The Central Thought of Peter’s Epistles & the Entire Scripture is Life and Building

The central thought of Peter’s Epistles and of the entire Scripture is life and building, and life is nothing else but the Triune God in Christ as the Spirit dispensing Himself into us to produce the building, the church as the Body of Christ. Hallelujah!

This week we come to the topic of, Life and Building in Peter’s Epistles. In the epistles of Peter we see God’s government and God’s economy and how can the Christian life and church life be carried out according to these two matters.

God’s government is not isolated from God’s economy; the two of them go together.

We often appreciate Paul and speak about his writings, but Peter also speaks about the same thing, having the same view as Paul.

Their background is very different, for Peter was a fisherman, probably not well-educated, and always causing trouble and making mistakes. We all can relate to him, for we are the same.

But the Lord has done a good work in our brother, and he has seen something concerning God’s economy, as seen in his Epistles.

This week we want to see the matter of life and building in the writings of Peter.

We may consider life and buildings as the main street in the Bible.

The Lord’s recovery is a recovery of life and building.

This has been lost through the centuries of church history, for there have been many deviations and misaimings causing the believers to drift away from this main street, life and building.

We need life in order to have the genuine building, and the building of God requires the life of God.

The building of God takes place with and in the divine life; life and building always go together.

These days as we see the world situation, the turmoil in the world, and the chaos all around us, even the violence, we all are considering the matter of the Lord’s return, for it is becoming increasingly clear that His coming is very soon.

But unless He gains the building, He cannot return.

He doesn’t want to merely gain many Christians who are saved and now are waiting for the Lord’s coming.

He wants to gain the building, for His life produces the building.

May we open to the Lord in a fresh, new way today to see something up-to-date from Him regarding life and building and be on the main street of the Bible, life and building.

Peter, this rough fisherman, has been worked on by the Lord to see what is the main street in the Bible – life and building.

May we open to the Lord and let Him impress us with the matter of His divine life that produces His divine building.

The Central Thought of Peter’s Epistles and of the Entire Scripture is Life and Building

What is the central thought of Peter’s Epistles? The central thought of Peter’s Epistles and of the entire Scripture is life and building (1 Pet. 1:23; 2:2-5; 2 Pet. 1:3-4).

We have seen that the first Epistle of Peter has as its subject the Christian life under the government of God, and the second Epistle focuses on the divine provision for us to live a holy life for the church life.

However, the central focus and basic structure of these Epistles are not the government of God but that the Triune God is operating to carry out His economy and be our full enjoyment. Hallelujah!

The central thought of Peter’s Epistles is life and building.

The Triune God is operating to accomplish His complete salvation so that we may be regenerated, feed on His word, grow in life, be transformed, and be built up in His spiritual house. Amen!

Life and building. What is life? Life is the Triune God embodied in Christ and realized as the Spirit dispensing Himself into us for our enjoyment. Hallelujah!

Life is God Himself reaching us and dispensing Himself into us to be our very life and our daily enjoyment.

What is the building? The building is the church, the Body of Christ, God’s spiritual house, as the enlargement and expansion of God for the corporate expression of God (Gen. 2:8-9, 22; Matt. 16:18; Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:16).

From Genesis to Revelation there is one central thought: life and building.

From the first chapters of the Bible where we see that God created all things, God put man in front of the tree of life, and in the flowing of the river, we see precious materials for God’s building.

Life is God Himself. Life is just God Himself in Christ as the Spirit dispensing Himself into us.

When we receive Christ as our Savior and life, we receive the divine life into our spirit.

The divine life grows in us, saturates us, and transforms us, and this life also builds us up together as God’s dwelling place.

In this age, God is building up His dwelling place, the church as the house of God, the spiritual house of the living God.

For eternity, this house of God, the building of God, will be the New Jerusalem.

But today God’s dwelling place is the church, the Body of Christ.

As we allow the Lord to grow in us, as His divine life grows in us day by day, there’s a process of transformation inwardly taking place, and we are built up together, for life issues in the building.

Day by day we need to contact the Lord, especially in the morning and then throughout the day.

We need to enjoy the Lord and experience Christ day by day so that we may grow in Christ.

As we go through many things in our daily life, as we do this and that, we need to open to the Lord and just contact Him.

As we contact the Lord and receive His divine dispensing, the Lord grows in us for His building.

As we touch the Lord as the life-giving Spirit, He dispenses Himself into us.

The divine dispensing of the divine life into us causes an inward transformation, and this transformation is for the building.

The building of God is the corporate expression of God. God wants to be expressed; He wants to gain a building, a corporate dwelling place of God and man, through which He can be expressed.

In order for us to express God, we must have the life of God. Only by having God’s life and living by this life can we express God corporately.

Life is the Triune God embodied in Christ who is realized as the life-giving Spirit.

Our created life cannot express God, but the life of God can produce the building, the corporate expression of God.

Lord Jesus, may we have a clear vision of life and building as the main street in the whole Bible. Thank You for coming to us as life to dispense Yourself into us. Hallelujah, the Triune God passed through a process to become the Spirit of life, even the life-giving Spirit! Amen, Lord, we open to You today: dispense Yourself as life into us. Keep us under Your divine dispensing. Dispense all that You are and all that You have into us. Grow in us. May Your divine life spread in all the inward parts of our being. May You grow in us a little more today. Transform us into Your image. Cause an inward change to happen in us so that we may be metabolically changed into Your likeness! Amen, Lord, build us up together in Your life! May Your life grow in us unto maturity until we’re built together as the church, the Body of Christ! Oh Lord Jesus, we want to contact You today, keep our being open to Your divine dispensing, and enjoy and experience You so that You may grow in us, transform us, and build us up! Hallelujah for life and building!

God’s Divine Power Granted to us All Things which Relate to Life and Godliness for the Building up of the Church

In 2 Pet. 1:3-4 we see that God’s divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness so that we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust. Amen!

Christ as the seed of life is the power of life within us that has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness for the building up of the church (Acts 3:15). Hallelujah!

The church is the rich surplus of life and the expression of life through the growth and development of life. This is amazing!

Peter is unique in his expressions and illustrations regarding life and building.

God has given us the marvelous and mysterious divine power.

Actually, this divine power is God Himself who passed through creation, redemption, and resurrection to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).

All the visible things of the creation came into being through God’s divine power.

Christ’s redemption was accomplished by God’s divine power, for Jesus could die on behalf of all men to accomplish an eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12) because of the divine power. Hallelujah!

Now today as the life-giving Spirit, Christ offers Himself to us as the divine power in resurrection.

When we receive the Lord Jesus, we receive not only the divine life but even more, the divine power, which is the Triune God entering into us as life in resurrection! Wow!

God has granted to us the divine power, which is the power of the divine life in our spirit; this divine life power has given to us all things which relate to life and godliness.

How can we live the Christian life? How can we express God in our daily living?

It is by means of the divine power which has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness.

What do we need in order to live the Christian life? Everything we need is in the divine power, and the supply of this power is inexhaustible.

In the divine power with its supply we have the law of life (Rom. 8:2; Heb. 8:10), humility, wisdom, rejoicing, love, joy, hope, submission, goodness, meekness, kindness, long-suffering, and peace.

We have everything we need in order to both have the divine life inwardly and a godly life outwardly: it’s all in the life power of the divine life in our spirit. Wow!

Just as in the little seed, there’s the life power which includes everything related to the growth of the seed, the stem, the branches, the leaves, the blossoms, the flowers, and the fruit of the plant, so in the divine life in us there’s the divine power! Hallelujah!

We don’t need to strive or struggle to be meek, lowly, humble, good, kind, etc nor do we need to manufacture our own peace or joy – everything is in the divine power of the divine life in our spirit!

In this divine power, we have love, patience, humility, kindness, and long-suffering.

Through this divine power God has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these we might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust (2 Pet. 1:4).

We have many promises given to us by God, which are mainly related to our spiritual life.

God’s promises are not for our physical blessing but for our spiritual partaking and enjoyment.

Eph. 3:20 is one such promise; God promises to do above all that we ask or think in the spiritual realm for us for the church life.

The Lord will do superabundantly above all that we ask or think for the church life according to the inner working power that operates in us. Praise the Lord!

Thank the Lord for His promises. We stand on His promises.

We do not look at our current condition nor do we focus on our situation; we stand on His promises, we pray over His promises, and we take His promises as everything to us so that we may partake of His divine nature.

When we read such promises as those in Matthew 28:20; John 6:57; 7:38-39; 10:28-29; 14:19-20, 23; 15:5; and 16:13-15, we are filled with faith and the Lord grows in us unto maturity for the building of God.

His promises sustain our spiritual life, and we stand firmly in His promises, being assured that His divine power will carry these out and accomplish them in our life.

As we read and pray over His word, exercising our spirit to enjoy the Lord and partake of His divine nature, we grow in life for His building today.

Lord Jesus, grant us to see that God’s divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness! Hallelujah, God granted to us all the things we need to have God’s life and express God by means of His divine power! Wow, Lord, there’s an amazing and superabundant power in the divine life that has come into our spirit! Everything we need is in the divine life we have received at the time of our regeneration! We exercise our spirit to enjoy the inexhaustible supply of the divine power! Hallelujah, we can enjoy the inner operation of the law of life and we can have humility, wisdom, love, joy, hope, and submission in our spirit by means of the divine power! Praise the Lord, everything related to life has been given to us so that we may live the Christian life and express God! Amen, Lord, we come to You in Your word with the exercise of our spirit to partake of Your rich promises. We stand on Your promises and we believe that You will do superabundantly above all that we ask or think in us for the church life so that You may gain Your building!

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 Ray Mulligan in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1969, vol. 2, “The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures,” ch. 16, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living a Christian Life and Church Life under the Government of God for the Economy of God (2024 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 3, Life and Building in Peter’s Epistles.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Two lines of building in the New Testament, a portion from, The Central Thought of God, Chapter 11, by Witness Lee.
  – The Purpose of the Life of God, via, Living to Him.
  – A Revelation of Life and Building, a free booklet via LSM.
  – Life and Building, via, Lamb Follower.
  – 1 Peter (Program #14) -Growth in Life and Its Results (4), via, Bible study radio.
  – The Principle of Life or the Principle of Right and Wrong—Which Do You Live By? More via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Growth in life and building being inseparable, a portion from, The Building Work of God, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – What Does God Want? More via, Bibles for America blog.
  – A Revelation of Life and Building, the audio version of the free booklet.
  – Life and Building unto New Jerusalem, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – The problem today concerning the church, a portion from, The Central Thought of God, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee.
  – Life-study of the Bible with Witness Lee — 1 & 2 Samuel Program 25: God’s Building Himself in Christ into Our Being through the Metabolic Process of Transformation, via, LSM youtube.
  – Growing unto salvation for the building, a portion from, Life-Study of 1 Peter, Chapter 18.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – The seed is planted, wheat is grown / And meal is the sum / Of all the growth upon God’s farm, / Where Christians grow as one; / But all the growth in life is for / The building of the church, / That God and man may have a home / And both may end their search. / The farm is for the building, / for God and man a home, / Where both may dwell among / His people gathered into one. (Hymns #1242 stanza 4 and chorus)
  – Building, building, we will see the building / Of the church this way: / Christ experienced will produce the building— / He’s the only way. / Oh, build us, Lord, we pray, / By growth of life each day. / Oh, make us now such men / For the new Jerusalem. (Hymns #1240 stanza 7)
  – Given us, given us, God has given us / Precious faith, power divine, greatest promises. / We believed, we received, now we have all three; / By these we may grow unto maturity. / Precious faith in each saint, precious equally, / Precious faith holding us, holding ceaselessly. / Disagree or agree, still it holds us fast, / Day by day, eternally this faith shall last. (Hymns #1211 stanzas 1-2)