Page 62 - The Christian Life and the Church Life_Government of God

The Church as the Kingdom of the Son of God’s Love 61

whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” If you see
these cases, both in the universal church and in the practice of the church life
in the local churches, both of these have the way to bind and to loose, which
means that both of these belong to the kingdom. Only the kingdom could
bind and loose. The church represents the kingdom of the heavens, having
the authority to bind and loose.

Later, we would see Romans 14. Romans 14 talks about the receiving
of the believers. The outline of the Recovery Version regarding these verses
talks about receiving the believers firstly according to God’s receiving. It
does not depend on us. It depends on God’s receiving. The second thing is
receiving in the light of the judgment seat. We receive believers in the light
of the judgment seat. Thirdly, we receive in the principle of love. In verses
13-15, one thing touched me. Verse 13 says, “Let us judge one another no
longer.” We may think that since we are serving the church, we should judge
people. But here it talks about no longer judging one another. The fourth
point talks about receiving people for the kingdom life. We receive people
not for our kingdom, but for the Lord’s kingdom, for the kingdom life. We
receive people for His kingdom.
Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking,
but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The kingdom of God
is referring to the church, because this section is talking about the church
receiving the believers. When Paul comes to verse 17, he says the church
is actually the kingdom of God. For the kingdom of God is not eating and
drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (v. 17). This
verse strongly tells us that the church in this age is the kingdom of God. It has
two aspects: full of grace and life and full of exercising discipline. This is the
kingdom of God. Today, the church is the kingdom of God.

I will read a footnote from this verse, because this verse has a very good
footnote. Romans 14:17 footnote 2 is on the kingdom.

The kingdom of God is the sphere in which God exercises His
authority so that He may express His glory for the fulfillment of His
purpose. In such a kingdom, what matters is not eating and drinking
but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Righteousness
denotes that which is right and proper. Those who live in the kingdom
of God should be right and proper toward others, toward things,