The Triune God is the Enjoyment of the New Jerusalem: God the Father is the Light

The New Jerusalem as the consummation of God’s work throughout the ages and the accomplishing of God’s purpose is a living composition of God and man: God has been fully processed and consummated, being wrought into man to be united, mingled, and incorporated with man for God’s corporate expression.

There are many details concerning the New Jerusalem which the Bible doesn’t tell us, but what the Bible tells us about this holy city is that it is made of precious stones (gold, pearl, precious stones), the street is of gold spiraling from the throne and reaching the gates, the light in the city is God Himself in the Lamb as the lamp, there’s a river flowing from the throne in the middle of the street, the tree of life grows on both sides of the river, and it is the tabernacle of God with man.

The constitution of the New Jerusalem is the Triune God: the Father is typified by the gold, the Son by the pearls, and the Spirit by the precious stones.

The existence of the city is the Triune God: the Father on the throne is through all, over all, and in all; the Son as the tree of life is wrought into us and is organically joined to us to make us one with Him for God’s expression; and the Spirit is the river of water of life watering us, transforming us, and strengthening us to be building members of the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem.

Furthermore, the New Jerusalem is a city full of enjoyment: the Triune God is the triune enjoyment of the city! The Father is the light of life, the Son is the tree of life, and the Spirit is the river of life to be the enjoyment of God’s people for eternity.

We are not destined to “serve God as slaves” but to enjoy God forever and ever, being supplied with the Father as the light of life, enjoying Christ as the tree of life, and drinking the Spirit as the river of water of life for eternity. Our destiny is to enjoy the Triune God for eternity, and this is prophesied and seen in Psa. 36:8-9,

They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

The Father is the light of life – in His light we see light. The Son is the “fatness of God’s house”, the rich life supply for our sustenance and enjoyment. The Spirit is the river of God’s pleasures flowing free for us to drink – now and for ever. We need to practice enjoying the Triune God today so that the church life would be a miniature of the New Jerusalem!

God as the Light Shines from Within the Lamb as the Lamp Through the New Jerusalem as the Diffuser

God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

The New Jerusalem has no need of the sun or of the moon, because the glory of God illumines it, and its lamp is the Lamb (Rev. 21:23). God Himself is the light and the lamp is the Lamb; we as God’s people enjoy the pleasant shining light of God in Christ, and we ourselves become the diffuser for God’s light to shine throughout the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 21:11, 23).

God as light shines from within the Lamb as the lamp and through the city as the diffuser or light bearer to express Himself throughout the universe, and all the nations walk by its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it (Rev. 21:24).

God the Father is the light (1 John 1:5), and He dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). But in Christ God can be approached, He is shining a pleasant and communicable light, and we can come under His shining.

Without the redeeming Christ to contain and shine forth God’s light, the divine light would kill us. But God came to us in Christ, the Redeemer, and He can now shine on us in a pleasant way, exposing and eliminating all the darkness, causing life to grow, and showing us the way to move one with Him.

As long as we have God’s shining, we have no need for any other light. In the church life as a miniature of the New Jerusalem we have God as the light shining from within Christ the Lamb as the lamp into us, and He shines out through us as the diffuser to those around us.

For us to properly express God in Christ as light, we need to be transparent, not opaque. The wall of the New Jerusalem is jasper, and the One on the throne has the appearance of jasper.

God looks like jasper, the color of rich expression of life (green), and He shines through the walls – which have the same appearance as God. If we are opaque, if we are not transformed, God cannot shine through us. We all need to be transformed to the extent that we are full of light and transparent for God in Christ to shine through us.

Four Ways to Become a Proper Diffuser for God in Christ as the Light

Where is God today? He is in Christ, the One who fully embodies Him, manifests Him, expresses Him, and explains Him to man. Where is Christ today? He is in the heavens, yes, but He is also in the church, living in the spirit of His believers.

To see God, you need to come to Christ; to see Christ, you need to come to the church. In order for the church to properly express God in Christ, there is the need of transformation. There are at least four simple yet wonderful ways we can cooperate with the Lord to be a proper diffuser for Him to shine through us:

1. We need to be pure in heart and single for God so that our whole being would be illuminated, full of light, and without any dark part. Those who are pure in heart will see God (Matt. 5:8). The lamp of our body is the eye; if our eye is clear and we see, our whole being is full of light; but if our eye is evil, our whole body will be dark (Matt. 6:22-23).

If we try to look at two things at once, if we focus both on the Lord and on something or someone else, our vision is blurred and we are in darkness and confusion. But if we focus our eyes and our whole being only on Christ, if we keep our heart pure and single for Him, we will see things clearly and we will be full of light!

We need to watch out and see that the light which we think we have would not be darkness, but would be the light of God through Christ as we are single in heart and vision for Him (Luke 11:34-36).

The Apostle Paul was concerned that Satan would not distract our thoughts from Christ, our husband to whom we have been betrothed through the ministry of the New Testament (2 Cor. 11:2-3). Let’s keep our eyes on the Lord and keep our heart single and pure for Him!

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from every sin. 1 John 1:7

2. We need to walk and live under God’s light through the word of God. For the building up of the Body of Christ, we need to walk and live under the divine light, the redeeming and shining light of God through the word of God. Our trust is not in the light we make for ourselves but in God as the light (Isa. 50:10-11), and our walk in our Christian and church life should be in the light as God is in the light, and we will have fellowship with one another under the cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:5-7).

How can we have God’s light? It is by the exercise of our spirit and by getting into the word of God, which word is a lamp unto our feet (Psa. 119:105). The opening of God’s word gives light, imparting understanding to the simple (Psa. 119:130).

The most critical thing for a Christian is to have a good healthy daily routine of reading the word of God in many ways and at many set times with the exercise of his spirit. When we read the Bible and we pray over God’s word, the Lord will speak to us, enlighten us through His word, and shine through us. Then, we will walk in the light as in the day, putting on the weapons of light, and casting off the works of darkness (Rom. 13:11-14).

3. We need to shine as luminaries in the world, letting our light shine before all men. As we are being awakened by God’s word from any drunkenness, sleep, or stupor in the world, God’s light shines on us, He fills us with His life, and we become persons full of light.

We are the light of the world, and when we enjoy God’s light shining in us it will be impossible for us to be hidden; rather, we will let our light shine before men so that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in the heavens (Matt. 5:14-16).

We are children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom we shine as luminaries in the world (Phil. 2:15). God in Christ is the real sun, the church is the moon and the believers are the stars, the luminaries reflecting Christ by holding forth the word of life.

Once we were darkness but we are now light in the Lord; therefore, we should walk as children of light, having the fruit of light consisting in all goodness and righteousness and truth (Eph. 5:8-9). By enjoying Christ as the shining light we ourselves become shining, letting our light shine before men in all goodness, righteousness, and truth for God’s glory.

4. We need to be one with Christ as the light of the Gentiles and shine forth His light to the ends of the earth. God has set Christ to be a light to the Gentiles so that we may be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 13:46-47), and we need to be one with such a One to carry out God’s salvation in Christ.

Our only business today on earth is to enjoy God in His light, and this will make us also shining as He is, bringing Christ as the light to all men around us. Paul didn’t just preach, teach, or write; he enlightened all that they may see what the economy of God is (Eph. 3:9). It is our duty and responsibility to not only enjoy God as light but also preach the gospel of the kingdom for a testimony unto the uttermost parts of the earth, and then the end will come (Matt. 24:14).

What others will see in us is God shining because we enjoy God as light, we walk in the light, we keep our heart pure and single for Him, and we shine out as luminaries in the world. Through such ones and through such a testimony Christ as the Desire of the nations will be revealed, and He will eventually return for us!

Lord, keep our heart pure and single for You so that our whole inner being will be full of light and without any dark part. We allow You to illuminate us, shine on us, and expose anything or anyone that replaces You. We want to walk and live under the divine shining light through Your word. Keep us in Your word, having a daily habit of pray-reading the word of God to have the divine light. Lord, have a way to shine through us as Your luminaries as we hold forth the word of life! We give You ground in our being to shine. We want to be one with You as the light of the Gentiles so that Your salvation may reach to the end of the earth! Father God, shine on us and keep us in Your light!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Dick Taylor’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, God’s New Testament Economy (ch. 43),as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Aspects of the Christian Life and Church Life Seen in the New Jerusalem, week 7 / msg 7, The Triune God as our Constitution, Existence, Enjoyment, Living, and Expression.
• Further reading: recommending ch. 14 in, The Knowledge of Life (by Witness Lee).
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Oh, purify us, Lord, by speaking in our heart; / Thy living, spoken word this washing will impart. / Increase Thy speaking, Lord, and cleanse our every part. / Oh, purify us, Lord, we pray. (Hymns #1135)
  # Renew my mind, oh Lord, day by day dispense Your life; / My wandering thoughts purify completely; / Replace my will, oh Lord, with Your will that I would say / “Oh Lord, Amen,” always trusting You, following You. (Song on Being Renewed in our Mind)
  # Walk in the light, and thou shalt find / Thy heart made truly His; / Who dwells in cloudless light enshrined, / In whom no darkness is. (Hymns #658)
  # We must ever preach the gospel, / Holding forth the word of life. / We must never shirk our duty; / Saving man from sin and strife. / Fellowship unto the gospel / For the increase and the spread; / In the vital groups empowered, / Into victory we’ll be led. (Song on Preaching the Gospel)