In the progressing stage of God’s full salvation, the believers experience the dispensing of the divine Trinity corporately by entering into the kingdom of God. We have entered into the kingdom through regeneration (John 3:3, 5), but we still need a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through growth in the divine life (2 Pet. 1:5-11). Now we need to see that, having entered into the kingdom of God, we need to live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5-7). In order to develop in the divine life that we may have a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we need to live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens.
The kingdom of the heavens is a specific term used by Matthew. This indicates that the kingdom of the heavens differs from the kingdom of God, a term used in the other Gospels. The kingdom of God refers to God’s reign in a general way, from eternity past to eternity future. The kingdom of the heavens is a special section within the kingdom of God, composed only of the church today and the heavenly part of the coming millennial kingdom. For this reason, the kingdom of the heavens, a section of the kingdom of God, is also called the kingdom of God in the New Testament, especially in the other Gospels.
According to Matthew, there are three aspects of the kingdom of the heavens: the reality, the appearance, and the manifestation. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is the inward content of the kingdom of the heavens in its heavenly and spiritual nature, as revealed in chapters five through seven. The appearance of the kingdom of the heavens is the outward condition of the kingdom of the heavens in name, as revealed in chapter thirteen. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens is the practical coming of the kingdom of the heavens in power, as revealed in chapters twenty-four and twenty-five. Both the reality and the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens are with the church today. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is the proper church life (Rom. 14:17), which is within the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens, known as Christendom. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be the heavenly part of the coming millennial kingdom, which is called the kingdom of the Father (Matt. 13:43). In this part of the millennial kingdom, which will be the kingdom of the heavens manifested in power, the overcoming saints will reign with Christ a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6). Today, as believers in Christ, we need to experience the dispensing of the divine Trinity corporately by entering into the kingdom of God and then living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens.
Matthew 5-7 describes the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. The word spoken by the Lord Jesus in these chapters is the revelation of the spiritual living and heavenly principles of the kingdom of the heavens. These chapters are composed of seven sections (5:1-12; 5:13-16; 5:17-48; 6:1-18; 6:19-34; 7:1-12; 7:13-29). Let us briefly consider each of these sections in order to see the believers’ living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens.
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