Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God
Message One
The Kingdom of God—the Realm of the Divine Life and of the Divine Species
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
John 3:5-6 …Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Eph. 4:18-19 Being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; who, being past feeling…
Word of Appetizer
What is the kingdom of God? What is the unique way to enter into the kingdom of God?
The kingdom of God—the realm of the divine life and of the divine species. The kingdom of God is an organism constituted with God’s life as the realm for His ruling, in which He reigns by His life and expresses Himself as the Divine Trinity in the divine life. The kingdom of God is God in Christ as the totality of life with all its activities. The kingdom of God is not only the realm of the divine life and of the divine dominion but also the realm of the divine species, in which are all the divine things.
The unique way to enter into the kingdom of God is to receive God as life and gain God Himself; this is regeneration. In order to enter into the divine realm, the realm of the divine species, we need to be born of God to have the divine life and the divine nature.
Spiritual Burden
The kingdom of God is not only the realm of the divine life and of the divine dominion but also the realm of the divine species, in which are all the divine things. God became man to enter into the human species, and man becomes God in life and nature but not in the Godhead to enter into the divine species. In order to enter into the divine realm, the realm of the divine species, we need to be born of God to have the divine life and the divine nature.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The kingdom of God is the realm of the divine life. The kingdom of God is an organism constituted with God’s life as the realm for His ruling, in which He reigns by His life and expresses Himself as the Divine Trinity in the divine life.
The kingdom of God is not only the realm of the divine life and of the divine dominion but also the realm of the divine species, in which are all the divine things. In order to enter into the divine realm, the realm of the divine species, we need to be born of God to have the divine life and the divine nature.
The Experience of Life
The sense of life is the feeling, the consciousness, of the divine life within us. The sense of life makes us know whether we are living in the natural life or in the divine life and whether we are living in the flesh or in the spirit.
We, the believers in Christ and the children of God, have the reality of the divine life, and we are being transformed and conformed to the Lord’s image in our entire being.
Practice and Application
We have been born into the kingdom of God, and now the divine life in our spirit knows the kingdom of God. The sense of life guides us, governs us, controls us, and directs us.
In living a grafted life, we should live according to the principle of life, not according to the principle of right and wrong. If we would follow the sense of life, we need to live in a calm, steady, and unhurried way, living an ordinary life in the divine dispensing.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 A kingdom is a sphere as well as a realm of life (John 3:3, 11:25)
(Please illustrate that a sphere is a matter of authority, and a realm is a matter of life.)
T2 From the time of the sowing of the seed to the time of harvest is the growth process of the kingdom (Mark 4:26-29 )
(Please illustrate that the kingdom is like a seed sown into the earth, which grows until it is mature, and then is harvested.)
Day 2
T1 Regeneration is the unique entrance into the kingdom of God (John 3:5-6)
(Please illustrate that even if we were not fallen or sinful, we would still need to be born again.)
T2 The divine life brings us into the kingdom of God (Col. 1:13)
(Please illustrate that we cannot enter into the kingdom of God by learning or by being naturalized.)
Day 3
T1 The sense of life (Rom. 8:2, 6)
(Please illustrate three verses that the sense of life is thoroughly implied and referred to.)
T2 The sense of life on the negative side is the feeling of death (Rom. 8:2, 6 )
(Please illustrate the difference between the feeling of death and the sense of life.)
Day 4
T1 The higher the life is, the stronger the feeling is (Luke 1:79; Eph. 4:18-19)
(Please illustrate that the divine life is the strongest and highest life, so it has the richest, strongest, and keenest feeling.)
T2 The sense of life guides us and controls us (Luke 1:79; Eph. 4:18-19)
(Please illustrate that the sense of life makes us know whether we are living in the natural life or in the divine life.)
Day 5
T1 The growing of Christ within us is the coming of the kingdom (Col. 3:4; Matt. 5:8)
(Please illustrate that by being poor in our spirit and pure in our heart, we can give the Lord the ground to grow within us.)
T2 The life of Christ is a grape-producing life and also a fig-producing life (Col. 3:4; Matt. 7:16 )
(Please illustrate that which are the two different expressions of the kingdom life.)
Day 6
T1 What is regeneration (John 3:3, 5)
(Please illustrate that if we are not born anew, we do not have the capacity to see the kingdom of God.)
T2 Man was created in God’s kind, in God’s species (John 1:12-13)
(Please illustrate that in regeneration God begets gods [in His life and nature but not in His Godhead].)
