Colossians 1:13 contrasts two things—the authority of darkness and the kingdom of Christ. We were in the authority of darkness, but one day we were transferred into the kingdom of Christ. Sometimes a contrast enables us to understand things more clearly. By seeing the negative we can know the positive. The kingdom of God is in contrast with the authority of darkness. It is not merely a dispensation or a sphere. The kingdom is something so real. It is the realization of the reality of the Lord Jesus.

Many of you have been told that you were in Adam and that one day God transferred you out of Adam into Christ. Now you need to realize further that since you are in Christ, you are also in the kingdom because Christ is the kingdom. Suppose there is a naughty boy, born in Adam. One day he hears the gospel, calls upon the name of the Lord and is transferred out of Adam into Christ. He was born in Adam, but now he is in Christ. Although this young brother has been transferred into Christ, he may lack the proper realization of Christ. Doctrinally, when he is in Christ, he is also in the kingdom. Experientially however, he may have been in Christ for five years, but still may not be in the kingdom. He has been transferred into Christ, yet he is still disobedient. Once he was a naughty boy; now he is a naughty brother. I cannot say that he is not in Christ or that he is not a brother, but experientially he is not in the kingdom because he does not realize the reality of the Lord Jesus. When he realizes the reality of the Lord Jesus, he will be not only in Christ, but also in the kingdom.

To be in the kingdom means to have a full realization of the reality of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus said that if He cast out demons by the Spirit, then the kingdom of God was come to them. A demon is a dirty, unclean, evil spirit, but the principle of being a demon simply means rebellion. Originally, demons were a kind of created being. When Satan rebelled against God, they followed him and became demons. Therefore, demons indicate rebellion. If in your daily walk there are some things which are not under God's ruling, some things still in rebellion against God, those things in principle are demons. They need to be cast out by the Lord Jesus. We must pray, "Lord Jesus, come and cast out my demons. Even today I am rebellious." You may be rebellious in your shopping. Perhaps you went to the department store although the Lord Jesus within you told you not to go. Once in the store, you picked up an item and even though the Lord Jesus told you to drop it, you bought it, and you still have it at home. This is rebellion, the principle of a demon.

Are you always under the ruling of Christ? We may say that we love Him yet not accept His ruling. We may say that Christ is our life, but Christ as our life may not be very real to us. It may simply be a term, not a reality. There may be no realization of the reality of Christ being life to us. The life of the Lord Jesus is a ruling life. In every kind of life there is a ruling element which is its life law and regulation. We may have the life of Christ within and yet not be under the ruling of His life. So, in a sense, we may be still possessed by many demons. We need the Lord Jesus to cast them out. Then we will truly be in the kingdom. The kingdom is the realization of the reality of Christ. We have been transferred out of darkness into the kingdom of Christ. Yet, in our daily living, we may lack the reality of the kingdom. The reality of the kingdom is simply the realization of the reality of the Lord Jesus. When we have the realization of the reality of the Lord Jesus, that realization is the kingdom.