In the two foregoing messages we covered the first aspect of the kingdom, the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God, the main and basic aspect of the kingdom, is first God’s reign in a general way by power and authority and then God’s reign in a particular way in the sense of life. Now we come to the second aspect of the kingdom—the kingdom of the heavens.
Daniel 4:26 says, “The heavens do rule.” This actually refers to the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom of the heavens is the heavenly rule, heaven ruling over all things.
In the New Testament a form of the word “heaven” is used many times. For instance, Hebrews 3:1 tells us that we are “partakers of a heavenly calling.” The concept of the book of Hebrews is focused on the heavenly nature of the positive things. First, this book points out that Christ today is sitting in the heavens (1:3). He has entered into the heavens (9:24), He has passed through the heavens (4:14), and He has become higher than the heavens (7:26). Then Hebrews reveals to us that we have received a heavenly call. According to the book of Hebrews, God’s call is the heavenly call. In John 3:3 the Lord Jesus is actually referring to heaven when He says, “Unless a man is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The Greek word translated “anew” can also be rendered “from above,” that is, from heaven. The regenerated ones are those who have been born from above, from the heavens. Therefore, our source is not the earth but the heavens.
First Corinthians 15:47 and 48 say, “The first man is out of the earth, earthy; the second Man is out of heaven. As is the earthy, such also are they that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.” The first man is Adam and the second Man is Christ. As the first man, Adam is the head of the old creation, representing it in creation. As the second Man, Christ is the Head of the new creation, representing it in resurrection. In verse 48 “the earthy” refers to the first man Adam, who is earthy, and “they that are earthy” denotes all of Adam’s descendants, who are earthy as Adam. Likewise, “the heavenly” denotes the second Man Christ, who is heavenly, and “they also that are heavenly” denotes all the believers in Christ, who are heavenly as Christ. The first man was earthy because he was of the earth; the second Man is heavenly because He is out of heaven. The Savior we have received and the divine life we have received are of the same origin, the same source, which is the heavens.
Hebrews 6:4 speaks of the believers’ tasting “of the heavenly gift.” The heavenly gift refers to God’s giving of the heavenly things, such as His forgiveness, righteousness, divine life, peace, and joy, at the time of our conversion. This verse says that we have tasted of this heavenly gift. This indicates that from the time of our regeneration, we have had a taste for heavenly things, a heavenly taste.
According to Ephesians 2:6, the believers have been seated “together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.” “Heavenlies” here indicates not only the heavenly place but also the heavenly nature, state, characteristic, atmosphere, and element. We are now sitting in such a heavenly sphere, condition, and situation.
In Philippians 3:20 Paul says, “Our citizenship is in the heavens, from which also we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Greek word for “citizenship” may also be translated “commonwealth” or “associations of life.” Our national life is not in any earthly country; it is in the heavens. Our real citizenship, our true commonwealth, is in the heavens. Our calling, rebirth, nature, atmosphere, environment, and sphere are heavenly. Therefore, we are heavenly citizens.
Before we were saved, our situation was like that of the prodigal son in Luke 15—rebellion against the heavens. When the prodigal son returned to his father, he repented and said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you” (v. 21). “Against heaven” equals “before you” (God the Father). Sinning against heaven is sinning before God, because God the Father is in heaven (Luke 11:2). After we received the call from the heavens, we became another kind of people, people no longer of this earth but of the heavens. We have even become heavenly citizens. This means that today we are under a rule that is with the heavenly nature. As we shall see, this rule is in our spirit, for this rule is nothing other than the living One, Christ consummated as the life-giving Spirit. This One, the life-giving Spirit, indwelling us is the heavenly rule within us, and this heavenly rule is actually the kingdom of the heavens.