THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The New Jerusalem
Message Five—Our Destiny—Becoming the New Jerusalem
Scripture Reading: Rev. 3:12; 21:14; Acts 2:42; Gal. 4:22-26; Rom. 5:10; 1 Cor. 12:24b, 27
I. “Eventually, the triune, eternal God becomes the New Jerusalem incorporated with all of us. We do not enter into the New Jerusalem; we become the New Jerusalem. Our becoming is our entering in.”
A. “The New Jerusalem is built by God’s constituting Himself into man to make man the same as God in life, in nature, and in constitution so that God and man may become a corporate entity.”
B. “How glorious it is that we are now building up the New Jerusalem! Are you not such a builder? We all are co-builders, building an eternal dwelling place for ourselves.”
1. “The God-men build up the Body of Christ for the building of the New Jerusalem. We are building up something in this age—the Body of Christ—that is for something in the next age—the New Jerusalem.”
2. “What I am doing is building the New Jerusalem and will be consummated in the New Jerusalem.”
II. We become the New Jerusalem by closely following the apostles’ teaching—Acts 2:42; Titus 1:9:
A. On the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem are names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb—Rev. 21:14:
1. Representing the apostles’ teaching—Acts 2:42; Titus 1:9.
2. Indicating that the New Jerusalem is built according to the apostles’ teaching.
3. Signifying that the New Jerusalem is built upon the rock of the apostles, the prophets, and the revelation concerning Christ that they received—Matt. 6:18; Eph. 2:20; 3:3-4.
B. The apostles’ teaching is the entire speaking of God in the New Testament concerning God’s New Testament Economy, which is to gain the universal incorporation of the union and mingling of divinity with humanity—John 14:20; Heb. 1:2a; Matt. 28:20; John 16:12-15.
C. We must continue steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and follow closely the teaching of the apostles for the building up of the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem—2 Tim. 3:10, 14; 2:2; Titus 1:9.
III. We become the New Jerusalem through the enjoyment of God’s grace—1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 10:29:
A. Grace is the processed and consummated Triune God becoming life and everything to us—John 1:14; 2 Cor. 13:14.
B. The names of the twelve apostles are on twelve foundations; they represent the grace of the New Testament; this signifies that grace is the source, element, and means for the producing of the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:14.
C. The Jerusalem above—the heavenly Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem—is the mother of the believers, who is the new covenant of grace—Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22:
1. Our mother is the grace of God, and our Father is grace and also the One who gives grace.
2. The Father, the grace, the mother, the sons, the city, and the covenant will become one entity—the New Jerusalem.
3. The New Jerusalem is produced by the dispensing of the processed Triune God into us as grace to bring us forth as God’s many sons; these sons compose the New Jerusalem, which is our mother—Gal. 3:26; 4:26; Rev. 21:7.
IV. We become the New Jerusalem through the experience of the complete salvation of God and through the reigning in life to gain the eternal life—Rom. 5:10, 17-18, 21:
A. The New Jerusalem is the embodiment of the complete salvation of God—Rev. 21:19-22:2:
1. God’s full salvation is a composition of God’s righteousness as the base and God’s life as the consummation—Rom. 5:18.
2. The entire New Jerusalem is a matter of life built on the foundation of righteousness.
3. In His organic salvation, God goes on step by step to cause His chosen people to become the regenerated ones, sanctified ones, renewed ones, transformed ones, and glorified ones—John 1:12-13; 1 Thes. 5:23; 2 Cor. 4:16; Rom. 12:2; 8:29-30.
4. When we experience every stage of the organic salvation of God, we will ascend layer by layer until we all become the people in the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:7.
B. We reign in life “unto eternal life”, that is, unto the New Jerusalem—John 4:14b; Rom. 5:17, 21:
1. The New Jerusalem is the totality of the divine life, the totality of the life of God—John 4:14b.
2. The issue of our reigning in life is for us to become the New Jerusalem.
3. The goal of our reigning in life should be the unique and ultimate goal of God’s eternal economy—the New Jerusalem as the universal incorporation of the union and mingling of divinity with humanity.
V. As we experience each section of God’s organic salvation, we go up level by level until we become beings in the New Jerusalem:
A. We are regenerated by participating in God’s life to become God’s species, God’s children, for God’s sonship—John 1:12-13; Rev. 21:7; 22:14b.
B. We are sanctified by participating in God’s nature to become as holy as the holy city—1 Thes. 5:23; Eph. 5:26.
C. We are renewed by participating in God’s mind to become as new as the New Jerusalem—2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 4:23.
D. We are transformed by participating in God’s being to be constituted with the Triune God as gold, silver (pearl), and precious stones—1 Cor. 3:12; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2; Rev. 21:18-21.
E. We are conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God by participating in God’s image to have the appearance of the New Jerusalem—Rom. 8:28-29; Rev. 21:11; 4:3.
F. We are glorified by participating in God’s glory to be completely permeated with the glory of the New Jerusalem—Rom. 8:21; Phil. 3:21; Rev. 21:11.
Ministry Excerpts:
OUR BECOMING BEING OUR ENTERING IN
John also wrote the book of Revelation, which begins with the shining lampstands (1:12) and ends with a call to drink the living water (22:17). The drinking’s issue is the New Jerusalem. The writings of John cover the span from God to the New Jerusalem. Eventually, the triune, eternal God becomes the New Jerusalem incorporated with all of us. We do not enter into the New Jerusalem; we become the New Jerusalem. Our becoming is our entering in. This is the intrinsic interpretation of John’s writings in his Gospel and Revelation. (Crystallization-Study of the Gospel of John, msg. 16)
THE NEW JERUSALEM BEING THE EMBODIMENT OF
GOD’S FULL SALVATION
The righteousness of God being the base of God’s salvation indicates that the gospel of God is judicial according to the way of God’s righteousness. Recently, a brother among us visited a scholar and theologian who said that his view of salvation is more organic than judicial. The words organic and judicial are very meaningful, and I have been enlightened by them. The book of Romans is on God’s salvation by righteousness. This is something judicial. But the structure of God’s gospel is also of the life of Christ. This is organic. Redemption by the blood of Christ is judicial. Salvation by the life of Christ is organic. Organic salvation by life is much higher and much more profound than judicial redemption by the blood. First, the book of Romans touches the judicial part of God’s gospel by the blood of Christ. Then it goes on to present us the organic part of His gospel by the life of Christ.
God’s justification by His grace freely is the means for God to fulfill His purpose that He may give His life to His chosen people to make them like Him in His life and nature. So the book of Romans stresses further that God’s grace is given freely to the New Testament believers unto life in reigning as kings like God (Rom. 5:17-18, 21). In Romans 1 Paul’s tone is in God’s righteousness. Then after the first four chapters, in chapter five, Paul’s tone changes, going forth from God’s righteousness to God’s grace. Romans 5:17 says, “For if by the offense of the one death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” Verse 21 says, “In order that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Grace through righteousness reigns unto eternal life. So grace is the means, the element, and righteousness is the procedure. (Crystallization-Study of the Epistle to the Romans, msg. 5)
THE ENTIRE NEW JERUSALEM BEING A MATTER OF LIFE
BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
The foundation of the New Jerusalem consists of twelve layers of precious stones (Rev. 21:14, 19-20). Some fundamental books written on the foundation of the New Jerusalem have pointed out that the colors of the twelve layers of precious stones in the foundation of the New Jerusalem look like a rainbow. According to Genesis 9:8-17, the rainbow is a sign that reminds us of God’s faithfulness in keeping His word. God’s faithfulness is based on His righteousness. If there were no righteousness, there would be no faithfulness. Thus, the foundation of the New Jerusalem is the righteousness of God with God’s faithfulness.
Within the New Jerusalem there is a river of life, which flows, or spirals, from the top of the city to the bottom, to reach all the twelve gates (Rev. 22:1). That flowing of the river of life saturates the entire city. On the two sides of the river the tree of life grows. Thus, the content of the New Jerusalem is life. Within the city the river of life flows and the tree of life grows as a vine along the two banks of the river, to supply the entire city. This indicates that the entire New Jerusalem is a matter of life built on the foundation of righteousness. Life is the consummation of righteousness, and righteousness is the base, the foundation, of life.
In the New Jerusalem, life issues from light. According to Revelation 21:23, in the New Jerusalem there is no need of the shining of the sun or the moon, for the glory of God illumines it, and its lamp is the Lamb. This means that Christ is the lamp, and the very God embodied in Christ is the light. Hence, in the foundation of the New Jerusalem we can see faithfulness based upon righteousness. We can also see that the light in the New Jerusalem issues in life. Thus, the New Jerusalem is the embodiment of God’s full salvation, and God’s full salvation is a composition of God’s righteousness as the base and God’s life as the consummation. This is the revelation of the Bible. (Life-Study of Isaiah, msg. 47)