THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
God’s Building
Message Two—A Bird’s-Eye View of God’s Building in the Scriptures
Scripture Reading: Gen. 28:11-22; Matt. 16:18; Acts 4:10-12; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; Rev. 21:2
I. God’s goal is the building of His eternal dwelling place; this building is the church today and the New Jerusalem in eternity—Gen. 28:11-22; Matt. 16:18; Rev. 21:2. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
II. Jesus Christ, the One who was crucified and raised from the dead, is the stone set at naught by the Jewish builders; He has become the head cornerstone, and there is salvation in no other one—Acts 4:10-12: (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
A. In Acts 4 Peter not only preached Christ as the Savior but also as the building stone, as the leading cornerstone that joins the walls together. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
B. Peter had this concept because he realized that God’s redemption in Christ is for His building. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
C. Thus, in his first Epistle Peter could say, “To whom coming, a living stone, having been rejected by men, but with God chosen, held in honor, you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” —1 Pet. 2:4-5. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
D. God’s economy is not for redemption; it is for His dwelling with man through redemption; redemption is the process by which fallen man is brought back to God for the fulfillment of God’s economy to build His dwelling place. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
E. In our preaching of the gospel, we, like Peter, must tell people that God’s redemption in Christ is for them to become a part of God’s dwelling place. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
III. In Isaiah 28:16 Christ is the foundation stone, in Zechariah 4:7 He is the topstone, and in Acts 4:10-12 He is the cornerstone—Isa. 28:16; Zech. 4:7; Acts 4:10-12: (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
A. On the day of resurrection the Lord God made Jesus of Nazareth the cornerstone; this is the day the Lord has made and we should rejoice and be glad in it; every Lord’s Day we should rejoice and be glad—Psa. 118:23-24. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
B. We must be deeply impressed that we were not saved merely to be saved; we were saved that we might be a part of God’s building—1 Pte. 1:3. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
C. When we preach the gospel, we should not only preach salvation and redemption, but also God’s building, telling the people that if they do not receive the Lord Jesus, they will not have the leading building stone and will have no share in God’s building; God’s goal in His salvation is His dwelling place, the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:2. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
IV. God’s eternal purpose is to have this dwelling place, and He is working on it today; even during Jacob’s lifetime God was working on Jacob for His dwelling place, for Bethel—Gen. 35:1-7: (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
A. We must be enlightened by and fully saturated with the thought that in this universe God is doing only one thing—building His eternal habitation—Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:21-22; Rev. 21:2-3. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
B. We in the Lord’s recovery are the unique Christians caring for God’s building; if we all cared for God’s building, God would have done a great thing among us. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
C. All our minds will be sobered and that we will be bold to declare, “I only care for God’s building. I don’t care for my salvation, my joy, my peace, my holiness, or my spirituality.” (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
V. We need to have a bird’s-eye view of God’s building as it is unfolded in the Bible—Gen. 28:11-22; Exo. 40:17, 34-35; 1 Kings 7:51; 8:1; Ezra 1:1-3; John 1:14; Matt. 16:16, 18; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; Rev. 21:3, 22: (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
A. From the beginning of the Old Testament until the end, we have just a few main things: Jacob, his house, the tabernacle, the temple, and the rebuilding of the temple; this is a bird’s-eye view of the Old Testament—Gen. 28:10-22; Exo. 40:17, 34-35; 1 Kings 7:51; 8:1; Ezra 1:1-3: (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
1. After working with the race of Adam, God came in to have a new start by calling out Abraham to be the father of another race, the called race; God was no longer working with the created race but with the called race; Abraham was followed by Isaac and Jacob. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
2. As Jacob was fleeing from his brother Esau, he had a dream; after waking from that dream, he spoke some words which were a wonderful prophec; Jacob called the name of the place Bethel and even set up the stone that he had used for a pillow to become a pillar—Gen. 28:10-22. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
3. Hence, Bethel was not merely a place but also a pillar with oil poured upon it; this is the greatest prophecy in the Bible because it governs the entire Bible—12, 18; John 1: 51. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
4. He [Jacob] never saw the house of God; it was not until Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and erected the tabernacle that Bethel was realized among the children of Israel—Exo. 40:17, 34-35. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
5. Later, the tabernacle was replaced by the temple prepared by David and built by Solomon; at that time, Bethel was established on earth—1 Kings 7:51; 8:1. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
6. Eventually, among the house of Israel, there was the tabernacle and, following that, the temple, both of which were symbols of the house of Israel as God’s dwelling place; this is a history of Bethel. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
7. Later, the temple was destroyed by the Babylonian army, and the children of Israel were held in captivity seventy years; then a decree was issued to rebuild the temple— Ezra 1:1-3. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
B. All these main points in the Old Testament are merely types; because of this, there was the need for the Lord Jesus to come as the reality—John 1:14: (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
1. When He came in His incarnation, He set up a tabernacle for God and tabernacled among us—14. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
2. In John 1:51, the Lord Jesus said to Nathanael, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This word indicates that the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream rested upon His building the house of God. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
3. The Lord said, “I also say to you that you are a stone, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:16, 18, Gk.); the Lord revealed that He was the rock and that Peter was a stone—Matt. 16:15. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
4. In 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul says that the church is built upon Christ as the foundation. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
5. In his first Epistle Peter says that all who come to the Lord will be living stones built together into a spiritual house; this is Bethel, the house of God—1 Pet. 2:4-5. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
6. Ultimately, this Bethel will be enlarged to consummate in the New Jerusalem; on the one hand, the New Jerusalem will be the tabernacle of God among men; on the other hand, there God Himself and the Lamb will be the temple—Rev. 21:3, 22. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)
VI. We all need to pray, “Lord, show me this governing vision. Oh, I need to see this bird’s-eye view.” We all must say, “Lord, help me to get through all other things. Lord, I only care for the building of Your church.” This is the Lord’s recovery today; this is the building of Bethel and the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream; from now on, we shall see the Lord riding throughout the whole earth for the building of His church; He will absolutely fulfill His prophecy—“I will build My church”—Matt. 16:18. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)