In order for us to live out and work out the New Jerusalem to build up Zion as the reality of the Body of Christ, we need to keep certain principles and have particular experiences as seen and typified in the New Jerusalem.
Whatever is ascribed to the New Jerusalem should be both our personal and our corporate experience for us to become the New Jerusalem and to build the New Jerusalem by the mingling of God with man.
The many features and characteristics of the New Jerusalem need to become our enjoyment and experience in the church life today for the oneness of the Body of Christ to fulfill the eternal purpose of God.
We have seen that the New Jerusalem is actually the overcomers, the totality of God’s people who have already passed through a process to match God for their union for eternity.
For us today to have a foretaste of the New Jerusalem, we need to be the overcomers of today, those who overcome anything that replaces Christ in our experience and live in the reality of the Body of Christ.
We need to love the Lord more than we love our self, and we need to allow Christ to constrain us with His love so that we love Him and treasure Him more than we love our soul life. An overcomer knows and loves only Christ for the reality of the Body of Christ.
The Lord is waiting for such a group of people, the overcomers, those who live out the reality of the Body of Christ to become the bride of Christ today, those who will bring Him back to usher in the kingdom age.
May we be such ones today. And may we be those who exercise to live out and work out the New Jerusalem to build up Zion as the reality of the Body of Christ today.
God’s Presence is the Criterion for Every Matter – we are Becoming, Jehovah Is There!
In order for us to live out and work out the New Jerusalem to build up Zion as the reality of the Body of Christ, we must hold on to this principle: God’s presence is the criterion for every matter (Rev. 21:22; 22:4; Exo. 25:30; Psa. 27:4-5, 8; 31:20; 91:1).
Whenever we do this or that, whether we go here or there, and whether we take this way or that way should be governed by the principle of God’s presence. Do we have God’s presence when we say this or go there? Do we have His smile when we say this or that?
We need to be inwardly supplied with the Lord, enjoying Christ as the bread of God’s presence (Exo. 25:30), and we need to do everything in His presence and according to His presence.
Like the psalmist, we need to ask the Lord to dwell in His house – which is the church and our mingled spirit today (Psa. 27:4-5). We want to dwell in the church and in the mingled spirit all the days of our life so that we may enquire in His presence and behold His beauty.
When we are in the spirit and in the church, we behold the Lord’s loveliness, pleasantness, and delightfulness.
The Lord wants us to seek His face, and we need to give ourselves to seek His face in all things. May we hide in the secret place of His presence and abide in the secret place of the Most High by contacting the Lord in the mingled spirit and abiding in Him in spirit.
In the New Testament we see from the beginning that Christ came as Emmanuel, God with us, and at the end in Revelation the New Jerusalem is called, Jehovah Is There (see Matt. 1:23; Ezek. 48:35). The individual Christ is God with us, and we as the corporate Christ are becoming Jehovah is there.
God’s presence is everything to us, and we are becoming God’s presence, for God is glorified through His people corporately.
The Spirit is the presence of Christ with our spirit, and for us to live and act in spirit is to live and act in the person of Christ, in the presence of Christ, according to the index of His whole person expressed in His eyes (see 2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:16; 2 Cor. 3:17-18; 2:10, 13; Exo. 33:11a, 14-17; 1 Cor. 14:24-25; cf. Rev. 5:6).
Paul was such a one – he forgave a brother not only by being one with the Lord but in the person of Christ, in the face of Christ, in the index of the Lord’s eyes. Moses also lived in the presence of God so much so that he told the Lord that if His presence doesn’t go with them, they cannot go any further.
We want to be the Lord’s companions today, those who live in His presence and have His presence, those who are His business partners in His divine economy, and having the Lord speak with us face to face.
When the Lord’s presence is with us, we have His smile, and we have rest. Actually, we as believers in Christ are distinct from all other people on the face of the earth because we have God’s indwelling presence.
Lord Jesus, we want to live out and work out the New Jerusalem to build up Zion as the reality of the Body of Christ by living in Your presence and having Your presence with us constantly. Lord, we seek Your face, we want to abide and even hide in Your presence, and we want to live in the index of Your eyes today. May Your presence go with us. Make us Your companions, Lord, those who speak with You face to face and who do everything in the face of Christ, fully one with the Lord. Your presence is everything to us!
Being Under the Throne of God by Allowing Him to have Preeminence in us and being Submissive to His Authority
In order for us to live out and work out the New Jerusalem to build up Zion as the reality of the Body of Christ, we must be under the throne of God, the ruling of God (Rev. 22:1, 3).
One of the prominent features of the New Jerusalem is the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of the city.
For us to live out and work out the New Jerusalem, we need to be under God’s ruling presence, under the throne of God, giving Him the preeminence in our being and being submissive to His authority.
We need to realise that sin is lawlessness, a dethronement of God; therefore, we need to dethrone ourselves, humble ourselves, to live in our spirit, and coordinate with the saints for God’s move.
Also, we need to maintain a “clear sky” in our Christian life and church life in order to be filled with God’s ruling presence of reigning grace (1 John 3:4; Ezek. 1:13-16, 22, 26; Rom. 5:21; Rev. 4:1-3; 22:1; cf. 1 Kings 10:18).
The origin of sin is Satan, who as Lucifer rebelled against God and tried to dethrone Him. When we sin, we rebel against God and remove His authority over us. Oh Lord Jesus!
May we humble ourselves, learn to confess our sins so that the blood of Christ would cleanse us from any sin, and learn to live in the mingled spirit, coordinating with the saints under the clear sky with a throne above it.
We are the living creatures in the church life (typified by the living creatures in Ezek. 1:22-26), so above us there should be a crystal clear sky, with a throne above it, and God in Christ is on the throne.
The highest point in our spiritual experience is to have a clear sky with the throne of God above it. How do we do this? As seen in Rev. 4:1-3, we simply need to be in spirit; when we’re in the mingled spirit, there’s a clear sky between us and the Lord, and His throne is over us.
To reach this point means that in everything we must allow God to have the preeminence, and we need to be completely submissive to His authority and administration, so that He can fulfill His eternal purpose in us, through us, and with us (Rom. 5:17; Matt. 8:9; Rom. 14:17; cf. Num. 17:8).
The Lord was a man under authority; we need to be men under God’s authority, just as the Lord was under God’s authority.
And as we live the church life, we need to enjoy Christ as righteousness, peace, and joy – in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17); when we touch the Lord in the mingled spirit, we enjoy the Holy Spirit, and we are in the kingdom of God.
Lord, we call on Your name – Lord Jesus! We enthrone You in our being! Grant us to have a clear sky with the throne above it in our experience. Amen, Lord, we want to allow You to have the preeminence in everything, being submissive to Your authority and administration so that You can fulfill Your eternal purpose in us, through us and with us! Lord, may we be those who live out and work out the New Jerusalem by being under the throne of God, under the ruling of God!
Having the Flow and Supply of Life in the Church Life by Enjoying God
For us to live out and work out the New Jerusalem to build up Zion as the reality of the Body of Christ, we must have the flow and supply of life (see Rev. 22:1-2).
From the throne of God and of the Lamb there’s the river of water of life flowing and reaching all twelve gates, and on both sides of the river there’s the tree of life growing, bearing fruit each month. Hallelujah!
The outstanding features of our Christian life and our church life today should the flowing river of life and the edible tree of life!
The flowing river of life and the edible tree of life should be the outstanding features of our Christian life and church life for the enjoyment of God as our real Eden, our pleasure, entertainment, and joy (Gen. 2:8-10; Psa. 36:8-9; 43:4a; Neh. 8:10).
God wants to be our enjoyment, our pleasure, our entertainment, and our joy; we should simply enjoy God, come forward to Him, and be filled with exceeding joy!
When we call on the name of the Lord continually, we draw water with joy from Him as the fountain of living water (Isa. 12:3-4; John 4:10, 14; 7:37-39; Rev. 22:17).
May we not commit evil in God’s eyes by forsaking God as the fountain of living waters and hewing out for ourselves cisterns that hold no water (Jer. 2:13), but may we drink Christ again and again to be filled with Him!
The most evil thing in God’s eyes is for us not to enjoy Him. Anything that we try to enjoy besides Christ, anything that is a replacement of Christ in our experience, is an idol, a broken cistern which holds no water. Oh Lord Jesus!
May we be those who eat the tree of life and drink the water of life daily!
To enjoy Christ as our life supply should be the primary matter in the church life; to enjoy Christ requires us to love Him with the first love; loving the Lord, enjoying the Lord, and being the testimony of the Lord go together (Rev. 2:4, 7; 22:14).
Amen, may we be such ones who give the Lord the first place, love Him with the first love, and check with Him about every detail of our daily life, church life, and serve to Him to build up the Body of Christ!
Lord Jesus, we want to be those who live out and work out the New Jerusalem by drinking the river of water of life and eating the tree of life in our Christian life and church life. Lord, we forsake all the other sources of enjoyment and we return to You to drink of You and be filled with You until You become our real pleasure, entertainment, and joy! Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to enjoy You as our life supply by giving You our first love and checking with You in all things. We love You, Lord Jesus!
Being Full of the Light of Life by being in the Mingled Spirit and in the Meetings of the Church
For us to live out and work out the New Jerusalem to build up Zion as the reality of the Body of Christ, we must be full of the light of life (see Rev. 21:11, 23; 22:5; Luke 11:33-36).
An outstanding feature of the New Jerusalem is that there’s no natural or man-made light in it, for the Lamb is the lamp, and God is the light, while the city itself is a diffuser to express God’s light to the whole universe.
In Luke 11 we see that if our eye is single, that is, if our heart is single, our whole being is full of light, and there is no dark part. We need to have eyes only for the Lord, being pure in heart, so that our whole being would be full of light and there would be no dark part!
The light of the New Jerusalem is God as the illuminating glory shining out through Christ the Redeemer as the lamp, and the entire holy city is the diffuser of the divine light; today this diffuser to spread the divine light is the Body of Christ (Rev. 21:23-24a; 22:1, 5; 21:11; Eph. 5:8-9). Wow!
So the whole city acts as a diffuser to spread the divine light to the whole universe; today the churches should be this way, being full of light and spreading the divine light everywhere, to all the people around us!
Light is the presence of God; we need to enjoy Christ as our God-allotted portion in the light to be delivered out of the authority of darkness (the kingdom of Satan) and be fully transferred into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love (see Col. 1:12-13; Acts 26:18; Rom. 13:11-14; cf. Mark 9:2-8).
The light of God is in the sanctuary of God, His dwelling place; God’s dwelling place today is in our spirit (Eph. 2:22) and in the church (1 Tim. 3:15).
When we are in the mingled spirit and in the church, we receive divine revelation and obtain the explanation to all our problems (see Psa. 73:16-17, 22-26).
Like the Psalmist in Psa. 73, we may be puzzled and perplexed at certain situations, and our problems may be very great; but when we just go to the meeting with our problems and perplexity, the Lord will give us an answer.
When we enter into the mingled spirit and are in the church meetings, we see all things in the light of life; here God shepherds us, cherishes us, nourishes us, and shines on us to be the answer that we need.
Lord Jesus, we want to live out and work out the New Jerusalem to build up Zion as the reality of the Body of Christ by being full of the light of life! Amen, Lord, shine in us and remove anything dark. May our whole being with our daily living be transferred out of the authority of darkness and into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love as we enjoy Christ as our God-allotted portion! Amen, Lord Jesus, keep us in our mingled spirit and in the meetings of the church so that we may receive divine revelation and obtain the explanation to all our problems!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The Application of the Interpretation of the New Jerusalem to the Seeking Believers,” chs. 4-5, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Reality of the Body of Christ (2018 Thanksgiving Conference), week 6, Living Out and Working Out the New Jerusalem to Build Up Zion as the Reality of the Body of Christ.
- Hymns on this topic:
# I come to His presence afresh / Ere the night has passed into morning; / And His face I see as it shines on me- / The Lord within is dawning. / And He speaks to me and reveals to me / All His riches for me today; / And with sweet delight I partake of Him, / My hunger has passed away. (Hymns #554)
# Shining One—how clear the sky above me! / Son of Man, I see Thee on the throne! / Holy One, the flames of God consume me, / Till my being glows with Thee alone. (Hymns #1159)
# A flowing river and a tree, / Eden’s outstanding features are, / Man to supply with food and drink / That he may live fore’er. / God is in Christ to be my supply, / God as the Spirit nourisheth me; / If upon Christ in spirit I feed, / Filled with His life I’ll be. (Hymns #509)
About aGodMan
