Serve God According to the Vision of the Age: Live out and Work out the New Jerusalem

For us to live and serve God according to the vision of age in the ministry of the age is to live out and work out the New Jerusalem, as seen in the intrinsic significance of the ministry of Ezra and the leadership of Nehemiah and the application of the New Jerusalem with its wall to our experience.

This week we come to the eleventh crystal in the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, and our focus is still on the recovery books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The topic for this week is The Intrinsic Significance of Ezra’s Ministry and Nehemiah’s Leadership – to Build up the Church as the House of God and the Kingdom of God by Living out and Working out the New Jerusalem. Wow.

What is the connection between the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in their intrinsic significance, and the New Jerusalem?

We really need to see the vision of God’s eternal economy, according to which the whole Bible was written, and we need to live and serve God according to the vision of the age in the ministry of the age so that we may live out and work out the New Jerusalem.

It is by having the governing vision of God’s economy when we read the Bible that we realize that, even when read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, these are related to God’s economy, and they are related to and point to the New Jerusalem.

The consummate and great vision of the age is the vision of living out and working out the New Jerusalem.

The ministry of the age opens up the Bible in its mysteries and helps us get into the deeper truths in the divine revelation.

The ministry does not replace the Bible nor is it on the same level as the Bible; however, the ministry is a great helper for us to have a clear vision of God’s economy.

We are so rich today, for we have inherited the visions and truths recovered and accumulated throughout the ages, and today we stand on the shoulders of all those who have gone before us.

The vision of the age is increasingly larger and wider, and today we see the vision of God’s eternal economy from Genesis to Revelation.

A good example is the river scene at the Ching Ming festival, the scroll that is quite long and presents scene after scene the life and living of the people at that period of time in that particular area.

If we take that scroll, which is approx. 15-17 feet long, and looking at scene after scene, we get a clear impression of how life was at that time.

However, we can’t stop after looking at the first scene or even the first ten scenes; we need to go scene by scene until we see a full vision.

Even more, it is so much better when someone narrates the scenes so that we may get a proper interpretation and explanation of what is going on.

It’s easy to look at these scenes and see people here, animals there, etc, but we may not get the main point, the activities happening, and what is the situation.

Narration makes everything clear. We have the Bible with scene after scene of God’s eternal economy, and we can see these heavenly scenes in spirit.

Then we have the narrator with the narrations to properly interpret and explain it, which is the minister of the age with the ministry of the age.

The point is not the minister or the ministry but the vision; by seeing a vision of the age, we will live in a certain way.

We will simply live out and work out the New Jerusalem.

To Live and Serve God According to the Vision of the Age is Live out and Work out the New Jerusalem

The intrinsic significance of Ezra’s ministry is embodied in three words: purification, education, and reconstitution; he came in to purity the people of God, educate them, and reconstitute them with the word of God so that they would be a holy nation.

The intrinsic significance of Nehemiah’s leadership is embodied in the words separation, protection, and expression, for he helped the people be separated from the enemies, set up a protection, and properly express God on earth.

We need to be those who cooperate with the Lord in His heavenly ministry to build up the church as the house of God and the kingdom of God by living out and working out the New Jerusalem according to this intrinsic significance (1 Kings 8:48; Psa. 48:1-2; 1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 2:21-22).

We need to be those who live out and work out the New Jerusalem in this age today so that we become the New Jerusalem in eternity.

To live and serve God according to the vision of the age in the ministry of the age is to live out and work out the New Jerusalem (Acts 26:19; 22:15; Rev. 21:2, 9-11).

New Jerusalem is Pure Gold: we need to be Purified through our being Educated with God’s Word

The building work of the wall of New Jerusalem was jasper, and the city was pure gold, like clear glass – see Rev. 21:18.

These six words, purification, education, and reconstitution (Ezra’s ministry), and separation, protection, and expression (Nehemiah’s leadership) can clearly be seen in the New Jerusalem with its great and high wall.

The city of New Jerusalem is of pure gold, like clear glass; this shows the need for purification, for in ourselves we’re not pure gold like clear glass.

We need to be purified with God in His holy nature and we need to be enlightened through education by applying the Bible teachings to our mind for the renewing and enlightenment of our mind to make us clear with the thoughts, considerations, and ways of God (Matt. 5:8; Eph. 4:23; John 17:17).

The New Jerusalem is pure; it is pure gold, like clear glass.

How can we become like pure gold, like clear glass? We need the purification work of the ministry of Ezra.

We need to be purified by God with His holy nature and we need to be enlightened by having our mind renewed in the word of God.

The more we abide in the Lord and let His words abide in us, the more we are purified in the way we think, in our emotions, and in our decisions.

The more we allow the Lord to make His home in our heart and allow the word of Christ to dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16), the more we become pure even as He is pure, and He has a way to shine through us, for we become like clear glass, transparent, to shine Him forth.

Before Ezra came to the returned Jewish people, they already had the books of Moses, but it seemed like they had zero effect on them.

But when Ezra came and opened up the word, read the word to them, and properly interpreted the word, applying the word to their situation, the people were enlightened and educated, and there was a wonderful response.

Lord Jesus, we come to You to be purified with God in His holy nature and be made like pure gold, transparent and clear, to express God and shine Him forth. We want to live out and work out the New Jerusalem by being purified and educated in the word of God. May Your word dwell in us richly. Keep us abiding in Your word and may Your word dwell in us richly. May the teachings in the Bible be applied to our mind for the renewing and enlightenment of our mind. Make us clear, Lord, with the thoughts, considerations, and ways of God. Keep us under the hearing of the faith so that we may be purified and educated until we become pure gold, like clear glass, to express God and shine Him forth as the New Jerusalem!

God’s Unique Work is to Reconstitute us with the Triune God and make us Beings in the New Jerusalem

 The building work of the wall refers to the unique work for our reconstitution with the Triune God so that we may be rebuilt with Him and minister Him into others so that God would build Himself into their being to make them beings in the New Jerusalem (1 Cor. 3:9, 12; Eph. 3:16-19; Rev. 3:12; S. S. 6:4; Heb. 11:10).

We need to be reconstituted with God, with the very element of God, so that we become the same as He is; this is to live out and work out the New Jerusalem.

As we enjoy and experience Christ day by day, opening to Him and allowing Him to work Himself into us, we are being reconstituted with God.

God’s unique work is His building work to reconstitute us with the Triune God.

He is working to rebuild us with Himself until He becomes our unique constitution.

Then, He can be ministered through us into others so that He can build Himself into their being to make them beings in the New Jerusalem. May we allow the Lord to build Himself into us.

May we open to His reconstituting work going on within us. In Gen. 1-2, we see the precious materials for God’s building, but there’s no building; they are in and around the garden of Eden, but there’s no building of God.

In Rev. 21-22, we see a built-up city, the New Jerusalem, whose architect and builder is God.

There needs to be a constitution, even a reconstituting work going on, until God is built into man and man is built into God for the corporate expression of God in man.

The whole Bible shows that God’s desire is to work Himself into us, and He does it by our eating of the tree of life.

As He gets into us and works Himself into us, our intrinsic constitution is changed; by eating Him, we are transformed to be the same as He is.

As we eat Him as the tree of life and drink Him as the water of life, we are inwardly reconstituted with Christ, and there will be rivers of living water flowing out of our innermost being (John 7:37-39).

The ministry of Ezra was to reconstitute the people of God with the word of God so that they would become a holy nation expressing God not only in their actions but by their very being.

Such a ministry leads to and consummates in the New Jerusalem.

The more we remain in the word of God and let the word abide in us, the more we are reconstituted with the very element of God to be rebuilt with God and minister God into others so that He may build Himself into their being to make them beings in the New Jerusalem.

This is to live out and work out the New Jerusalem in our Christian life.

Lord Jesus, we open to Your building work. Build Yourself into us and build us into You. We open to Your work of reconstituting our inner being with Yourself. Oh Lord, we just open. We are not qualified to be in Your building, but You are working within us to reconstitute us with the Triune God. May there be a reconstituting work going on in us so that we may be rebuilt with God and minister God into others for Him to build Himself into others! Amen, Lord, make us beings in the New Jerusalem. We want to live out and work out the New Jerusalem by allowing God to build Himself into us and by being reconstituted with the Triune God in our inner being!

We’re becoming the Wall of New Jerusalem for the Separation of God’s People and the Protection of God’s Interests

The fact that there was a great and high wall around the city of New Jerusalem, a wall that is higher than any wall we ever heard of, shows that there’s a need for separation of God’s people and the protection of God’s interests (Neh. 4:17; Eph. 5:26).

Rev. 21:12 says that the wall is great and high; it is one hundred forty-four cubits high.

A cubit is approx. 18 inches (45cm), so the total height is approx. 216 feet high (approx. 65m).

Also, the wall is 12.000 stadia in length and width; each stadion is approx. 600ft, so the wall is approx. 1364 miles long (2195km).

The wall of the New Jerusalem is at least seven times higher than the Great Wall of China, and it is built with jasper that is as clear as crystal, even transparent. Wow.

This great and high wall around the city shows the need for separation of God’s people and the protection of God’s interests.

On one hand, the wall separates us from anything that is not of God and that is not God.

On the other hand, the wall protects the interests of God’s riches and the attainments of His divinity.

Everything that is of God is inside the wall, and what is not of God is kept at bay outside.

However, even though all the riches of God are inside the city, they can be clearly displayed, expressed, and seen by everyone, because the wall is of jasper as clear as crystal.

On one hand, we need to be transformed to become precious stones, even the same as God is; on the other hand, we need to be separated unto God and saturated with God to be part of the great and high wall protecting the interests of God.

We all were born in the old creation, but we were reborn in the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), and we are being transformed into the image of Christ to become precious stones, part of the wall of the New Jerusalem.

Also, we are being headed up in Christ to be the kingdom of God, being separated from anything that is common unto God and protecting His interests.

This is to live out and work out the New Jerusalem so that God would gain the consummated holy city.

Lord Jesus, bring us under the headship of Christ in all the details of our daily life. May there be a clear separation in our being from anything that is not of God. Make us part of the wall of New Jerusalem, a great and high wall, for the protection of God’s interests. May Your interests be safely protected in the holy city and wonderfully displayed through us as part of the wall of New Jerusalem. Amen, Lord, may all things about us be headed up in Christ so that the kingdom of God would come in us and among us. May there be a clear separation of God’s people from what is not of God and may there be the protection of God’s interests in us and through us.

We’re becoming the same as God in Life and Nature to be the New Jerusalem for God’s Unique Expression

The fact that the city of New Jerusalem is jasper and the whole city being gold reveals that we are becoming part of God’s corporate expression (Gen. 1:26; John 10:10b; 2 Pet. 1:4; Rev. 4:3; 21:10-11, 18). This is quite amazing.

God desires to gain a corporate expression in man, and this is why He created man in His image and according to His likeness.

And He will obtain what He is after, for the New Jerusalem will corporately express the Triune God in what He is.

Jasper is a dark green stone, and it symbolizes God’s life in its richness. Gold is a type of God’s holy and divine nature.

The city of New Jerusalem is of gold that is pure and crystal clear, even as God is, and the wall of the city is of jasper that is clear.

The One sitting on the throne has the appearance of jasper. God is expressed through the holy city; the One on the throne is expressed, shining forth, and being manifested through the wall of the city to the entire universe.

As we remain under the ministry of Ezra and the proper and adequate leadership of Nehemiah, the issue will be that we become the corporate expression of God; we become part of God’s expression.

This is God’s economy. In His economy, God is making us the same as He is in life and in nature but not in the Godhead for His unique expression in the universe.

He is working Himself into us little by little, day by day, and He is building Himself into us and us into Him; the result is that He is expressed in a corporate way.

Rev. 21:11 says that the city has the glory of God, and her light is like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone.

The building work of the wall was like jasper (v. 18). The One sitting on the throne has the appearance of jasper.

What we see in the New Jerusalem is not you or me but God being expressed through the wall of the city; this is the issue of the ministry of Ezra and the leadership of Nehemiah.

May we cooperate with the Lord in His heavenly ministry to build up the church as the house of God and the kingdom of God by living out and working out the New Jerusalem according to its intrinsic significance.

May we live and serve God according to the vision of the age in the ministry of the age so that we may live out and work out the New Jerusalem.

May we remain in the process of being purified, educated, and reconstituted, and may we be separated, be part of the wall to protect God’s interest, and become God’s expression as the New Jerusalem.

Lord Jesus, we want to cooperate with You in Your heavenly ministry to build up the church as the house of God and the kingdom of God. Amen, Lord, we want to live out and work out the New Jerusalem according to its intrinsic significance. May we live and serve God according to the vision of the age in the ministry of the age by living out and working out the New Jerusalem! Amen, Lord Jesus, make us the same as You are in life and nature but not in the Godhead so that You may obtain Your corporate expression in this universe. Carry out Your economy in us and among us.

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 Ricky Acosta in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy,” p. 441-443, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (2022 winter training), week 11, entitled, The Intrinsic Significance of Ezra’s Ministry and Nehemiah’s Leadership – to Build up the Church as the House of God and the Kingdom of God by Living out and Working out the New Jerusalem.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – The separating wall and the subtle wiles of the adversaries, a portion via, The Recovery of God’s House and God’s City, Chapter 8, by Witness Lee.
  – New song on, New Jerusalem: the Highest Point of the Apostles’ Living and Work, via Hymnal.net.
  – Great publications and articles related to the New Jerusalem, via, An open letter from the local churches and Living Stream Ministry concerning the teachings of Witness Lee.
  – New song on, What miracle! What mystery! – by Witness Lee, via Hymnal.net.
  – New Jerusalem is God’s Unique Goal, article via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – The consummation of the new man – the New Jerusalem, an article by David Yoom, via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – The New Jerusalem, as God’s holy city, being God’s universal building for His new creation out of His old creation, a portion from, The Central Line of the Divine Revelation, Chapter 28, by Witness Lee.
  – New Jerusalem has a Wonderful Wall, article via, New Jerusalem – the Consummation.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – How glorious, how bright it shines, / The holy, new Jerusalem; / It is God’s dwelling place with man, / The spotless bride of Christ, the Lamb. / Saints of the Old and of the New, / Heirs of the promise God bestowed, / Components of the city are, / Together built for God’s abode. (Hymns #979 stanzas 1-2)
  – From the fruit of daily living, New Jerusalem we’ll see, / It’s the ultimate in mingling—it’s divine humanity. / And what joy that we can share it all, and share it corporately. / Yes, mingling is the way. (Hymns #1199 stanza 6)
  – By transformation they are built, / A vessel they to Christ afford; / His all-inclusiveness they hold; / Transparent, they express the Lord. / Thru all the transformation work / The triune God performs in them, / The Church a corporate vessel is / And like the new Jerusalem. (Hymns #821 stanzas 5-6)