THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
God’s Building
Message Four—Christ’s Building the Church as God’s Temple in Resurrection
Scripture Reading: 2 Sam. 7:13a; 1 Kings 5:5; 6:1-2; Matt. 12:6, 42
I. Solomon and the temple built by him typify Christ and His Body, the church, respectively, as the center, the reality, and the goal of God’s eternal economy—2 Sam. 7:13a; 1 Kings 5:5; 6:1-2; Matt. 12:6, 42; Eph. 1:10, 22-23; 3:9-11.
II. The tabernacle and the temple typify two aspects of the church—Exo. 40:2; 1 Kings 6:2; Rev. 1:11:
A. The tabernacle was designed for the wilderness and was transitory in nature; the temple was designed for the kingdom and was eternal in nature—Exo. 40:2; 1 Kings 6:1-2.
B. The tabernacle typifies God’s church on earth, whereas the temple typifies the church as Christ’s unique Body; the church appears in different localities, yet the spiritual reality of the church is still one Body, which is unique and eternal—Rev. 1:11; Eph. 1:22-23.
C. The temple replaced the tabernacle as God’s dwelling place on earth; thus, the tabernacle was mingled with the temple—1 Kings 6:2.
III. The temple was a type of Christ and also of the Body of Christ:
A. The temple first typifies the incarnated Christ, the embodiment of God, as God’s dwelling place on the earth—Col. 2:9; John 2:19-21:
1. As God’s house, the temple, which was the enlargement of the tabernacle, was founded upon a foundation stone—1 Kings 5:17; 6:37.
2. The temple was built of stone (transformed humanity), cedar (humanity in resurrection), cypress (humanity through death), olive wood (humanity in the Spirit of God), and gold (divinity)—vv. 7, 9-10, 15-16, 21-23.
3. With the temple we see the mingling of divinity with humanity through death and in resurrection and transformation.
B. The temple also typifies the church, the Body of Christ, as the unique building of God in the universe—Matt. 12:6; 1 Cor. 3:1-17; 12:12, 27:
1. This enlarged temple includes all the believers, the members of Christ, as the enlargement of Christ to be God’s dwelling place on earth— Eph. 2:21-22.
2. Christ and the church are one, Christ being the Head and the church being the Body—1:22-23; Col. 1:18a.
3. The Body is the enlargement of the Head for God’s dwelling place; hence, God’s dwelling place in Christ is God’s dwelling place in the church.
C. In His resurrection the Lord Jesus rebuilt God’s temple in a larger way, making it a corporate one, the mystical Body of Christ—John 2:19-22:
1. The body of Jesus, the temple, that was destroyed on the cross was small and weak, but the Body of Christ in resurrection is vast and powerful— 1 Cor. 3:16-17; Eph. 1:22-23.
2. Since the day of His resurrection, the Lord Jesus has been enlarging His Body in resurrection life; He is still working for the building of His Body under the process of resurrection—John 2:19-22.
3. Christ, who is resurrection and life (11:25), changes death into life for the building of the house of God; our living as Christians is a life of changing death into life for the building up of the mystical Body of Christ—2:1-21.
IV. For the building of God—the church as the Body of Christ—we must be absolutely in the resurrection life of Christ—11:25; Phil. 3:10-11:
A. The church as the Body of Christ is absolutely in resurrection—1 Pet. 1:3; Eph. 2:6; Matt. 16:18; cf. Gen. 2:21-23.
B. “God sees the church as a being that can endure death. The gates of Hades are open to the church, but the gates of Hades cannot prevail against her and cannot confine her; thus, the nature of the church is resurrection” (The Orthodoxy of the Church, pp. 21-22).
C. The reality of resurrection is Christ as the life-giving Spirit—John 11:25; 20:22; 1 Cor. 15:45b.
D. The principle of resurrection is that the natural life is killed and that the divine life rises up in its place—2 Cor. 1:9.
E. When we do not live by our natural life but live by the divine life within us, we are in resurrection—Phil. 3:10-11; 1:21a.
F. In order to live in resurrection we need to know, experience, and gain God as the God of resurrection; when the God of resurrection works, His life and nature are wrought into our being—2 Cor. 1:8-9; 4:14, 16; Gal. 4:19.
G. To attain to the out-resurrection means that our entire being is gradually and continually resurrected—Phil. 3:11; Eph. 2:5-6; Rom. 8:6, 10-11.
H. Everything we say, everything we do, and everything we are in the church life must be in resurrection.
I. Our natural ability needs to be dealt with by the cross to become useful in resurrection; in resurrection something divine is wrought into our ability; thus, our “dealt-with” ability is full of God—Phil. 3:10-11.
J. We need to experience, in resurrection, a mysterious transfer out of “Tyre” and “Dan” into the tribe of Naphtali—2 Chron. 2:14; 1 Kings 7:14; Gen. 49:21.
K. To live in resurrection is to live by the grace of God; grace is the resurrected Christ becoming the life-giving Spirit to bring the processed and consummated Triune God in resurrection into us to be our life and life supply that we may live in resurrection for the building of God—1 Cor. 15:10, 45b; 3:9, 16-17.
Ministry Excerpts:
GOD DESIRING THAT SOLOMON BUILD THE TEMPLE FOR HIM
Solomon Typifying the Resurrected Christ,
Who Is for the Building of the Dwelling Place of God
in the Peace of His Resurrection
Solomon typifies the resurrected Christ, including Christ in ascension and coming back. Just as Solomon completed the building, Christ is building His church in resurrection until His coming back.
The name Solomon means “peaceful.” As the king of peace who built the house of peace, Solomon typifies the resurrected Christ, who is building a dwelling place for God in the peace of His resurrection. On the cross Christ abolished in His flesh the law of th commandments in ordinances and made peace, and now in the peace of His resurrection He is building the body of Christ (cf. Eph. 2:15-22).
Solomon’s Building of the Temple Typifying Christ’s Building of the Church
Solomon typifies Christ, and Solomon’s building of the temple typifies Christ’s building of the church. The building of the holy temple was for God to have a dwelling place on the earth; likewise, this is the purpose of the building of the church (vv. 21-22). Whereas Solomon and the temple he built played the strongest roles and occupied a wide span in the history of Israel, Christ and the church as the unique building of God in the universe are the centrality, universality, and goal of God’s enternal economy.
THE TEMPLE TYPIFYING CHRIST AND THE CHURCH
The holy temple typifies Christ and the church because the church and Christ are one—Christ is the Head and the church is the Body. The Body is the enlargement of the head to be the dwelling place of God.
The Typology of the Temple Being the Same as That of the Tabernacle
The temple replaced the tabernacle as the dwelling place of God on the earth. They both signify the incarnated Christ as God’s dwelling place on the earth and the church (John 2:19-21; 1:14; Matt. 12:6), including all the believers, the members of Christ, to be the enlargement of Christ as God’s dwelling place on the earth.
The Temple Typifying the Individual Christ as the Dwelling Place of God
Christ Becoming Flesh to Be the Tabernacle of God and the Temple of God
John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” This indicates that Christ became flesh not only to bring God into man but also to be the tabernacle as God’s dwelling place on the earth among men. In John 2:19 the Lord Jesus told the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Here Jesus spoke of the temple of His body (v. 21). These two verses clearly show that the incarnated Christ was both the tabernacle of God and the temple of God.
Christ Building Up His Body in Resurrection
The Jews destroyed, that is, crucified on the cross, the body of Christ, which was the temple of God, but Christ raised it up in three days. Three days signifies resurrection, indicating that Christ builds up His body in resurrection to be God’s dwelling place for God to dwell in.
The Temple Typifying the Corporate Christ—the Church
—as the Dwelling Place of God
Christ in His Resurrection Building Up His Individual Body into
the Corporate Body—the Church
In His resurrection Christ, on the one hand, raised His individual body from the dead and, on the other hand, raised all His believers up together with Him (Ep. 2:6). Thus, He enlarged His individual body into His corporate Body, which is the church. Therefore, the temple typifies the corporate Christ—the church—as the dwelling place of God.
The Corporate Body of Christ Being the New Creation in Resurrection
In His resurrection Christ regenerated the believers, who were raised up together with Him (1 Pet. 1:3), that they may have God’s life and nature and become God’s new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), which comes out of the old creation by its passing through death and resurrection. The corporate Body built by Christ in resurrection is altogether a new creation, not according to the old nature of the flesh but according to the new nature of God’s life.
The Corporate Body of Christ Being Spiritual and Mystical
The corporate Body of Christ in resurrection is of His Spirit (Eph. 4:4a), it is formed by being baptized into His Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), and it is in our spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God (Eph. 2:22). God’s dwelling place is in our spirit. Therefore, the corporate Body of Christ is spiritual, and since it is spiritual, it is mystical. (Truth Lesson, Level 3 Vol.2, lsn. 36)
With the Individual Christ to Be the Corporate Christ
In the Bible “Christ” sometimes refers to the individual Christ, the personal Christ, and sometimes to the corporate Christ, to Christ and the church (1 Cor. 12:12). The Bible considers Christ and the church as one mysterious Christ. Christ is the Head of this mysterious Christ, and the church is the Body of this mysterious Christ. The two have been joined together to become the one mysterious Christ, a universal great man. All the saved ones in all times and in all space added together become the Body of this mysterious Christ. Individually speaking, we, the saved ones, are particular members of the Body (1 Cor. 12:27). Corporately speaking, we are the mystical Body of Christ. Every saved one is a part of the Body of Christ.
First Corinthians 12:12 says, “As the body is one and has many members, but all the members of the body being many are one body, so also is Christ.” Christ here is not the individual Christ but the corporate Christ, the Body-Christ. In Greek “Christ” in this verse is “the Christ,” referring to the corporate Christ, composed of Christ Himself as the Head and the church as His Body with all the believers as its members. All the believers of Christ are organically united with Him and constituted of His life and element to become His Body, an organism, to express Him. Hence, He is not only the Head but also the Body. As our physical body has many members, yet is one, so is this Christ.
The church can be the Body of Christ only as the members are constituted of Christ, possessing His life and nature. If we consider our physical body, we shall realize that anything that does not have our life and nature cannot be part of our body. Just as our body is part of us, so Christ’s Body, the church, is part of Him. As members of the Body, we are parts of Christ, constituted of Him.
Because the reality of Christ is the Spirit, the way to be constituted of Christ to be His Body is to drink the Spirit. The Body has been formed by the baptism in the one Spirit. In one Spirit we have all been baptized into one Body (1 Cor. 12:13). The baptism into the one Body has positioned us all to drink, and by drinking of the Spirit we are constituted to be the Body. By drinking the Spirit we experience the dispensing of the divine Trinity into our being and are constituted to be the Body.
The building up of the Body of Christ is altogether a matter of constitution. The Body is an organic entity constituted of the divine element of the processed Triune God. It is through such a constitution that we become the Body of Christ. Therefore, what the Body of Christ needs is not organization but a unique constitution, a constitution which consists of the divine element wrought into our inner being through our drinking of the one Spirit. The more we drink the one Spirit, the more the divine element becomes our constituent to make us the one Body, the corporate Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 212)
Everything We Do and Everything We Are in the Church Life Today
Needing to Be in Resurrection.
Everything we say, everything we do, and everything we are in the church life today must be in resurrection. The principle of resurrection is that the natural life is killed and that the divine life rises up in its place. This is resurrection.
A number of times, as I was about to lose my temper, I exercised my spirit to crucify my natural man. Whenever I did this, I was in resurrection. We must not only practice this with our temper, but even with our love. Do not love others in a natural way. Love them in resurrection. Natural love is like honey. Instead of a “honey” love, we need a love that is in resurrection, a love that has been killed by the cross and resurrected with the divine life. There is no honey in such a love. In place of honey, there are frankincense and salt. According to Leviticus 2, the meal offering could have frankincense and salt, but not honey. The love among most Christians today is rarely the love in resurrection, which is the real love. Mostly, it is not only like honey, but also full of leaven. Although many Christians talk about love, this love may not be a love that has been dealt with by the cross and resurrected with the divine life. What we need is a resurrected love, a love which is in the divine life.
I like to see the brothers and sisters growing in life and experiencing the building, but I do not like to see any natural love. It is better to keep a distance between yourself and others. Do not wear their clothes; do not even use their Bibles. If your natural life has been dealt with, you will not want to use a Bible that belongs to someone else. Using another’s Bible does not indicate that you love him in the spirit; rather, it proves that you love him according to your natural taste. You spend so much time with that particular brother because he matches your taste. You may think that you are growing in life as you fellowship with him. Actually, because your love for him is natural, you are not growing at all. The more we love others, the greater should be the distance between ourselves and them.
In the church life, we must learn to do everything in resurrection, not in our natural life. If you are not certain whether a thing you are about to do is in resurrection, please do not do it. Pray and wait until you have the assurance that you are in resurrection. The fact that the wall of the city of New Jerusalem is measured with the measurement of a man, that is, of an angel, means not only that it is measured according to the divine nature, but also that it is according to resurrection. You must love me and I must love you, not in our natural life, but in the divine life. Never yield an inch of ground to the natural life. No matter how much you love others, keep a distance between yourself and them. If you do this, you will be kept from the natural life, and you will love others in resurrection, according to humanity, but in angelic likeness. (Life-study of Revelation, msg. 61)
HIRAM’S TRANSFER TO THE TRIBE OF NAPHTALI BEING MYSTERIOUS
It is a secret to us how Hiram became one of the tribe of Naphtali. We must bow our heads and worship God for this mysterious element concealed in Hiram’s history. How marvelous that his history not only records that his mother was of the tribe of the serpent and that his father was of the nation of commerce, a country related to Satan, but that he became one of the tribe of Naphtali. Hence, his history implies a mysterious part of his life that was used by God for His building. Although in the Bible the reason for this point is not mentioned, according to our experience we can understand that this is the mysterious part of our Christian life. The greater this mysterious portion is, the better, because it is this part that made Hiram one of the tribe of Naphtali and that made him the builder of pillars. Likewise, it is this mysterious part that makes us good for God’s building. We should not live as one born of “Dan” or of “Tyre.” Rather, we must live as one who has been transferred into the tribe of Naphtali. Hallelujah! Today, I am not of “Dan” or of“Tyre”—I am of the tribe of “Naphtali.”
The Transferred Naphtalite Needing to be Fetched out of Tyre and
to Come to King Solomon in Jerusalem Where God’s Building is
Hiram was fetched out of Tyre and was brought to King Solomon in Jerusalem. This means that the transferred Naphtalite must be fetched out of Tyre and come to King Solomon in Jerusalem where God’s building is (1 Kings 7:13-14). King Solomon was a type of Christ, and Jerusalem, the place where God’s building was, signifies the church. Today’s Solomon and God’s present building are both in the church. In a very good sense, the church today is Jerusalem. Although your “Tyrian” father has died, your widowed“Danite” mother continues to exist, and you are in resurrection, you still need to come to the church because this is where God’s building is. God will not build His temple in Tyre. Although you may be very useful, if you remain in Tyre, you will be useless as far as God’s building is concerned. If you remain in Tyre, you may be qualified, but your standing, your ground, will be wrong. The Lord must fetch you out of Tyre and bring you to Jerusalem. If your “Tyrian” father dies, your “Danite” mother goes on living as a widow, and you are in resurrection and have come to Jerusalem, then you will be useful for God’s building. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 86)