Being the Zion in Jerusalem, the Perfected and Matured God-men as today’s Overcomers

God’s desire is to build up Zion, the overcomers in the churches; He wants to gain the group of people who cooperate with Him today to be the beachhead for Him to return, those who stand one with Him on earth and live in the reality of the Body of Christ.

Amen, may we be those who cooperate with the Lord to be such ones!

We thank and praise the Lord that He has brought us into His recovery, in the church life where we stand on the ground of oneness to enjoy Him, live Him, and build up the church with all the saints.

It is His mercy that we have been delivered from any religion, denomination, or sect, and we have been brought to what the Bible calls the church.

We are not more special than others; we have been shown mercy to see the vision of God’s economy, and here we are, with the saints on the ground of oneness, enjoying the Lord and living the proper church life.

But merely being in the church life today is not enough, just as being in Jerusalem was not enough; God desires to gain the overcomers, for it is in Zion that He dwells and it is from here that He blesses from.

He desires to gain those who live in the reality of the Body of Christ today.

It is good that we have returned to the proper ground, and it is good that we are learning to practice the church life; however, we need to advance with the Lord.

When the remnant of the children of Israel returned to Jerusalem and to the holy land, that was a good start; however, they had to pay the price to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.

Rebuilding the walls of the city and the temple is what is needed today.

We may see what Zion is and we may realize that God’s need is to gain the overcomers; however, we need to cooperate with the Lord in our daily life to be produced as His overcomers.

We should not be content with merely being in the church life in a general sense; we need to seek the Lord so that we may be produced as His overcomers today. It is in Zion that the Lord dwells.

It is in Zion that the temple is built. It is from Zion that He blesses and rules.

Today there must be the reality of Zion.

If the Lord doesn’t gain us to be the Zion of today, He will seek other people who cooperate with Him to do it.

Why not us, why not now, and why not right here and now?

May we give ourselves to the Lord for His purpose, and may we allow Him to do what He needs to do in us and among us so that we may be gained as the group of overcomers He needs to end this age and bring in the age of the kingdom.

God Desires to gain Zion in Jerusalem, the Overcomers who are One with Him for His Heart’s Desire

If we study the holy Word of God prayerfully and with the glasses of God’s economy, we will realize that there’s a difference between Zion and Jerusalem.

Yes, Jerusalem is the city of God, the place where He dwells, but in particular, He dwells not in the city of Jerusalem but in Zion, where the temple is.

Zion typifies the overcomers, and Jerusalem typifies the church. Jerusalem is a type of the whole body of the church, while Zion is a type of the overcomers in the church.

In the Old Testament we see that, whenever there’s something that has to do with God’s heart’s desire, Zion is mentioned.

Zion never had a problem; rather, Zion was the place where God dwells and where He is pleased to rule and bless from.

There will never be a “new Zion” because Zion can never get old. However, there will be a New Jerusalem.

The characteristics of Jerusalem, the life, blessing, and establishment of Jerusalem, all come from Zion.

The elders are in Jerusalem, and the Ark of the covenant was in Zion (1 Kings 8:1).

God did good in Zion and built the walls of Jerusalem (Psa. 51:18). The name of the Lord was in Zion and His praise was in Jerusalem (Psa. 102:21).

The Lord blessed out of Zion and the good was seen in Jerusalem (Psa. 128:5). The Lord dwelt at Jerusalem, but He was to be blessed out of Zion (Psa. 135:21).

The word was first announced to Zion and then preached to Jerusalem (Isa. 41:27). When God dwelt in Zion, Jerusalem will be holy (Joel 3:17).

Zion signifies the overcomers, those who are for the Lord and for His heart’s desire.

In Rev. 14 we see that the Lamb is with the one hundred and forty-four thousand on mount Zion; these are the overcomers among the churches.

They are a small number, like a remnant, for God always uses a small number of believers to pass on the flow of life to the church and to revive the church.

He only needs to gain some, a small group, that He can use to flow His life to His church to revive the church.

These ones, the overcomers as Zion, follow the Lord to pour out their blood before life can flow to others.

They remain in the waters of death so that others may receive life.

The overcomers live a proper and normal Christian life and, on behalf of the church, stand in victory and also suffer tribulation and despising.

They don’t hold on to what they think is right; rather, they pay the price to allow the cross to deal with the old creation and with the gates of Hades (Matt. 16:18).

The question is, are we willing to be produced as the Lord’s overcomers today? Are we willing to endure heartache to gain the heart of God?

We need to consider before the Lord and ask Him to make us willing to pay the price to be His overcomers today.

We need to ask the Lord to make us willing to be defeated so that He can be the Victor.

We need to partake of His life of obedience so that, when our obedience is fulfilled, God would come in and deal with all disobedience (2 Cor. 10:6).

Yes, we are in the local churches, and yes, it is here that the Lord pours out His blessing, gives us His riches, and we can build up the Body of Christ; however, we need to be willing to be produced as the Lord’s overcomers today.

The characteristics, the life, the blessing, and the establishment of Jerusalem come from Zion (1 Kings 8:1; Psa. 51:18; 102:21; 128:5; 135:21; Isa. 41:27; Joel 3:17).

God today is building up Zion, the reality of the overcomers in the local churches.

What He wants and what He will build up is Zion, the overcomers.

May we be desperate before the Lord concerning this and pray at any cost, even pay the cost as the apostle Paul did (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 20-21; Col. 4:2; Phil. 3:8-14).

May we be before the Lord and utter short and living prayers to Him all throughout the day, giving Him the cooperation He needs for Him to gain us as His overcomers.

Lord Jesus, we want to be the overcomers You desire to gain today. Make us the Zion in Jerusalem today for You to gain what You are after. We are here for You, Lord Jesus, and not for our own interest and purpose. We give ourselves to You to be the overcomers in the church. We take the stand of victory and are willing to suffer tribulation and despising so that the church may be built up and God’s economy may be carried out. Amen, Lord, we give up what we think is right and we allow the cross to operate in us and deal with the natural man and the gates of Hades. Make us willing, Lord, to endure heartache so that we may gain the heart of God. Make us willing to let ourselves be defeated so that You can be the Victor! Gain us and gain many saints in the local churches to be the overcomers You need in this age!

The God-men who are Perfected and Matured are Zion, the Overcomers, the Vital Groups within the Churches

On one hand, we need to see the vision of God’s desire to gain Zion, the overcomers, in this age.

On the other hand, as those living in the church life today, we need to be the God-men who are perfected and matured to be Zion, the overcomers, the vital groups within the churches.

God doesn’t want to gain merely individual overcomers like bright beacons of light here and there; He wants to gain a solid group of overcomers who live in the reality of the Body of Christ.

He desires to see the living of a God-man life in a corporate way by a group of God-men in the local churches.

When this reality of the Body of Christ is adequate on the earth, He will have gained His overcomers with whom He can return and end the age of the church to bring Christ back to take, possess, and rule over the earth.

May we be those who live Christ in the church life today.

May we be those who give ourselves to the Lord to enjoy and experience Him today, forsaking all other things, and focusing on Him and His interest only.

And may we do this not individualistically but in the Body, being built up and coordinated with the saints in a vital group where the Lord has placed us.

The Lord desperately wants to close this age, the age of the church, which is becoming more and more evil; He wants to end the degradation of the church, the corruption and immorality in the world, and the injustice and unrighteousness in society.

But for this, He needs Zion, the overcomers.

He needs those who are willing to cooperate with the Lord in this age to be perfected, completed, dealt with, and consummated in the church age.

The overcomers are not special Christians; they simply see god’s desire to end this age, they are one with God, and they put themselves aside to meet God’s need.

Because they meet God’s need in this age and allow Him to rule and reign in them today. in the next age, they will reign with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6).

May we be the God-men who are perfected and matured today to be Zion, the overcomers, the vital groups within the churches.

May we pay the price today to be perfected and matured so that we will have a foretaste of the New Jerusalem in the next age and rule and reign with Christ.

And may we allow the Lord to build us up with the saints in the vital group where He placed us.

If we just cooperate with Him today to be the God-men who are perfected and matured, He will gain Zion, and this will hasten His return.

In the new heaven and new earth, there will be no more Zion – there will be only Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem because all the unqualified saints will have been qualified to be Zion.

The entire New Jerusalem will become Zion, the very spot where God is, the enlarged and expanded Holy of Holies.

The dimensions of the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and the temple were the dimensions of a cube, and the dimensions of the New Jerusalem are of a cube also.

The New Jerusalem will be the enlarged Holy of Holies to be the very spot where God dwells, where He flows, where He blesses from, and where He is pleased to be with His people.

Today He is calling for the overcomers, and He is preparing those who are willing to cooperate with Him.

Our response to the Lord’s calling of the overcomers is for us to be vitalized.

To be vital is to be living and active in oneness with our living and acting God.

God’s move on the earth for the accomplishment of His eternal economy is ultimately through the overcomers (Dan. 11:32; Heb. 2:12; 9:14; Rev. 3:1).

May we say Amen to His call and just cooperate with Him in this age for Him to gain what He is after, Zion in Jerusalem, the overcomers in the churches.

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us Your desire to gain Zion in Jerusalem, the overcomers in the churches. We give ourselves to You to be vitalized in oneness with our living and acting God. Move in us, Lord, and move among us. We open to You and we are willing to be perfected and matured in this age so that we may be produced as Your overcomers today, the Zion in Jerusalem. Amen, Lord, grant us to be the God-men who are perfected and matured today to be the overcomers, the vital groups within the churches. Gain the reality of the Body of Christ, the corporate living of the perfected, matured and built up God-men in this age. Amen, Lord, gain what You are after in us and among us for You to end this age and bring in the age of the kingdom!

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, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 11, pp. 762-763, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Kings (2022 summer training), week 10, entitled, The Lord’s Recovery – to Build up Zion.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – Eternal Bethel, Eternal Mount Zion, article via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Reaching the high peak of Zion, article from, Practical Points Concerning Blending, by Witness Lee.
  – There must be the overcomers standing in the position of the church to do God’s work, article via, Livingly Wrong.
  – Touchstones of God’s economy – Revelation, article via, Affirmation and Critique.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Will you be an overcomer? / On His life depend! / Dare to suffer persecution, / Faithful to the end. / Will you be an overcomer? / Testimony bear! / Keep away from false religion, / ”Hidden manna” share. (Hymns #894 stanzas 3-4)
  – Overcomers Christ will take, / Those who all for Him forsake, / Those who of first love partake— / Win in time! / All the deadness overcome, / With the living Christ be one, / Toward the goal now swiftly run— / Win in time! (Hymns #1304, stanza 5)
  – This is My rest forever; / Here will I dwell, / For the Lord hath chosen Zion, / He hath desired it for His habitation. / He will abundantly bless her provision: / He will satisfy her poor with bread. / He will clothe her priests with salvation, / And her saints shall shout aloud for joy. (Hymns #1338)