the church life today is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love, a delightful place

The church life is such a lovely place – it is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love! On the one hand, the reality of the church is the kingdom, and on the other hand, this kingdom is the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love. Here in this kingdom we are the members of the Body of Christ living, moving, and acting not by our own human life but by the divine life. The divine life in us has a free way to live, move, and be expressed through us to make us kingdom people. The practicality of this divine life is in the church today! 

Delivered out of and transferred into

Col. 1:13 says, “who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love“. God the Father loved us so much that He has delivered us out of the authority of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. We once used to be in darkness, but now we are in the divine light and love. Here we are ruled and restricted by the divine love in the divine life. What a pleasant and wonderful place the church life is, where the love of Christ constrains us (2 Cor. 5:14)!

What is the church life today?

The church life today is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love (see Col. 1:13) – and this kingdom is as delightful to God the Father as the Son of God is. The Father delights in the Son and loves the Son, and by our regeneration we have been put into Christ, God’s Beloved.

Now God the Father loves us and delights in us, and we are in a delightful kingdom of the Son of God’s love. Don’t you sense that in the church life as the delightful part of the divine kingdom is a great blessing to us as God’s people? It is here that Christ is our all-inclusive portion (Col. 1:12) in love and in the divine life!

We are ruled in love with life

By our human birth we became a man in the human kingdom where the real ruler is Satan, God’s enemy – we were ruled by Satan with hatred and even death. It is out of this kingdom of darkness that we were transferred, through our regeneration (John 3:5), into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

Here Christ in resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3; Rom. 6:4-5) is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) imparting the divine life into us continually. In this kingdom we are ruled in His resurrection life with love. The divine life rules and reigns in us, and the atmosphere is full of love…

The church life has a practical and tangible aspect to it like the meetings, the services, the arrangements, the blending, conferences, etc. But the church life also has an invisible aspect – the reality of the church life is the kingdom of God, a realm where we are ruled in love with life.

Here we are under the heavenly ruling and restriction – and at the same time we have real freedom in love, with life, and under light. Praise the Lord, we can exercise our spirit and allow the divine life to rule in us in love under light – and we become part of the enlargement of the kingdom of God on earth, the church life!

[sharing inspired from, Life-study of Colossians, and, The conclusion of the New Testament msg. 209, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery.]

Thank You Lord for transferring us out of the kingdom of darkness and bringing us into the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love. Lord, we want to learn to live by the divine life in the divine love so that we may be the kingdom people today. You are our life, Lord, our real life; keep us turning to You and living by You as the life within us! May we enjoy and express the divine life in love in the church life!