Enjoying the All-inclusive Christ Issues in the Church as the Temple and City of God

The issue of our enjoying and experiencing Christ as the all-inclusive good land is the church as the house of God (the temple of God) and the city of God (the kingdom of God) for Him to have a corporate expression on earth and for Him to have dominion through the church. Amen!

As those learning to live a life of enjoying Christ as the good land day by day, we are gradually being built up to be the church as the temple of God, His dwelling place, and the city of God, the kingdom of God.

As believers in Christ, we need to enjoy the Lord daily as grace, taking Him as our life and life supply in all things.

As we enjoy the Lord as grace, we will be able to endure any kind of treatment and live in any kind of environment because we have Christ as grace in us and with us.

May the Lord show us how to live a life in the eyes of God that will enable us to enjoy the all-inclusive Christ typified by the good land.

Daily we need to live a life of labouring on Christ personally so that, when we come together in the meetings of the church, we may enjoy Him collectively, with the saints, for the building up of the Body of Christ.

God’s will is for us to enjoy Christ and experience Him in every situation.

If we do this, if we daily labour on the Lord by exercising our spirit to contact Him and experience Him, we will have our hands full of the produce of Christ when we come to the meetings of the church. Amen!

May we aspire to be the normal Christians today, the overcoming ones, those who daily labour on Christ as their good land so that they may enjoy Christ as their enjoyment!

May we deal with sins thoroughly and maintain our fellowship with the Lord.

May we redeem our time and spend our energy to be saturated and soaked with the Lord’s word, and may we live in the presence, the face, of Jesus Christ in our spirit.

Also, may we receive Christ as grace and allow the Lord to break and tear down anything natural in us so that He may constitute us with Himself and rebuild us with the Divine Trinity. Amen!

When we enjoy and experience Christ day by day, we will be filled with the riches of Christ, and we will meet together to have a rich exhibition of the riches of Christ, for each one of us will bring the Christ upon whom we laboured to present Him to the saints.

We will have something to speak in the meetings as a freewill offering to God and a supply to the saints. Amen!

We must meet with the Lord’s children to worship God corporately at the place that He has chosen – in our mingled spirit and on the unique ground of oneness.

We keep the oneness of the Body of Christ on the genuine ground of oneness.

We come together to worship God corporately in the place that He has chosen, which place is our spirit, on the unique ground of oneness, and with Christ as the offerings. Hallelujah!

In this article, we want to see that the issue, the result, of our enjoyment of the all-inclusive riches of Christ as the good land is the church as the temple of God and the city of God.

The Issue of our Enjoyment of the All-inclusive Christ is the Church as the Temple and City of God

In 1 Kings 8:48 Solomon prayed to Jehovah that, if the people of Israel repent and return to God with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies, and they pray toward their land and toward the house and the city of God, may the Lord listen to them.

Here we see three things: the land, the house, and the city of God.

The Holy Land typifies Christ as the portion allotted by God to us, the believers in Christ.

The holy city signifies the kingdom of God in Christ (Psa. 48:1-2), and the holy temple signifies the house of God, the church, on the earth (Eph. 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15).

When we believers in Christ enjoy and experience the all-inclusive Christ as the good land with all His unsearchable riches, we will become the church as the temple and city of God.

When we come together as the church and enjoy the Lord, expressing His riches that were wrought into us and experienced by us, the church is the temple of God for His habitation and dwelling, and the city of God for His kingdom and dominion on the earth.

When God’s people enjoy Christ and experience Him, when they partake of His riches and He becomes real to them in their daily life, God is localised: He can be found among the saints.

When the saints come together and all of them have something of Christ to flow out to others in the meetings of the church, God is among them, and even the unbelievers will be convicted, falling on their faces before the Lord (1 Cor. 14).

They will confess that the church is the habitation of God, the home of God, an entity built of Christ mingled and blended with so many believers.

He is enjoyed by them, and they take Him as their life and everything; the saints enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as their good land, the issue of this enjoyment is the church as the temple and city of God.

As believers in Christ, we are Christians, something of Christ. In the morning we eat a little of Christ, and in the evening we partake a little of Him again.

We day by day eat Christ and drink Him, and Christ is gradually being digested by us and mingled with us so that we and Christ become one.

Then, when we come together with other believers in Christ who have done the same thing, we bring Christ to the meeting and others also bring Christ.

We cannot help it: wherever we go, we bring Christ with us, and we exhibit Christ.

When others see us, talk to us and meet with us, they see Christ in us, and we speak Christ, we exhibit Christ, and we enjoy Christ together.

This is the church as the habitation of God, the home of God.

In the church as God’s temple and habitation, we enjoy God, we serve God together, and we have the presence of God.

However, the church as the temple of God needs to be enlarged and strengthened; it needs to become the city of God for the kingdom of God to be brought on the earth.

When we enjoy Christ little by little, day by day, when we partake of His riches in spirit, we spontaneously submit to God and one another.

We will no longer quarrel with others, neither will we fight with them.

Rather, our eating, drinking, and enjoying Christ will cause us to be headed up in Christ, and we will submit ourselves to Christ as our Head and also to one another in the Body of Christ.

When we have such submission among us, when we enjoy and experience Christ sufficiently so that we submit to God and to one another, we will have not only the church as the house of God but even more, the church as the kingdom of God.

As we enjoy the all-inclusive Christ with all His riches, we will become the church as the house and city of God; we become the church as the corporate expression of God and also as His kingdom, for Him to have dominion over the earth.

What the Lord is seeking among us today is that we would learn to enjoy Christ, experience Christ, and apply Him in our daily lives so that we may continually grow in life and experience Him and enjoy Him to such an extent that we become the church as the temple and city of God.

May the Lord gain this among us, the church as both the house of God (Eph. 2:21-22) and as the kingdom of God (Rom. 14:17) for Him to have a corporate expression and exercise His dominion on the earth.

May we continually grow in our experience and enjoyment of Christ, applying Christ in our daily life, until we all become the church as the temple and city of God on the earth!

Lord Jesus, we want to enjoy You with all Your unsearchable riches so that You may gain the church as the temple and city of God on the earth! Amen, Lord, we want to contact You daily by exercising our spirit so that we may enjoy and experience You with all Your riches. Dispense more of Yourself into us today. Keep us in the enjoyment of Christ in all things and all situations. We want to be faithful to You to learn by Your grace how to enjoy Christ, how to experience Christ, and how to apply Christ in our daily lives. Amen, Lord, may we all grow in our experience and enjoyment of Christ until we become the church as the house of God and as the city of God! May the church today be not only the habitation of God for Him to find rest and be expressed but even more, the city of God for the kingdom of God to come in! Amen, Lord Jesus, gain the church as the temple and city of God among us today!

The Church as the House of God and the Kingdom of God is the Issue of our Enjoyment of the All-inclusive Christ

According to the entire revelation in God’s word, the center of God’s plan is Christ and the church; the centre of God’s economy is nothing else but Christ and His enlargement, the church.

In the Old Testament, the land with its temple and city were the center of God’s plan (see 1 Kings 8:48 and footnote 1 in the Recovery Version Bible), and in the New Testament, the all-inclusive Christ with the church are the center of God’s plan.

The land is Christ Himself, and the temple and the city are the fullness of Christ, the church, which is His Body (Eph. 1:22-23; 2:21-22).

The temple is mainly for the expression of God, for Him to have a habitation and a dwelling place.

The city of God is for the dominion of God.

The church as the temple and city of God fulfills God’s eternal purpose, as stated in Gen. 1:26 – for Him to gain His image and dominion through man.

When we look at the church as the house of God, the temple of God, we mainly see that the church is His dwelling place, and here we have His presence.

In the Psalms, there are eight main characteristics of the church as the house of God, the temple of God.

First, God’s house is the place of God’s presence, which is God’s glory (Psa. 26:8; 29:9), God’s beauty (27:4, 8), and God’s riches (36:8-9).

In the church as the house of God we see God’s glory, we enjoy His beauty, and we partake of His riches in spirit.

The church as the house of God is the place of revelation and God’s answer (73:16-17; 3:4; 18:6).

When we come to the church meetings and exercise our spirit, we receive God’s revelation and have His answer to our problems and troubles.

The church as God’s house is our hiding place (27:5; 31:20; 84:3).

We can hide in the Lord and in the church as the house of God, and here we’re protected from the enemy.

In the church as God’s house we are in a place where we may be planted, flourish, and bear fruit (Psa. 92:13-14).

We are so happy in this lovely place, in the garden growing in His grace; here in the house of God we are planted as plants, we flourish, and we bear fruit in God’s garden growing abundantly by His grace.

The church as God’s house is the place of springs (87:7). Outside of God’s house there’s a dry place, but in His house, we have many springs to drink.

The church as God’s house is the place where we are strengthened (68:35; 96:6). God gives us strength from His sanctuaries, and He gives strength and power to His people from His church. Amen!

In God’s house, we are in the right place to be mingled with God (92:10), and in the church, we enjoy God as our portion (73:26). Amen!

In regards to the church as the kingdom of God, the city of God, we see mainly God’s authority, for in the church as the kingdom of God, He is exercising His authority.

The church as God’s city is a strong city, the city of the great King (31:21; 48:2).

Hallelujah, there is a river with gladdening streams in God’s city (46:4-5)!

The issue of our enjoyment of Christ as the good land is the church as the temple and city of God; in the city of God there’s a river which streams gladden us!

God is known in her and is He a high retreat in her (48:3). As the city of God, the kingdom of God, the church is a terror to the enemy (vv. 3-6; 76:2-3).

The church as the city of God is the perfection of beauty (50:2), and she is the goal of God’s good pleasure (51:18).

The thrones of judgment are set in God’s city (122:5), and the Lord blesses others out of her and is blessed out of her (134:3; 135:21).

The ultimate issue of our enjoyment of Christ as the good land is the divine-human incorporation of the processed Triune God with His regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite people as the eternal dwelling place and the kingdom of God (Rev. 21:3, 22; 22:5). Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, we love You and we rejoice in You! We are filled with joy and gladness, for we partake of the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land. How we love to be here in the church as the temple and city of God, enjoying God with all the saints and being the kingdom of God on earth! Amen, Lord, we enjoy Your presence, Your glory, Your revelation, and Your answer in the church as the house of God today. We take You as our hiding place. We are strengthened, watered, mingled with God, and filled with You as our portion in the church as the temple of God. Praise the Lord, we’re becoming the church as the city of God, the kingdom of God! Amen, Lord, rule and reign in us today. Make Yourself known to us and through us, and perfect us. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done on the earth. Fulfil Your eternal purpose in us and through us. Amen, Lord Jesus, keep us enjoying You as the all-inclusive Christ so that we may become the church as the temple and city of God!

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 Minoru Chen in the message for this week, and portions from, The All-inclusive Christ, ch. 16, by Witness Lee (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good land for the Building up of the Church as the Body of Christ, for the Reality and the Manifestation of the Kingdom, and for the Bride to make Herself Ready for the Lord’s Coming (2023 Winter Training), week 12, entitled, Living a Life of Enjoying Christ as the Good Land with the Temple, the Dwelling Place of God, and the City, the Kingdom of God, as Its Issue.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – What is the All-inclusive Christ? Read more via, The hearing of faith.
  – Christ Is the Reality of the Good Land for Us to Enjoy, article via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The all-inclusive Christ in 1 Corinthians, article by Ed Marks in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – The all-inclusive Christ as the believers’ portion, a portion from, The Economy and Dispensing of God, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee.
  – Enjoy Christ’s Riches in 3 Aspects Every Day, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – What a Christ We Have, a new song via, Hymnal.net
  – The all-inclusive Christ, the consummated Spirit, a portion from, The Crucial Points of the Major Items of the Lord’s Recovery, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – Msg 1 – Our Need to Labor on the All-inclusive Christ, a video message by brother Ron.
  – Opening Word – Inheriting the All-inclusive Christ as the Good Land by Taking Heed to His Words of Advice and Warnings and by Receiving His Renewed Training to Have Our Inner Man Renewed Day by Day, via, Church in New York City.
  – The church being the kingdom of God, a portion from, The Kingdom, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – The church as the household of God in Ephesians, article via, Affirmation and Critique.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Splendid church life! His green garden! / He has brought us, praise the Lord, / To experience the Christ Who’s growing here! / He is full of rich enjoyment / To His saints in one accord; / He is new and fresh, available and dear. / I’m so happy in this lovely place, / In the garden growing in His grace! / There is no finer pleasure / Than to eat the living tree / And to get the living water into me. (Hymns #1237 stanza 1 and chorus)
  – Christ brings us to God’s house to dwell, / Where all day long His praises swell. / O hallelujah! None can tell / How lovely is God’s house! / How lovely is God’s house! / How lovely is God’s house! / O hallelujah! None can tell / How lovely is God’s house! / The house enlarged the city is; / The joy of all the nations ’tis, / The place for God to rule is this / On Zion’s holy hill. / On Zion’s holy hill, / On Zion’s holy hill, / The place for God to rule is this / On Zion’s holy hill. (Hymns #1224 stanzas 2-3)
  – In God’s house and in Thy Body / Builded up I long to be, / That within this corporate vessel / All shall then Thy glory see; / That Thy Bride, the glorious city, / May appear upon the earth, / As a lampstand brightly beaming / To express to all Thy worth. (Hymns #840 stanza 5)