Like Daniel and his companions, we need to be victorious over the covering that hinders people from seeing the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens; God administrates the universe to fulfill His purpose which is to give Christ preeminence in all things both outwardly and in our personal universe.
Lord Jesus, we praise You and we honor You today. We give You the first place in all things. You are the Lord. You are preeminent. Unveil us to see the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens. May we realise that God arranges all things for His eternal economy and purpose so that Christ may be preeminent in all things. Amen, Lord, we give You the first place in all things by faith in our being and in all our living today! Amen!
It is so encouraging to read Daniel chapters one through six and see how Daniel and his companions lived on the line of life to be overcomers before the Lord.
They simply stood with God and His purpose, and God was with them. First, they overcame the demonic diet, choosing to rather eat vegetables and be one with God than eat the king’s choice food and be one with Satan. Wow!
We need to choose to eat Christ day by day, even partake of Christ as the tree of life both personally and corporately, so that we may be one with Christ. At the same time we want to reject any demonic food the enemy is freely given us, for we are children of God! Amen!
Then, Daniel and his companions were victorious over the devilish blinding that prevents people from seeing the great human image and the crushing stone as the divine history within human history.
There’s a divine history taking place as human history develops; God has a purpose, and He will fulfill what is in His heart.
Third, Daniel and his companions were victorious over the seduction of idol worship.
Daniel’s companions refused to bow to the great image, the golden idol, raised by the king. They were thrown into the fiery furnace for it, but still, they did not bow down to that image.
They had a true spirit of martyrdom, and the Lord was with them. God didn’t rescue them from the fire; Christ was there in the fire with them.
The Lord may not rescue us from the trials and sufferings, but He is in these with us to supply us and make the place of suffering a pleasant place. Thank the Lord for being with us! In this portion we come to chapter 4 in Daniel.
Seeing the Ruling of the Heavens by the God of the Heavens in Nebuchadnezzar’s Experience in Daniel 4
King Nebuchadnezzar was truly a great king, ruling over many nations and having a great empire; however, he was also very proud. He was so proud that God came to deal with him and expose him of his pride.
God gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream of a great, tall, strong tree, beautiful in foliage, rich in fruit, and good for food. Daniel interpreted this dream and said that this tree signifies Nebuchadnezzar himself (Dan. 4:20-21).
As he interpreted this dream, Daniel explained that the Most High decreed that Nebuchadnezzar would be driven out from among mankind, dwell with the beasts of the field, be made to eat grass like bulls do, and lose his reasoning for a period of seven times, until he came to know that the Most High is the Ruler over the kings of men (vv. 24-25).
Nebuchadnezzar had to see and realise the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens; it was not the king who was the real ruler but God Himself rules over all things.
In verse 26 we are told that the stump of the tree with roots will be left, meaning that the kingdom will be assured to Nebuchadnezzar after he has come to know that the heavens do rule.
After the king would come to know the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens, realising that the heavens do rule, he would be returned his kingdom.
Daniel exhorted the king to humble himself before God (v. 27); God gave the king twelve months to repent. But there was no repentance with Nebuchadnezzar and there was no change.
Rather, one day when the king was walking upon the roof of the royal palace in Babylon, he looked at the great city and was filled with pride.
He said, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I have built up as a royal house by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
No sooner than the words left his mouth, even before he finished speaking, a voice came from heaven and said, “To you it is spoken, King Nebuchadnezzar: The kingdom has passed on from you” (v. 31).
God began to deal with Nebuchadnezzar for a period of time until he knew that he was nothing and that the mighty God, the Ruler of the kingdom of men, is the One who gives the kingdom of men to whomever He wills, and He is everything.
Nebuchadnezzar became like a beast; according to his nature and his being, he was not a man but a beast. His heart was changed from that of a man’s and a beast’s hear was given to him (v. 16).
He began to eat grass as bulls do, his body became wet with the dew, his hair grew like eagles’ feathers, and his nails became like birds’ claws (v. 33).
He went through a period of dealing until he realised the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens.
At the end of Daniel 4 we see that Nebuchadnezzar had learned the lesson to be abased and know God. He realised that God’s dominion is an eternal dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation.
God does all things according to His will, and there is no one who can resist His hand (vv. 34-35).
So Nebuchadnezzar praised and exalted and honored the King of the heavens, because all His works are truth and His ways justice, and because He is able to abase those who walk in pride (v. 37).
Nebuchadnezzar came to know the rule of the heavens by the God of the heavens, and he realised that God gives the kingdom of men to whomever He wills.
And if any kings is proud and continues to be proud, God will abase him until he is no longer proud.
May we bring this matter to the Lord and may we realise that the heavens do rule; may we see the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens and may we give Christ the preeminence in all things!
Lord Jesus, unveil us to see the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens. May we realise that the heavens do rule, for there is a God in heavens who has an eternal purpose and does all things according to His eternal economy! Hallelujah, God’s dominion is an eternal dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation! Praise the Lord, God does all things according to His will, and there is no one who can resist His hand. We humble ourselves before You. We give You the preeminence in all things. Amen, Lord Jesus, have the first place in us, in all our being and working and living. We praise and exalt and honour the King of the heavens, for all His works are truth and His ways are justice! Praise You, Lord, for being the Ruler of the kings of the earth and for arranging all things for Your eternal economy to be carried out. Praise You for being able to abase those who walk in pride. Save us from pride. Save us from thinking we have done this or that, and things are because of us. Oh Lord, we praise You as the One on the throne! Amen!
We are under God’s Heavenly Rule for Christ to be Preeminent in All Things
We need to read and pray over the word of God to not only understand what the Bible says but even more apply it to our being, to our Christian life.
In Daniel chapter 4 we see how Daniel and his companions were victorious over the covering that hinders people from seeing the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens.
God took the king through a humbling experience until he realised that the heavens do rule.
How does this apply to us today? We may not be a mighty king and we may think we may not be that proud; how can we apply this to our Christian experience?
As those who have been chosen by God to be His people for Christ’s preeminence, we are under God’s heavenly rule for the purpose of making Christ preeminent (Dan. 4:18, 23-26, 30-32; Rom. 8:28-29; Col. 1:18b; 2 Cor. 10:13, 18; Jer. 9:23-24).
We need to realise that God has an economy, which is to dispense Himself into His chosen people for Him to obtain a corporate expression of Himself.
On the positive and inward side, we can open to the Triune God’s dispensing in HIs Divine Trinity so that we may be filled with the Triune God and express Him in a corporate way.
On the negative side, on the outward side, we need to realise that God is administrating the whole universe in order to fulfill His purpose.
In His economy, God administrates the entire universe for Him to carry out His economy.
He desires Christ to have the first place in all things (Eph. 1:10) and to head up all things in Christ.
He does this first by gaining a people; we are the people of God, and we need to take the lead to realise the rule of the heavens by the God of the heavens so that we may give Christ the preeminence in all things.
We have been chosen by God to be His people for Christ’s preeminence; now we are under God’s heavenly rule.
As Romans 8:28-29 says, all things work together for good for us so that we may be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ for Him to be the Firstborn among many brothers.
God arranges all things around us and even in us in such a way that Christ may gain the first place in us. He administrates all things in the world situation and in our personal universe so that Christ may have the preeminence.
On the one hand, we live in a certain country and city, and we have a particular set of situations and environments related to our work life, family life, and church life.
We all have our personal universe including ourselves, our families, and the church. We need to realise that in our universe many things happen day by day not by accident but for the purpose of making Christ preeminent.
As we go through things, we need to give the Lord the preeminence in all things. We need to realise that God wants Chris tot have the first place in al things and we need to be submissive to God’s heavenly rule.
The entire earth is under the rule of a heavenly administration. Many kings, rulers, presidents, and prime-ministers try to do this and that to accumulate more land or wealth, but the entire earth is under the rule of God; the heavens do rule.
The heavens rule for us, and Christ is for us. Even more, we believers in Christ are under God’s heavenly rule for Christ.
The purpose of the heavenly ruling is to complete God’s elect so that Christ may be preeminent; Christ needs to be the first – having the centrality – and everything – having the universality – in all things.
We see this both in the Old and in the New Testament; God arranges all things for the fulfillment of His purpose so that Christ may be preeminent.
He humbles those who are proud and raises those who are humble; if we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, in His time He will rise us up.
In Colossians we see that Christ is preeminent in the church, in creation, in the new creation, in the new man, and in the entire universe.
We need to exalt Christ, give Him the first place in all things, and give Him the preeminence. This means that we need to live under the rule of the heavens by the God of the heavens.
As we obey the Lord by being humbled under His mighty hand, God can obtain a people through whom He can deal with Satan, the rebellious creature.
To give Christ the preeminence means that He is number one, and besides Him there is no other; there’s no number two or three, there is only Christ, who is number one.
May we give Him the preeminence in all things. May we give Him the first place in our personal life, our family life, and our church life.
May we give Him the first place not only in the meetings but also in our daily living, realising that we are under God’s heavenly rule for the purpose of making Christ preeminent.
Lord Jesus, we give You the first place in all things by faith. You are the first. Have the preeminence in our being. Thank You for choosing us to be the people of God for Christ’s preeminence. May we realise that we are under God’s heavenly rule for the purpose of making Christ preeminent! Thank You, Lord, for arranging all things in our family life, church life, and personal life so that Christ may be preeminent! Amen, Lord, may we realise this and may we be submissive to God’s heavenly rule. Hallelujah, the heavens do rule! Praise the Lord, God’s heavenly ruling is to complete God’s elect so that Christ may be preeminent as the centrality and universality! Amen, Lord, have the first place in our personal universe. We open to You concerning all things. Have the preeminence in our choices, our way of life, and our eating and drinking. Have the first place in all things in our family life, our church life, and our personal life. Oh Lord, may You be preeminent in all things!
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 the brothers on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of Daniel, msg. 6 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Noah, Daniel, and Job – Patterns of Living an Overcoming Life on the Line of Life to Fulfill the Economy of God (2026 International Chinese-Speaking Conference), week 3, The Victory of the Overcomers Seen with Daniel and His Companions – day 4.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Thou art before all creatures, / In Thee all things consist; / Of all Thou art the center, / By Thee all things subsist. / Thou art the sole beginning, / The Firstborn from the dead; / And for the Church, Thy Body, / Thou art the glorious Head. (Hymns #189 stanza 2)
– His kingdom cannot fail; / He rules o’er earth and heav’n; / The keys of death and hell / Are to our Jesus giv’n: / Jesus, the Savior reigns, / The God of truth and love: / When He had purged our stains / He took His seat above. (Hymns #146 stanzas 2-3)
– God intends in everything / Christ should have preeminence, / And that such a Christ of all / We should now experience. (Hymns #495 stanza 9)
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