1. “The works of the flesh...Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God....They who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts” (Gal. 5:19, 21, 24; see also 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Eph. 5:5).
The kingdom of God is absolutely holy; therefore, evil and filthy people cannot inherit the kingdom of God. If we want to inherit the kingdom of God, that is, to enter the kingdom of the heavens, we must crucify the flesh with its passions and its lusts. We must have holy words and actions, and we must keep ourselves far from sin and filthiness in order to inherit the kingdom of the heavens.
1. “If we endure, we will also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12).
Endurance is also a condition for entering the kingdom of the heavens. We must endure, and we must pass through the frustration of sufferings to reign with the Lord.
2. “Fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus” (Rev. 1:9).
If we want to partake in the Lord’s kingdom, we must also partake in the Lord’s endurance. We must endure with the Lord to obtain the kingdom with Him.
3. “He who has endured to the end, this one shall be saved” (Matt. 10:22).
The salvation spoken of in this verse is not the salvation related to our spirit through regeneration but rather the salvation of entering into the kingdom of the heavens, the salvation of our soul in the future. This salvation can be obtained if we suffer for the Lord today and endure to the end. As we follow the Lord, Satan often uses worldly people to persecute, attack, and torment us. The Lord tells us to meet these things with endurance just as He did when He was on earth. We must endure with Him in order to rule with Him in the future.
1. “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day” (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
These verses show that fighting the good fight, finishing the course, and keeping the faith are conditions for obtaining a crown and entering the kingdom of the heavens. To fight the good fight is to fight for the Lord; to finish the course is to complete the ministry which the Lord commissioned; to keep the faith is to keep the testimony of God. If we do these things today, we will certainly receive a crown as a reward when we enter the kingdom of the heavens.
The crown that the apostle will be given comes from the righteous Lord. This shows that a crown in the kingdom is not related to grace but to righteousness. It is not given freely; it is obtained by paying a price. It is something that the Lord will give as a reward according to righteousness. The apostle spent all his strength to obtain this crown; he spent much time and effort to pay the price. If we want to receive such a crown, we must pay the price; we must fight the good fight, finish the course, and keep the faith.
1. “There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord...will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8).
By loving the Lord’s appearing, we can be rewarded with an entrance into the kingdom of the heavens. Loving the Lord’s appearing cannot be separated from loving the Lord Himself. If we really love the Lord, we will love His appearing. If we love the Lord’s appearing, we will be like John on the island of Patmos, who was for the Lord and said, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20). If we love the Lord’s appearing like John, we also will partake of the Lord’s kingdom.
1. “They were not able to enter in because of unbelief”; “Let us therefore be diligent to enter into that rest” (Heb. 3:19; 4:11).
The Israelites could not enter into the rest of Canaan, which typifies the rest of the kingdom, because they did not believe. Therefore, the Bible exhorts us to be diligent to enter into the rest of the kingdom lest we be like the Israelites, who had an evil heart of unbelief and rejected the living God, and be unable to enter into the rest of the coming kingdom. We should be like Caleb and Joshua who were diligent to go into the land of Canaan by faith. We cannot be lacking in the diligence that comes from faith if we want to enter the kingdom.