Building up, Conformed to Christ’s Image, and Glorified in God’s Complete Salvation

As believers in Christ, we experience building up as the joining and knitting together in the divine life in the Body, we are conformed to the image of Christ in the maturity of the divine life, and we will be glorified to enter into the full manifestation of God’s complete salvation. Hallelujah!

The organic salvation of God is truly marvellous; if you were to crystalize it, there are eight main stages or aspects to this salvation.

His organic salvation is based on His judicial redemption; in order for Him to come into us and work in our being, even to work Himself into us, Christ came to fulfill all righteousness and He became our righteousness before God.

Hallelujah, through repentance and faith in Christ, we now can enjoy and experience Christ, for we are qualified before God.

Day by day, we as believers partake of Christ, for it is our portion to enjoy God, experience Christ, and be filled with the Spirit.

As we contact the Lord, there are some marvellous matters happening in us. First, we are regenerated; the life of God enters into us to make us children of God.

Then, God shepherds us to feed and nourish us so that we may grow in life unto maturity. We are sanctified in our very disposition, for the holy nature and element of God is wrought into us little by little.

As we come to the Lord in His word and open to Him, He is renewing us to make us His new creation.

We are in the process of being renewed, and all things work together for good in order to renew us and make us as new as God.

The result of being renewed is that a new element is added to us and our old element is removed; we are being transformed into the image of Christ through a metabolic process in the divine life. Hallelujah!

But this is not all: there is much more, and in this article, we will see concerning the building up, conformity to Christ’s image, and glorification. Hallelujah!

Experience Building Up by being Joined and Knitted Together in the Divine Life in the Body of Christ

After God’s life came into us, we are being nourished with the life of God, there is the renewing, sanctifying, and transformation, but there is still something more. God desires to have a corporate expression, so He is building us up.

We need to be built together. In the process of God’s organic salvation, we experience building up by being joined and knitted together in the divine life to be the Body of Christ, His corporate expression on the earth.

In Ezek. 37 we see the vision of the valley of dry bones, scattered; when Ezekiel prophesied as God told him to, all these came together, sinews grew on them, and they became a great army.

God’s organic salvation is not only to give us life and nourishment, for us to grow and be sanctified, renewed, and transformed; it is much more for us to be built up.

God’s building is brought forth through the joining and knitting together by the working of the transforming Spirit on the believers (Eph. 4:16).

Without transformation we cannot get to the stage of building. We will not be able and we will not be willing to be built up with other members if we’re not undergoing the process of transformation.

If we remain natural and do all things according to our own preferences, we will not be readily built up with others.

We need to hold to the truth in love so that we may grow up into Him, Christ, the Head, in all things; out from Him, the whole Body, being knit together and joined together, is built together in love and grows together.

The building is a matter of knitting and joining. The Lord has to save us not only from sins and the world but also from our individualism, from our independence, and from our self-likeness.

We like to care for ourselves and our own interests; we need to be saved much more from sins, the world, and from our independence and individualism so that we can be built up with other members to be the house of God, the Body of Christ.

Building up is the issue of the believers growing up into the Head, Christ, in all things (v. 15; Col. 2:19).

As we are transformed metabolically, we grow; our transformation is our growth, and this growth is into the Head, Christ.

When we are transformed and therefore grow in life, we can be built up with anyone.

No matter where the Lord puts us and who He puts us with, we can be built up with the saints there, because we are transformed and buildable.

However, if we do not grow in life and are not transformed, we cannot be built up.

The building up of the Body of Christ consummates the building of the holy city, New Jerusalem (Eph. 4:16; Rev. 3:12; 21:10-11).

The more we are built up together as the Body of Christ through our growth and transformation in life, through our being joined and knitted together, the more we consummate the holy city, New Jerusalem.

We should never forget that, at the end of the Bible, the consummation of the divine revelation is not many scattered spiritual giants parading down the aisle celebrating the gospel and salvation, in that kind of a way.

Rather, what we see is a collective aggregate in totality, a built-up city, New Jerusalem, the building of God. Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, we want to experience building up in the divine life by being joined and knitted together in the divine life with the saints. Grow in us today. Transform us inwardly so that we may be able to be built up with the saints. May there be the joining and knitting together by the working of the transforming Spirit on us. Amen, Lord, go on in us and knit us together in the Body! We want to grow up into Christ in all things by holding Him as the Head. May we all as believers grow up into the Head in all things and be joined and knit together into the Body of Christ, the corporate expression of God. May we be saved not only from sin, the world, and self, but even more, from our independence and individualism so that we may be built up with the saints in the Body of Christ!

Being Conformed to the Image of Christ in the Maturity of the Divine Life

Another aspect of God’s wonderful organic salvation is being conformed to the image of Christ in the maturity of the divine life.

Just like the fetus growing in the mother’s womb and growing until it is delivered as a fully formed little man, conformed to the image of a man, so we are being conformed to the image of Christ.

What God is doing is to shape us, transform us, and eventually conform us to the image of Christ. This doesn’t mean that there’s a unification going on, an outward conformity by means of uniformity.

We are being conformed to the image of Christ as the life of God is growing in us unto maturity. The more we grow in Christ, the more we look like Jesus, like God Himself.

We all are now in an organic process of being transformed and conformed to the image of Christ.

The life of God in us is growing until one day when we will fully look like Him.

There is the form of Christ in us, and sometimes those around us see something of the Lord, but it is not that solid.

We are conformed to the image of Christ to such an extent that, when others look at us, we will not have our own self-likeness but we will express Christ.

We will all be God-men expressing Christ – we will all be the same as Christ, the Firstborn Son of God. In order for this to happen, there needs to be the maturing of the divine life.

Conformation is the consummation of the believers’ regeneration, feeding, sanctification, renewing, and transformation in the divine life (Rom. 8:28-29).

When we as believers in Christ have matured in the divine life by the maturity Spirit in our spirit enriches with Christ, we will arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Col. 1:28; Eph. 4:13).

On one hand, we are the Body of Christ, taking Christ as our life and expressing Him.

On the other hand, the Body of Christ is not just a group of people just gathered there with Christ as their life; there is a person being produced, a corporate person with a stature and a measurement.

What is the measurement of the Body of Christ in our church life?

There may be a few hundred saints, but is there a stature of the fullness of Christ or just a lot of believers? Through the building work of God, we are being conformed to the image of Christ.

Through our maturing in the divine life, we arrive at a certain stature, the measure of the fullness of Christ.

This is the full-grown man, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Conformation is for us to be conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son (Phil. 3:10; 1:19-21a; 1 John 3:2).

When He comes, we will be even as He is, for we will see Him as He is. We should not try to be different; we should be like Christ. We need to be proud of being the same as Christ.

We should speak the same thing as Christ and not something different to impress others.

May we bear the same image – the image of Christ, and may we speak the same thing – Christ Himself.

This is the fulfilment of Gen. 1:26, for God will gain a corporate man on earth who expresses Him and represents Him.

Lord Jesus, grow in us and build us up until we are conformed to the image of Christ! Grow in us unto maturity until we look like Christ, speak like Christ, and live like Christ. May we all grow unto maturity until we all arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Amen, Lord, may only Christ be seen among us in all the saints. Save us from trying to be different or from speaking things that are different. May we all take Christ as our life and person, and may we grow in life unto maturity until Christ is formed in us! Amen, Lord, bring us on in the process of God’s organic salvation until we are conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son! Gain a corporate man, Lord, that expresses God and represents God, being fully in the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God!

Glorification is the Full Manifestation of God’s Complete Salvation for His Glory in Humanity

The final step of God’s organic salvation is glorification; glorification is the full manifestation of God’s complete salvation.

It is the blossoming of the seed that has been growing in us. In regeneration, God seals us as His regenerated believers with His Spirit unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).

We were sealed by God when we first believed into Him.

He chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish in Christ, and we were sealed unto the day of redemption.

We are glory-bound. Our destiny is glory; we were called to His glory and we are going into glory.

The matured believers will be glorified from within through the lifelong saturation with the glory of God and from without through their being brought into God’s glory (v. 30; 2 Thes. 1:10; Rom. 8:23, 30; Heb. 2:10).

Many Christians are waiting for Jesus to come, hoping that they will be glorified when He returns, and a halo will be put on their head.

This is not what God is doing. Glory is God expressed. We are glorified not merely in an outward way – we are glorified inwardly, organically, through a lifelong process called God’s organic salvation.

There is a glorifying work going on within us. The glory of God has been working in us little by little, day by day.

When Paul prayed in Eph. 3:16 for the believers’ experience of the Triune God, he prayed to the Father to strengthen us according to the riches of His glory with power through His Spirit into the inner man.

This is so that Christ may make His home in our heart. God is expecting to receive glory from the church. However, this glory is not something objective, merely something that we say, Glory to God.

The glory of God has to be wrought into us by our spirit being strengthened through the riches of God’s glory in a lifelong process of being saturated with God’s glory.

The glorification of the matured believers is the top portion of their divine sonship in God’s organic salvation, which they received at the time of their regeneration (Gal. 4:5; Rom. 8:23).

This is the top portion of our divine sonship. The redemption of our body is the transfiguration of our body at the Lord’s coming back (Phil. 3:20-21).

We were sealed by God unto the day of our redemption, that is, for us to be glorified. Daily the Spirit is working in us to transform us in our soul, and eventually, the Lord will glorify us to transfigure our body. Hallelujah!

Through glorification, God realizes the fulfilment of His eternal purpose – the New Jerusalem – the crystallization of the union and mingling of the processed and consummated Triune God with His regenerated, transformed, conformed, and glorified tripartite elect. Wow, Hallelujah!

There is so much to say according to the divine revelation in God’s word regarding being glorified by God for the full manifestation of God’s complete salvation!

Our destiny as believers in Christ is glory: we are destined to glory, that is, for us to express God in a corporate way for eternity! Praise the Lord!

Hallelujah, we have been sealed by God at our regeneration with His Spirit unto the day of redemption! Praise the Lord, we are now in the process of growing in the divine life so that we may be glorified! Amen, Lord, keep us in the lifelong process of being saturated with the glory of God from within until we are brought into God’s glory without! Amen, Lord, we want to enjoy the top portion of our divine sonship in God’s organic salvation which we received at the time of our regeneration. Bring us on with You, dear Lord, until we are not only renewed, sanctified, transformed, conformed, and built up but even more glorified! May the quantity of glory grow in us every day until we are filled with God’s glory for His corporate expression!

God’s Goal in His Organic Salvation is to make us God in Life, Nature, and Expression, and the Spirit with our spirit is the Secret of God’s Organic Salvation!

If we look at the wonderful eight sections of God’s organic salvation – regeneration, shepherding, sanctification, renewing, transformation, conformation, building up, and glorification – we will realize what is God’s goal.

He doesn’t want to merely gain some who do a great work for God or who speak the gospel everywhere; He wants to gain a duplication of Himself.

God’s goal in all these sections of His organic salvation is simply to make us God in life, in nature, and in expression, but not in the Godhead!

He wants to make us His duplication, His “Xerox copy” of God. The secret of God’s organic salvation is the Spirit Himself with our spirit (Rom. 8:16).

It is the Spirit who accomplishes all these aspects, and the Spirit is mingled with our spirit.

The generating Spirit in our spirit, quickened by Christ, regenerates us, giving us the authority to be children of God, begotten of God (John 3:6).

The nourishing Spirit in our spirit, cherished by Christ, feeds us with the spiritual milk of the word that we may grow unto salvation (Phil. 1:19).

The sanctifying Spirit from our spirit, captivated by Christ, sanctifies us with the nature of God, making us holy unto God (Rom. 15:16).

The renewing Spirit in our spirit, indwelt by Christ, renews us that we may put on the new man through the breaking of the cross (Titus 3:6).

The transforming Spirit in our spirit, filled with Christ, transforms us into the glorious image of Christ for His expression (2 Cor. 3:18).

The building Spirit in our spirit, possessed by Christ, builds us into the house of God and the Body of Christ for Their dwelling (Eph. 2:21-22).

The maturing Spirit in our spirit, enriched with Christ, conforms us to the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God – the model of God’s sons (Rom. 8:26-28).

The sealing Spirit in our spirit, exulting with Christ, saturates us and brings us into the glory of God for our glorification (Eph. 4:30). Hallelujah!

The secret of God’s organic salvation is carried out by the Spirit with our spirit. Every time we exercise our spirit, which is God’s Spirit indwelling in it, we are one with the Spirit.

We call on the name of the Lord, we pray-read his word, we pray, and we activate His Spirit.

Then, the Spirit does all these things and operates all these aspects of God’s organic salvation. The goal is to make us the same as He is in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. Hallelujah!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother James Lee in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “The Secret of God’s Organic Salvation—‘the Spirit Himself with Our Spirit,’” pp. 276-277, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery Before His Appearing (2023 July Semiannual Training), week 7, entitled, The Two Aspects of God’s Complete Salvation — Judicial Redemption Plus Organic Salvation.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Salvation in Thy life, O God, / Meets what Thy righteousness demands; / Judicially, organically / Full and complete as Thou hast planned. stanza 2. Redeemed by Thee judicially, / Saved in Thy life organically; / Thy righteousness is satisfied; / Thy will accomplished perfectly. stanza 3. Judicially I’m justified, / Organically made one with Thee; / I am reborn a God-man now / And sanctified, renewed to be. stanza 4. Transformed to Thine own image bright, / Through Thy life metabolically, / Till we mature, a full-grown man, / Built as one Body corporately. stanza 5. Our body glorified, redeemed, / We’ll sonship’s pinacle attain, / Mingled, a mut’ual abode with Thee, / Our song, the New Jerusalem. (New song, translated from Witness Lee)
  – By divine regeneration / We the sons of God became, / But we must mature to fullness, / Thus the birthright to obtain. / Born and fully grown to manhood, / God’s adoption we may share; / By the measure of full stature, / We God’s sonship will declare. / All our spirit, soul and body / Unto Christ conformed must be; / This will be accomplished fully / When our glorious Lord we see. / By our body’s full redemption / Shall adoption be complete; / By the final transformation / All God’s purpose we shall meet. (Hymns #741 stanzas 2-3)
  – Christ is the hope of glory, redemption full is He: / Redemption to my body, from death to set it free, / He comes to make my body a glorious one to be / And swallow death forever in victory. / Christ is the hope of glory, He is my history: / His life is my experience, for He is one with me; / He comes to bring me into His glorious liberty, / That one with Him completely I’ll ever be. (Hymns #949 stanzas 3-4)