THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Divine and Eternal Life
Message Ten—Growing unto Maturity to Become the New Jerusalem
Scripture Reading: Heb. 11:10, 16; Matt. 16:18; Rev. 21:2-3, 9-11, 18-20; Eph. 2:20-22; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; 1 Cor. 3:9-10, 12; John 14:1-12, 23
I. When God builds up the church, He is building up the New Jerusalem; we need to grow unto maturity to become the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of the church—Matt. 16:18; Heb. 6:1a; 11:10, 16; Rev. 21:2-3, 9-11, 18-20; Eph. 2:20-22; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; 1 Cor. 3:9-10, 12; John 14:1-12, 23: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
A. The goal of the work of God is to gain the New Jerusalem; our Lord is today’s David preparing us as transformed material for God’s building; the difficulties in all of our environments strike us to deal with us and to prepare us as living and precious stones for God’s building—1 Pet. 2:4-5; 1 Cor. 3:12a; 1 Kings 6:7; cf. 1 Chron. 6:31-32. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
B. The New Jerusalem is the mingling of God, man, and heaven; the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God implies that the New Jerusalem is filled with the element of heaven and is absolutely heavenly—Rev. 21:2-3, 22; Eph. 1:3; 2:6; Gen. 28:17: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. While we are in the church, the house of God on earth, we can enter the gate of heaven, and through Christ as the heavenly ladder we can see and experience the things of heaven—vv. 12, 17. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. At Bethel, the house of God, the habitation of God, which is the gate of heaven, Christ is the ladder that joins earth to heaven and brings heaven to earth—vv. 12-17; John 1:51. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
3. Since today our spirit is the place of God’s habitation (Eph. 2:22), it is now the gate of heaven, where Christ is the ladder that joins us, the people on earth, to heaven and brings heaven to us. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
4. Hence, whenever we turn to our spirit, we enter through the gate of heaven and touch the throne of grace through Christ as the heavenly ladder—Heb. 4:16. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
II. According to the entire revelation of the New Testament, the unique goal and ultimate issue of the Christian work should be the New Jerusalem, as the ultimate consummation of the church and as the ultimate goal of God’s eternal economy: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
A. The degradation of the church is mainly due to the fact that nearly all the Christian workers are distracted to take many things other than the New Jerusalem as their goal. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
B. Hence, under the degradation of the church, to be overcomers answering the Lord’s call, we need to overcome not only the negative things but even more the positive things, which replace the New Jerusalem as the eternal goal; whenever we touch the eternal goal of God, the New Jerusalem, we need to be very pure; we must not be careless—1 Cor. 3:12, 15-17. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
C. An overcomer’s goal should be uniquely and ultimately the goal of God’s eternal economy, that is, the New Jerusalem. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
III. We can see the conditions of a built-up church by seeing the conditions of the New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of the church: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
A. A built-up church, like the New Jerusalem, has the presence of God—Ezek. 48:35; Rev. 21:3; 22:3: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. That God and the Lamb are the temple of the New Jerusalem means that God and the Lamb Themselves become the center of the city; in other words, God is with the city, and the city has the presence of God—21:22. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. We must hold on to this principle: God’s presence is the criterion for every matter. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
3. God’s presence is the center of the New Jerusalem; therefore, in the church we must have the presence of God; we must have God as the temple. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
B. A built-up church has the ruling of God: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. If the church is built up, it will have the throne of God and of the Lamb, the ruling of God—22:1. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. If we want to know whether the saints in a certain church are built up, we have to see whether the throne of God, the dominion of God, is among them. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
C. A built-up church has the flow and supply of life: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. In the New Jerusalem there is a river of water of life proceeding out of the throne, and on both sides of the river there is the tree of life, producing twelve fruits and yielding its fruit each month—vv. 1-2. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. In a built-up church there is the water of life that quenches people’s thirst and causes people to be watered, and there are the fruits of the tree of life that enable the hungry people to be satisfied. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
D. A built-up church has light—21:23; 22:5: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. In the New Jerusalem the God of glory is the light and the Lamb is the lamp—21:23; 22:5; cf. Jer. 2:11. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. In a built-up church God in Christ expressed through the saints is the light; when we go to the meeting of a built-up church, we will feel enlightened—John 8:12; Matt. 5:14; Psa. 73:16-17. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
E. A built-up church has the mingling of God and man and has passed through death and resurrection: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. That there are three gates on each of the four sides of the New Jerusalem, three times four being twelve, implies that the Triune God is mingled with man, the creature (the number four signifies the creatures)—Rev. 4:6. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. That the twelve gates of the holy city are twelve pearls signifies that regeneration through the death-overcoming and life-secreting resurrected Christ is the entrance into the city—21:21. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
3. Anyone who enters into the city through the gate has to be the product of three times four—the issue of the mingling of God and man—and a new creation in Christ through death and resurrection—2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
4. In the building up of the church everything must pass through the cross, must be in Christ, and must be the mingling of God and man; this is the entrance into the New Jerusalem, the entrance into the church; only that which corresponds with the nature of this entrance can be brought into the building of God. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
F. A built-up church is full of God’s divine nature—Rev. 21:21b: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. There is only one street in the New Jerusalem, and it is pure gold, signifying God’s divine nature—21:21b. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. That the river of water of life proceeds “in the middle of its street” signifies that the divine life flows in the divine nature as the unique way for the daily life of God’s redeemed people—22:1; 2 Pet. 1:4; John 14:6. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
G. A built-up church has the expression of God—Rev. 21:18-19; 4:3: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. Revelation 21 says that the wall of the city is jasper, the first foundation is jasper, and the light of the city is also like jasper stone (vv. 18-19, 11); furthermore, the One sitting on the throne has the appearance of a jasper stone (4:3); thus, the appearance of the city is the appearance of God. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. The New Jerusalem is the enlargement and full expression of God in man; if the church has been truly built up, it will also have the full expression of God. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
H. A built-up church is constituted with the transforming Spirit and with people who are in the process of being transformed—Rev. 21:19-20: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. The wall of the city is built with precious stones (21:19-20); precious stones are not created but are produced by the transforming of the things created, after having passed through years of constitution through much pressure; pressure, burning, and constitution are necessary for the transformation into precious stones. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. In the church life the transforming of Christ’s lover is carried out by the transforming Spirit as the consummation of the processed Triune God (2 Cor. 3:18) with the coordination of the lover’s companions, the gifted members of the Body of Christ, who do the work of perfecting the saints (Eph. 4:11-12; S. S. 1:10-11). (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
I. A built-up church must have a boundary, “a great and high wall”—Rev. 21:12: (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
1. The wall is for separation and protection; the New Jerusalem will be absolutely separated unto God and will fully protect the interests of God. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
2. All believers need such a great and high wall for their separation and protection—v. 17. (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)
J. May the Lord have mercy on us that the churches everywhere may manifest all these conditions of being built up! (2013 ITERO-S, msg. 7)