Within the first blue circle of the chart is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. The overcoming believers are living in this reality. Outside the blue circle is the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens.
Three parables in Matthew 13 speak of the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. The first is the parable of the wheat and the tares (vv. 24-30, 36-43). Wheat refers to genuine believers, tares to the false ones. The false ones are not in the church but in Christendom, the appearance of the kingdom. The second parable is the parable of the mustard seed (vv. 31-32). A mustard seed is an herb to produce food, but in this parable it grows into a tree, a lodge for birds, that is, for evil persons and things. The church, with its nature changed, became deeply rooted and settled in the earth. Outwardly flourishing, the great tree speaks of the enterprises of Christendom, which are the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. The third parable is the parable of the leaven (v. 33), which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal. Bread which is leavened is easier to eat. Many Bible truths concerning Christ have been leavened by Christendom. These leavened teachings are easier for people to take.
The second blue circle on the chart is the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. This is the third aspect of the kingdom of the heavens.
To see these three aspects—the reality, the appearance, and the manifestation—will help us to understand the truth concerning the kingdom of the heavens in a proper way.
The kingdom is the ruling, the government, of God (Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13). Here God can exercise His authority for the fulfillment of His purpose (Matt. 6:13b). The Lord Jesus prayed in Matthew 6:10, "Let Your kingdom come let Your will be done." If there is no kingdom, God has no way to accomplish His will. God needs a kingdom to accomplish His purpose.
The purposes in God's creation of man can be seen in Genesis 1:26-28. First, God created man in His own image. This indicates that God's intention was to express Himself through the man He had created. Second, God intended man to have dominion (to rule) over all created things for His kingdom.