Will you please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew?
Matthew 16. We will read verses 18 and 19.
This is the word of the Lord:
And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for Thy precious promise: where two or three are gathered together unto Thy name, there Thou art in their midst. We do thank Thee for Thy presence with us.
And Lord, we pray that Thy presence will become so living, so real to us, that we may hear Thy voice, that we may do Thy will. We do commit this time into Thy loving hands and trust Thy Holy Spirit to reveal Thy word to us. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
These mornings, we gather together before the Lord to consider this very important but most neglected subject in the word of God: the kingdom.
The first morning, we considered the kingdom of God. From eternity to eternity is the kingdom of God, because He rules over all.
And thank God, those who are redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus have been translated into the kingdom of God. Therefore, brothers and sisters, even though physically we are in the kingdom of this world, yet realistically, spiritually speaking, we do not belong to this world. We have been transferred out of this world and into the kingdom of God.
Now, because we are in the kingdom of God, it is but right for us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Then our Lord Jesus promises us that all these things—that is, the things that we need in this life on this earth—shall be added unto us.
I do not know, brothers and sisters, how many of us really believe what the Lord has said. Mentally, we all accept it. But in actual living, do we really believe that if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, if we seek to do His will and to do what is right in His eyes, then all these things that we need will be added unto us?
What a blessed life this will be. And this is the way that our Lord wants us to live.
Then the second morning, we considered together this matter of the kingdom of the heavens. It is a very special term used almost exclusively in the Gospel according to Matthew.
The kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is from eternity to eternity, but the kingdom of the heavens especially refers to that section in the kingdom of God from the first coming of our Lord Jesus to the second coming of our Lord Jesus, when He shall come to set up His kingdom of the heavens upon this earth.
So, brothers and sisters, we understand that the kingdom of the heavens is especially related to us believers. Thank God, we are in the kingdom of the heavens today. But whether we are really living in the kingdom of the heavens, that is another question.
All who believe in the Lord are positionally already in the kingdom of the heavens. But when you come to real living, unfortunately, some are not living as sons and daughters of the kingdom of the heavens.
But thank God, there are those who do violence to themselves in order to seize it. I understand there are some brothers and sisters who feel confused about the word violence, because ordinarily we relate the word violence to something evil.
But actually, the word violence is a neutral word. It depends upon what you associate it with. It can be very good; it can be very bad. Just like love and hate, these are expressions neutral in themselves. It depends upon the way that you use them.
If you love the wrong thing, that is evil. If you hate the right thing, that is good. And so is the word violence.
We should never do violence to other people. In the kingdom of this world, there is enough violence everywhere. That is the sign of this world and the sign of this hour.
But thank God, there is a violence that our Lord Jesus even encourages us to do—not to do violence to other people, but to be violent to ourselves.
We realize that in ourselves there is no good thing. Anything that comes out of the natural, of the flesh, of the old creation in us—these are the things that are utterly rejected by God. And in like manner, He wants us to reject them.
Naturally, we are all kind and loving to ourselves. We want to please ourselves, to gratify ourselves. But spiritually, the Lord calls us to deny ourselves. And deny, again, is a very strong word. It all depends upon whom you deny.
Simon Peter denied the wrong Person. He should have denied himself instead of denying the Lord. And how often that is the way that we do.
Our Lord Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” If we do not do that, we are not worthy to be His disciples. So, dear brothers and sisters, I hope we will take this word in the right way and do the right thing.
Now this morning, we would like to consider together this matter of the kingdom and the church.
Our Lord Jesus, at the border of Caesarea Philippi, asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” His disciples tried to give Him all the good comments, even though they must have heard many damaging words. But they would not say that.
So they said, “You are Elijah, that great prophet. You are like Jeremiah, the weeping one, because You are a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. You are the prophet that Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy: God will raise up one among them like him, and whoever does not listen to Him shall perish. Or You are just one of the prophets.”
Thank God, our Lord Jesus was not satisfied. So He turned to His disciples again and said, “Now, what do you think that I am? You who have been with Me for these years, you should know who I am.”
Thank God, Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the One with a mission sent by God to fulfill. And You are the Son of the living God. That is what You are.”
What a revelation! And our Lord Jesus said, “Simon Peter, you are blessed, because this is not something that flesh and blood can tell you. It is the Father Who is in heaven Who has revealed it to you.”
Dear brothers and sisters, we do thank God. God has revealed His Son to us. Just like the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul said, “It pleased God to reveal His Son in me.” And God has done that to us. We are certainly a blessed people, a most happy people.
But immediately following this, our Lord Jesus began to give the disciples a new revelation. The Father had revealed the Son to them. Now the Son was to reveal something more: a mystery that had been hidden throughout the ages, a mystery in the heart of God from the very beginning, even before the foundation of the world.
God had that mystery in Him, but it had never been revealed. And the Lord Jesus said, “You are Peter. You are a little stone. Upon this rock, upon this massive rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Dear brothers and sisters, the greatest revelation is the revelation of the Father concerning His Son. Next to it is the revelation of the church, revealed by the Son to us.
The Lord said, “I will build My church upon this rock.” Here is the rock. There is no other foundation but the foundation of our Lord Jesus. But we are all as living stones, built upon Him to be the church, the house of God, the body of Christ, the bride of the Bridegroom.
And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. The so-called church that we know today—Christianity—we have found that the gates of Hades have prevailed against it. But the church that our Lord Jesus Himself builds, the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. How glorious is that church!
Then immediately following, in the next verse, our Lord Jesus said, “I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. Whomsoever you shall bind shall be bound in heaven; whomsoever you shall loose shall be loosed in heaven.”
So, dear brothers and sisters, immediately you see the connection between the church and the kingdom. There is a very close association between these two things: the kingdom and the church.
By the mercy of God, this morning we would like to search the Scriptures and see what the relationship is between the church and the kingdom—the kingdom and the church.
We would like to consider four viewpoints:
When you think of the kingdom, especially in relation to the church, we are thinking mostly of the kingdom of the heavens, because this is the part of the kingdom of God that is especially related to us believers.
We find there are similarities between these two. How do we enter into the kingdom? How do we enter into the kingdom of God? How do we become a part of the kingdom of the heavens?
You remember in John 3, in the conversation our Lord Jesus had with Nicodemus. He came to our Lord at night. He was a Pharisee, a ruler of the people, most likely an old man, a teacher—very moral, very religious.
And unlike other Pharisees who were hypocritical, he was real. He was humble. He wanted to see the Lord and to be helped by the Lord. He could not come by daytime because it was too obvious, but he came in the night.
He respected the Lord. “You are a teacher from heaven. Your teaching is different. I come to You for You to teach me.”
Now, our Lord Jesus knows the heart of man. Right away He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except one be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
The Lord knew what was in the heart of Nicodemus. He knew that Nicodemus was a seeker for the kingdom of God. Most likely Nicodemus thought he was almost there. He just needed a little more teaching, a little more help, and then he would be in the kingdom of God.
But how wrong he was. Our Lord Jesus said, “Except you are born from above—born again—you cannot even see the kingdom of God. You have not seen it.”
Nicodemus was puzzled. “How can a man be old and be born again? Can he go back to his mother’s womb and come out again?” Even if you could do that, you would still be born from beneath. Nothing would change.
So our Lord Jesus explained to him, saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, unless you are born of water and of the Spirit, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Why the water? We know we are born of the Spirit, because immediately the Lord said, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” We are born of the Holy Spirit into a new spirit, a spirit that is in touch with God.
But our Lord was saying to Nicodemus, “You must be born of water and of Spirit,” because there is a background there. John the Baptist was preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh,” and he baptized people.
This water of baptism, with which John baptized people, is the baptism of repentance, of preparation for the coming King. So our Lord Jesus said, “You must be born of water and of Spirit.”
The Pharisees refused that water because they did not think they needed to repent. But our Lord was saying, “You do. You have to accept what John the Baptist preached: repent.” Then the Spirit of God will give birth to your dead spirit.
So we know that people come into the kingdom of God through new birth. You are born into the kingdom of God, into the kingdom of the heavens.
Now likewise, when you look at the church, you meet this in John 1:12-13. The light of life has already come into this world. If you receive Him—that is, if you believe in His name—then you will be given authority to become children of God:
Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Brothers and sisters, how do we become the children of God? How do we come into the household, the family of God? How do we become members of the body of Christ? There is only one way: you have to be born into it.
The church has no way to be joined except by new birth. You can join an association, join an organization, a religious organization, even one called a church. But the real church—the only way to enter into the church—is by being born into it.
So when you think of the way of entering into the kingdom and entering into the church, they are the same. You must be born from above.
When you come into the reality, how do you really live in the kingdom? Or how do you live in the church as a living member, a functioning member, in the church? You will find they are the same.
So far as the kingdom is concerned, we have already mentioned that we must do violence to ourselves. Then we are really living in the kingdom of the heavens.
But when you come to this matter of really being a living member of the body of Christ, to really be united with your brothers and sisters in the body, and to really minister to one another, you will find there is a condition. The condition is that you have to hold fast the Head.
In Colossians 2, we are told to hold fast the Head. Then the whole body will be united together, minister one to another, and increase with the increase of God.
In other words, if you are really living in the kingdom of the heavens today, you must be under the authority of the King. Likewise, if you are really living as a member of the body of Christ, you must be under the headship of Christ. That is the only way you can live really in the church.
So you find that they are all the same. In Ephesians 2:19, we are told:
So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.
Here we are told that we who have believed in the Lord Jesus are no longer strangers and foreigners. So far as the world is concerned, so far as the kingdom of this world is concerned, we are strangers and foreigners.
But so far as the kingdom of God and the church of God are concerned, we are no longer strangers and foreigners. Strangers refers to the household of God. We are in the family, and because we are in the family, we are no longer strangers.
Even though we may meet for the first time, immediately you find there is a bond within us. We are no longer strangers. We are of the household of God.
And the same thing is true: we are no longer foreigners, aliens. In the kingdom of the heavens, we are fellow citizens. We belong to our King. We obey our King.
So, brothers and sisters, if you look from such a viewpoint, you can see that the kingdom and the church are one. They are one thing with two sides.
When you think of the kingdom, you think of authority, government, kingship, and rule, because He is our King. When you think of the church, you think of life, love, fellowship, and unity. These are two sides of the one thing.
So, brothers and sisters, you are both in the church and in the kingdom of the heavens.
The kingdom is bigger than the church. When you think of the kingdom of God, it is from eternity to eternity.
There is the kingdom of God not only in the beginning, when God created the universe and the angels and there was harmony. Not only after God created man in the garden of Eden was there the kingdom of God.
Even as man rebelled, we find that God began to look upon certain persons, and in these particular persons the kingdom of God rested. Then, out of the family of Abraham, God raised a nation representing the kingdom of God upon this earth.
And also in the church age, the church represents the kingdom of God on this earth in our age. This will continue on to eternity.
But the church began on the day of Pentecost. It is not from eternity, except in the mind of God. It began in time, even though it continues on to eternity.
When you think even of the kingdom of the heavens in comparison with the church, you will find they are different in certain areas. Why? Because the kingdom of the heavens today has an outward appearance, which you find in Matthew 13.
We mentioned that yesterday. It is a mystery to the world, but the world does know there is something there. They are confused because it is a confused picture.
What they can see is the outward appearance: like a big tree, a huge institution, powerful and influential in this world. But the evil one comes and dwells in it. Like leaven, it leavens up, puffs up, and corrupts.
But the church cannot be like that. You know, sometimes people apply the parables in Matthew 13 to the church, but you will find great difficulty, because in the church there can be no leaven.
The Bible says, “Purge out the old leaven,” because it is a new meal offering of flour offered to God. There should be no leaven in it.
The church is like a little flock, the hidden ones on this earth, not like a big, huge organization or institution.
So, brothers and sisters, in the kingdom of the heavens today, so far as its outward appearance is concerned, you will find that there can be mixture. But in the church, there can be no mixture. The leaven must be purged out. Sin must be judged. It is pure and holy to God.
So you find that there are differences, even though there are similarities. We mention these things simply to clear up some confusion, but these are not the things we want to dwell upon.
What we would really like to consider very carefully is this: How does the kingdom build the church, and how does the church bring in the kingdom?
Brothers and sisters, we know that the church is built with two essential things: one is life, and the other is authority.
If there is no life, there is no material, no raw material, for the building of the church. But if there is life and no authority, no disciplining, life can never grow into maturity or be built up together.
Therefore, you find that the kingdom builds the church.
Our Lord Jesus said, “You are Peter, a stone.” Here was Simon before. He was made of dust, and we return to dust. But because of his confession of our Lord Jesus—“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”—a change came into his life.
A new life had entered into him. He was changed from Simon to Peter, a stone. A different element had come into his life. It is the life of Christ in him.
But he was still Simon. You remember Peter himself, in 1 Peter 2, says that when we come to Christ, we all become living stones. Thank God, we are living stones, not dead stones. We have the life of Christ. Yes, we are living stones, and all these living stones are being built up together into a spiritual house.
But for all the living stones to really be built into the spiritual house, that living stone has to be transformed into a precious stone.
All the dirt, all the other things, have to be purified. You know, something that is hidden under the earth in darkness, with fire, with heat, and with pressure, after many, many years becomes a precious stone.
All the natural elements in Simon Peter had to be purified. Only then could Peter be material for the building of the house of God.
Thank God, the Lord said, “You are Peter,” but we find that Simon was still there. You remember our Lord Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, Satan wants to sift you, but I have prayed for you. When your faith is recovered, help your brothers.”
So, brothers and sisters, this is the way we are. We have the life of Christ in us, but unfortunately our old nature, our flesh, is still there. There is so much in us that is foreign to the body of Christ, that cannot be built into the body of Christ. All these things need to be purified.
Tested, we will be tempted until all these things fall away. And at the same time, positively, the Holy Spirit will work within us the character of Christ, making us living, precious stones worthy to be built into that spiritual house.
Now in that process, you need authority: the authority of God, the authority of the Holy Spirit, the discipline from above. With these two things going on, you will find the house will be built.
This will go on not only in our personal, individual lives; it will go on corporately, together. How can we fit in with one another? Even the gold has to be beaten into the form of the lampstand.
Brothers and sisters, of course this is the work of the Holy Spirit, but it is based on the authority of God and working in that life from above.
We are all familiar with the Great Commission in Matthew 28. Our Lord Jesus gave His disciples a great commission. But, brothers and sisters, I am afraid our understanding of that Great Commission is not complete.
Yes, we take the Great Commission to mean evangelizing the world. Surely, we need to evangelize the world. But that is not all the Great Commission says.
You remember when our Lord Jesus gave the Great Commission, He began with, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto Me. Go ye therefore.”
In other words, the Great Commission is based upon the authority and the power of our Lord Jesus. Without that authority, without that power, that Great Commission cannot be accomplished.
But with that power, the Lord says, “You go. Go in My authority, in My power.” Now, what are you going to do when you go?
The Lord does not say, “Evangelize the nations.” The Lord says, “Disciple the nations.” There is a great difference here.
Oftentimes we make evangelism the end of the commission, but actually it is only the beginning. What the Lord is after is the church, not just bringing people out of hell into heaven. He wants the church.
And in order to have the church built, He said, “Disciple all nations.” You go out to disciple all nations. As you are discipled to Me, in like manner help other people to be discipled to Me.
Bring them under My kingship, under My authority. Allow Me to work out My purpose in their lives, disciplining them and completing them. That is the Great Commission.
Some people asked our dear brother Watchman Nee, “How many disciples do you have?” Our brother said, “None.” We are not to disciple people to ourselves. We are to disciple people to Christ, that they may learn Christ, that they may be transformed and changed into His likeness, not our likeness.
We are but an instrument, not the end. So the Great Commission is: go, disciple all nations.
When does that discipleship begin? It begins with baptism: baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and then teaching them to observe, to keep, to do, all the things that I have enjoined you. And I will be with you to the end of the age.
Brothers and sisters, some people say, “If I believe in the Lord Jesus, is not that enough? Why should I be baptized? Water cannot wash away my sins. It is the blood of our Lord Jesus that washes my sin away. So why should I be baptized?”
There is a reason, because baptism is the door to discipleship.
You know what baptism is? Going into the water: death. Death to the world, death to the past, dead to yourself, to the flesh, to the old life—dead, dead.
Under the water: buried. Not only dead, but out of sight. Out of the water: resurrection, raised together with Christ. “No longer I, Christ who liveth in me.” Brothers and sisters, that is baptism.
Unless we deny ourselves, unless we reckon ourselves as dead and do not want to see the old self anymore, and we begin to live in newness of life, that is the time when our Lord Jesus is able to disciple us. Otherwise, we will not listen. We are not in a position to learn.
Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—then they are ready to be taught all that the Lord has enjoined us. Not just to learn mentally, but to observe and to do.
And the Lord said, “I will be with you to the end of the age.” So, brothers and sisters, why? Because the Lord is building His church. He said, “I will build My church,” and this is the way He will build His church.
Dear brothers and sisters, the church has existed for over two thousand years, and sadly, so little is really built. It is not finished yet. Why? Because we have not found the secret to the building of the church, the keys to the building of the church.
We say Peter was given the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and we say he used those keys once on the day of Pentecost to the Jews and the second time in the house of Cornelius to the Gentiles, because the church is one—baptized in the Spirit into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, and made to drink of one Spirit.
Peter used the keys of the kingdom of the heavens to build the church.
When you look at the message Peter gave on the day of Pentecost, and also the message he gave in the house of Cornelius, it is the full gospel. It is the gospel of the kingdom.
“The One Whom you have slain, God has raised up, and He is now seated above, anointed to be Lord and Christ.” That is a kingdom message.
And when he spoke in the house of Cornelius, even though he did not finish—he was not able to finish his long-winded sermon; he was cut off by the Holy Spirit—when he began to say that God had raised Jesus up to be the Judge of all nations, that was a kingdom message.
The reason why the church is not built today is because we do not preach and emphasize the kingdom. People reject authority. When you mention the word authority, people’s heads get pricked.
But, brothers and sisters, authority has been abused. We greatly suffer under wrong authorities. But there is authority that comes from God, and that is the key to the building of the house of God.
And finally, the church brings in the kingdom. Is that not wonderful? The church is the vessel of God to bring in the kingdom.
How does the church bring in the kingdom? We already said in the very beginning that we should proclaim and preach the gospel of the kingdom to the nations as a witness to all the peoples, and then the end will come.
More than that, we also mentioned that we need to pray, “Thy kingdom come.” We must stand with God. God’s heart is that His kingdom will come. If you know God’s heart, you want to stand with Him and pray together with Him, “May Thy kingdom come. Let Thy kingdom come.”
But not only that: the church itself has to be built until it becomes a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, fit to be the bride of Christ. Then the Bridegroom will come, receive the bride, and set up His kingdom upon this earth.
One day Brother Fox asked Watchman Nee, “What do you think is the hardest thing in the Bible to be fulfilled?” And our brother’s answer was, “Ephesians 5: until the church becomes a glorious church, fit for the Bride. Then the end will come.”
Brothers and sisters, it is not the Bridegroom Who does not want to come and claim His bride. It is the bride that is not ready. This is our responsibility.
We who have received so much have a great responsibility. If we do not grow, if we do not take on the character of Christ, if we do not take up the cross and follow the Lord, if our spiritual condition is not matured until we come to the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ, then, brothers and sisters, the kingdom will be delayed.
That is the way to bring in the kingdom. But unfortunately, from what we can see, it seems as if it is further and further away.
But thank God, He has a way, and that is the way of the overcomers.
In Revelation 2 and 3, when the church is defeated, when the church degenerates and departs, the Lord calls for overcomers.
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that overcometh.”
In other words, when there is general decline, God’s purpose cannot be defeated. He is calling a remnant, overcomers, to overcome the degeneration and the departure, and to be faithful to what the Spirit says to the churches.
And through them, the kingdom will break in.
You remember Romans 8. The whole creation is groaning. The whole creation is under corruption, under bondage. They are not happy about it. They are groaning.
Why? It is because of man. The fall of man caused our universe to fall into corruption. Everything has lost its purpose. It is because of fallen man.
They are groaning, waiting for liberation. Why? They are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.
You know, God’s people are no longer babes. They become sons and daughters, grown up. And when the sons of God are manifested, the whole universe will be restored. The kingdom will come upon this earth.
So you remember our Lord Jesus. He is to lead many sons into glory. He is the Captain of our salvation, the Author of our eternal salvation.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we have a great responsibility. In the beginning, God gave man the responsibility to have dominion over all things and subdue all things. But man failed.
Now Christ has come. He has overcome. God has put all things under His feet and given Him to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who filleth all in all.
The victory of Christ over all things is given to the church, that the church may also subdue. Subdue in what way? Not by converting the world, but by overcoming the world.
When God’s people overcome the world, then the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
So, dear brothers and sisters, how important we are. We cannot afford not to be diligent. We have to seek first, because our Lord has great hope concerning us.
Shall we pray?
O Lord, how Thou dost long to come back to claim Thy bride. How Thou dost long to come back and get Thy kingdom.
We pray, Lord, that Thou wilt give us the same longing and the same willingness to lay down ourselves and allow Thee to work out Thy salvation. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.