The second point of John’s positive testimony for Christ is the kingdom of heaven. The real meaning of the kingdom of heaven is the heavenly ruling, the heavenly governing. Today many young people have become rebellious and lawless. They are not under any ruling, neither under their parents’ ruling nor under the ruling of their schools. Actually, they are under the ruling of their lusts. I could not have imagined that such a thing could have happened among the young people of this country, but I do know that the one who has caused all of this is Satan, the enemy of God.
Not only the young people but also the older generation are rebellious in the eyes of God. Neither are under the heavenly ruling of God. The younger generation and the older generation are both rebellious, and neither is under God’s ruling. Why are there so many divorces today? Simply because the husband and wife are not under God’s ruling. Why does a husband exchange words with his wife, and why does a wife exchange words with her husband? Simply because neither is under the heavenly ruling of God.
Suppose a sister has a habit of exchanging words with her husband. How can we help her? The common way is to teach her that she must learn to submit according to Ephesians 5. However, if we merely try to teach her in this way, it may be that we ourselves have not come under the heavenly ruling of God. If we are under the heavenly ruling, we will have the spirit and the life to help this sister realize that it is not a matter of exchanging words, but a matter of being ruled by God. It is a matter of putting ourselves under the heavenly ruling. “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 3:2). If we help others with the concept of being good rather than evil, we fail to bring them under the heavenly ruling. What people need today is to be brought under God’s heavenly ruling. What matters is not how good we are or how well we behave ourselves in our family, but whether or not we are under God’s ruling. My one concern is whether or not you are under God’s ruling. If not, whatever you do means nothing.
Many times young people have asked me why they could not do a certain thing, even though no one had told them not to do it. However, it is not a matter of why we cannot do certain things, but altogether a matter of whether or not we are under the ruling of the heavens. If we are under the heavenly ruling, we will have the spirit and the life, and then we will be able to minister this life to others that they may also be brought under the heavenly ruling.
I do not like to see the young people take part in certain things, nor do I like to see them dress the way many young people do today. However, I do not like to adjust them either. If the church has the life under the heavenly ruling, and this life is ministered to the young people, they will change without anyone adjusting them. I do not believe anyone under the heavenly ruling will take part in any of the evil things or the worldly things today. You do not need to ask me what you should do or how you should dress, but you need to be under the heavenly ruling.
The kingdom of the heavens today is within us, and the heavenly ruling today is nothing but Christ. He is the ruling, the reigning One within us. We need to go to Him. We all need to have such a turn, a turn to the heavenly ruling One within. There is no need to adjust ourselves; we simply need to turn to Christ, who is the heavenly ruling One within. Then we will know where we are.
The first two points concerning John’s testimony for Christ give us the proper position. We need to be in the position of continually turning to the Lord, and we need to be in the position of being under the heavenly ruling—we cannot afford to be careless about these two matters. We do need to look to the Lord that He would cause us to be serious. We need to turn to the Lord, change our concept, and be under the heavenly ruling. There should be a divine government within us, governing, ruling, and reigning within. This is the proper position for us.
The next four points of John’s message are all related to Christ: Christ is the Son of God, Christ is the Lamb of God, Christ is the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, and Christ is also the Bridegroom. However, if we would partake of Christ in these four aspects, we need a proper position. This is the position of those who have turned themselves to be under the heavenly ruling. Some have said that it does not work for them to call on the Lord. For those who do not have the proper position, of course, calling on the Lord does not work. We need to be in the right position, the position of being turned to the Lord under the heavenly ruling. If we will simply turn to the Lord and be under His heavenly reign, we will see that it really works for us to call on His name. John first of all tells us that we need to be in the right position. We need to repent, and we need to be in the heavenly kingdom. Then we have the position to enjoy Christ in the remaining four aspects.