Section 8
Lord," every day, it means that we are defeated and are not in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is as a Spirit of joy. We must constantly be joyful with God, praising Him, and saying, "Hallelujah." Righteousness, peace, and joy are the charac teristics of the kingdom of God today. And the kingdom of God is the exercise of the church life. The church life is for the kingdom life, and the kingdom life is an exercise of the Christian life. We need such exercise.
Serving Christ
In verse 18 Paul says, "For he who in this serves Christ as a slave is well-pleasing to God and approved by men." By this word we can see that what is mentioned in verse 17 is for us to serve Christ. This means that to receive the be lievers is to serve Christ. We have to do this as in the kingdom of God and in the way of serving Christ as a slave, in the way of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, not in the way of taking care of doctrinal concepts. Surely this way will be well-pleasing to God and approved by men. And this way will never cause any divi sion, but always keep the unity of the Spirit for the practical Body life.