As believers in Christ, we have been born of God to enter into the kingdom of God, and we are in the process of being recovered from man’s rule to self-rule and eventually to the direct rule of God by the intuition of our spirit.
On the one hand, it is so wonderful to realise that we, human beings, have been born of God to be part of the divine species, part of the kingdom of God; here, in the kingdom of God we enjoy all that God is and we participate in all the divine things.
On the other hand, however, as we live according to the spirit and pray over God’s word in the kingdom of God, we are being recovered to the direct rule of God through being first under self-rule and then being under God’s rule.
The fall of man as seen in Genesis is progressive; first, he fell from the direct rule of God to the rule of the conscience, and then from being ruled by his conscience to being ruled by man.
The society we live in today is ruled by man; man set rules, society set rules, and families set rules, and we grow and develop and live our life according to these man-made rules. These rules are good, however, for they deal with the rebellion in our being, and they keep us on the way to be ruled directly by God.
But we need to realise that merely obeying the rule of the law, the rules of the society, and the rules in our family is not enough; God wants us to be recovered to the direct rule of God, and this is first through the rule of our conscience.
We need to exercise our spirit and have a keen conscience, allowing our conscience to rule in us and direct us. Our conscience is God’s representative in us; it always tells us when we do something wrong, when we sin, and when we do something that is not pleasing to God.
In human society today those who are ruled by their conscience are a bit nobler and higher than those who are merely ruled by the law. In the church life we are learning to live under the rule of our conscience, living a life of having no offense in our conscience before God and before man.
And the Lord wants us to even go further that we may be brought to the direct rule of God by the intuition of our spirit; as we fellowship with the Lord, we deal with our conscience, and we live before Him, there’s a sense within our spirit that directs us and shows us what God desires in us and with us.
Seeing the Fall of Man from God’s Rule to the Self-Rule and to Man’s Rule
Some divide the Bible into seven dispensations, which are the dispensation of innocence, conscience, human government, God’s promise, the law, grace, and the kingdom.
The first three of these are categorised according to the principle of government – in the dispensation of innocence we see the principle of God’s rule, in the dispensation of conscience we see the principle of self-rule, and in the dispensation of human government we see the principle of man’s rule.
When God created man, man was in direct fellowship with God, living before God and with God, and he did not know sin; he was under the direct rule of God.
The barrier of sin did not exist between God and man, and man lived before God and was responsible to God; he didn’t just live according to some outward laws or man’s rule but according to the intuition of his spirit, in the direct presence of God.
Adam knew no good or evil – he only knew God and His word; God appeared to him personally, he walked with God, and he lived under the direct rule of God (Gen. 2:16-17). He was a living soul with the body as the organism and the spirit as an organ, and the intuition and fellowship in spirit with God were unhindered.
But then sin came in. When Adam sinned, his conscience was activated, and he fell from under the direct rule of God to the rule of his conscience.
From the time of Adam’s expulsion from the garden of Eden to the time of Noah’s departure from the ark, God established the conscience within man to represent Himself in ruling over man (Acts 24:16).
This was a period of time where the Lord arranged that man would follow God according to his conscience.
For example, Abel obeyed the gospel and, even though they did not eat meat at that time, he raised sheep to offer them to God for his redemption, realising there’s the need for the shedding of the blood for forgiveness of sins.
But Cain had a different feeling and view, and he was one who did not obey his conscience.
Because man ignored the rebuke and control of his conscience, the issue was murder and fornication, which proceeded unto utter corruption and fullness of wickedness.
The result of man living under the rule of his conscience, that is, under self-rule, was that the earth was filled with violence and lawlessness, and the Lord had to change the dispensation to establish human government.
God had to come in and judge that evil generation, saving only Noah and his family. After the flood, because man was subject neither to God’s rule nor to self-rule, God authorized man to represent Him in ruling over man (Gen. 9:6; Rom. 13:1).
The rule was that, if man sheds human blood, by man shall his blood be shed; this is the rule of man over man.
Today there are many nations, and each nation has their own laws and rules; there are the rules of the political authorities, the power of society, and the control in the family – all these are allowed by God to represent Him in ruling man.
So now every person needs to be subject to the authorities that God set over him (Rom. 13:1).
We today live in the dispensation of the human government, in which man is ruled by man and responsible to man, and when man fails to fulfill the laws and rules set by man, man will be judged by man.
Being Recovered from the Rule of Man to Self-Rule and to the Direct Rule of God
Today in society there are many people who have problems with the rule of man over man; God authorized man to rule over man to represent God in dealing with man’s rebelliousness, but some have a problem with this.
For example, even such a small thing as crossing the street when you’re not supposed to and in the area where you’re not supposed to shows not just being in a hurry or careless but ignoring the rule of man. Speeding up in places where there’s a speed limit and breaking the traffic rules shows that even we ourselves have a problem with man’s rule.
Because man has been degraded from God’s rule to human rule, God – in saving man – must recover him from human rule to the divine rule so that once again man may live before God in simplicity and under His direct rule (see Matt. 5:3, 8; 6:33).
The way He does it is first by recovering us to the rule of our conscience, that is, for us to live under the self-rule.
Man’s fall was a fall from God’s rule to self-rule and then from self-rule to man’s rule; the more a man is ruled by God directly, the nobler he becomes, but the more one is ruled by man, the more base and low he becomes.
Man’s condition today is a complete rejection of God’s rule, and even though there may be some who are under self-rule, being controlled by their conscience, the impact of their conscience is very weak.
As man became degraded by falling from being under the direct rule of God to the self-rule and then to man’s rule, God wants man to be recovered back to Himself by passing through (and not remaining in) the stage of self-rule.
We must retrace our steps in the Lord’s recovery from being merely under the rule of man to the rule of our conscience, and from being under the rule of our conscience to being under the direct rule of God.
This kind of recovery doesn’t take place in an instant; it takes time, it takes a lot of experience, and it involves a lot of failures and mistakes from our side to be recovered from man’s rule to the self-rule and to the divine rule.
As we exercise our spirit to pray, pray-read the word, and contact the Lord in fellowship, our conscience becomes keen, and we will give heed to our conscience, dealing with anything that comes in-between us and God and us and the others.
Then, we need to go even deeper and higher to live not merely under the rule of our conscience but under the direct rule of God.
Who among men knows the things of man except the spirit of man which is within man (1 Cor. 2:11)? When we contact God, the Spirit with our spirit searches the depths of man, and the Spirit mingled with our spirit also searches the depths of God, revealing things to us and leading us by the intuition in our spirit.
The Lord Jesus was such a One; He knew in His spirit concerning others and what they were arguing about (see Mark 2:8), and He could say a word to them.
May we be those who are in the process of being recovered from the rule of man to self-rule and even more to the direct rule of God, so that we may once more live before God in simplicity and under His direct authority.
Lord Jesus, recover us from being merely under the rule of man to being under the rule of our conscience and even more to being under the direct rule of God. Keep us in this process of being fully brought under the direct rule of God so that we may once more live before God in simplicity and under His direct authority. Lord, we exercise our spirit to contact You, enjoy You, and be in fellowship with You. We exercise to give heed to our conscience and deal with anything that the conscience points out. Lord Jesus, we exercise our spirit to live in Your presence, under Your direct rule, knowing Your will by the intuition in our spirit!
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References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, The Experience of Life, ch. 6 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Development of the Kingdom of God in the Church Life and the Christian Life (2019 spring ITERO), week 1, The Development of the Kingdom of God into a Realm over Which God Rules in His Divine Life.
Hymns on this topic:
# We need a heart condemning not, / In all things right with God; / A heart which has a conscience purged / And covered with the blood. (Hymns #744)
# Man was driven out of Eden for he was serpentine, / Now a vessel not of glory but of corruption. / Man a flesh became; he is not the same, a man of shame / A vessel dead within. (Song on, In eternity, in the beginning)
# Train us up today, / Full of vision, seeking You, / We’d await Your timing, fully subject to Your will, / Treasuring Your face, / Staying in Your presence, Lord; / E’en the very index of Your eyes would we obey. (Song on, In this godless age)
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