After being saved, we all sense One within us who is directing us. Brother Nee once told a story of something that occurred when he went up to a mountain for a time of rest. On the mountain he took his meals in the home of a mechanic. This man had never gone to school; he was illiterate. Also, this man liked to drink wine. His habit was to drink wine before meals. His wife knew this habit and therefore always served him wine before meals. Brother Nee eventually preached the gospel to him, led him to be saved, read the Bible to him every day, and explained the truth to him. After receiving the Lord Jesus, the mechanic gradually learned to read a little of the Bible. One day at meal time his wife placed wine on the table as usual, but when he bowed his head to give thanks for the meal, he could not utter a word and felt very uncomfortable inwardly. Therefore, he went to search the Word of God, desiring to learn what God says about drinking wine. However, he could not find this matter in the Bible. He wanted to ask Brother Nee, but Brother Nee had already left and would not be back for a few months. His wife said, “Just drink for now. We will ask Brother Nee about this matter when we see him later.” After a little consideration, because he believed that his wife was right and that God should not mind such a small matter, he decided to go ahead and drink. Strangely, however, he could not drink; he simply could not take in the wine. Eventually, he told his wife, “Take the wine away.” It was not until the wine was removed that they were able to joyfully ask for the Lord’s blessing and take the meal together.
The Lord Jesus did not tell this brother not to drink, a preacher did not tell him not to drink, and he himself could not find a verse in the Bible telling him not to drink. Why then did he not drink the wine? When asked by Brother Nee about this matter, using a familiar term in Chinese, he answered, “I have a ‘Resident Boss’ in me. He would not allow me to drink.” Brother Nee then said, “Very good, brother. You must continue to listen to this ‘Resident Boss’ in you.” The “Resident Boss” is the One who rules in us.
Every saved one has a similar experience. Once we are saved and have received the Lord as our Savior, we immediately sense that there is a Boss in us, that there is One in us who is directing us. In the past someone might have overseen us outwardly, but as long as he could not see us, we did whatever we wanted. However, from the day of our salvation there is One who directs us inwardly. At times someone outside us may not be controlling us, but the One inside us is. This control is the royal authority, the heavenly authority, the ruling of the heavens in us, and the kingdom’s coming to us. As a result, we not only are saved into the kingdom, but we also become part of the kingdom.
If all of us saved ones submit to the kingdom’s ruling, we will be the kingdom, and the kingdom of God will be us. God will make us His kingdom. We will not only be saved by God into His kingdom, but we will also become His kingdom. People will see that heaven is reigning in us. We will not be under the ruling of the law of man; rather, we will be under the ruling of something higher, the ruling of the heavenly authority.
We have all known a newly saved one whose colleagues, neighbors, and relatives ask, “What is wrong with this person? Who can make him like this? He neither intrudes on others’ rights nor picks up the bad habits of society. We have never seen such a person. He is truly a saint. He is righteous, and he does not fight with people or seek his own interests.” They do not know what has happened to him, but we know that the heavenly authority has entered into him.
There was a brother who was very capable and humorous. Before being saved, he was the center of attention at all the dinner parties among his colleagues; any party without him was boring and no fun. Moreover, besides being clever and skillful, he was tall and striking in appearance, and he was thus very popular among his colleagues. One day he heard the gospel and was saved. Within a year or two of his salvation, his entire being had completely changed.
He continued to do his job as he had normally done. When his colleagues gathered together, he would still join them, but something had changed. When his colleagues joked, at most he would smile without joining in. No matter how much they tried to tease him, he would not joke as he did before. Sometimes they were angry and tried to provoke him, but he would still not have any response. He still attended some of the dinner parties hosted by his colleagues, but usually he simply sat there quietly. Others drank, but he did not; they smoked, but he did not. No matter how noisy they were, he simply sat there calmly. In the beginning everyone teased him and could not believe that what they saw was real. They said, “You know how to act, and now you are playing a trick, pretending to be one who believes in Jesus. Do you think we have not seen people who believe in Jesus? We have never seen one like you. You look very real. You are truly the top believer of Jesus in the world.” He again smiled and did not answer. He was not pretending; a change had taken place in him.
After a period of time many of his colleagues testified that he had truly believed in Jesus and that if any of them were to believe in Jesus, they would follow him. Another group of his colleagues, however, opposed him severely, because now it was not as convenient for them to engage in dishonest practices for their personal gain while working with him. Formerly, he took the lead in such practices. Now that he had stopped, there spontaneously arose opposition from these colleagues. Nevertheless, people still saw that he was different and were puzzled, not knowing why he had become strange. He was truly changed.
One day we went to his hometown to preach the gospel. He was very joyful and invited us to his house for a love feast and fellowship. When his wife heard of his desire to invite us over, she said, “Very good.” However, when we arrived, she served us leftovers. When the brother ate with us, there were tears in his eyes. He said, “I am very sorry.” Nevertheless, we genuinely thanked and praised the Lord because our brother was truly changed. Eventually, his wife also observed the wonderful change in her husband. Formerly, her husband had been very hot tempered, and his wife had been afraid of him. Now he would not lose his temper even if she threw things at him; rather, he would withdraw to his room, kneel down, and pray. This greatly touched his wife, and eventually she also was saved and changed.
Eventually, many people were saved because of this brother’s testimony. Many of his colleagues along with their wives were saved. How could this brother have experienced such a change? When we asked him about this, he said, “Brothers, the Lord is living, and He lives in me. When I am about to become angry, He will not allow me. I still have my flesh, but every time I become angry, He rules over me and forbids me. Previously, my wife’s behavior made me angry, but now the Lord in me is my living Boss. He forbids me and will not allow me to lose my temper.”
This was the ruling of the heavens, the kingdom, coming to him. The kingdom had come into him. The authority of the kingdom was in him, and he was in the kingdom. Furthermore, because the authority of the kingdom was in him, he became part of the kingdom. God’s salvation had made him part of the kingdom. When we met him, we could clearly sense that there was an authority in him. This authority was not the law of a nation on earth but was the law of heaven, a heavenly law, a heavenly authority, a heavenly ruling, coming upon and entering into him. Hence, he was truly part of the kingdom.