We know that name and authority are related. A name in great measure represents authority. A man’s name follows wherever his authority goes. The fact that a man’s name is in a certain place proves that his authority is there also. Generally speaking, the name appearing on a certain object identifies the object as belonging to the person of that name. If the name of God is on the earth, that means the earth recognizes God’s ownership over it. If the name of God is rejected on earth, that means that the earth denies God the ownership over it. Since the earth is created by God, it must have the name of God upon it and recognize God’s ownership. But Satan took possession of man by causing man to rebel against God. Hence, God’s name was forsaken and no longer hallowed.

For this reason, when God works on this earth, He pays attention continually to the matter of His name being hallowed. When God brought the Israelites into the land of Canaan, He told them to gather together in one place to worship Him; that was the place where He chose to set His name (Deut. 12:5-6). God did this so that His name alone would be hallowed among His people. Today, in the dispensation of the New Testament, God has not given any other name under heaven among men, whereby we must be saved, but the name of the Lord (Acts 4:12). When we are baptized, it is into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). When we pray, it is in the name of the Lord (John 14:13-14; 16:23-24). When we meet, it is also in the name of the Lord (Matt. 18:20). Therefore, we are those who belong to the name of the Lord, and His name is being hallowed in us. The Lord Jesus came to this earth for the purpose of gaining the people on this earth. Through them He intends to recover the earth to God’s ownership, so that the name of God will again become the only name that is hallowed. In that day, men truly will praise God, saying, “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” (Psa. 8:1).

Following the name is the kingdom. The second point the Lord wants us to heed when praying is to let God’s kingdom come. This proves that the kingdom of God is not yet on this earth. What is the kingdom of God? God’s kingdom is the sphere of God’s reign. Any nation, however great or small, is a sphere for reigning. If the earth does not recognize the name of God, God’s reign is not on this earth. If the name of God is being sanctified on the earth, God’s kingdom or God’s reign comes upon this earth. Therefore, after the Lord said, “Let thy name be sanctified,” He said, “Let thy kingdom come.”

The Bible reveals that there are three important parts of the universe: the heavens, the earth, and the air. Since Satan rebelled against God, he took possession of the air and the earth, leaving only the heavens as the place where God has complete dominion. Hence, Satan became the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), and through the messengers under his hand he rules in the air and over the earth (Eph. 6:12). Consequently, the people on earth abandon the name of God and reject His reign.

Although God does not have His kingdom on earth as yet, He has not abandoned the earth. Beginning with Genesis, we see the continuous line of God’s work on the earth throughout the generations to set up His kingdom and reign on earth. The purpose of God in calling Abraham was to obtain a family and from it to produce a nation (Gen. 12:1-2). Later, God delivered the Israelites, the heirs of Abraham, out of Egypt, so that they might become a kingdom (Exo. 19:4-6). Then, through the tabernacle. He reigned among them.

After the Israelites entered Canaan, the day came when they again rejected God and refused His reign. They followed the nations of the earth by desiring a man to rule over them instead (1 Sam. 8:4-7). Because of this, God was very displeased; it was a setback for His kingdom on earth, and it gave Him no place to reign on earth. After Saul passed away, David was raised up. David was a man after God’s heart; thus God was able to reign among the Israelites through David. However, after Solomon, the Israelites failed again. Since then, God has not been able to gain a kingdom on this earth wherein He may reign freely.

It was under such circumstances that God sent the man called John the Baptist. When he began to preach, his first word was: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:1-2). Later, when the Lord Jesus came forth to preach, His first statement was also “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). Again, later, when the Lord sent the disciples to preach the gospel, He commanded them that as they go they should preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10:5-7). Finally, what the Lord desires His church to preach throughout the whole earth is still “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 24:14; Acts 8:12; 28:31). For two thousand years, God has been sending men to preach the gospel, the purpose of which is to gain a sphere for Him to reign on earth and thus set up His kingdom. This is the meaning of the second “let” in the prayer which the Lord taught us.

Finally, the Lord desires us to have the third “let,” that is, “Let thy will be done as in heaven so upon the earth.” God’s will and His reign are inseparable. God’s will can only be done in the place where He reigns. God’s will can only be accomplished in heaven, not on earth, because the kingdom of God is still not on earth for Him to reign. And God’s kingdom is not found on earth because His name is not hallowed on earth. Where God’s name is hallowed, there His reign is; and where His reign is, there His will is being done. Therefore, in teaching us to pray, the Lord’s interest is that God’s name, God’s reign (His kingdom), and God’s will might reach to the earth.

In the prayer which the Lord taught us, the conclusion says, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.” The kingdom is a sphere for reigning. God exercises His authority or power in His kingdom. And glory is made manifest through His reigning. These three items-the kingdom, the power, and the glory-are God’s forever. It is based on these three factors that the Lord prayed for God’s name to be sanctified, His kingdom to come, and His will to be done, as in heaven so upon the earth.

Today, although the kingdom of God has not yet completely come upon this earth, although God has not yet gained a sphere wherein He can exercise His authority in a full way, and although His glory has not yet been made fully manifest, nevertheless there is a small place, a small sphere, thank the Lord, where there still exists the condition of God’s partial reign, which thereby manifests a portion of God’s glory. This is the church. Today the church is a model of God’s reign. What God desires today is to expand His reigning sphere according to this model and through this model. It is through the church that God will bind Satan and destroy his power. Thus, His name will be honored in the whole earth, His kingdom set up, and His will done. This is the commission of the church. This also is the purpose of the church’s spiritual warfare.
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