The Father’s house, the house of Jehovah, is an entity in the divine life – there’s nothing of organization or human activity here, but there’s the flow and the growth in the divine life.
For us to build up the church as the Father’s house we need to daily grow in life. Since it is only God who gives the growth, we need to ask Him daily, Lord, grow in me for the building up of the church!
Another simple way to build up the church is by allowing Christ to make His home in our heart every day. Personally we need to open to Him and allow Him, let Him, and give Him the permission to make His home in all the parts of our heart.
When He is at home in us, we can be built up with others into His home, the Father’s house, God’s dwelling place.
Building Up the Church by Growing in Life
How can we build up the church? The Bible tells us that we need to long for the guileless milk of the word that by it we may grow unto salvation (1 Pet. 2:2).
Also, in Eph. 4:14-15 we see that we need to hold to truth in love and grow up into Christ the Head in all things (read more about Holding To Truth).
As we grow into Christ in all things in an organic way by eating and drinking of Him, we build up the Body!
As we grow into the Head, something comes out of the Head, Christ, for the building up of the Body – out from Him all the Body is knit together, joined together, functioning in the measure of each part, and each member causes the growth unto the building up of the Body in love.
Here we see that our growth in life equals the building up of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ, the church, builds itself up in love by the growth of each member of the Body.
We all need to grow in life for the Body of Christ to be built up, and our growth is not for ourselves but for the Body!
How Can We Grow in Life?
The question is, How can we grow in life? Our parents cannot make us grow in life, and neither can our spouse, our family, the elders in the church, or any other co-worker in the church.
Only God gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:6-9; Eph. 2:21). Since growth comes from God we can ask Him,
Lord, grow in me today! Cause me to grow in life for the building up of the Body! Lord, grow in me a little more today for You to gain Your house, Your dwelling place!
As we open to the Lord, He causes the growth in us. Sorry to say, no matter how much you read the Bible and do all kinds of spiritual things, unless the Lord gives the growth, you won’t grow in life.
Just open to Him, pray simple short prayers all throughout the day and even when you read the Bible, and He will cause the growth!
Building Up the Church by Allowing Christ to Make His Home in Us
The Lord Jesus clearly said in Matt. 16:18, I will build My church. In order for His word in this verse to be fulfilled, we as believers in Christ need to allow Christ to make His home in our hearts (Eph. 3:17).
We need to let Christ possess, occupy, and saturate our entire inner being, so that He may build His house, the church. The genuine church life is actually an issue of Christ personally making His home in our heart to occupy every corner of our inner being.
The more we let Christ make His home in us, the more we are possessed by Him, occupied by Him, and saturated by Him and we are able to be built up with other members of the Body (see Eph. 2:21-22; 4:16).
He makes His home in our heart, and we are built up in the Body! This inner experience of the indwelling Christ making His home in us daily ushers us in the reality of the Body of Christ.
The result is that the more Christ occupies, saturates, and possess our inner being, the more we are built up with others to become the corporate expression of the Triune God!
How Do We Allow Christ to Make His Home in Our Heart?
Again, the question is, In our daily life, how do we allow Christ to make His home in our heart?
There are many ways to do this, and the more we see that the building up of the church is in direct proportion to Christ’s making His home in us, the more we will cooperate with Him for this. We will tell Him again and again,
Lord, make Your home in my heart. I want to allow You to do this in me. Lord, even when I react or flinch, don’t pay attention to that – I choose to let You make Your home in my heart! Lord, saturate me! Fill me! Occupy and possess me! Make Your home deep down in my heart a little more today!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from brother Ron Kangas’ sharing and portions in, The Organic Union in God’s Relationship with Man (by Witness Lee, ch. 5), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of the Minor Prophets, week 10 (entitled, The Building of the House of Jehovah).
- Hymns on this topic:
# Lord Jesus, soften us; / You know the source from which we came. / By calling on Your name, / Lord, let no earth unturned nor rocks remain— / Lord Jesus, grow in us.
# In the Body we’ll be fitly framed / As the many members Christ supply; / Working in the measure of each part, / All by growth in love the Body edify.
# Make home in my heart, O Lord Jesus, / Make home in my heart, I pray; / That we may be filled with Your fullness, / Make home in my heart today.
amen, Oh Lord Jesus!
The genuine church life is the issue of Christ personally making His home in our heart to occupy every corner of our inner being. The content of the church is the Christ whom we take as our person, the Christ who is wrought into our being. In order for Christ’s word in Matthew 16:18 concerning the building up of the church to be fulfilled, the church must enter into a state where many saints allow Christ to make His home in their heart, possessing, occupying, and saturating their entire inner being. The more Christ occupies our inner being, the more we will be able to be built up with others in the Body (Eph. 2:21-22; 4:16). The reality of the Body life is such an inner experience of the indwelling Christ. The Body of Christ is the consummation of our enjoyment of the unsearchable riches of Christ and the consummation of the experience of the unlimited Christ making His home in our entire inward being. The New Jerusalem is the ultimate issue of Christ making His home in our heart. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3391)
Praise the Lord ! The answer is, Only God gives the growth. Amen