The church today is a miniature of the New Jerusalem, and the main characteristics of the New Jerusalem should be seen today in a built-up church.
First of all, the New Jerusalem has the presence of God – God is with man, dwells with man, and is one with man. In the church today the presence of God is the most important thing. When the brothers and sisters live in oneness and harmony, we will have the presence of God in the church, and this is what matters the most.
Also, a built-up church has the ruling of God – the throne of God is set here, and we are all under God’s rule and dominion (as seen in the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem).
When the church is built up, we have the flow of life and the supply of life to quench people’s thirst and satisfy their hunger (as seen in the river of water of life and the tree of life in the New Jerusalem).
In the built-up church we have light – God in Christ shines as the light in and through God’s people (as seen in God in Christ shining in the New Jerusalem).
May the Lord uplift our view of the real condition of the church, and may the church in our locality be built up to the extent that it has the presence of God, the ruling of God, the flow and supply of life, and the divine light!
God’s Dominion and Rule is Seen in a Built-up Church
In the New Jerusalem, at the center of the city, there’s the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1-2). Because God’s throne is established here, He can exercise His authority and dominion. This shows that today in a built-up church we should see God’s ruling and His dominion.
There should be a throne set up in the center of our being, and God is on the throne. When we speak something or do something in the church, we speak and do it under God’s throne.
It’s not about “working on our communication skills” or “being more organized” or “being more submissive to one another” in an outward way. When a church has been built up in God, it’s not the warmth and sweet communication among the saints that is most striking but the throne of God, the rule of God, God’s dominion.
Real building up among the saints issues in a throne being set up both in their inner being and in the church. We all need to take Christ as our indwelling Lord, Master, and King. We need to have a clear sky with a throne above it, so that God may rule over us (see Ezek. 1).
How can God rule in us? Rom. 5:17 tells us that if we receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness we will reign in life through Christ. We simply need to enjoy the Lord until the enjoyment of the Lord rules and reigns in us, governing us, restricting us, and limiting us!
Enjoy God to the extent that the enjoyment of God rules in you! And then you will not do certain things not because “it’s wrong”, but because this thing we’re about to do causes us to lose the enjoyment of God! We reign in life by allowing grace to rule and reign in us.
A Built-up Church has the Flow and Supply of Life
Once the throne is set up in our being, we will have the flow of life and the supply of life coming out of the throne of God. As seen in Rev. 22:1-2 there is a river of water of life flowing from the throne of God, and on both sides of the river of life there’s the tree of life growing and producing fruit good to eat.
In a built-up church where all the saints enjoy God and allow grace to reign in them, there is a rich supply of life, and there’s a flow of life among the saints! When a brother or sister visits that church or comes to their meetings, they get supplied and nourished, even though there may not be long sermons or big speakers there.
The outstanding characteristics of the church life should be “a flowing river and a tree” – as we see these characteristics both in the garden of Eden in Genesis and in the New Jerusalem in Revelation. In God’s presence and under His rule, there’s abundance of water of life and of supply of life.
This is our testimony many times as we come to the church meetings: we are fed, we are supplied, and we are nourished with life!
May the Lord grant the church in our locality be such a built-up church, where there’s abundant water of life flowing to quench people’s thirst and causing people to be watered, and there’s a tree of life with fruits enabling the hungry ones to be satisfied!
In a Built-up Church there’s the Divine Light
Another outstanding characteristic of the New Jerusalem is it’s light – there’s no natural light, no man-made or man-sustained light, but God is the light and the Lamb is the lamp (see Rev. 21:23; 22:5).
God dwells in unapproachable light, but in Christ He has been made approachable, touchable, and enterable. Now Christ as the Lamb-Lamp brings God as the light to us and makes us children of light. Christ is the light of the world (John 8:12) and by coming into us through regeneration He has made us the children of light – now we are the light of the world (1 Thes. 5:5; Matt. 5:14).
This means that in a built-up church God in Christ is expressed through all the saints as light – we all shine with God as light by allowing God to shine in us, within us, and through us.
In Psa. 73 we see a practical application of this principle: the psalmist was troubled when he saw that the evil men prospered while the righteous perished, and he kept pondering over this….He eventually entered into God’s sanctuary, the church, the temple of God, and there he saw things as they really are! His conclusion was, Lord, whom do I have in heaven but You, and there’s nothing on earth that I desire but You (Psa. 73:16-17; 25).
When we get into the meetings of the church, coming there with all our problems and questions and situations, we get the solution and response from God! In a built-up church God in Christ shines through all the saints, and the divine light is shining bright!
Whenever an unbeliever comes in, he is being exposed just by being among the shining saints, and he sees that God is there (1 Cor. 14:24-25)!
Lord Jesus, keep us enjoying You until grace reigns in us. Increase the level of our enjoyment of Christ until we reign in life through Christ! Set up Your throne in our being, Lord, and have Your dominion in us. May there be a sweet flow of life and abundance of supply of life in all the churches. Strengthen all the saints in all the churches to enjoy You, enthrone You, be under Your rule, and allow You to shine on them and through them! Make these characteristics of the New Jerusalem become the characteristics of the local churches today!
References and Further Reading
- This sharing is inspired from brother Ed Marks’ speaking in this message and portions in, The Building Work of God (ch. 7), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, ITERO spring 2013 “The Experience, Growth, and Ministry of Life for the Body“, week 7 entitled, Growing unto Maturity to Become the New Jerusalem as the Ultimate Consummation of the Church.
- Hymns on this topic:
# And He showed me a river / Of water of life, / Bright as crystal, / Proceeding out / Of the throne of God / And of the Lamb. / And Thou shalt make them to drink / Of the river of Thy pleasures.
# Drink! A river pure and clear that’s flowing from the throne; / Eat! The tree of life with fruits abundant, richly grown; / Look! No need of lamp nor sun nor moon to keep it bright, for / Here there is no night!
# A flowing river and a tree, / Eden’s outstanding features are, / Man to supply with food and drink / That he may live fore’er. - Pictures from instagram here and here.
About aGodMan
How wonderful to have all these eternal characteristics now. Thanks for presenting.
So good to have a flowing river and a tree for nourishment and supply….may we all be built up into such a church life and enjoyment!