Transformation Issues in Building up the Church Consummating in the New Jerusalem

The issue of God’s transforming work is the building up of the church, the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem. God doesn’t want to transform us so that we may be “shining gems in the universal spiritual museum”; He wants us as His people to be transformed so that we would be built up as precious stones into God’s building.

After being regenerated by God with His divine life in our spirit we need to allow God transform our soul by saturating it with His divine life, and as a result of this process of transformation we will become buildable persons, those built up in the Body of Christ.

The consummation of the transforming work of the Spirit is the New Jerusalem, the holy city built with all kinds of precious stones. In the New Jerusalem, there’s no opaque person, only transparent precious stones expressing God in Christ as jasper. God Himself on the throne has the appearance of jasper, and the entire city has the appearance of jasper.

Today we need to be renewed and transformed from clay into precious stones so that we may be built up as God’s spiritual house in this age consummating in the New Jerusalem for eternity. The New Jerusalem is filled with God’s divine life and shines out God’s light to the entire universe.

In the New Jerusalem, all God’s people have been completely transformed and matured to become transparent precious stones shining out God. God Himself in Christ is the light, and He shines through the entire city; the light of the city is like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.

How glorious this is: we will express God corporately, as a built-up corporate entity, and there will be nothing natural that will hinder God’s shining through us over in all the universe!

Every day we need to allow the Lord Spirit to operate in us, stir us up, and break through in us, so that we may be opened to the Lord and be transformed into precious stones, the ones who built up together in God’s building, the eternal Bethel.

Our Transformation Issues in the Building up of the Church Consummating in New Jerusalem

Rom. 8:29 “…predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son…”

What is the issue and result of our transformation? Why does God want us to be transformed into Christ’s image (Rom. 8:29)?

We are being renewed in our mind so that we may be transformed in our soul (Rom. 12:2), and the outcome of our transformation is the building. We are not transformed so that we may be a precious gem displayed in a museum, but to be fit with many other saints in God’s building.

God transforms us from clay into precious stones so that we may be buildable, a part of God’s eternal building.

Today God’s building is the church; we are in the process of transformation for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. The Spirit works in us to transform us, and He bountifully supplies us with the divine element for the building up of Bethel, God’s dwelling place, the church (Phil. 1:19).

In eternity, the transforming work of the Spirit issues in the New Jerusalem, the holy city bearing God’s image for His corporate expression in the universe.

Today if we look at our environment, our situations, or our condition, we may be discouraged; but when we look at the consummation of the process we are in, we will be filled with encouragement and joy. The consummation of what God is working in us through the Spirit to transform us is the New Jerusalem!

In the New Jerusalem God appears like a jasper stone (Rev. 4:3), and the entire New Jerusalem has the glory of God and shines like a jasper stone (Rev. 21:11). The first layer of the wall’s foundation, as well as the entire wall of the New Jerusalem, is built with jasper (Rev. 21:18-19), which shows us that the main material in the building of the city is jasper.

Jasper signifies God expressed in His communicable glory; the fact that the New Jerusalem has the appearance of jasper means that the main function of the city is to express God and express His glory. This is our destiny and our future: to express God corporately as the New Jerusalem, shining Him out and expressing Him to the whole universe!

Our transformation issues in building up the church as the Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem!

Today we are in the process of transformation to become precious stones for God’s building; as we are being transformed, we are being built up together with the saints into the church as God’s building consummating in the New Jerusalem, the city expressing God’s glory for eternity!

Lord, transform us for Your building. Keep us under the transforming work of the Spirit to be produced as the precious stones, transparent and clear as crystal, those built up with others into the New Jerusalem to express God for eternity. May we look up from our situation and condition to look at the issue and final product of our transformation: the New Jerusalem, the glorious building of God!

Genesis: a Miniature of the Complete Revelation of the Entire Bible

If we read the book of Genesis carefully under the divine light, we will realize it is a miniature of the complete revelation of the entire Bible.

The Bible speaks about many things, but certain things are emphasized throughout the Bible. Genesis speaks of the tree of life, the river flowing and watering the whole earth, and the precious stones in the flow of the river (Gen. 1-2). These items are developed and spoken of throughout the Bible.

Just like the whole Bible, Genesis speaks of God choosing man, calling man, sanctifying man, transforming man, and dwelling with man.

At the end of Genesis, we see a man called Jacob who was transformed and matured to become Israel; he is a person full of life, transparent and clear, blessing everyone and expressing God. This transformed person, Israel, is a miniature of the New Jerusalem (Gen. 35:10). The supplanter was transformed into a seed of the New Jerusalem.

He went through a long process from being a supplanter and a cheater to becoming a clear and transparent person, one who could bless his children with clarity, prophesying over them concerning the things to come.

At the beginning of Genesis, we see a man created in God’s image, and at the end of Genesis, we see the transformed Israel, one who expresses God and blesses everyone.

In the same way, at the end of the Bible we see the New Jerusalem as the center of the new heaven and new earth. God in Christ is at the top of the city as the Head supplying the whole city with His life (the river of water of life and the tree of life) and shining through the city as the light of life.

The redeemed and transformed people of God as the members of the New Jerusalem are transparent people, with nothing of clay and with no opaqueness. Every bit of clay has been transformed into crystal-clear precious stones, and God can shine freely through His people.

God’s people enjoy God’s divine life flowing and growing to be their supply, and the nations enjoy the shining of the divine light through the holy city. This is the conclusion of the Bible – this is our destiny! We are destined to be built up with millions of other believers into the holy city, the New Jerusalem, expressing God as light by being transparent for His shining!

May we be those who today allow God to deal with us, break us, and transform us so that we would become the real Israel of God and be built into the holy city, the New Jerusalem. May we allow the Lord Spirit every day to saturate us, penetrate us, stir us up, and dispense Himself into us so that we would be transformed into the Israel of God today (the church) and the New Jerusalem for eternity!

Lord Jesus, make us the Israel of God, the church, the building You desire on earth today. Deal with us, break through in us, and transform us into the buildable precious stones that compose the New Jerusalem. Dispense Yourself into us and reconstitute us with Yourself. Cause us to be open to Your transforming work. Lord, give us the experiences we need that we may be transformed and matured to become the shining city, New Jerusalem, to express You for eternity!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. James Lee’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, God’s New Testament Economy, ch. 34, as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Genesis (3), week 3 / msg 3, Transformation for God’s Building.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Him expressing from within, / Making Him to others seen, / I transparent have to be / That He may be shown thru me. (Hymns #548)
  # 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)
  # 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)