The kingdom truths have much to do with the inner life as well as the church life. If we are going to realize the church life, we must know something about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the heavens. If we are going to experience the inner life in a practical way, we must know the kingdom of the heavens. We have already pointed out that the kingdom of God is the rule of God, the government of God. The kingdom of the heavens is the heavenly rule, the heavenly government. We must remember that the first gospel preaching, preached by both John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus, was concerning the kingdom of the heavens. Because of our natural concepts, we are prone to consider that the first item of the New Testament gospel is the forgiveness of sins, and the second item is eternal life. Negatively, our sins have been forgiven, and positively, we have eternal life. But in fact, the first word of the New Testament gospel is to repent for the sake of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 3:2; 4:17). We need forgiveness of sins so that we can have eternal life, and we need eternal life so that we can be under the heavenly rule. The kingdom is the requirement of the gospel, and the life is the supply of the gospel. What the gospel requires, it also supplies. The gospel requires us to be governed and ruled by the heavens. The gospel also supplies us with the divine life for us to fulfill the requirements of the kingdom.
Matthew 5, 6, and 7 reveal the highest standard of living, a living on the highest plane. These chapters reveal that we must be poor in spirit (5:3), pure in heart (v. 8), and meek (v. 5). We must even suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness (v. 10). If someone takes your tunic, you should let him have your cloak (v. 40). If a man compels you to go one mile, you should go with him two miles (v. 41).
When Brother Nee was young, he preached the gospel, and a number of young people were brought to the Lord. These young people went to the country to preach the gospel to the farmers, and a number of the farmers were saved. Most of the farmland was on the hills, so the farmers had to bring the water up to water their fields. Two of these farmers who met the Lord had some land close to the top of a mountain. Their neighbor owned some fields under their land. After these two farmers brought the water to their fields in the evening, they went home. When they came to their fields the next day, they found that all the water was gone. Their neighbor had stolen the water from their fields by draining the water from the two farmers’ fields down to his fields.
The two farmers were very angry, but as Christians they thought that they needed to learn patience. So they brought up the water once more to water their fields. When they came again the next day, they discovered that their water had been drained to their neighbor’s fields again. They were very angry again, but since they were Christians, they thought that they needed to learn patience. Therefore, they did not say anything or do anything. They brought the water up again to water their fields. The next day the water was gone again. By this time they were so troubled that they went to see Brother Nee. They told Brother Nee the story and that as Christians they felt they had to be patient in this matter. When Brother Nee asked them if they felt joyful within, the two brothers replied that the more they exercised to be patient, the more they suffered.
Then Brother Nee read them Matthew 5:40-41: “And to him who wishes to sue you and take your tunic, yield to him your cloak also; and whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” Brother Nee told them that if they wanted to be happy Christians, they should bring the water to their neighbor’s fields first and then bring the water to their fields. The next day the two brothers brought the water first to their neighbor’s fields, and then they brought the water to their own fields. They were flooded with joy and praise to the Lord. That night their neighbor came again to steal their water. When the neighbor arrived, he saw that his fields were already filled with water and that there was no need for him to steal. The neighbor was so moved that, soon after that, he was saved and became a brother in the church. These two brothers exercised to be under the heavenly ruling, the heavenly government.
As Christians who are born from above, we do not need any kind of earthly government to rule over us. We already have the heavenly government ruling over us. This is the real meaning of the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom is simply the requirement of the gospel. The gospel requires us not only to be sinless but also to be ruled by the heavenly government.
If we are going to meet the requirements of such a high standard, we must have a life that is on an equally high plane. Otherwise, we cannot meet such a high standard. Only the divine life can meet such a high standard. Only the divine life can meet the requirements of the heavenly government. The kingdom is the requirement of the New Testament gospel, and the eternal life, which is Christ Himself, is the supply. The divine life can fulfill the requirements of the kingdom. Once we see the matter of the kingdom, we can see how high a standard is required by the gospel. After we are saved, we have a heavenly requirement within us demanding us to live on a high level. This level can be reached only by the supply of the divine life.