Lastly, to live the kingdom life in the church we need to live a joyful life toward God in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of joy. If we have no joy, this indicates that we have failed and are not in the Holy Spirit. If we truly live the kingdom life, we will be joyful toward God and praise Him. If our living is righteous toward ourselves and peaceful toward others, we will have joy toward God in the Holy Spirit. Then the kingdom will be manifested in our daily life in the church life.
In Colossians 4:11 the apostle Paul told the saints in Colossae that his co-workers were fellow workers for the kingdom of God. This indicates that their work in the gospel for the establishing and building up of the churches was for the kingdom of God. This means that the reality of the kingdom of God is the reality of the church in the present age and that what the apostle and his co-workers did was to establish and build up churches.
Revelation 1:9 says, “I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus.” This verse clearly indicates that today we are partakers of the kingdom. John knew that he was in the kingdom. To him, the kingdom was not only for a future age but was a present reality. Thus, he could say that he was a fellow partaker in the kingdom. This kingdom is the kingdom that we have entered through regeneration (John 3:3, 5). Without being regenerated into God’s kingdom, we would have no way to be fellow partakers in the kingdom. Having been regenerated into the kingdom, we should remain in it, partaking of the kingdom by accepting the heavenly ruling of the divine nature. Furthermore, in Revelation 1:9, in regard to the kingdom, John said that he is our “brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus.” This indicates that for tribulation and the kingdom, endurance is needed. To endure the tribulation related to the kingdom, we need the endurance in Jesus.
In Matthew 5:10-12 the Lord Jesus said that His believers would suffer persecution for the sake of the kingdom. If we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we are in the kingdom. The more we are in the kingdom, the more we will suffer and be persecuted. Therefore, being in the kingdom today is not a matter of glory but a matter of bearing reproach and persecution. Although we are fellow partakers in the kingdom of Jesus, we are not yet co-kings with Christ. When He comes back, we shall be His co-kings in the kingdom of Christ. That will be the time of glory. However, today is not a day of reigning but a day of suffering. At present, we are not in the reigning aspect of the kingdom but in the suffering aspect.
For this reason Paul and Barnabas told the disciples, “Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). The tribulations they spoke of were mainly due to persecution from the Jewish religion. All believers in Christ experience persecution from religion. If there were no religion in the world today, we would not suffer much persecution. Most trouble, persecution, and opposition can be traced back to one source—religion. While we suffer, we are in the kingdom, a realm in which we are being exercised, trained, and prepared so that we may be qualified to reign in the kingdom of Christ as His co-kings.
The kingdom of God was the main subject of the apostles’ preaching in Acts (8:12; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31). The kingdom of God is not a material kingdom visible to human sight but a kingdom related to the divine life. The kingdom of God is the spreading of Christ as life in His believers, forming a realm in which God rules through His life. The kingdom of God is actually Christ Himself (Luke 17:21) as the seed of life sown into His believers (Mark 4:3, 26) and developing into a realm that God rules as His kingdom through the divine life. To enter into the kingdom of God is to enter into the full enjoyment of Christ as the kingdom. However, the whole world opposes God’s people entering into the full enjoyment of Christ as the kingdom. Throughout the centuries religion, in particular, has been utilized by God’s enemy to keep God’s people from entering into the full enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ as the kingdom of God. For this reason we must experience many tribulations to enter into the kingdom of God.
We should expect opposition and be prepared for it. Nevertheless, in all the tribulations we must endeavor to enter into the realm of the full enjoyment of the resurrected and ascended Christ as the kingdom of God. When we have the enjoyment of such a Christ, we will be under the divine rule. In this way, we will become the kingdom of God, which is the proper church life. The kingdom of God is the church life, and the church life is the realm of the enjoyment of the resurrected and ascended Christ.