Growing into a Temple in the Lord and being Built as a Dwelling Place of God in Spirit

As believers in Christ and members of the Body of Christ, we are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit to be the holy temple in the Lord, the temple of God; we are His dwelling place and He is our dwelling place.

There are many aspects of the church as the dwelling place of God, for this is what God wants to gain today.

God doesn’t want to merely have men to fellowship with or to bring many out of eternal perdition into His paradise.

What He desires, what is on God’s heart, is a house, a dwelling place, a habitation; His habitation is with man, the man He created in His image and according to His likeness.

God desires to dwell with man and in man, and He wants man to dwell in God and with God.

And this is what He will gain at the end of all His work in time: in Rev. 21-22 we see the New Jerusalem, the mutual dwelling place of God and man.

In the New Jerusalem, we have God and the Lamb as the temple, and we as His redeemed ones are the tabernacle for God to dwell in.

For eternity man will dwell in God and God will dwell in man. Hallelujah! It is for this building that God did and does and will do all things.

He saved us by grace and by merit because He wants us to be part of the building of God.

He raised us up together with Christ and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies so that we may build up the church as the Body of Christ.

Now we have access to the Father in Christ Jesus the Lord through the Spirit to be a holy temple in the Lord, a temple that grows and is enlarged to eventually become the New Jerusalem, the expanded sanctuary of God for eternity. Hallelujah!

This is what we see revealed in the New Testament in the teaching of the apostles; as believers in Christ, we’re being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Himself being the cornerstone.

We are being built upon the foundation of the revelation seen by the apostles and prophets in spirit concerning Christ and the church.

And the cornerstone of God’s building is Christ Himself; He joins us together and makes us on Him Himself, and He is the stone in God’s building.

We simply come to Him as a living stone and we’re being transformed by His element being infused into us to become living stones for God’s building.

In Christ as the cornerstone, all the building of God, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.

This is a living building, a building that is organically growing; by the growth in life of the members of the Body of Christ, the church as the Body of Christ grows and is built up.

May we be open to the Lord’s life-dispensing, the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity, to receive and enjoy what Christ is and be built as His dwelling place, the holy temple in the Lord.

The church is the Dwelling Place of God in Spirit (locally) and the Holy Temple of the Lord (universally)

On one hand, the church is universal and unlimited in time and space, for the church is the Body of Christ, and just like Him, it transcends time and space.

On the other hand, however, the church exists in a physical location, in the many localities on the earth, as the local churches.

We see these two aspects in Eph. 2:21 and 22. In v. 21 we are told that all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.

This refers to the church universally, the Body of Christ, being a holy temple in the Lord growing.

Verse 22 continues by saying, In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.

This refers to the local saints in Ephesus, the local church in Ephesus. Universally, the church is a holy temple in the Lord that grows by the growth in life of all the members of the Body of Christ.

Locally, we are being built together as the dwelling place of God in spirit.

The word “temple” in v. 21 can be translated as “sanctuary,”, meaning the central part of the temple in the Lord.

This is God’s dwelling place, which is our spirit. Verse 22 speaks of the local saints being built together in the Lord.

Universally, we grow into a holy temple in the Lord by receiving the divine dispensing, cooperating with the Lord to grow in Him, and growing with the growth of God.

Locally, we are being built together with the saints in the local church to be a dwelling place of God in spirit.

All the building of God is growing – this is referring to the universal aspect.

Universally, the building of God is growing and expanding both through our growth in life and through the preaching of the gospel for the salvation of many.

Why does Paul say that we are a “holy temple” in the Lord when he speaks of the universal aspect and the “dwelling place of God” when he speaks of the local aspect?

The universal church is a universal temple in the Lord, and there’s no such thing as a local temple.

The temple of God and the dwelling place of God refer to the same thing; one refers to the universal aspect of the church and the other to the local aspect of the church.

The temple is the place where we as God’s people contact God, worship Him and hear His oracle.

A dwelling place is a place of rest, the place where God dwells and rests.

God rests in the church as His dwelling place, and we come to contact God in His temple, the church. Hallelujah for the church, the temple of God and the dwelling place of God.

The church is the place where we as God’s people contact Him, worship Him, and receive His up-to-date speaking; also, the church is the place of God’s rest, the place where He dwells.

All the local churches as the dwelling place of God are part of the universal church, not something in addition to it or apart from it.

All the local churches added together equal the one universal church, for apart from the local churches, there’s no universal church.

When the local churches are built and grow, the universal church is built and grows.

There’s one temple of God, the universal church, and each local church expresses the universal church locally.

There is one dwelling place of God, and all the local churches are God’s dwelling place.

There is one building of God, and the local churches being built up is the universal church being built up.

May we be released of our natural concept that we have one building in our locality but another building in another locality.

No matter how many local churches there may be on earth, there is still just one building with these two aspects. Praise the Lord!

Lord Jesus, thank You for regenerating us and bringing us into the local church to be part of the building of God. Hallelujah, the one universal church is the holy temple growing in the lord! Praise the Lord, the local churches are the dwelling place of God for Him to rest and make His habitation! Amen, Lord, may we be those who grow in life daily by receiving the divine dispensing so that the church may grow and be built up! May we cooperate with You for the building up of the church as the holy temple in the Lord and the dwelling place of God! Praise the Lord, there is only one church universally expressed in many localities as the many local churches! Hallelujah, there is only one building for God to dwell in and be at rest!

Growing into a Temple in the Lord and being Built as a Dwelling Place of God in Spirit

The key to being in the church in reality and to building up of the church as the Body of Christ is our mingled spirit.

We are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit (Eph. 2:22).

The church is in our spirit. The church is not merely a social gathering of the Christians, a gathering of believers in Christ who perform certain activities.

The fallen Christendom today is mainly outward, for a show, with no reality, because the “members of the church” do not exercise their spirit nor do they live in their spirit.

The church life today is in our spirit. If we’re not in our spirit, though we may physically be in the meeting of the church, we’re not in the church in a practical way.

The only way we can be in the church and touch the church is in our spirit. We need to turn to our spirit, exercise our spirit, and walk according to our spirit.

If we’re not in the spirit, we are not in the church intrinsically, though outwardly we may be involved in some activities of the church.

Even in our services in the church life such as giving a ride to the saints, cooking for the meeting, arranging the chairs, playing the piano, cleaning the meeting hall, etc if we’re not in our spirit, we’re not in the church. Oh, Lord Jesus!

We need to grow into a temple in the Lord and be built up as a dwelling place of God in spirit.

We shouldn’t be out of our spirit nor have our being apart from our mingled spirit.

Rather, we need to exercise again and again to walk, live, act and have our being in our spirit.

When we exercise our spirit and live in spirit, we are in the church.

When we exercise our spirit and contact the Lord in spirit, we enjoy God’s dispensing of Himself, and we grow into a holy temple in the Lord, being built as a dwelling place of God in spirit.

For the building up of God’s dwelling place, the Lord is one spirit with our spirit, and our spirit is one with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17).

Our spirit is the place where the building of the dwelling place of God takes place. Our spirit is where we grow into a holy temple in the Lord.

How can we be in the church? It is by being in our spirit. How can we build up the church? It is by being in our mingled spirit.

Everything related to God and to the church is made real to us in our spirit. Apart from our spirit and apart from our spirit-renewed mind, the church makes no sense and even doesn’t exist.

Eph. 2:21 says that the church is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, and v. 22 says that the dwelling place of God is in spirit.

Where is the church, is it in the Lord or in our spirit? It is in the Lord who is in our spirit.

1 Cor. 6:17 clearly tells us that we are joined to the Lord as one spirit; in our spirit, we are one with God, and it is here that the church is being built up and we grow into a holy temple in the Lord.

Through regeneration, the Lord came into our spirit and mingled Himself with us to be one spirit with us.

We cannot separate our spirit from the Lord; our spirit and the Lord are one. How can we touch the Lord? It is by turning to our spirit.

How do we build up the church? It is by being in our spirit.

The building of God, the building up of the church, is not in our mind, our emotion, our heart, or our soul; it is absolutely a matter in our mingled spirit.

May we be those who exercise our spirit to contact the Lord, absorb His riches, and be filled with Him day by day.

May we exercise our spirit and live in spirit so that we may be in the church and build up the church as the dwelling place of God.

And may we have our whole being in the mingled spirit so that we may grow into a holy temple in the Lord.

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into our spirit to make us one with You. Hallelujah, we are now one spirit with the Lord, and in spirit we can enjoy the Lord and contact Him! Amen, Lord, we come to You in our spirit and we want to contact You, enjoy You, absorb You, and grow in You. We exercise our spirit and we want to walk in the mingled spirit. Cause us to grow in life today, Lord, as we exercise our spirit and live in spirit. May we grow in life for the building up of the church. May we be those who exercise their spirit to be in the church and to build up the church. Amen, Lord, we want to be in our mingled spirit to grow into a holy temple in the Lord and to build up the church as the dwelling place of God!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Minoru Chen in the message, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 237-238, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Kings (2022 summer training), week 8, entitled, Growing into a Holy Temple in the Lord.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – Growing into a holy temple in the Lord, via, The Fulfillment of God’s Purpose by the Growth of Christ in Us, by Witness Lee.
  – The dwelling place of God, via, Lesson Book, Level 5: The Church—The Vision and Building Up of the Church, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – Building up the church by the anointing of the compound Spirit, via, The Experience of Christ as Life for the Building Up of the Church, by Witness Lee.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Living Stone of life art Thou, Lord, / Precious, chosen thus to be; / Living stones Thou too hast made us, / One in character with Thee. / Built together as a temple / That our God may dwell therein, / Thus we are a holy priesthood, / Offering sacrifice to Him. (Hymns #834, stanza 4)
  – From peculiar traits deliver, / From my independent ways, / That a dwelling place for Thee, Lord, / We will be thru all our days. / By Thy life and by its flowing / I can grow and be transformed, / With the saints coordinated, / Builded up, to Thee conformed; / Keep the order in the Body, / There to function in Thy will, / Ever serving, helping others, / All Thy purpose to fulfill. (Hymns #840, stanza 1-2)
  – Thy dwelling-place, O Lord, I love; / It is Thy Church so blessed, / It is Thy joy and heart’s delight / And where Thy heart finds rest. / For her, Thyself Thou gavest, Lord, / That she be Thine, complete; / For her, I too my body give, / Thy heart’s desire to meet. (Hymns #853, stanzas 1-2)