Scripture: "And He said: 'Verily, I say unto you, that there be some of them which stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power."—MARK ix. 1.
The first mark of the Church: Christ as King. Christ and John had both preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand. In our text Christ said that it would be in the lifetime of some who heard Him that the Kingdom would come in power. That could mean nothing else but that when He, as King, had ascended the throne of the Father, the Kingdom would be revealed in the hearts of His disciples by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Kingdom of heaven, God's will was al¬ways being done; in the power of the Holy Ghost, Christ's dis¬ciples would do His will even as it was done in heaven.
The mark of what a Kingdom is, is to be seen in the King. Christ now reigns as God and man on the throne of the Father. On earth there is no embodiment or external manifestation of the Kingdom; its power is seen in the lives of those in whom it rules. It is only in the Church, the members of Christ, that the united Body can be seen and known. Christ lives and dwells and rules in their hearts. Our Lord Himself taught how close the relationship would be. "In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." Next to the) faith of His oneness with God, and His omnipotent power, would be the knowledge that they lived in Him and He in them.
This must be our first lesson if we are to follow in the steps of the disciples and to share their blessing, that we must know that Christ actually ae King, dwells and rules in our hearts. We must know that we live in Him, and in His power are able to ac¬complish all that He would have us do. Our whole life is to be devoted to our King and the service of His Kingdom.
This blessed relationship to Christ will mean above all a daily fellowship with Him in prayer. The prayer life is to be a contin¬uous and unbroken exercise. It is thus that His people can rejoice in their King, and in Him can be more than conquerors.
