Living under the Restriction and Limitation of the Divine Life to Reign in Life

The record of Joseph’s life in Genesis is a revelation of the rulership of the Spirit, a life of reigning in life by being under the restriction and limitation of the divine life in the reality of God’s kingdom; this is the reigning aspect of a mature saint.

Everyone who reads the story of Joseph is inspired, no matter whether he is a Christian or not, for he behaved as a mature person, full of wisdom, and one with God in everything.

When we Christians read this story, we cannot but be amazed and appreciative of such a pattern, but in many ways, we realize that we are the opposite of what Joseph was.

If we had the dreams that he had and we had the interpretation of these dreams, we would have struggled, strived, and fought about everything, for we would want the dreams to be fulfilled.

Not Joseph; he spoke the dreams, he lived one with God, and in everything he was under the inner ruling of God.

He was not bitter against his brothers or the environment, neither was he vindictive when he reached the highest position; rather, he lived a life of reigning in life by being under the restriction and limitation of the divine life, thus living in the reality of God’s kingdom.

Looking at Joseph’s life we realize that the only other person in the Bible that did this was the Lord Jesus; Joseph is a perfect type of Christ.

Christ was hated by His brothers without cause, simply because He had the heavenly dream.

He was betrayed by His brothers, He was even put to death by them, but He never took this into account but rather loved them and gave Himself up for them.

The Lord Jesus was the One who really reigned in life by being under the restriction and limitation of the divine life.

He was constantly under the restriction of the Father with His life and His leading.

The ones around Him could do this and that, go here and there, and speak this and that, but the Lord Jesus was limited by the life of the Father within Him, and He lived one spirit with the Father.

He could do so much more than what He did, and the number of miracles and amazing things He could have done are beyond our human imagination, but He practiced living under the restriction and limitations of God’s life within Him.

Such a One now lives in us. He wants to repeat this life in us.

In ourselves, we cannot live the Christian life and the church life; it is really impossible for the natural man to live the Christian life, for only the Spirit in our spirit can live such a life.

So we need to keep turning to our spirit and living one spirit with the Lord so that He in us, we in Him, would live the Christian life for the Lord to be magnified through us.

Living A Life under the Rulership of the Spirit, under the Restriction and Limitation of the Divine Life

The record of the life of Joseph is a revelation of one who lives under the rulership of the Spirit; the rulership of the Spirit is the reigning aspect of a mature saint.

To live under the rulership of the Spirit is to live under the restriction and limitation of the divine life, therefore to live in the reality of God’s kingdom (Rom. 5:17, 21; 14:17-18; cf. 2 Cor. 3:17-18; 2 Tim. 4:22; Rev. 4:1-3).

The rulership of the Spirit is higher than any other aspect of the Spirit.

There are many aspects of the Spirit, including the sanctification of the Spirit, the renewing of the Spirit, the transformation of the Spirit, etc, and the aspect that is higher than any other is the rulership of the Spirit.

Joseph was a type of Christ, and Christ is our pattern; even more, Christ is our life, for He came into us to live the same kind of life that He lived while He was on earth.

When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He lived under the rulership of the Spirit, being under the restriction and limitation of the divine life.

When the Roman centurion saw Him and wanted Him to heal his servant, he realized that Jesus was living under God’s authority, so that’s why He had authority.

So the centurion asked the Lord to not bother coming to his house but simply say a word, and his servant would be healed. Wow.

He recognized that the Lord was a man under authority, so He had authority.

When we live under the rulership of the Spirit, when we live under the restriction and limitation of the divine life, we live in the reality of the kingdom of God, and we share in God’s authority.

Joseph received the two wonderful dreams from God when he was seventeen years old, and after that, he passed through many things, including imprisonment for many years, without his dreams being fulfilled.

When he was thirty years of age, he was exalted to rule over the land of Egypt, and nine years later or so, his brothers came and bowed themselves down to him.

This means that it was about twenty-two years later after he had the dreams that Joseph saw the fulfilment of the dreams.

In the meantime, he spent many years in the dungeon and in all things he lived under the rulership of the Spirit.

He had to pass through a long period of testing; if we were going through this process, our patience would have been exhausted, but it was not so with Joseph.

When after twenty-two years of him receiving the dreams, his brothers came and bowed down to him, Joseph still lived under the rulership of the Spirit.

He was full of human feelings and sentiments toward his brothers, yet he kept himself with all his feelings under the rulership of the Spirit.

He was not overly excited nor did he react with an evil and vindictive heart toward his brothers; rather, he dealt with them in a sober and wise way, with much discernment.

As seen in Gen. 42:9, 24; 43:30-31; 45:1-2, 24, Joseph was one with God to discipline his brothers according to their need in order to perfect them so that they may be a collective people living together as God’s testimony on the earth. Wow!

Such a life that Joseph lived is not the natural life, nor is it the highest and most perfected human life; it is the resurrection life, the life of God. Such a life is in us today.

We can live under the restriction and limitation of the divine life today so that we may be in the reality of the kingdom of God.

Rom. 5:17 says that those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

On one hand, we need to accept God’s sovereign arrangement in our environment and not fight it.

On the other hand, we need to keep enjoying the Lord in abundance, even receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness so that we may live under the rulership of the Spirit and therefore reign in life.

May grace reign in us. May grace reign in us through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (v. 21).

When the enjoyment of Christ reigns in us and we’re under the rulership of the Spirit, we reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ wants to rule and reign in us so that He may also rule and reign through us.

May we have many conversations with the Lord regarding the various aspects of our daily living and bring all things to His knowledge and under His throne.

May we open to Him concerning all things, allowing Him to have the first place in all things and remaining in the enjoyment of Christ.

May grace reign in us until we reign in life through Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus, we want to live under the rulership of the Spirit and receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness so that we may reign in life through Jesus Christ. Amen, Lord, keep us enjoying You abundantly today. May nothing hinder our enjoyment of Christ as grace and our receiving the abundance of the gift of righteousness. May grace reign in us through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord! Amen, Lord, may we live under the restriction and limitation of the divine life in our spirit so that we may live in the reality of God’s kingdom. Rule and reign in us. Save us from being our own boss; save us from dethroning You in our daily living. Be the One who rules and reigns in us by our receiving and enjoying the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness. Amen, Lord, may we accept the dealings You give us through the environment and may we remain in the enjoyment of Your grace until grace reigns in us!

Living under God’s Restriction a Self-denying Life as the Practice of the Kingdom Life

When we read the story of Joseph with all the twists and turns along the way we realize that he lived under God’s restriction, yet he did not fight back nor was he bitter against God or the ones around him.

Rather, he lived under the rulership of the Spirit; though he was quite young, he expressed the reigning aspect of a mature life, for he lived under the restriction and limitations of the divine life and was one with the Lord in all things.

Joseph’s living under God’s restriction was a portrait of the human living of Christ; Christ manifested the maturity and perfection of the divine life and brought in God’s kingdom (John 5:19, 30b; 7:16, 18; 14:10; Matt. 8:9-10).

Yes, Joseph lived a perfect life, and yes, he lived under the rulership of the Spirit, but his life and living cannot be duplicated in us, for he was just a man.

The Lord Jesus, however, established the pattern of a God-man life, and He came into us as the Spirit to live such a life in us.

Today we can live under the restriction and limitation of the divine life to live in the kingdom of God.

We can live Christ today, manifesting the maturity and perfection of the divine life to bring in the kingdom of God.

Joseph, in his dealings with his brothers, lived a calm life, a sober life, and a discerning life with love for the brothers.

He lived a self-denying life as the practice of the kingdom life (Gen. 45:24; Matt. 16:24; 2 Chron. 1:10; Isa. 30:15a; Phil. 1:9; 1 Tim. 5:1-2; 1 Thes. 3:12; 4:9; 2 Thes. 1:3; Rom. 12:10; 1 John 4:9; Heb. 13:1).

He cared for them in love, but he was restricted inwardly in his affections and enthusiasm.

He was discerning concerning their situation and their need, and he did not live in his feelings or sentiments.

The Lord Jesus was the One who truly denied Himself and took up His cross daily, following the Father’s leading and inner anointing.

We today want to follow the Lord by living under God’s restriction a self-denying life as the practice of the kingdom life.

We need to ask the Lord to be our wisdom in all things, especially in dealing with the people around us and in relating to the saints in the church life.

May we return to the Lord and enjoy Him as our rest, even be willing to deny the self so that we may practice the kingdom life.

The most powerful person is the one who has the strength NOT to do what is able to do; this is the real denial of the self and the genuine bearing of the cross (Matt. 16:24; cf. 26:53; 2 Cor. 2:12-16).

Joseph could have done so many things, especially when he was raised to the throne, but he restrained himself.

He was inwardly in the Lord’s presence and therefore had the strength not to do what he was able to do.

When the Lord Jesus was in the garden of Getsemani and was about to be arrested, Peter took out his sword and cut the ear of one of the servants.

The Lord Jesus told him to put the sword away, for He could ask the Father to send some legions of angels to protect Him, but He wouldn’t.

The Lord knew that He was about to be arrested, judged, and put to death, and He could have brought in many angels to protect Him, but He did not.

Such a One lives in us.

There are many things we can do, there are many things we can say, and there are many places we can go to, but we would not do, say, or go, because we’re under the restriction of the divine life in our being.

This is to bear the cross. And we do this not begrudgingly, gritting our teeth, but by being one with the Lord, enjoying Him as grace, and being under the restriction and limitation of the divine life.

Lord Jesus, keep us contacting You today. We want to keep our feelings and sentiments under the rulership of the Spirit. May we be those who deal with others in a sober, wise, and discerning way, being one with the Lord in everything we say and do. Amen, Lord Jesus, keep us enjoying You as the One who lived a perfect human life under the restriction of the divine life. May we live a calm life, a sober life, and a discerning life with love for the saints. May we live a self-denying life as the practice of the kingdom life. We love You, Lord Jesus! We love to enjoy You and to partake of Your riches in spirit! Supply us today. Reign in us. May grace reign in our being. May we be under the restriction of the divine life, doing all things one with the Lord. Amen, Lord, we want to learn not to do the things that we have the strength to do because You in us would not do those things. Live in us today!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ed Marks in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 115-119, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Enjoyment of Christ and our Growth in Life unto Maturity (2023 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 5, entitled, The Reigning Aspect of the Mature Life Seen in the Life of Joseph.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery before His Appearing—Week 8, newsletter via, The Church in Regina.
  – Reigning in Life, new hymn via, Hymnal.net.
  – The experience of reigning, a portion from, The Experience of Life, Chapter 17, by Witness Lee.
  – The key to overcoming – the law of the Spirit of life, article by Ed Marks in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – 6 Habits to Live a Normal Christian Life, article via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Reigning in life – a new song from 2015 European Young People’s Conference in Poland via Youtube.
  – Harmony of will, a portion from, The Prayer Ministry of the Church, Chapter 1, by Watchman Nee.
  – God-Given Companions and the Principle of the Body, article at, Living to Him.
  – The goverment of God and entrance into the kingdom, via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – See the radio broadcasts on Genesis, via, LSM Radio.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Today we must learn to submit to His throne, / How to have a strict life and His government own; / His authority then we’ll be able to share, / O’er the nations to rule with God’s Son as the heir. / With a life strict to self we must righteousness hold, / Kind to others in peace, and with God joyful, bold; / In the Kingdom’s reality e’er to remain, / For its manifestation prepared thus to reign. (Hymns #947 stanzas 3-4)
  – That we the Kingdom enter in, / Surpassing righteousness we need, / Exceeding that which is of law; / From life alone it must proceed. / That we the Kingdom enter in, / We need to do the Father’s will, / Not by our choice to work or act / But His one purpose to fulfill. (Hymns #943 stanzas 3-4)
  – This life self-glory doth renounce / And ever for God’s kingdom prays; / It trusts in God for every need / And seeks His kingdom first always. / ’Tis strict with self, with others kind, / And always dealing with the Lord; / It ever does the Father’s will / And acts according to His word. (Hymns #944 stanzas 5-6)