witness lee - the kingdom and the church

7/28/2019 Witness Lee - The Kingdom and the Church

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Witness Lee - The Kingdom and the Church

CONTENT

1. The Gospel and the Kingdom

2. Life and the Kingdom3. The Relation Between the Kingdom and the Church

4. The Building of the Church in Relation to the Kingdom

CHAPTER ONE

THE GOSPEL AND THE KINGDOM

Scripture Reading: Matt. 4:17; Matt. 24:14; John 3:3, 5; Rev. 5:9-10; Rom.

14:17

In this booklet we will consider the relationship between the kingdom of God and thechurch, but let us first ask a question which is vitally related to our subject: What is theobject of the gospel? In our preaching we generally tell the gospel story from the humanstandpoint, seldom from the divine. For one thing, we preachers lack a lofty enoughconcept of the gospel; for another, it is easier to preach from the human angle, for then wecan make a more personal appeal to our audience. If we preach the gospel from God'sstandpoint, our hearers are apt to consider it too remote, and because they feel it is of noimmediate interest, it is difficult for us to touch their emotions; so we make salvation fromsin the object, and offer our audience joy and peace. Occasionally, we raise the standard alittle and present life as the goal. Our starting point is man's sin, man's unrest, man'smisery, and man's dead condition. Our goal is pardon, peace, joy, and life. Because westress man's need when we preach the gospel, our converts stress their gain when theyaccept the gospel. They will say, "I believed on the Lord Jesus, and I obtained forgivenessof sins; I obtained peace and joy and life."

But if we look carefully through the Bible, setting aside our own concepts, we see that thescriptural presentation is quite different from ours. It is this: "Repent, for the kingdom ofheaven is at hand." It presents the kingdom as the object of the gospel. We should repentnot merely to obtain pardon, not merely to obtain peace, not merely to obtain life, but

because there is a heavenly kingdom that requires our repentance. We must repent inorder to become partakers in this kingdom. We may be satisfied to have obtained pardon,peace, and life, but God is not satisfied with that.

It was not only John the Baptist who began his gospel preaching with the words, "Repent,for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." These same words were also spoken by the LordJesus when He began His ministry. In this New Testament dispensation, when presentingthe gospel to man, God presents the kingdom as its one transcendent object. When in theNew Testament He substitutes grace for law, He does it for the kingdom's sake, becausethe law was impotent to lead men into the kingdom. Once we see the kingdom, we realizehow inadequate was our former apprehension of the gospel.

What a familiar topic the new birth is! How many have preached on the subject from thethird chapter of John! But how many have seen the purpose of the new birth? Our Lordsaid, "Except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). The


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object He presented was the kingdom! The purpose of the new birth is to enable us to enterthe kingdom!

I fear that not many have this concept of the new birththat thereby God has given us Hislife so that we may be able to partake of His kingdom. If I am to live in the kingdom of God,I need to possess a life other than the life I have by nature. I must be born again. I mustreceive the life of God, for unless I possess His life, I cannot live in His kingdom.

What we have said makes it sufficiently clear that the gospel always has the kingdom ofGod in view; it is therefore called "the gospel of the kingdom." Matthew 24:14 says, "Thisgospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world." But what is the kingdom?

The Christianity of today has made the matter of the kingdom largely a matter of prophecy,a matter related to the future. Many think "to enter the kingdom" is equivalent to "going toheaven." When I was a child I heard very much preaching of this kindsetting forth "thekingdom of heaven" or "the kingdom of God" as a place of eternal happiness reserved forthe future. This presentation is contrary to the Scriptures. The Scriptures show that thekingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven relates to our life in this present time. Weacknowledge there is an aspect of the kingdom that is future, but the scriptural emphasis is

on the present rather than the future. The kingdom touches our actual, everyday life.

The word "kingdom" used in the New Testament is a strong term in the Greek. Sometranslators have advocated the use of "sovereignty" as its equivalent. The idea is one ofsovereign rule, of kingly authority. Do you recall the words of Revelation 20:4 and 6? Both

verses speak of the resurrected saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years. The word"reign" used in both verses comes from the same root as the word "kingdom." The kingdomof God is the reign of God; the kingdom of heaven is the reign of heaven. But what doesthis imply? Surely it is not difficult for us to understand. Before we were saved we wereunder the dominion of Satan, and outwardly our lives were governed by men. As children

we were under the authority of our parents; as students we were under the authority of our

teachers; as citizens we were under the authority of the state; but there was no divineauthority in our lives.

Look at the modern cities. What order prevails! A white line runs along the middle of theroad and controls the comings and goings. No one crosses that white line. When someoneis about to drive in a certain direction, and he sees a notice indicating one-way traffic, hedoes not go that way. Elsewhere he sees "No Parking," so he does not park there. Howorderly! But remove the government, remove the police, remove the law-courts, and see

what the cities would look like! There would be utter chaos. Why is it that today people areso orderly? It is because the government, the police, and the law-courts are exercisingcontrol over them. Are they under the authority of God? No! And neither were we before

we were saved. We were not under the rule of God, which means that we were not in thekingdom of God.

But one day, through the gospel, God came to us and said, "You must repent!" Repent ofwhat? Not just repent of certain wrongs; not just repent of certain sins; but repent radicallyrepent of not being subject to the authority of heaven; repent of not submitting to thesovereignty of God.

The reason for our wrongdoing is primarily our nonacceptance of God's government. Mencommit all kinds of sins because they will not let God exercise His authority over them. Buthow can He bring them under His authority? By means of the gospel! The gospel that theNew Testament reveals is a gospel proclaimed to rebelsto men who have resisted God'sauthority, to men who have rejected His rule, to men who would not have Him to reignover them. That gospel cleanses such men and puts God's life within them so they canaccept God's government. That is the New Testament gospel!


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You have heard the gospel, you have believed and you have been saved, but have you seenthat the gospel has brought you under the rule of God? Have you seen that you have beensaved for this specific purpose, that you might come under His control? Have you seen that

your salvation is not merely a question of pardon, peace, and life, but that the very objectof your being forgiven and having life imparted into you, is to bring you under thesovereign rule of God? That is the gospel! Revelation 1:5-6 reads, "To Him Who loves usand has loosed us from our sins by His blood, and made us a kingdom." The reason God

washed us in the precious blood was that we might be brought under His government.

As I have preached the gospel in different places, I have had personal contact withnumbers of people who have been clearly saved and who after their salvation have saidsomething like this to me: "How is it that ever since I was saved I seem to be under somesort of control? It seems as though someone has taken over the management of my life, sothat when I want to do this or that, something in me says, 'You can't!' And when I want todo that it says, 'No! No!' Formerly I was my own master; now I can no longer do as Iplease. What does it all mean?"

Is not that your story too? Yes, that is the story of every saved person. Yet at the time of oursalvation we never thought that someone would come into our lives and take control. Many

people, when they are first saved, do not understand this, and have asked me for anexplanation. I have sought to explain it this way: How did you believe in the Lord? Did younot receive Him into your life? Then do you know that the Lord you received is not onlySaviour, but also King? He is not only the Crucified One, He is also the One who has beenexalted to the throne. He has received "all authority in heaven and on earth." "God hasmade Him both Lord and Christ." Today He is no longer the Savior on the cross. He is theSavior on the throne. It is as King that He has become your Savior, so His coming has

brought His throne into your life. Every saved person is under an inner government, andthis government is the government of the kingdom. Hitherto you have been aware of arestraint upon you, but you have not realized that there is a throne within your life. Thekingdom of God is within you.

A few days ago I met someone who said with amazement: "My fellow students can enterheartily into all sorts of recreations, and I long to do the same. Yet when I want to take partin those amusements, there is a strong inner restraint. Why is there all this trouble inside?"

We sometimes tell people that there is trouble inside because they have the life of the Lordinside. That is true enough, but it is not the whole truth. The question is not just one of alife within, but of an authority within.

Paul said, "The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peaceand joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17). What are "eating and drinking"? Very practicalmatters of daily life. God's kingdom is likewise a practical matter of daily lifeas practical

a matter as eating and drinking. God's kingdom is "righteousness and peace and joy in theHoly Spirit." When the authority of God's kingdom is allowed to operate within us, thesethree things will characterize our daily lifetoward ourselves we shall be strict in allmatters of "righteousness"; in our relation to others we shall be characterized by "peace";and in our walk with God we shall have "joy in the Holy Spirit." If we lack joy in the HolySpirit, something has gone wrong with us. It is when we throw off the divine restraint that

we are silent while others are praising. While they sing their hallelujahs, we cannot evenproduce an amen. Our spirits become weighted so that we cannot rejoice. Whenrighteousness marks our personal walk, when we have peace in our relation with others,and when we have joy in the presence of Godthen the kingdom is manifesting itself inour everyday life.

Let us cease to think of the kingdom as a matter merely of prophecy. The New Testamentreveals that as soon as we are saved, the throne of God is brought into our inner beings, sothat thereafter our lives are lived in subjection to His kingdom.


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CHAPTER TWO

LIFE AND THE KINGDOM

Scripture Reading: Matt. 5:20; Matt. 5:48; Matt. 7:21; Matt. 19:23-26; John3:3; Rev. 22:1-2

The Scriptures, from beginning to end, associate life with authority. When man is firstmentioned, these two matters are both introduced. In the first chapter of Genesis thequestion of authority is brought up. When God created man He said, "Have dominion overthe fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that movethupon the earth" (Gen. 1:28). As soon as God created Adam, He bestowed on him the rightto govern the entire earth. But Genesis 1 does not tell us all that transpired between Godand man when man was created, so Genesis 2 supplements the record. Genesis 1 tells usthat God wanted man to exercise dominion over the earth on His behalf, and it tells us also

what sort of man this man must be who is to wield authority for God. He must be "in theimage of God." The man who is to rule the earth for God must be a man after God's"likeness"that is, like Godso that when you have seen this man who is in dominion, you

have, as it were, seen God Himself. The man who is to govern the earth for God is notmerely one who wields authority; he is one who wields authority as God's representative.That is a tremendous thing. That is a transcendent thing and it demands a transcendentlife for its accomplishment. A supernatural task requires a supernatural life. It is necessaryfor us to grasp this pointthat if man is to represent God and to exercise dominion for Godon the earth, then man must possess a supernatural life. He cannot possibly bear so lofty aresponsibility in the strength of his own natural life. If he is to wield divine authority and

be a divine representative, he must possess the divine life.

Therefore, as soon as Genesis 1 has presented a man in the divine likeness and in theexercise of divine authority, Genesis 2 presents the tree of life. God was indicating that He

would have man partake of the tree of life so that he might possess the divine life andthereby be enabled to fulfill the responsibilities of his ministry. If only the uncreated life ofGod could enter a human creature, then that human creature would be able to representthe Lord of creation, and that human creature would be able to rule the earth on behalf ofthe Lord of creation.

Do you see that at the very outset the Bible has linked authority and life? And at the end ofthe Bible these two are still linked. In the final two chapters of Revelation you see lifeissuing from the throneand the throne represents authority (Rev. 22:1-2). This matter ofauthority is entirely a matter of life. If you have the life, you have the authority. "Except aman be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." "Except a man be born of water

and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:3, 5). If we are to havepart in the kingdom we must be born anew. We must become possessors of a life otherthan the life we have by nature. To use the Old Testament illustration, the Adam of Genesis1 with his earthly life must receive the heavenly life of Genesis 2. Oh, do not think that wemust be born again because we have sinned. We must be born again because we need topossess a life which we do not possess by natural birth. Of course sinners need to be bornagain, but if man had not fallen, the new birth would still be necessary. Our Lord toldNicodemus he needed to receive the life of God so that he might become a partaker in thekingdom of God. Do you see that here again life and the kingdom are linked together?

You may say: "Oh, it's all very good, but it's all beyond me! I truly want to submit to theauthority of God, but I simply can't! I'm too weak." Yes, we are all too weak, for we are allchildren of Adam; we are all children of dust; we are all very earthy. And earthen things areso fragile. A little knock and they go to pieces. That is what we are like. And we are not justfeeble creatures; we are fallen creatures. We are rebels by nature. We have no strength

when it comes to submitting to God, but we have lots of strength when it comes to rebelling


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against Him. We have to confess that our natural life is a rebellious life, and it cannotpossibly submit to God. The life we have by our natural birth is totally incapable of yieldingto His authority. Our natural life is incapable, totally incapable, of coming under thegovernment of God. When the disciples heard the Lord speaking about the kingdom, theyheaved a sigh and said, "Who can?" And the Lord answered, "With men this is impossible."

Let me use an illustration here. A dog cannot fly To a dog, flight is a sheer impossibility.But what a dog cannot do, a bird can do with ease. It is the simplest thing for a bird to soar

up into the sky. The life of a dog is a life that cannot fly; the life of a bird is a life that flieswith ease. The bird has the kind of nature that flies, and it would suffer intensely if you didnot let it fly. As for the dog, if you want it to crawl into a hole, it can do that; or if you wantit to climb up a hill, it can do that too; but ask it to fly and it simply cannot. It is a matter oflife. Our corrupt natural life cannot be subject to God. We need another life for that. Weneed the life of God. The new birth is the coming of God into man, so that what before wasimpossible to man now becomes possible. "With God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26).Our problem of authority is no problem to God. When we have His life, it is the mostnatural thing to come under His authority. It is as spontaneous as for a bird to fly. If wesuppress the divine life within us and do not let it submit to the divine authority, then wesuffer as a caged bird suffers. But when we submit to the divine control we are wonderfully

released. The more we submit, the more released we are until, as Isaiah puts it, we can"mount up with wings as eagles" (Isa. 40:31). Brothers and sisters, do you see that the

whole question of the kingdom is a question of life?

The demands of the kingdom are terrific, but the provision of the divine life is equal to allits demands. A full gospel presents the kingdom with its requirements. It also presents theprecious blood to cleanse from defilement and the life to supply the power which makes uspartakers in the kingdom. The gospel presents these three thingsthe kingdom, the blood,and the life. The kingdom makes its demands, but by virtue of the cleansing that comesthrough the precious blood and the power that comes through the divine life, even we who

by nature are fallen creatures can live the kingdom life. Praise God, the very source of life is

within useven God Himself! The God who from the throne issues His demands, Himselfmeets His demands. From the throne He requires that we be subject to Him, and from

within He supplies the life that can be subject to Him. This takes no toll of our strength,but it does require our cooperation. There is no need for us to do, but there is the need forus to let Him do. Otherwise, how could the demands of the kingdom ever be met? Listen tothese lofty demands! "Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for atooth; but I say unto you: Resist not him that is evil; but whosoever smiteth thee on thyright cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man would...take away thy coat, let himhave thy cloak also" (Matt. 5:38-40). In my youth when I read those words I thought, "Oh,I could not possibly do that! And never in all my life shall I be able; so I'll have to give up

being a Christian. I can't be a false Christian, and I can't be a true one, so I can't be one at

all. There's no way out!" But a voice within me said: "You can't help being a Christian." Iwanted to draw back, but I could not draw back; I wanted to go forward, but I could not goforward. Oh, the misery of it! For a long time I was in great perplexity, but one day Godshowed me that what I was trying to do was an utter impossibility, and He had nevermeant me to try. Imagine trying to attain to this: "Ye therefore shall be perfect, as yourheavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). That day light dawned, and I was able to praiseGod that He was my Father, and that the Father's life in me could enable even me to beperfect. The question is not one of our ability to do, but of giving our consent to His doing.He is impotent if we refuse consent. And that is where the trouble often liesHe is willing,

but we are unwilling.

Do you see? The requirements of the kingdom can never be met by man, and God neverexpected man to meet them. The demands He makes, He Himself meetsand that is thegrace revealed in the New Testament! In the Old Testament the law made its demands onman, but in the New Testament it is the kingdom that makes its demands. The demands ofthe kingdom are far more exacting than the demands of the law. The demands of the law


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proved how utterly impotent man was; now the demands of the kingdom prove, not howunable man is, but how able God is. There is no need for the demands of the kingdom toprove man's inability, for that has been conclusively proved by the demands of the law.Today the requirements of the kingdom serve to demonstrate the infinite ability of God. Hehas become our life that in us He may meet all the demands His kingdom makes upon us.

It is important to realize that God's life has been given for the sake of His kingdom. If wedo not let Him set up His throne in our lives and assert His authority over us, His life

cannot operate in us. God has put His life in us for the specific purpose of meeting thedemands of His kingdom, and unless we allow Him to establish His kingdom in us, His lifewithin us cannot function.

Let me use one or two illustrations. A sister came to me with her troubles and after talkingawhile she said something like this: "I have really no problem except the problem of myown bad temper. I keep losing my temper with my husband and with my children. I haveprayed and prayed about it, but the more I pray for victory, the more my temper gets the

better of me. Why is it? I know the Lord is my Savior; why doesn't He save me from my badtemper? I know the Lord hears prayer; why doesn't He hear my prayers about my badtemper? I know His life is mighty; why can't His mighty life overcome this little temper of

mine?" All that she said was very reasonable. The Lord's life within us is a mighty life, andthe Lord is a hearer and answerer of prayer. Why then is that little temper not overcome?Please do not misunderstand me when I say that the life of the Lord has been put within

you and me to meet the needs of God's great kingdom, not to meet the need of our littletemper. So I said to that sister, "Who is Lord of your life, you or the Lord? Is the authorityin your hands or in His?" And when she reasoned again about her temper, I asked again,"Who is on the throne of your life, you or God?" When I pressed the point and refused hera loop-hole to escape, at long last the answer came: "I am in charge of my own life." Then Isaid, "Sister, what need is there to say anything more? You are on the throne and you wantthe Lord to help you. If He is not in the place of authority in your life, how can He doanything for you?"

That is our whole trouble today. Why cannot God's mighty life deal with our little tempers?The question is not one of little problems or big problems; the question is this: Who is onthe throne? You are always hoping God will confine Himself to the throne in heaven while

you occupy the throne in your life. Then you are bothered by your weaknesses and sins, soyou call upon Him to help you. You cry out to Him: "Are You not the Mighty One? HaveYou not promised to answer prayer? Can You bear to see Your child living a life of defeat?"Yes, He can bear to see you defeated, and He will let you go on being defeated until yourealize that He has put His life within you in order to establish His kingdom within you.

You must let Him have the throne. Let Him take control. Let Him establish His kingdom in

your life. Then every foe will be overcome. There will be no need then to pray about yourweaknesses, for if He has His place on the throne of your life every foe will be vanquished.In the Old Testament days, when Jehovah had His place as King over His people, all theirenemies were subject to them, but when they refused to let Him have dominion, theenemies gained the ascendancy. Then all their cries were unavailing. Their enemies tookthe holy city, destroyed the temple, carried off the ark, and took God's own people captive.

A brother once came to me and said something like this: "Why is it that my platformministry is so weak? I pray a great deal about it. I sometimes fast and pray, and at times Ispend a night in prayer before accepting a speaking invitation. Why am I still powerless?"My answer was the same as before: "Who is in control of your life?" That is the wholequestion. If you try to restrict God to the throne in heaven and refuse Him the throne in

your life, all your cries for help will avail nothing. The question is not one of weakness orpower; the question is one of the throne.


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We read of the river of living water that "on this side of the river and on that was the tree oflife, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month" (Rev. 22:2). Whereverthis river flowed, every need was met. But where did the river come from? "And He showedme a river of water of life...proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev.22:1). Life is always associated with the throne. When we yield to God's authority and letHim establish His kingdom in our lives, then we are maintained in victory and in fullnessof life, for then we too are in authority.

CHAPTER THREE

THE RELATION BETWEENTHE KINGDOM AND THE CHURCH

Scripture Reading: Matt. 16:18-19; Eph. 1:22-23; Eph. 4:15-16; Col. 2:19

The opening proclamation of the New Testament is this: "The kingdom of heaven is athand" (Matt. 3:2). The New Testament calls immediate attention to the matter of the

kingdom. But after a while, when the disciples have come to know Him, the Lord raises thequestion of the church. The church was a mystery that had been hidden throughout all thegenerations of the past, and it was not until the Lord Jesus had brought His disciples to thepoint of recognizing Him as "the Christ, the Son of the living God," that He spoke openly ofthe church. When Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," the Lordcame in at once with the word: "Upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:16-18). It

was as though He was saying: "I am the Son of God, the Christ, for this purposethebuilding of My church. As the Son of God and as the Christ, I am a Rock, the FoundationStone of a building that is to be built; and that building of which I am the foundation is thechurch."

Let us bear in mind that the first mention of the church is in Matthew 16, and Matthew isthe book that proclaims the kingdom. The Lord's second mention of the church is still inthe book of Matthewchapter 18. The four Gospels record only two occasions when ourLord on earth made reference to the church, and both of these are in the book whichspecifically proclaims the kingdom. From that fact we may know how intimately thekingdom and the church are related. Throughout the New Testament we find these twoadvancing together in the closest connection. When the Lord said, "Upon this rock I will

build my church," He immediately added, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom ofheaven." The keys of the kingdom are given to make the building of the church possible.

Where the authority of the kingdom is absent, there the building of the church will belacking. Anyone who refuses to submit to the authority of the kingdom can at best be a

saved person; he will never be built into the structure of the church.

The Bible first presents the kingdom and thereafter presents the church. Where thekingdom of heaven is in authority, there a church will be built up. A church comes into

being where a company of people accept the government of heaven. So it would appear tobe the presence of the kingdom that produces the church. But the New Testament goesbeyond that. That is only one half of the New Testament revelation; the other half is thisthe church brings in the kingdom. The church which comes into being under the rule ofheaven, by reason of her submission to the heavenly rule, deals with God's enemy. It is thepresence of God's enemy that hinders God's will from being done on the earth, and it is theexercise of God's authority by the church that casts him out. Then the New Jerusalemappears, and in the New Jerusalem you see the kingdom and the church blending into one.The New Jerusalem is the Bride, which according to Ephesians 5 is the church. It is also acity, which speaks of government, and in this center of government there is the throne ofGod and of the Lamb. The New Jerusalem combines in itself both the church and thekingdom. And in saying this we have summed up in a sentence the entire content of the


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New Testament. We might express it in three phrasesthe kingdom produces the church,the church brings in the kingdom, and the ultimate issue is the kingdom and the church.The New Testament opens by presenting the kingdom and thereafter presenting thechurch. But how does the church become an actuality? It is through the exercise ofkingdom authority. When the church has ceded to the kingdom the right to rule and hassubmitted to its sway, the church then brings the dominion of heaven to the earth. All the

way through the New Testament we see the church blending with the kingdom and thekingdom blending with the church, until eventually this blending issues in the New

Jerusalem. In the New Jerusalem, where you can detect the nature of the church and theconditions of the kingdom, God is able to express His sovereignty fully and can thereforeexecute His will and display His glory.

With that summary in mind let us now inquire: Why was the church needed? We can onlyindicate the answer in a few words. God has a purpose concerning the universe, but for itsaccomplishment it was necessary for Him to wield authority, because as we pointed outearlier, no plan can be carried into effect where authority is lacking. Whether or not God

would be able to implement His purpose hinged on this matter of authority. So when God'senemy sought to frustrate God's purpose, he did a crucial thinghe violated God'sauthority. How did God seek to meet the situation? He did so by securing another creation

through which He could exercise authority. He sought a company of men who would giveHim the right-of-way on the earth to carry His will into effect. If only He could secure a

band of men on the earth who would let Him wield dominion over them, then He couldaccomplish His purpose concerning Christ in and through them. It was for this reason thatGod needed the church. He wanted to have the church in order to bring His kingdom fromheaven to earth.

The question which now arises is this: How is the church secured? We might answer: "TheLord Jesus shed His blood for the remission of our sins and gave His life that we might be

born again and thereby constitute the church." This is true enough, but it is a verysuperficial aspect of the truth. The Scriptures present this far more profound aspectthat

the church has been secured through the sovereign rule of heaven. Because the kingdom ofheaven is able to assert its authority over a company of men, that company of men can be

built up into a church. It is necessary at this point to recapitulate. Why was the churchbrought into being? For the purpose of bringing in the kingdom! How was the churchbrought into being? By means of the authority of the kingdom! God's purpose was to bringHis heavenly dominion to the earth, and apart from the church, His goal could not beattained. He needed a people who would subject themselves to the dominion of heaven, sothat under that dominion they might be built up into the church. That is what Matthew 16reveals. Do not imagine that by our salvation alone we become the church. We who aresaved are in the church, but our salvation alone does not constitute us the church. Thechurch is a Body; therefore, there is need of relatedness and there is the need of building

up.

Let me illustrate. Our body has very many bones, but do many bones constitute a body?Let the Old Testament book of Ezekiel supply the answer. Ezekiel says that the children ofIsrael were in the sight of God like a heap of dry bones. One day the breath of life came intothem, and the bones were knit together, and they became one body (Ezek. 37).

To illustrate again, the church is a house. It is God's dwelling, God's temple. Now the Biblesays that we who are saved are "living stones" and are built together into a "spiritualhouse" (1 Pet. 2:5). We admit that a house is built of stones, but a heap of stones is not ahouse. Brothers and sisters, do not take for granted that if a thousand brothers and sisters

come together here, it means that the church is here. What is the church? It is the savedassembled together. But what kind of an assembling together is it? A great number ofstones heaped up together is not a house. What then is a house? It is stone built upon stonethis one set on top of that one, that one set beside the other one, above and beneath, toleft and to right, before and behind, all perfectly placed in relation to one another. Apart


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from a building together of the stones there can be no house. There might be a thousandbrothers and sisters together and all are saved, but we would still ask whether they havebeen built together or not. They are certainly church material, but whether they are thechurch or not depends on whether or not they have been built together. Without buildingthere is no church.

Perhaps some would ask what it really means to be built. Unfortunately, while the word"built," as used in Matthew 16, is found very often in the New Testament, it is frequently

rendered "edify." So we read of believers being "edified" and of the church being "edified."But the original language does not imply (as does the word "edify") to "improve morally,"or to "benefit spiritually," but truly to "build." How do we build? Well, here is a stone!

Along comes a workman, tool-in-hand, and applies that tool to the stone until its surface isperfectly even. But that stone has to fit into a certain space in the building. The stone istriangular. The space is rectangular. So the stone has to be chipped and chipped andchipped until the shape of the stone and the space in the building perfectly correspond.Then into the space the stone is fitted. The stone is not there to be ornamental; it is there to

be part of the building. Oh, it is not a lot of ornamental stones that are needed. In manygatherings there is quite a display of beautiful stones, but I am afraid there has not been a

building up of the stones into a house. What God wants is not a lot of precious stones; He

wants a spiritual house.

We often meet brothers who are delightful Christians. Their lives are well ordered, they arecareful about the early morning watch and earnest in evangelistic work; they have attendedmany meetings for spiritual "edification" and have become so truly "edified" that they callforth the commendation of others; yet they remain individualists who cannot be "built."They are precious stones, so precious they cannot be fitted together with common clay orstone. They are too beautiful to be built up into one building with others, so they remainindividual Christians, lovely for display, but no good for building. What God desires is ahouse, not a lot of separate stones, however beautiful they may be. He wants a completechurch, not numbers of scattered Christians.

One sister, speaking to me of another, said: "Oh, she's such a precious sister, so spiritual!"When I asked more about her, she said, "Oh, she's so humble, so quiet, so gentle; we havenever known her to be irritated." And again she added, "She's so spiritual!" "Who is shespiritual with?" I asked. "Is she an isolated spiritual sister, or has her spirituality relatedher to others?" "Oh!" replied the sister, "singers who strike such high notes as she find few

who can sing with them." Alas! that sister was so spiritual that no one could be herspiritual companion. Such a sister is all right for display purposes, but she is of no use forchurch building. The kind of sister needed in the church is one who can have anotherplaced behind her and another in front, another to her left and another to her right, andone below her and one above. That is the kind of Christian God is seeking today.

During the past two thousand years one of the greatest hindrances to the purpose of God,and the main reason why our Lord has had to delay His return, is the lack of Christians

who have been built together. You can find Christians all over the world, and you can findspiritual Christians too; but where in any one place has a spiritual house been built? Thereare lots of stones that have been wrought upon until they are very beautiful, but where isthe building? May the Lord have mercy upon us!

Brothers and sisters, there is a condition to be fulfilled if there is to be a building. The oneindispensable condition is submission to the authority of the kingdom. Our Savior has

been exalted to be Head of the universe, and all authority has been given Him in heavenand on earth. God has put all things under His feet and has made Him Head over all thingsto the church. In the first place this implies that the church must come under Hisheadship. What is headship? It is the government of the Head. Do realize that if the churchis to be built up, we must submit to the authority of the Head. Where there is no Headthere is no authority; and there the question of church building cannot even arise. In


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Ephesians 4:15-16, which speaks throughout of the building of the church, it is shown to beof primary importance that we "grow up into Him in all things, Who is the Head, Christ."In how many things are we really growing up into Him? Even our humility, even our love,and even many of our other good qualities, are not necessarily a growing up under Hisheadship. We have not yet understood what it means to have our affections governed byChrist, and to have all those other desirable qualities developed under His headship.

Where there is truly a growing up in all things into the Head, there will follow the buildingup of the Body as these two verses show. "All the Body, fitted and knit together...causes the

growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love." Colossians 2:19 speaks of"holding the Head." What does that mean? It means in all things submitting to theauthority of the Head. Note that it does not say: "holding the Savior," nor does it say:"holding the life." It is when we submit to the government of the Head that there will bethe building of which the same verse speaks"all the body, being supplied and knittogether through the joints and bands, increaseth with the increase of God." Get subjectionto the authority of the Head, and you get the building up of the Body. Where thegovernment of heaven is secured, there the church is secured. The extent to which thechurch is built up in our midst will depend entirely upon the place given in our midst to thechurch's Head.

"All the Body, fitted and knit together"that is church building! But how does it happen?"Out from Whom all the Body, fitted and knit together." It happens as each membersubmits to the Head; it happens as each accepts the government of the kingdom of heaven.Only through those who come under the control of the Head can the building of the church

be secured. So the question as to whether or not the church will be built up becomes aquestion of whether or not you and I can accept the authority of the kingdom.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH

IN RELATION TO THE KINGDOMScripture Reading: Matt. 16:16-19; Eph. 2:22; 1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 4:11-12, 15-16;

Col. 2:19

The New Testament clearly reveals that in this universe God has focused all His activitieson a building project. He has undertaken many other tasks, but the work that is central toall His other work, and the work that is the ultimate to which all His other work is directed,is the structure of which the Lord speaks in Matthew 16"I will build my church." All thedivine activity in the universe is directed toward this, the building of the church.

The church is a mystery, a great mystery. If we know our Bibles, and if we know somethingof fellowship with God, then we will know that the church was a secret long hidden in theheart of God. To state it briefly, this mystery is God Himself wrought into humanity, GodHimself wrought into the lives of His creaturesand fallen creatures at that. But throughredemption these creatures have become partakers of divine life and have therebyexperienced two creationscreation "in Adam" and creation "in Christ" (2 Pet. 1:4). By thefirst creation they have received created life; by the second creation they have receiveduncreated life. By the first creation they have become possessors of a human nature; by thesecond creation they have become possessors of a divine nature. Not only has man becomepossessed of two dispositions, the human and the divine, but God Himself has taken upHis abode in man. Man in his outer being remains unchanged. He is still man, truly man

but into his inner being has come the heavenly nature, for the God of heaven has come todwell within him.


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God is now working upon this humanity that men should not be separate units, but becoordinated into one. He wants many men to become one organic whole, one Body. He

wants the many to be built up into one structure, one house. He wants them to be broughtinto such harmony with Himself that they may become His dwelling place. He wants themto be brought into such correspondence with Christ. that they shall become His Body.

When the work of God is perfected, what we now see as Christ's Body, and what we nowsee as God's dwelling, we shall then see as the Bride of Christ and the city of God, which isHis governmental center. Call this as you willthe Body of Christ, or the house of God, or

the family of God, or the kingdom of Godit is here that all God's fullness dwells. This iswhat God planned in eternity past before the creation, and when in time God began Hiscreative work, this was the goal He had in view. Though there was satanic interference,God did not suspend His activity, but brought in redemption that the work might continue.

When His Son came to earth He plainly stated that His desire was this building (Matt.16:16-19).

Brothers and sisters, I trust you have caught a vision of the church. I trust you see howsacred a thing the church is, how mysterious, how immense. God has laid hold of men andhas imparted Himself into them. He is now working to make them one corporate whole, sothat in and through them He may manifest Himself in all His glory. This is the task to

which God has been bending all His energies, and it is in the light of this that we must readagain the words of the Lord Jesus: "I will build my church."

Once, when I went to Hong Kong, a fellow-worker drew my attention to the high buildingseverywhere. But what are those buildings compared to the church? They are mere

worthless structures. God is putting up a great building in the universe, and He is usingHimself and man as building material. He is putting Himself into the building; He isputting heaven into the building; and He is also putting into it numbers and numbers ofmen who have been saved through the generations; and He is building all that materialtogether. He was referring to this when He said, "I will build my church."

But how did He set about this task of building the church? It was by sending the HolySpirit, and by giving gifts to the church. "He gave some apostles, and some prophets, andsome evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers...unto the building up of the Body ofChrist" (Eph. 4:11-12). While much evangelistic work goes on, and much work for theedification of believers goes on, there is little evidence of church building, yet God hasgiven evangelists, prophets, and teachers for the specific purpose of building up thechurch. I hope you realize that this is the one thing in the universe God is after, and all whoare seeking to work for Him should have this goal before them.

But let us bring our consideration of this so lofty theme right down to everyday life andconsider it in its practical aspect. What is the usual concept of building the church? You

open a place of worship, you introduce people to Christianity, you have them baptized, youarrange a variety of meetings, you get things organized a bitand you have the church! Ido not wish to enlarge on this line, but I long that the Lord's children might realize that

what we have just described is not what the Bible means by building the church. Thebuilding of the church means first, the bringing of men under the authority of the church'sHead. Before men are saved they are under the authority of Satan, and after they are savedthey are delivered out of the authority of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of theSon of His love (Col. 1:13). To be saved is to be delivered out of Satan's authority and to beplaced under the authority of Christ. It is a great grief to me to hear people explainingsalvation as a matter of being saved from hell to heaven. Of course salvation brings us toheaven, but heaven is not the goal of our salvation. Salvation is not merely a matter of God

in His compassion for men translating them from hell to heaven, but of delivering them"out of the authority of darkness" and transferring them "into the kingdom of the Son ofHis love." The objective here is not heaven, but the kingdom. God saves us that we maycome into subjection to the Son of His love. The building up of the church has its beginning


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herethe bringing of people under the sway of Christ who formerly had been underSatan's sway.

Oh, that you might realize that as soon as the question of church building arises, thequestion of the headship of Christ arises! When you meet that challenge, praise God! The

building of the church begins in your life. If in any person, or in any company of believers,Christ is able to assert His authority, then He starts to build His church. That is why wehave kept stressing the fact that there must be the sovereign rule of the kingdom if there is

to be any building up of the church. Unless the kingdom is here, no church will be built uphere.

If the mass of material that went into the building of a meeting hall were torn down until itall lay in a heap, what would be the good of it? It would be utterly useless. That all thematerial serves a purpose today, is because it has all been built up into an orderedstructure. Brothers and sisters, there is an urgent need for the building up of believers! Theneed is not for the establishing of Christian groups, but for the building up of the churchunder the government of the church's Head. If you are to have a part in that, then you

yourself will need to submit to the headship of Christ. When His authority becomes asettled issue in your life, an amazing thing will begin to take placeyou will find yourself

most naturally being built together with others who are also in subjection to His authority.Such a company of believers will be a strong church, able to do battle for the kingdom ofGod. In the face of such a church Satan will be impotent. But if such a church is to comeinto beinga church against which the gates of Hades cannot prevailthen a building upmust take place; and that cannot take place apart from a recognition of the church's Headand subjection to His authority.

You may ask what this means in practical terms. Let me illustrate. Two strangers meet,both believers. With delight each recognizes the other as a brother. They praise the Lordand are thrilled that they have found one another. They decide to preach the gospeltogether, and soon a score of people are savedtwelve from the north and eight from the

south. Those two brothers rejoice more heartily than ever. How they praise the Lord thatthey were able together to lead all those souls to Him! But this happy state of affairs doesnot last, for the northerners are rather strange characters, and the southerners too havetheir peculiar temperaments. At first praise is so easy, but soon it becomes hard work toproduce a "Praise the Lord!" Before long criticisms begin to take the place of "hallelujahs,"and discord increases, until one day the northerners and the southerners decide to partcompany and each rents a separate meeting place.

Is the church built that way? Far from it. That is the way the church is destroyed. What isthe source of the trouble? It is the absence of the throne! In the book of Judges we read:"In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own

eyes" (Judg. 21:25). When there was no king in Israel, there was no authority, and thepeople just did as they pleased. At that time a certain family set up a place of worship intheir own home, hired a Levite to be their household priest, and there they instituted aform of "divine worship" (Judg. 17). That is exactly the state of things in the present day!

We think if we are just keen enough, we can gather some people together, and you can setup a church on this street, and I can set up a church on that street, and we can hire apreacher to preach for us. Brothers and sisters, what is the cause of all this confusion? Theultimate cause is that we have not subjected ourselves to the Head of the church.

But let us return to our illustration of the two brothers. If those two had both come intosubjection to the church's Head, their problems would have been solved, for authorityquells all rebellion. Oh, what rebel stuff there is in our make-up! I confess that my ownnature is utterly antagonistic to the Lord, but His authority over me has brought me to lovemy brethren, so that I can truly serve Him together with them. Brothers and sisters, wetalk about mutual love, but this love of ours one for the other is very transient. There isonly one place where love is permanent, and that is under the Head of the church.


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Nowhere else is there true harmony or permanent relatedness. When we are willing to bebroken under His authority, something tremendous happensa building process begins totake place. A constant acceptance of the discipline of His government makes way for theflow of His life, and so the building work goes on apace. Those brothers and sisters whohave been our problems become our blessings, and it is not long before a company is builtup in the life of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, this is what God desires today. It is not enough that we preach the

gospel, bring people to a knowledge of salvation, and to a measure of spirituality. We mustalso bring them under the headship of Christ so that they may be built up. Under Hisheadship we shall cease to reckon with difficulties, for we shall touch fullness of life. Thenthe specific spiritual function which belongs to each member of the Body will becomeapparent, and this local church will become a strong church in which, under the directionof the Head, every member, from the smallest to the greatest, will have a contribution tomake to the whole.

witness lee - the kingdom and the church

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