“Kingdom” may seem like an archaic or outdated term to most, but to believers, the kingdom is a living experience every day. The Lord Himself has made Himself home in our hearts and is reigning in our beings now. But that is not just for the individual experience. The church today is where we see and experience the expanding of His kingdom on the earth. And that expansion begins within: the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is enthroned and dwelling in our spirit. This is the true meaning of the kingdom: a Person, a life, walking out His domain within us. “Basileia,” the Greek word for kingdom, stems from “basis,” which is “a walking” — it is the way in which this reigning Person expands His territory.
This Person, Christ, is alive in us and gaining His territory every day. As He walks in our spirit, our soul, and even our body, He confronts our sin, not through outward rules, but by living within us. That reigning begins in our mind, spreads to our will and emotions, transforming us from the inside out. To grow and function as members of His kingdom, Christ must expand in us as His domain. Our spirit, enlivened by Him, gives life to our soul, transforming it. This transformation then spreads to our body, transfiguring it. This is the tabernacling in action — the Person of Christ enlarged and expressed through us. Paul tells us that this kingdom expression is a mystery, yet a reality: “God manifested in man,” in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16).
Today as His domain on the earth, we are called to reign in life, not by self-effort, but by allowing the Lord to live and walk in us. This reigning life is not about religious terms or outward appearances. It’s about a transformed life, a life lived in the fullness of Christ. It’s about finding ourselves in Him, living excellently, not just for our own comfort, but for a glorious corporate expression — the “-dom,” or domain, of our King. Today, may our church life be a living testimony of the reigning kingdom life from the inside out!
(Above are notes of fellowship taken from a gathering on 9/22/2024, not reviewed by the speaker.)