Message Twelve

The King Reigning in the Tent of David

Scripture Reading: Isa. 16:5; 24:23;
Luke 1:32; John 3:3, 5; Col. 1:12-13

Isa. 16:5 Then will a throne be established in lovingkindness, / And upon it One will sit in truth / In the tent of David, / Judging and pursuing justice / And hastening righteousness.

Isa. 24:23 Then the moon will be abashed, and the sun will be ashamed; / For Jehovah of hosts will reign / In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, / And His glory will be before His elders.

Luke 1:32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David His father,

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Col. 1:12-13 Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light; ¹³Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

I. The all-inclusive Christ is the King reigning in the tent of David—the kingdom of David, the Messianic kingdom—in the coming age during the restoration of Israel—Isa. 16:5; 24:23:

Isa. 16:5 Then will a throne be established in lovingkindness, / And upon it One will sit in truth / In the tent of David, / Judging and pursuing justice / And hastening righteousness.

Isa. 24:23 Then the moon will be abashed, and the sun will be ashamed; / For Jehovah of hosts will reign / In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, / And His glory will be before His elders.

A. The prophets spoke of David and Christ as one—Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5; Amos 9:11:

Jer. 30:9 But they will serve Jehovah their God and David their King, whom I will raise up for them.

Ezek. 34:23-24 And I will set up over them one Shepherd, My Servant David, and He will feed them; He will feed them, and He will be their Shepherd. ²⁴And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and My Servant David will be a Prince among them. I, Jehovah, have spoken.

Ezek. 37:24-25 And My Servant David will be King over them, and they all will have one Shepherd. They will also walk in My ordinances and observe My statutes and do them. ²⁵And they will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers dwelt; and they will dwell in it, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever. And David My Servant will be their Prince forever.

Hosea 3:5 Afterward the children of Israel will return and seek Jehovah their God and David their King, and they will come with fear to Jehovah and to His goodness in the last days.

Amos 9:11 In that day I will raise up / The fallen tabernacle of David, / And I will wall up its breaches / And raise up its ruins / And build it up as it was in the days of old;

1. David is a type of Christ as the King; Christ, the real David, will be the King in the restoration, the millennium, and He will reign according to righteousness and be the real Shepherd of God’s f lock—Jer. 30:9; Isa. 32:1; Ezek. 34:23-24.

Jer. 30:9 But they will serve Jehovah their God and David their King, whom I will raise up for them.

Isa. 32:1 Indeed a King will reign according to righteousness, / And the rulers will rule according to justice.

2. God’s response to David’s intention to build Him a house to dwell in made Christ one with David and with David’s seed—2 Sam. 7:1-16.

2 Sam. 7:1-16 And as the king dwelt in his house and Jehovah gave him rest all around from all his enemies, ²The king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwells within curtains. ³And Nathan said to the king, All that is in your heart go and do, for Jehovah is with you. ⁴And in that night the word of Jehovah came to Nathan, saying, ⁵Go and say to My servant David, Thus says Jehovah, Is it you who will build Me a house for Me to dwell in? ⁶For I have not dwelt in a house, since the day I brought the children of Israel up out of Egypt to this day; but I went about in a tent and in a tabernacle. ⁷In all My going about among all the children of Israel, did I ever speak a word to any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, Why have you not built Me a house of cedar? ⁸And now thus shall you say to My servant David, Thus says Jehovah of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you might be ruler over My people, over Israel; ⁹And I have been with you in every place that you have gone and have cut off all your enemies before you; and I will make a great name for you, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth. ¹⁰And I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them there, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more; and the sons of wickedness will ill-treat them no more as before, ¹¹Even since the time when I commanded that there be judges over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover Jehovah declares to you that Jehovah will make you a house. ¹²When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴I will be his Father, and he will be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will strike him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men; ¹⁵But My lovingkindness will not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I put away before you. ¹⁶And your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you; your throne will be established forever.

3. David’s house refers to Christ, David’s kingdom refers to Christ’s kingdom, and David’s throne refers to Christ’s throne; the kingdom of David is Christ’s kingdom, and David and Christ have one throne—v. 16; Isa. 9:7; 16:5; Luke 1:32; Acts 2:29-31.

2 Sam. 7:16 And your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you; your throne will be established forever.

Isa. 9:7 To the increase of His government / And to His peace there is no end, / Upon the throne of David / And over His kingdom, / To establish it / And to uphold it / In justice and righteousness / From now to eternity. / The zeal of Jehovah of hosts / Will accomplish this.

Isa. 16:5 Then will a throne be established in lovingkindness, / And upon it One will sit in truth / In the tent of David, / Judging and pursuing justice / And hastening righteousness.

Luke 1:32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David His father,

Acts 2:29-31 Men, brothers, I can say to you plainly concerning the patriarch David that he both deceased and was buried, and his tomb is among us until this day. ³⁰Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him to seat One from the fruit of his loins upon his throne, ³¹He, seeing this beforehand, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was He abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.

4. The Gospels reveal that Christ is intimately related to David—Matt. 1:1; 12:1-4; 22:41-45; Luke 1:32.

Matt. 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Matt. 12:1-4 At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields. And His disciples became hungry and began to pick ears of grain and eat. ²But the Pharisees, seeing this, said to Him, Behold, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. ³But He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, and those who were with him; ⁴How he entered into the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, except for the priests only?

Matt. 22:41-45 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, ⁴²Saying, What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He? They said to Him, David’s. ⁴³He said to them, How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, ⁴⁴“The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies underneath Your feet”? ⁴⁵If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?

Luke 1:32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David His father,

B. In Amos’s prophecy God promised that in a certain day the kingdom of David and the family of David would be restored, and all the nations would be called by the name of Jehovah—Amos 9:11-12:

Amos 9:11-12 In that day I will raise up / The fallen tabernacle of David, / And I will wall up its breaches / And raise up its ruins / And build it up as it was in the days of old; ¹²That they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations which are called by My name, declares Jehovah who does this.

1. This prophecy indicates that Christ will come back to be the real David and will rebuild, restore, the kingdom of His forefather David for the restoration of the entire universe—Isa. 9:7; 16:5; Jer. 30:9.

Isa. 16:5 Then will a throne be established in lovingkindness, / And upon it One will sit in truth / In the tent of David, / Judging and pursuing justice / And hastening righteousness.

Jer. 30:9 But they will serve Jehovah their God and David their King, whom I will raise up for them.

2. At that time the kingdom of David will become the kingdom of Christ and of God for eternity—Rev. 11:15.

Rev. 11:15 And the seventh angel trumpeted; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.

3. In the restored kingdom all the nations will be called by the name of Jehovah; that is, all the nations will belong to God—Amos 9:12; Jer. 3:17.

Amos 9:12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations which are called by My name, declares Jehovah who does this.

Jer. 3:17 At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all the nations will be gathered to it because the name of Jehovah is at Jerusalem; and they will no longer walk after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

C. Christ will reign as the King in the tent of David in the coming age during the restoration of the nation of Israel—Isa. 16:5; 24:23:

Isa. 16:5 Then will a throne be established in lovingkindness, / And upon it One will sit in truth / In the tent of David, / Judging and pursuing justice / And hastening righteousness.

Isa. 24:23 Then the moon will be abashed, and the sun will be ashamed; / For Jehovah of hosts will reign / In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, / And His glory will be before His elders.

1. In the Old Testament, when the tent of David was set up and David’s kingdom was fully established, that was a great consolation and joy to the Israelites; in the coming age, when Christ reigns in the tent of David, that will be a greater consolation to Israel—1 Chron. 11:1-3; 12:38-40; 2 Sam. 8:15; Acts 15:16-18.

1 Chron. 11:1-3 Then all Israel gathered themselves to David at Hebron, saying, Here we are, your bone and your flesh. ²Even previously, when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And Jehovah your God said to you, It is you who shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be ruler over My people Israel. ³And all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. And David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah, and they anointed David king over Israel according to the word of Jehovah spoken by Samuel.

1 Chron. 12:38-40 All these, men of war who could order the battle array, came with a perfect heart to Hebron to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel as well were of one heart to make David king. ³⁹And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking; for their brothers had provided for them. ⁴⁰Moreover those near them, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses and on camels and on mules and on oxen—provisions of flour, cakes of figs, and clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, and oxen and sheep, in abundance; for there was joy in Israel.

2 Sam. 8:15 So David reigned over all Israel, and David executed justice and righteousness for all his people.

Acts 15:16-18 “After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen; and I will rebuild its ruins and erect it again, ¹⁷So that the remainder of men may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles upon whom My name has been called, ¹⁸Says the Lord, who is making these things known from of old.”

2. The Lord Jesus will have the house of Jacob—the nation of Israel—as the center of His reign, through which He will rule over the entire world as His kingdom, f irst in the millennium and then in the new heaven and new earth for eternity—Luke 1:32-33; Acts 1:6; Rev. 11:15; 20:4, 6; 22:3, 5.

Luke 1:32-33 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David His father, ³³And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

Acts 1:6 So the ones who came together asked Him, saying, Lord, are You at this time restoring the kingdom to Israel?

Rev. 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and of those who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Rev. 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Rev. 22:3 And there will no longer be a curse. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him;

Rev. 22:5 And night will be no more; and they have no need of the light of a lamp and of the light of the sun, for the Lord God will shine upon them; and they will reign forever and ever.

3. When Christ reigns in the tent of David in the age of restoration, it will be Jehovah of hosts reigning, because Christ is Jehovah of hosts—Isa. 24:23:

Isa. 24:23 Then the moon will be abashed, and the sun will be ashamed; / For Jehovah of hosts will reign / In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, / And His glory will be before His elders.

a. In the millennial kingdom Jehovah as Christ will be King over all the earth, and He will be the one God and His name the one name—Zech. 14:9, 16-19; Psa. 72:8.

Zech. 14:9 And Jehovah will be King over all the earth; and in that day Jehovah will be the one God and His name the one name.

Zech. 14:16-19 And everyone left from all the nations that went forth against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹⁷And whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them there will be no rain. ¹⁸And if the family of Egypt does not go up and enter, there will be no rain upon them; there will be the plague with which Jehovah strikes the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹⁹This will be the sin of Egypt and the sin of all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

Psa. 72:8 And He will have dominion from sea to sea / And from the River unto the ends of the earth.

b. The Son of Man will sit on the throne of His glory; this is the throne of David, which will be in Jerusalem—Matt. 19:28; 25:31; Luke 1:32.

Matt. 19:28 And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you that you who have followed Me, in the restoration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Matt. 25:31 But when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, at that time He will sit on the throne of His glory.

Luke 1:32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David His father,

II. In the age of grace, the New Testament age, we can experience and enjoy Christ as the King reigning in the tent of David—John 3:3, 5; Col. 1:12-13:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

A. The age of grace is a miniature of the coming age, and the coming age is the consummation of the age of grace—Heb. 6:5:

Heb. 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

1. As those who are saved by grace, we are enjoying Christ in the miniature of the coming age of the kingdom—Eph. 2:8; Rom. 5:1-2; Phil. 4:23.

Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God;

Rom. 5:1-2 Therefore having been justified out of faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²Through whom also we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and boast because of the hope of the glory of God.

Phil. 4:23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

2. The throne of grace is the source of the flowing grace; whenever we approach the throne of grace by turning to our spirit and calling on the name of the Lord, we should enthrone the Lord—Heb. 4:16; Rev. 22:1-2.

Heb. 4:16 Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help.

Rev. 22:1-2 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. ²And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

B. As our King, Christ reigns not only in our hearts but also in the tent of David:

1. For Christ to reign in the tent of David means that He reigns in us with a kingdom—Luke 17:20-21.

Luke 17:20-21 And when He was questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation; ²¹Nor will they say, Behold, here it is! or, There! For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

2. Christ’s reigning in the tent of David signif ies consolation, encouragement, and restoration—cf. 2 Cor. 1:3-5.

2 Cor. 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassions and God of all comfort; ⁴Who comforts us in all our affliction that we may be able to comfort those who are in every affliction through the comforting with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵For even as the sufferings of the Christ abound unto us, so through the Christ our comfort also abounds.

3. Isaiah 16:5 reveals that with Christ there is lovingkindness, truthfulness, faithfulness, justice, and righteousness:

Isa. 16:5 Then will a throne be established in lovingkindness, / And upon it One will sit in truth / In the tent of David, / Judging and pursuing justice / And hastening righteousness.

a. Christ’s throne will be established in lovingkindness, that is, in tender affection.

b. Christ sits upon His throne in truthfulness and faithfulness.

c. As the One sitting upon the throne, Christ, the real David, pursues justice and hastens righteousness—32:1; Jer. 23:5-6.

Isa. 32:1 Indeed a King will reign according to righteousness, / And the rulers will rule according to justice.

Jer. 23:5-6 Indeed, days are coming, / Declares Jehovah, / When I will raise up to David a righteous Shoot; / And He will reign as King and act prudently / And will execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶In His days Judah will be saved, / And Israel will dwell securely; / And this is His name by which He will be called, / Jehovah our righteousness.

d. If we are under Christ’s reigning, His ruling, we will be the same as He is in these virtues—Rom. 14:17; Gal. 5:22-23; Phil. 2:5; 1 John 2:6; 4:17.

Rom. 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Gal. 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³Meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Phil. 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked.

1 John 4:17 In this has love been perfected with us, that we may have boldness in the day of the judgment because even as He is, so also are we in this world.

C. The kingdom in which and with which Christ reigns in us today is not only the reign of God but also the realm of the divine life—John 3:3, 5, 15:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

John 3:15 That everyone who believes into Him may have eternal life.

1. God is life, having the nature, ability, and shape of the divine life, which forms the realm of God’s ruling—Eph. 4:18; Matt. 6:13b; John 3:3, 5, 15-16.

Eph. 4:18 Being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;

Matt. 6:13b For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

John 3:15-16 That everyone who believes into Him may have eternal life. ¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.

2. The kingdom of God is an organism constituted with God’s life as the realm of life for His ruling, in which He reigns by His life and expresses Himself as the Divine Trinity in the divine life—v. 5; 15:1-8, 16, 26.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

John 15:1-8 I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. ²Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes it away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit. ³You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶If one does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. ⁸In this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so you will become My disciples.

John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I set you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of reality, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify concerning Me;

3. The kingdom of God has its reality, and this reality is the living of the divine life—Matt. 5:3, 8, 10, 20; 6:33; 7:21; Rom. 14:17.

Matt. 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matt. 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt. 5:20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt. 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matt. 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of My Father who is in the heavens.

Rom. 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

4. The kingdom of God as the realm of the divine life is a realm of the divine species—John 3:3, 5:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

a. God became man to enter into the human species, and man becomes God in life and nature but not in the Godhead to enter into the divine species—1:12-14; Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4.

John 1:12-14 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, ¹³Who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

Rom. 8:3 For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh,

Rom. 1:3-4 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴Who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;

b. To enter into the divine realm, the realm of the divine species, we need to be born of God to have the divine life and nature—John 1:12-13.

John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, ¹³Who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

c. Our second birth caused us to enter into the kingdom of God to become the species of God; now we are God-men in the divine species, that is, in the kingdom of God—1 John 3:1-2.

1 John 3:1-2 Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and we are. Because of this the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. ²Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been manifested what we will be. We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is.

5. The kingdom of God as the realm of the divine life is a realm of light (John 1:4-5; 8:12), truth (v. 32; 14:6; 17:17; 18:37), grace (1:14, 16-17), glory (vv. 14, 18; 17:22-24), love (3:16; 13:1, 34-35; 14:21, 23; 15:9; 21:15-17), shepherding (10:10-11, 14-17; 21:15-17), and building (2:19-21; 14:2-3, 23).

John 1:4-5 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

John 8:12 Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

John 18:37 Pilate said therefore to Him, So then You are a king? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I would testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

John 1:16-17 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and reality came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John 17:22-24 And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one; ²³I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. ²⁴Father, concerning that which You have given Me, I desire that they also may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory, which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.

John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come for Him to depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the uttermost.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 14:21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, he is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.

John 15:9 As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

John 21:15-17 Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. ¹⁶He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. ¹⁷He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.

John 10:10-11 The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly. ¹¹I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

John 10:14-17 I am the good Shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, ¹⁵Even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must lead them also, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one Shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.

John 2:19-21 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. ²⁰Then the Jews said, This temple was built in forty-six years, and You will raise it up in three days? ²¹But He spoke of the temple of His body.

John 14:2-3 In My Father’s house are many abodes; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will receive you to Myself, so that where I am you also may be.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.

D. The kingdom in which and with which Christ reigns in us today is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love—Col. 1:12-13:

1. The kingdom of the Son is the authority of Christ—Rev. 11:15; 12:10.

Rev. 12:10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night.

2. The Son of God is the embodiment and expression of the divine life; therefore, the kingdom of the Son is a realm of life—1 John 5:11-12:

1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. ¹²He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

a. To be transferred into the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love is to be transferred into the Son, who is life to us—Col. 3:4.

Col. 3:4 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.

b. The Son in resurrection is now the life-giving Spirit, and He rules us in His resurrection life with His love—1 Pet. 1:3; Rom. 6:3-4; 1 Cor. 15:45b.

1 Pet. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Rom. 6:3-4 Or are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? ⁴We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.

1 Cor. 15:45b the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.

3. The kingdom in which we find ourselves today is a realm full of life, light, and love—1 John 1:1-2, 5, 7; 4:8, 16.

1 John 1:1-2 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life ²(And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us);

1 John 1:5 And this is the message which we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.

1 John 4:8 He who does not love has not known God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16 And we know and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.

4. The Father has transferred us into a realm where we are ruled in love with life, not in fear; under the Lord’s ruling and restriction, we have genuine freedom in love, with life, and under light—Col. 1:13; Matt. 7:13-14.

Col. 1:13 Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

Matt. 7:13-14 Enter in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. ¹⁴Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

5. In the kingdom of the Son of God’s love, the will of God is carried out, and we enjoy Christ and have the church life—Rev. 4:11; Col. 1:9, 12; 4:12.

Rev. 4:11 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for You have created all things, and because of Your will they were, and were created.

Col. 1:9 Therefore we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Col. 1:12 Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light;

Col. 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

E. As the King reigning in the tent of David, the Lord Jesus rules over us by feeding us with Himself as the all-inclusive bread—John 6:15, 27, 35; Matt. 15:26-27, 32-37:

John 6:15 Then Jesus, knowing that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him King, withdrew again to the mountain, Himself alone.

John 6:27 Work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for Him has the Father, even God, sealed.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst.

Matt. 15:26-27 But He answered and said, It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs. ²⁷And she said, Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.

Matt. 15:32-37 And Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, I am moved with compassion for the crowd, because for three days now they have remained with Me and they do not have anything to eat. And I am not willing to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way. ³³And the disciples said to Him, Where can we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd? ³⁴And Jesus said to them, How many loaves do you have? And they said, Seven, and a few small fish. ³⁵And after He commanded the crowd to recline on the ground, ³⁶He took the seven loaves and the fish, and giving thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. ³⁷And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full.

1. By eating this all-inclusive bread, we are subdued and brought under the Lord’s kingly rule—14:14-20; 15:32-37.

Matt. 14:14-20 And going forth, He saw a great crowd, and He was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. ¹⁵Now when evening fell, the disciples came to Him, saying, This place is deserted and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves. ¹⁶But Jesus said to them, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. ¹⁷And they said to Him, We do not have anything here except five loaves and two fish. ¹⁸And He said, Bring them here to Me. ¹⁹And after commanding the crowds to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. ²⁰And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve handbaskets full.

2. The Lord Jesus is the kingdom of obedience; we need to take Him in by eating Him as bread so that He may be wrought into us—Phil. 2:8, 12.

Phil. 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross.

Phil. 2:12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

3. The more we eat Christ as the all-inclusive bread, the more the royal ingredients are constituted into us to become the ruling element within us and to cause us to become the kingdom as the increase of Christ in His administration; this will prepare the way for Christ to come again as the real David to reign in the tent of David in the coming age, the age of restoration—Dan. 2:34, 35b, 44-45; Isa. 16:5; Amos 9:11-12.

Dan. 2:34 You were watching until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the image at its feet of iron and clay and crushed them.

Dan. 2:35b And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

Dan. 2:44-45 And in the days of those kings the God of the heavens will raise up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and its reign will not be left to another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms; and it will stand forever. ⁴⁵Inasmuch as you saw that out of the mountain a stone was cut without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will happen afterward; and the dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.

Isa. 16:5 Then will a throne be established in lovingkindness, / And upon it One will sit in truth / In the tent of David, / Judging and pursuing justice / And hastening righteousness.