiving spirit.
If an unbeliever should do something against us, it is easy for us to forgive, because after all, they are in darkness.
But if a brother or a sister should offend us, it is very hard to forgive, because we think they should know better—especially some big brothers and big sisters.
But if we hold on to that bitterness, that unforgivingness, you will find the one that suffers most is ourselves. Our soul is sick, unhealthy, unsound, restless.
Oh, that as we pray this prayer—and this needs to be prayed every day—God will keep our soul in peace, that we know we have no controversy, holding nothing against anybody; and we know that God does not have any controversy with us. He is not holding anything against us.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” We are created with a spirit, and our spirit also has need. And the need of the spirit is that we will not enter into temptation.
Now, it is true: as long as we are in the flesh, temptation seems to be unavoidable. But, thank God, there are many temptations that can be avoided.
In other words, you will find that oftentimes we, in a sense, try to draw temptations upon us. We jump into temptations. Many temptations are unnecessary.
And because we are not careful, therefore we find we are being tempted all around. We need to ask the Lord, “Lead us not into temptation.”
We need to know our frailty. You know, sometimes we feel we are so strong. We feel we are so spiritual. We feel that we can do anything, so we dare the devil to tempt us.
Brothers and sisters, if we are doing that, do not think that God will always protect you. Now, sometimes He will, but not always.
We need to know our weakness. We need to be humble before God, knowing that we are frail, and ask the Lord, “Do not lead us into temptation.”
We are afraid that if we fall into temptation, we may yield to it, and we may sin. You know, temptation itself is not a sin. If you are tempted, that is not a sin. But if you yield to temptation, that is sin.
Knowing ourselves, we ask the Lord, “Lead us not into temptation.” But if the Lord shall see that we need to be tested, we need to be tried, and the Lord allows temptation to come upon us, then we ask the Lord, “Deliver us from the evil one.”
Because it is the evil one who is behind every temptation, and his purpose is evil. He wants to draw us away, to cause us to fall into sin, away from the kingdom of God and into the kingdom of darkness.
So we ask the Lord, “Deliver us from the evil one.” Brothers and sisters, I do not know about you, but I do feel very strongly in myself, “Oh, I pray daily this prayer: ‘Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one.’”
“For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Why do we pray in such a way? It is because Thine is the kingdom. The kingdom belongs to Thee. We want to see God rule over our lives.
Thine is the power. Thou hast the power to bring it about. And Thou hast the glory. Everything goes back to Thee. Amen. So be it.
Now this is the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer of the church. And in this, then, we are to pray.
Why? Why do we need to pray, “Thy kingdom come”? Will not the kingdom of God just come automatically? Does God have a timetable, and when the time comes, the kingdom comes?
Why do we need to pray this prayer, “Thy kingdom come”?
One reason is: there are two kingdoms now, and these two kingdoms are opposite to each other.
We find that these two kingdoms are not only outside of us, but these two kingdoms are actually within us. They are in us.
We mentioned before that kingdom is not just a domain, a territory, or a sphere, which gives us an idea of something external. Now, it is that, but we find the kingdom basically is something internal.
The kingdom is according to nature. In other words, God’s kingdom is the manifestation, the expression, the rule of His nature. That is the kingdom.
Now, when you come to this matter of nature, if a kingdom is a matter of nature—the nature of the person—his personality characterizes his kingdom. He puts his own character upon the domain that he rules.
Then you find the kingdom is more than something external. The kingdom is something internal.
Now, brothers and sisters, we find that there are two kingdoms opposite to each other because they are of entirely opposite natures.
The kingdom of God is according to the nature of God. The kingdom of Satan is according to the nature of Satan. And that is how these two domains are.
We find in this universe, or on this earth, these two kingdoms both exist, and yet they cannot coexist. It is a contradiction. They are both here, and yet they do not coexist. If this kingdom comes, then that kingdom goes.
And we find this is not only externally true, but we find this is inwardly real. We find even within us there are these two opposite kingdoms, and they are striving against each other for ascendancy.
Who is to rule? Which kingdom will be there? There within our very being, you will find these kingdoms battling against each other. The spiritual conflict, the spiritual warfare, is within us.
These two kingdoms are fighting against each other because they cannot coexist. And because of this, we need to pray, “Thy kingdom come.”
You know, before we knew the Lord Jesus, before we were saved, we belonged to the satanic kingdom. We were under the power of darkness. We were under the rule of Satan, and he rules according to his nature.
And his motive is to destroy us.
But thank God, one day we were saved by our Lord Jesus. He has delivered us out of the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
So, outwardly speaking, positionally speaking, we who believe in the Lord Jesus have been delivered out of the kingdom of Satan. We no longer belong to him.
But we are translated into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. We are now in the kingdom of God. Thank God, brothers and sisters, we are now in the kingdom of God. That is true.
But unfortunately, you find that even though positionally we are out of the power of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s Son, yet inwardly speaking, these two kingdoms exist within us.
Let me use an illustration. When God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, we know that they crossed the Red Sea. And after they crossed the Red Sea, they were out of Egypt.
They were delivered from Pharaoh, from his rule. And when they were under the rule of Pharaoh in Egypt, they were not even allowed to live. They were put into hard labor. The male child was to be drowned.
In other words, you find the purpose of Pharaoh was to annihilate them, to kill them all.
But thank God, He sent Moses to deliver them out of Egypt. And after they crossed the Red Sea, Egypt was behind them.
And if you read the New Testament, you will find in 1 Corinthians 10 that they were baptized unto Moses. That is to say, they were no longer under Pharaoh. They were now under Moses, and Moses was representing God.
They belonged to the kingdom of God now. And how they sang the song of victory in Exodus 15: “The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.” They were now in the kingdom of God.
But you remember, as they traveled through the wilderness, whenever they had a problem, their mind would go back to Egypt.
They thought of all the garlic, all the onions, and all the fish of Egypt—all these things. Every time something happened, their mind ran back to Egypt.
In other words, you find they were delivered out of Egypt physically, but soulically Egypt was in them.
Physically, they were out of Egypt, but spiritually, morally speaking, Egypt was still within them. Egypt was still trying to hold them.
And not until they crossed the River Jordan—and you remember, after they crossed the River Jordan, He said, “This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you”—were they delivered not only outwardly, but inwardly, from Egypt.
It was only then you find they were not only out of Egypt, but Egypt was out of them.
And, brothers and sisters, this is a type, and this tells us our situation.
In one sense, we have been delivered out of the power of darkness. We do not belong to the kingdom of God’s enemy. Thank God, we are in the kingdom of God. He has translated us into that kingdom. That is true.
But, on the other hand, you find that somehow, because this is a moral, spiritual thing—it is not a physical thing; it is a spiritual, moral thing; it is according to nature—you find somehow there seem to be two natures within you.
And these two natures represent two kingdoms. And these two kingdoms are ruled by these two different, opposite natures. And they are fighting against each other within us day after day, night after night.
It is the will of God that the kingdom of darkness will be completely destroyed.
God has exalted our Lord Jesus on the throne, waiting until all His enemies are made the footstool of His feet. The kingdom of darkness will be completely destroyed, dismissed from our lives, and the kingdom of God shall be fully established within us.
In other words, the lordship of Christ shall be unchallenged. This is the will of God. But still, you find these two fighting against each other.
We say kingdom is according to nature. In other words, the satanic kingdom is ruled by its nature.
And what is the nature of Satan? The nature of Satan is sin.
That is the reason why you find when Adam fell, sin entered into the world by one man.
And in Romans 7, he said, “Sin dwelleth in me, that is, in my flesh.”
Sin is not only an act, or many acts. You will find sin is a nature, the nature of a certain kind of life. It is a power. It reigns and rules.
And unfortunately, you will find sin rules within us—that is, in our flesh.
So, you see, the kingdom of darkness is not just something external. When Adam committed sin, when he betrayed the trust of God, he handed himself over to Satan. And the whole earth that was given to him, he handed over to the enemy of God.
And you find Satan took hold of man and the earth, and he organized it into what we call today the world, the system, the cosmos.
And he is the prince of this world. He organized it according to his character, his nature, and he rules it according to his character. There is that organized world, which is the kingdom of Satan. He is the ruler of this world.
My brothers and sisters, it is more than that.
You will find that when Adam fell and sinned, not only had he handed himself and the whole earth over to the enemy to be organized as a kingdom against God’s kingdom, but you will find when he sinned, sin entered into him.
It dwells in him. It rules from within him. So the kingdom of the enemy is not only around him, but also within him.
And you know, this is even worse than what is outside.
One brother says, “We want to attack the kingdom of Satan.” How do you attack?
Well, maybe you go to China to convert the heathen. Maybe you go to the slums in the city and try to snatch people out of the enemy. Maybe you try to attack him and his organization.
But if Satan is not dethroned in your life, it is no use, because he rules by his nature. That is the way he rules.
Unless that nature is dealt with, then you will find his kingdom is still there. You may attack him here and attack him there, thinking that you are making some inroads, but if that nature is not dealt with, he still holds the reins.
The nature of Satan is sin.
Theologically, people talk about original sin.
You know, we say we not only have sin—we commit many sins—but within us there is an original sin. You are born with it. Everybody is born with original sin.
And this original sin dwells in you, and it rules over you, and it makes you do things that maybe you do not want to do, or you know you should not do.
It makes you not do things that you feel you should do. But you are just helpless. Why? Because there is an original sin there.
And according to the Scripture, it says you are a sinner before you sin. You sin because you are a sinner.
You know, Adam, of course, is an exception. He sinned and he became a sinner, and sin dwelt in him. And then he continued to sin, and he could do nothing but sin.
But with us who are born of Adam, you will find we are born with that original sin in us. And because we are born sinners, therefore we cannot help but sin.
We belong to the kingdom of Satan, ruled by his nature.
I hear, I think, that original sin begins with Adam. But the Scripture corrects me. Original sin—when does sin originate?
It does not originate with Adam. It goes way back. It goes way back to the archangel.
You know, there was no sin in the whole universe that God had created. We say that the kingdom of God in the beginning was so blessed, so glorious. Why?
Because everything was created according to God’s nature, and every created being submitted to God’s authority. God’s authority was unchallenged, and He ruled over all with His benevolent rule.
The blessing of the universe, you just cannot imagine. There was no sin.
But one day, that archangel, as we have already mentioned, began to be interested in himself.
Everybody, in the beginning, in the blessed state of the kingdom of God, nobody thought of himself. Everybody thought of God. All eyes were upon God. No one tried to look within himself.
But there was that archangel. He began to turn upon himself: “I, I, I. How about me?”
Sin begins with “I.” The seat of sin is the will.
When you begin to turn upon the “I,” then: “I will. I will ascend to heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.”
“I will sit in the mount of assembly, in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High.”
So, in other words, you find this is how sin begins. Sin begins with “I”—self-consciousness, self-interest, self-seeking, self-ambition, self-centeredness.
That is the beginning of sin. That is what sin is. And the will begins to exercise: “I want this. I want that. This is what I deserve to have. This is what ought to be.”
And instead of seeing God and submitting to God, being happy with the place that God has put him, you find he began to oppose God, trying to set himself up.
Pride is the essence of sin.
That is the reason why you find in the Scripture there are many, many strong words against the spirit of pride.
God hates the proud. It is an abomination to Him.
Why? Because one who is proud, who has a spirit of pride—you know, that archangel—began to be proud of himself because God had endowed him with such wisdom. God had given him such talents.
God had put in his hands such dominion, and God set him up as an anointed covering cherub. He was so clever, full of wisdom. He began to be proud of himself.
“I deserve something more than God has put me in. Why am I not equal with God? Why should I be under Him?”
It results in rebellion, in perversity. That is the nature of Satan. That is original sin.
Original sin is a nature, and that nature is “I,” “me,” self-will, pride, myself. That is sin.
And do we not know, have we not experienced, that there is this other kingdom in us?
After we are saved, we have the life of Christ in us. A new nature has come into us, and this new nature is to rule and to reign so that we may be in the kingdom of God.
And whenever we allow that nature to develop, whenever we follow that nature, oh, brothers and sisters, there is peace, there is joy, there is rest, there is blessedness. It is the kingdom of God.
There is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Is it not true in our personal experience?
But unfortunately, we find there is another nature within us: sin. And it tries to raise its head again and again and try to fight against the kingdom within us, to snatch us away from God’s kingdom and put us under its rule.
The “I” comes, sin raises its head, and cries, “Follow.” And when we are in that kind of situation, you know what happens? We sense death within us.
The two kingdoms are within us. Is there any salvation?
Thank God, there is.
Thank God, one day God’s Son came into this world to be a man.
In that Man there is no original sin. That is the reason why He must be born of a virgin, because He is born of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit overshadowed the womb of the Virgin Mary, and she gave birth to the Holy One.
We all are born with original sin. The kingdom of darkness is within us. But here is a Man: when He was born, He was the Holy One. No original sin was there.
And if you read the life of our Lord Jesus, you find His whole life is the kingdom of God.
He is the kingdom of God. He not only came as King of the Jews, but He Himself is the kingdom of God.
Why? You find that in His life, God is all in all. The personal rule of God is evident in His whole life. Never once did He rebel against God. Never once did He think of Himself. He denied Himself. He did the will of God. He is the kingdom of God.
But do you think that He did not go through the battle of the two kingdoms? He did—not within Him, but outside of Him.
Even after He was born, the kingdom of darkness was so aroused. They knew the kingdom of God had finally come upon this earth, and one day the kingdom would destroy the kingdom of darkness.
So you remember, immediately after our Lord Jesus was born, Herod wanted to kill Him. It was Satan behind Herod who wanted to kill Him when He was a baby. He had to flee to Egypt.
When He began to come forth at the age of thirty, He went to be baptized. And after His baptism, the Holy Spirit drove Him into the wilderness to meet His enemy.
And there you find Satan tempted Him with everything that he could do. There is no temptation that anybody in this whole world can ever be tempted with that our Lord Jesus was not tempted with.
In other words, Satan exhausted all his tactics upon our Lord Jesus, trying to break into the kingdom of God, trying to break Him and put Him under his kingdom.
“You are hungry. If You are the Son of God, make the stone bread and eat it. You can do it.”
But our Lord Jesus said:
Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The kingdom of God was in His life.
Satan took Him to the pinnacle of the temple and said, “Now, You are born a King. You are going to have Your kingdom. All right, You jump down. Everybody will see Someone descending out of heaven, and they will worship You, and they will follow You. You will have Your kingdom right away.”
A shortcut.
But our Lord Jesus said, “No. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” God has His time. God has His way. You have to do it His way.
And then Satan took Him to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory, and said, “It is all mine. If You bow before me, I will give it to You. It is Yours.”
And the Lord Jesus said:
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and Him only shalt thou serve.
Satan offered his kingdom to our Lord Jesus, but our Lord Jesus repudiated it. The Lord said, “No. This is not a kingdom I want. This is another kingdom. I came to establish the kingdom of God.”
And yet you find throughout His life how He was again challenged, again tempted, by the external kingdom, by the kingdom of this world: “Have it now. You can have it now.”
And the Lord Jesus said, “No, no. One day I will have it. The kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, but not in this way. It has to start from within. It has to be transformed.”
It is not easy to reject the world when it is within your reach. Because of this, He was crucified.
Brothers and sisters, in His whole life you see the kingdom of God. And you see the kingdom of God in ascendancy. You see the kingdom of darkness was destroyed.
The very life of our Lord Jesus on earth destroyed the kingdom of darkness.
You remember what our Lord Jesus said? He said, “The prince of the world hath come: and he hath nothing in Me.” No part in Me, no place in Me.
The kingdom of darkness was trying to find a foothold in His life, but there was no ground for him. He defeated Satan by undercutting his ground.
And the Lord Jesus said, concerning judgment, “The prince of this world hath been judged.”
You know, how does the Lord Jesus judge the prince of this world? First morally, spiritually, by defeating his ground, taking his ground away. And that is how he is defeated. That is how he is judged.
And then eventually, of course, he will be cast into the lake of fire. Thus, spiritual first, and then physical.
I often think, so far as the Lord is concerned, that is enough. The kingdom of God has come in that Person, and the kingdom of God has defeated the kingdom of Satan.
But for our sake, He went to the cross.
You know, there on the cross, He defeated the kingdom of Satan for our sake.
His life had already overcome, but there on the cross He undercut the ground for us, that we may be delivered completely from the power of darkness, and we too may overcome.
We are all familiar with Romans 6:6: “Our old man was crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be annulled, that we may no longer be under the dominion of sin.”
Here you find we have that original sin within us, and this original sin dwells in the old man. That is his domain. He dwells in the flesh.
And you will find our Lord Jesus took that old man with Him and crucified that old man on the cross. He isolated that sin so that sin cannot reach the body anymore and command the body to sin. So the body is put out of employment.
And if you see this, then you will sing with Paul and say:
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me:
and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave Himself up for me.
“I,” the very nature of sin, have been crucified with Christ. That old “I” was crucified. What is left is that “I” that God has created, and it is Christ who lives. It is the kingdom of God.
Oh, brothers and sisters, we need to have our eyes opened by the Spirit of God. We need revelation. We need to see that when Christ died on the cross, you died. The “I” was crucified.
No longer “I.” The ground that Satan has to work is being removed. It is Christ who lives in me.
And, of course, if sin is the principle of the kingdom of Satan, then the Spirit of God is the principle of the kingdom of God.
God put His own Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit now dwells in our spirit. He is God’s nature. He is life. And He is in charge of the kingdom of God in us.
And that is the reason why, brothers and sisters, how we need to obey the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit teaches us in all things. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth. The Holy Spirit is developing that new nature within us, so that that new nature will be developed into character.
And it is the character of Christ. This is the kingdom of God.
Oh, brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit will convict us whenever self tries to raise its head. Whenever “I” begins to come, the Holy Spirit will remind us and deliver it unto death.
Oh, we need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
And as we follow the Holy Spirit, walk after the Spirit, brothers and sisters, you will find the kingdom of darkness subsides. It disappears, and the kingdom of God rises up in glory—something within you.
Now, we do not have time to talk about the church. And, of course, we know the church is the corporate expression of the kingdom of God.
Dear Heavenly Father, oh, how we praise and thank Thee that we who were stuck in a hopeless, helpless state, Thou didst send Thy beloved Son to come to deliver us.
Thou didst not only deliver us out of the world and translate us into Thy kingdom, but we praise and thank Thee that Thou hast put Thy kingdom within us.
Oh, we just ask that Thy Holy Spirit will so take charge over us, to build Thy kingdom within us, that we may see Thy glory.
Lord, our prayer this morning is: “Thy kingdom come.” In Thy precious name.