启示录一章和五章告诉我们，主用祂的血把我们救来，乃是要叫我们成为祂的国度。一章六节和五章十节的‘国度’一辞，和合本译为‘国民’；这辞按希腊原文，意思是国度，也带有‘国王’的意思。
神所以用福音把我们救了来，就是要把我们救到祂的国里。神不仅是把我们摆在国度里，更是要使我们成为祂的国度。换句话说，在神的心目中，我们得救的人不只是被救到祂的国度里，并且我们这些得救的人，神使我们构成祂的国度。
我们如何能成为神的国度呢？在堕落的人类身上，我们从来看不见神的掌权这件事。在这个堕落的世界中，许多人说，‘神在哪里？祂何必管我什么事？我要作好就作好，这是我的自主权。’一切堕落的世人，都是在那里不服神的权柄，愿意作什么就作什么。他们认为只要不干犯国法，不违反人的规条，就可以任意而行。这些光景说出一个事实，就是神的权柄在人身上丝毫没有地位。好像神的权柄完全只能通行在天上，不能执行到地上来，因为地上没有人肯服神的权柄。
到了新约，神头一句话就说，‘诸天的国已经临近了’（太三2，四17）。在希腊原文里，‘国’字亦可译为‘王权’，意指‘诸天的王权已经临近了’。这意思是，有一个权柄要临到地上；这个权柄不是一个普通的权柄，这个权柄乃是属天的王权。在希腊文里，‘国度’带有王权的意思，王权就指明一个国度。在天上有一个权柄，不是一个普通的权柄，乃是宇宙元首的权柄；这宇宙元首的权柄，就是一个王权。在这王权里，在这权柄之下，自然就是一个国度。
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Believers Are the Kingdom of God – Rev. 5:9-10
Revelation chapters 1 and 5 tell us that the Lord saved us with his blood in order to make us his kingdom. The word “kingdom” in verses 1:6 and 5:10 is translated as “nation” in the Union Version. According to the original Greek text, this word means kingdom and also means “king”.
The reason why God saved us through the gospel is to save us into his kingdom. God not only places us in the kingdom, but also makes us his kingdom. In other words, in God’s mind, we saved ones are not only saved into his kingdom, but also makes us constitute his kingdom.
How can we become the kingdom of God? In fallen mankind, we never understand the sovereignty of God. Many people in this fallen world say, “Where is God? Why should he care about my business? If I want to do good, I will do it well. This is my autonomy”. All fallen people in the world disobey God’s authority and do whatever they want. They believe that as long as they do not violate national laws or human rules, they can do whatever they want. These situations reveal the fact that God’s authority has no place among men. It seems that God’s authority can only be exercised in heaven and cannot be exercised on earth, because no one on earth is willing to submit to God’s authority.
When it came to the New Testament, God’s first words were “…the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 3:2; 4:17). In the original Greek text, the word “kingdom” can also be translated as “kingship”, indicating “the kingship of the heavens has drawn near”. This means that there is an authority coming to the earth. However, this authority is not an ordinary authority, yet a heavenly kingship. In Greek, kingdom means kingship, and kingship refers to a kingdom. There is an authority in heaven, not an ordinary authority, but the authority of the head of the universe. This authority of the head of the universe is a kingship. Within this kingship and under this authority, there is a kingdom.