THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHURCH
AND THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
CHAPTER FOUR:
THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING
REVEALED IN JOHN 14
WEEK 3 - SATURDAY
Read and pray: "In whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord." (Eph. 2:21)
THE LORD’S DEPARTURE TO PREPARE A PLACEAIMS AT THE ENLARGEMENT OF CHRIST
If the Lord Jesus is the house of God, how could He go to prepare a place for us? His going to prepare a place for us is His enlargement. First Corinthians 6:19 says that our body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in us. First Peter 2:5 says that we are being built into a spiritual house. Ephesians 2:21-22 says that we grow into a holy sanctuary or temple in the Lord, to be a dwelling place of God in spirit. First Timothy 3:15 says that the house of God is the church of the living God.
House and temple in these verses refer to God's dwelling place. The house is the temple, and the temple is the dwelling place. The dwelling place of God is a mystery in the universe because it is a person, not a location. The dwelling place of God is the church, composed of believers. They are the enlargement of Christ.
By understanding this concept, we will grasp what God is doing in the universe. God dwells in the church, and the church is the house of God. Therefore, the church contains the human element and the divine element, along with the heavenly element. God is in the church, and heaven is also in the church. Although it is on earth, the church is heavenly because heaven is in it. That is why the church is a blending of God and man and a union of heaven and earth. This is the dwelling place of God, which is different from His dwelling in heaven. God's dwelling in heaven consists only of heaven; it does not have the human element and is not united with the earth.
However, the church, acquired by God to be His dwelling place, is a mystery because He entered into man and was blended with him. When God comes, heaven also comes, and since man is here, the earth is also here. This is God blended with man and the union of heaven and earth. Although this entity is not of the earth, it is on the earth. Although it is on the earth, it is of heaven and contains the divine element. This dwelling place—the blending of God with man and the union of heaven with earth—is the eternal dwelling that God is building. This is the place the Lord said He would prepare, which includes both the church and heaven.
In John 14:11-12, the Lord says: "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these he will do, because I am going to the Father."
In these verses, the Lord said that He was going to the Father, and He would also introduce those who believed in Him into the Father. Here, we have both a person and a place. Heaven can be expressed on earth because it is in God and is manifested through the blending of God with man. This is a mystery. The heavenly element can be expressed on earth through the blending of God with man. This is the New Jerusalem.
The New Jerusalem, like the church, has the blending of God with man, and heaven is also blended with it. The church is composed of believers who are blended with God and possess the heavenly condition and element that is also within us. In this way, God and heaven are expressed on earth. Although this is only a miniature, we still cannot fully comprehend it.
In the coming new heaven and new earth, the time of maturity and fullness, God will be fully blended with man, and man will fully enter into God. God will take man as His dwelling place, and man will have God as his habitation. Thus, the divine and heavenly elements will be introduced into man and expressed on earth. This is what the Lord Jesus meant when He said He was going to prepare a place for us.
Enjoy more: Hymn 288
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