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Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ, until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
John 17:20-24 says, “I do not ask concerning these only, but concerning those also who believe into Me through their word, that they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. Father, concerning that which You have given Me, I desire that they also may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory, which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
Hebrews 11:16 says, “As it is, they long after a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Revelation 21:2 says, “I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Hebrews 11 says that God has prepared a city for them; again this verse says that the city is prepared. Revelation 21:9 says, “I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
Verse 7 of chapter 2 says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.” Verse 12 of chapter 3 says, “He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”
We have pointed out that on the one hand, we are God’s crop and, on the other hand, we are God’s building. As God’s crop, we need to grow and mature; as God’s building, we need to be built. Our growth as God’s crop is our being built as God’s building. When we have grown to maturity, we are prepared to be built. Therefore, in order to be built, we have to pay attention to growth and maturity.
If you read the Bible carefully, whether the Old Testament or the New Testament, whenever the harvest is mentioned, a great emphasis is put on the matter of maturity, because only the ripened harvest can be gathered into the barn. Yet there is a sequence to the ripening of the harvest, so the Bible mentions the firstfruits and the reaping of the majority. Revelation 14 clearly shows that the reaping of the firstfruits to God and the reaping of the majority of the harvest are at different times. The first-ripe ones are reaped first, and then the majority of the harvest is reaped afterward.
In Leviticus 23 there is a feast called the Feast of Firstfruits, which required people to reap a small amount of the harvest that had ripened first and bring it before God. After some time, when the majority of the harvest had ripened, it would then be reaped.
We know that the persons, things, and events in the Old Testament are not merely the persons, things, or events themselves. Every person, thing, or event is a spiritual type. Accordingly, Leviticus 23, in speaking about the feasts to be kept by the children of God, greatly emphasizes the firstfruits and reaping. In principle, this shows that God’s harvest must be ripened; only when it is ripe can it be reaped. Although the reaping times are different, in principle, all must be mature. The ones to ripen first are reaped first; the ones to ripen later are reaped later. The unripe ones must wait in the field until they are ripened. The harvest must be ripe before it is reaped. This is very clear in the Bible.
The account of reaping in the Old Testament points out that if we are to participate in the building of the New Jerusalem, we need to mature. We should not think that a believer, whether he has matured in life or not, will be reaped by the Lord as soon as he dies. Nor should we think that a believer has matured when he dies and therefore has been reaped by the Lord. It is ludicrous to say that once a believer dies, he has matured and has been reaped. Obviously there are many believers who have had no progress after being saved for many years; whenever you meet such ones, you sense that they are immature, tender, and often even withered. Some have died in this kind of condition. Can you believe that they have been reaped because they have matured? There is no such thing.
We have to know that death is not the solution to everything. This is as true for the believers as it is for the unbelievers. In regard to the unbelieving descendants of Adam, when they die, their bodies are left in the dust, and their souls go to Hades to be tormented while they are waiting for the coming of the great day of judgment. Therefore, their death today is merely the end of one stage. The day they will be cast into the lake of fire will be the conclusion. In the same principle, the death of the believers today is not the conclusion. It is true that when a believer dies, his body is left in the earth, and his soul is comforted in Paradise in Hades. However, his problems are not yet solved; he has to wait until the coming resurrection. When the Lord comes again, all the saved ones will resurrect and stand before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged. This judgment is not the judgment of the great white throne, which determines whether you are saved or will perish. This judgment at the judgment seat of Christ is to determine whether you have matured or not, whether you will receive a reward or suffer loss. If you receive a reward, it is because you have matured. If you suffer loss, it is because you have not matured.
What if you have not matured? Please remember that God has a way to make you mature. After all, if you are not ripened, God cannot gather you into the barn. Therefore, by no means should you assume that believers can live meaninglessly and carelessly their whole life, and yet when they die, the precious blood of Christ will bear all their responsibilities. There is not such a thing. It is true that no one can come before God without being redeemed by the precious blood. The blood reconciles us to God so that we may approach God. However, please remember that those who can be reaped into the eternal house of God, those who can eternally abide in the house of God, are those who have allowed God’s life to grow and mature within them. To be redeemed by the blood is one thing; to grow and mature in life is another. Only those who are fully ripened can be gathered into God’s barn in the future. You should by no means think that since you are saved, you are already a living stone and therefore have already become part of the building. A stone cannot be built in unless it has been dealt with.
As I have said elsewhere, a local church is a built-up entity, but it is often in a condition of not having been fully built. For instance, a church may have two hundred brothers and sisters, yet it rests altogether on the shoulders of only fifty of them. It seems that only the fifty have been built, whereas the remaining one hundred fifty are like materials that are piled next to a building and are not yet built up. However, in eternity, in the new heaven and the new earth, you will not find a pile of materials around the city of the New Jerusalem. All who are represented by the twelve tribes and by the twelve apostles will have been built into the city.
I will not discuss, for the time being, at what point in time all these people are built into the city. However, I have to say that you surely are not built into it as soon as you die after living a meaningless life as a carefree Christian. There is no such thing. I say again that as the harvest, you need to be ripened, and as the building, you need to be built. You are a sheaf on God’s farm. You need to grow and mature, and only then can God reap you into His barn. You are also one of the stones to be used by God. You need to be dealt with and built up in order to be fitted into the building of God.
In His last evening with the disciples, after the Lord Jesus spoke to them about the union between Him and them, He prayed for all those who believed in Him. What did He pray? He prayed to the Father that they all may be one. Please remember that in this prayer the Lord asked God to bring all whom He redeemed throughout the ages into God one by one to build them into one entity, to become one. Strictly speaking, this oneness is the building of God. This oneness does not come out of our calling to each other, “Come! Let us be one.” This will not work. Oneness comes out of God’s building. Consider a physical house; the many materials in it are one. Formerly, all these materials were scattered about in piles and were not one at all. It is by being built that they have become one. Therefore, the building is the oneness. All those who are in the Lord will one day be one in the Triune God. This was the intent of the Lord’s prayer.
Now I would like to ask you, are you one with all the others who are saved? There is no need to speak of being one with all who are saved; sometimes even five people — two responsible brothers and three responsible sisters of a home meeting — cannot have oneness among themselves. Why is this? It is because they have not been built. Now please consider, as such a one who has not been built and who cannot be one with God’s children, when you leave this world one day, can you then immediately be in the New Jerusalem? You certainly cannot.
Therefore, will the prayer of the Lord not be fulfilled? We should believe that eventually the Lord’s prayer will not be in vain and will be fulfilled in the universe. Eventually, we will see that all who belong to the Lord will be absolutely one in Him. Paul believed this. He said that the Lord has given various gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ, until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13). You can see how great the apostle’s faith was when he spoke this word! When he wrote the Epistle to the Ephesians, he was locked away in a Roman prison. He also saw how very desolate the churches were in all the places. Not only were they desolate; they even rejected his teaching. All who were in Asia would turn away from him. This was becoming the situation when he wrote Ephesians. Yet he could still say, “Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Consider how strong Paul’s faith was! What he believed was completely contrary to what he saw, but he could still joyfully declare this.
Therefore, we do not have to be worried. One day the Lord’s prayer will be fulfilled. With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26). God always has a way. Nevertheless, since you are a saved one, you have to grow, mature, and be built. If you do not mature in this age, God still has the next age waiting for you. In any case, He will cause you to mature. If you, being the harvest, are not ripened today, tomorrow God will cause the sun to scorch you. If you are not ripened, God will have to leave you in the field. If you are not ripe, you cannot be gathered into the barn. Do not be deceived by the erroneous doctrine in Christianity, thinking that you will go to heaven immediately after your death if you believe in Jesus. If you want to be in God’s barn, you need to be matured. Please read your New Testament again so you may be clear that this is a fixed principle. It is true that everyone who has been washed by the Lord’s blood will eternally be saved and will not perish forever. However, in order to go to God, enter into God’s dwelling place, and be gathered into God’s barn, one must be matured. Sooner or later, one will nevertheless be matured. This is a fixed principle.
We have pointed out repeatedly that the issue of God’s work throughout the ages is to gain a city, the New Jerusalem. This is stated clearly in the writings of John. John wrote his Gospel, he also wrote his Epistles, and in the end he wrote the book of Revelation. The messages conveyed in these three sections are connected and cannot be separated. Therefore, if you want to understand the writings of John, you cannot just read his Gospel, nor can you read only his Epistles, and in the same way you cannot read only his Revelation. You have to read these three parts of his writings together to see a complete picture.
In the beginning John says that God became flesh and tabernacled among men (John 1:14). Later, he says that this tabernacle built through incarnation was a temple, the house of God (2:21). Satan wanted to destroy this temple, but the Lord raised it up through resurrection (v. 19). After that he also says that he who has the bride is the bridegroom (3:29). The Lord, who was incarnated, who tabernacled among men, who built up the temple, is the Bridegroom.
Now you can see that there is the tabernacle, there is the temple (which is the house), and there is the Bridegroom, who comes for the bride. What is this tabernacle? What is this house? Who is this bride? It is hard to understand in the beginning. However, if you read on, you will come to the verse in which the Lord said, “Abide in Me and I in you” (15:4). This word has a twofold meaning. On the one hand, it concerns our mutual abiding with the Lord; this is a matter of the house. On the other hand, it concerns our mutual union with the Lord; that is a matter of the bride and Bridegroom. Please keep in mind that John 14, 15, 16, and 17 talk about these matters. After the Lord resurrected from the dead and breathed into the disciples, when the Holy Spirit entered into them, the Lord Himself entered into them. Then the Lord in reality had an abode in the disciples. From that time on, the house came into existence.
In John’s first Epistle he says, we “report to you the eternal life...that you also may have fellowship...with the Father and with His Son” (1:2-3). “The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you,...and even as it has taught you, abide in Him [the Lord]” (2:27). “We know that we abide in Him [God] and He in us, that He [God] has given to us of His Spirit” (4:13). “This [eternal] life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (5:11-12). “The Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we might know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God” (v. 20). This true God implies the whole story of God in His incarnation, death, resurrection, entering into man as the Spirit, and becoming man’s life. In the Old Testament times, God was simply God. However, in the New Testament time this God became flesh, died and resurrected, and also entered into us as the Spirit to be joined to us. All these steps are implied in the true God. Now we are more clear.
When we read to the end of Revelation, we see a city coming forth. This city is the tabernacle God has built among men. This city is also the bride of the Lamb. Now we have found everything that John speaks of from the beginning to the end. He says that he who has the bride is the bridegroom. Who is the bride? The bride is the city. The city is also the tabernacle. At the same time, this city is the temple, because he says, “I saw no temple in it” (21:22). The city is the enlargement of the temple. Furthermore, Revelation shows the Triune God dwelling fully in the redeemed people. In this way at the end of Revelation you see that the things John mentioned in the beginning have been fully fulfilled. The New Jerusalem is the tabernacle built by God. It is God’s dwelling place, God’s house, and God’s bride. This is the central subject of the writings of John.
However, I would like to point out to the brothers and sisters when the last part of the Lord’s building work will be carried out. We know that the manifestation of the holy city, New Jerusalem, is the ultimate issue of God’s work. This issue will be manifested only at the time of the new heaven and the new earth. All who read the Bible know that the old heaven and the old earth precede the new heaven and the new earth. In the old heaven and the old earth there are many different ages. Among these ages a great period of time is the age of law, and the next is the age of grace. After the age of grace there is the millennial age, which is the kingdom age. The age of law began with Moses. Before Moses there was another age, the age of the patriarchs, which is also called the age of promise. Between Christ’s first coming and Christ’s second coming is the age of grace, which is also called the church age. Once the church age ends, the Lord will come again, and from then on it will be the millennial age. When the millennial age ends, the old heaven and the old earth will end, and the new heaven and the new earth begin. Therefore, to us there are four ages in the old heaven and the old earth. These are the age of promise, the age of law, the age of grace, and the kingdom age. When these ages are over, the new heaven and the new earth will come. Once the new heaven and the new earth come, the New Jerusalem will be manifested.
Because the building of the New Jerusalem is carried out in the old heaven and the old earth, all the four ages mentioned above involve the building work of God. God carried out a part of His building in the age of the patriarchs, the age of promise. Abel, Enoch, and Noah were men whom God built; so were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were all built in the age of the patriarchs. Another part of the building of God, which consisted of the twelve tribes of Israel, was built by God in the age of law. Still another part, the church, is built by God during the age of grace.
Now I would like to ask you all, can you say that God built in the age of the patriarchs, in the age of law, and in the age of grace, yet stops building in the millennial (kingdom) age? Although the millennial age will be an age of restoration, it will still be an age in which God builds. Even though the Lord will have come and all things will be restored, the building work of God will still be incomplete at that time.
Again, this is where we come into conflict with the theology in Christianity. Their typical theology tells people that when the Lord Jesus comes again, all things will be complete; all things will rest in peace. However, we realize from reading the Bible that the Lord will still do His building work at the time of His second coming.
On one occasion a person who knew the Lord well came to ask me about the matter of saved ones being disciplined at the Lord’s second coming. I said that today Christians all agree that a saved person should readily love God, do God’s will, and please God. If he does not love God and does not do God’s will, God will chastise and discipline him. No one in Christianity would disagree with this kind of teaching concerning God’s discipline. However, I would like to ask, can it be that God’s chastisement and discipline of His children are limited only to the first three ages? Or will there still be discipline in the fourth age when the Lord Jesus comes back? Today the typical Christian thinks that discipline is limited only to the present life. He never thinks that there will be discipline when the Lord comes back. Yet the Bible clearly shows that there will still be the matter of discipline when the Lord comes back.
Luke 12:45-48 says, “If that slave says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat the male servants and the female servants and to eat and to drink and become drunk [this is one who indulges himself wantonly, not getting along with the other servants], the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him asunder, and will appoint his portion with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not prepare or do according to his will, will receive many lashes; but he who did not know, yet did things worthy of stripes, will receive few lashes [not zero lashes but “few” lashes]. But to everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required from him; and to whom much has been committed, they will ask of him all the more.” Here it clearly says that it is when the master comes back, the slave may receive many lashes. Thus, we see that the Lord’s chastisement and discipline are not limited to this age. When the Lord comes back, not only will there be discipline, but the discipline may even be greater than before.
Brothers and sisters, if you open your eyes and look, you will see that many saved ones are indulging their flesh, loving the world, and not being one with God’s children. Yet they are still safe and sound; God has not disciplined them. I ask you, brothers and sisters, today among God’s children are there more who obey the Lord or more who disobey the Lord? Obviously, there are more disobedient ones. So then today among God’s children are there more who are disciplined or more who are not disciplined? To be honest, we do not see many who are disciplined. Look at all those children of God who, after being saved for many years, still indulge in the flesh, act recklessly at will, and lose their temper and quarrel whenever they feel like it. It seems that God does not bother them and does not discipline them. Therefore, we have to admit that although many Christians disobey today, few are disciplined.
You should never think that the reason God does not discipline us is because He loves us so much that He is reluctant to discipline us. If this is what you think, you are wrong. Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves He disciplines. Those who are disciplined are beloved, and those who are not disciplined are pitiful. However, do not suppose that since they are not disciplined today, they also will not be disciplined in the future. There is not one child who can avoid being disciplined, but as to when the child is disciplined, it depends on the father’s own will. You know that a father who keeps his temper under control knows his timing in disciplining his children. He does not spank the child when he may lose his temper; rather, he looks for the right time. Some children need a spanking right after making a mistake, whereas others need to wait until the next day, and still others need to wait until the end of the semester.
I would like to tell the brothers and sisters that too many children of God are disobedient, yet hardly any have been disciplined. Rather, you see the opposite situation: Quite a few who love the Lord and learn to live before the Lord have been repeatedly afflicted and smitten. I would like to ask you, do you think that God will never discipline those disobedient children? They live as they please, not growing, not being dealt with, not being built, but going through their entire life aimlessly. Do you think that ultimately they will just die and go to heaven? Do you think God will let this happen? Of course He will not. The Lord said that when He comes back some will receive many lashes.
Please keep in mind that discipline is building. All the parents who discipline their children do so for their perfecting. Likewise, discipline from God is for building. You should never assume that the Lord does the building work, the dealing work, and the disciplining work only during the time before His coming back. The Bible clearly says that when the Lord comes back, He will give lashes, even many lashes. Even the giving of lashes is building. If today you are not willing to be dealt with by the Lord, when the Lord comes, you will still be dealt with. If today you are not willing to be built up by the Lord, when the Lord comes, He will still build you up. Before you are dealt with, this brother does not seem lovely and that sister has problems as well; you can never be one with others. However, a day will come when the Lord will deal with you to such an extent that every brother and sister is lovely in your sight.
I believe that the brothers and sisters can understand the meaning of these words. The building of God is carried out in the four ages of the old heaven and the old earth. The building work of God is in every age. Even though during the millennial kingdom the Lord will have come and all things will be restored, it will still be the old heaven and the old earth, not the new heaven and the new earth. God will still be doing the building work. It is in the new heaven and the new earth that the building work of God will have been accomplished.
However, we need to strengthen one point a little. Although the New Jerusalem will be manifested only in the new heaven and the new earth, if you read Revelation carefully, you will see the New Jerusalem in chapter 2 and chapter 3. There the blessings promised by the Lord to the overcomers in the churches are really the things in the New Jerusalem, yet the overcomers will be able to partake of them in the millennial kingdom. This means that their enjoyment of the New Jerusalem will come a thousand years earlier than that of the majority of the believers. They are a group of first-ripe ones. They are the ones who were built up by God in the age of the patriarchs, the age of law, and the age of grace. Only these ones will be able to enjoy the New Jerusalem in the millennial age. As for those who have not been fully built up by God, those who have not matured, God will edify them and build them in the millennial kingdom so that they can be matured. When the millennial kingdom is over, they will have been dealt with and built up, and then they will be in the New Jerusalem when the new heaven and the new earth emerge.
The Bible says that when the Lord comes again, the marriage of the Lamb will come, for His wife will have made herself ready (Rev. 19:7). When the New Jerusalem is manifested, she will be the wife of the Lamb (21:9). This shows that the entire millennial kingdom is the Lamb’s wedding day. In the millennial kingdom the New Jerusalem is the bride, and in the new heaven and the new earth the New Jerusalem is the wife. Those who participate in the New Jerusalem as the bride are the overcoming saints, the matured ones who have been dealt with and built up by the Lord. The saints who need to be built up by the Lord during the millennial kingdom will not participate in the New Jerusalem as the bride. Those who have been built by the Lord during the millennial age will have to wait until the new heaven and the new earth, when the bride has become the wife, to participate in the New Jerusalem.
I say these things so that the brothers and sisters can see that the principle of the bride is that of God’s children needing to be matured and built up. If you are not matured today, the Lord will still cause you to be mature in the future. If you are not built up today, the Lord will still build you up in the future. For you and me there is the difference of time; there is a difference between today and tomorrow, the present and the future. To God, however, there is no element of time. For you and me there is the matter of space; there is the matter of being built here and not being built there, but to God there is no element of space. In any case, you will be built up; you will be matured. If you are not matured, God has no way to gather you into the barn. If you are not built up, you have no place in the building of God.
I would like to declare to God’s children that according to the Bible, there is no such thing as what people in Christianity mean by “going to heaven.” While you are alive, the earth is where you sojourn; when you die, Paradise in Hades will be where you stay temporarily. When you are resurrected, transfigured, and caught up in the air by the Lord, that will still be a temporary condition. Our eternal dwelling is the New Jerusalem, a city that is the issue of the mutual building of God and man. Therefore, you must grow in God and mature in God. If you are not matured, you cannot be gathered into this barn. If you are not built up, you cannot participate in this building. If today you are not matured, tomorrow God still will want you to be matured. If in this age you are not built up, God will still build you up in the next age. As long as you are saved and redeemed, God will cause you to mature and will build you up, whatever it takes. I say again that the entire Bible ultimately shows that the redeemed people are built together to become an eternal dwelling place of God and man. Therefore, one who has not matured and not been built up can never participate in that dwelling place.
Brothers and sisters, the Bible never says that once a person is washed by the blood he is “going to heaven.” There is not such a thing. God wants to build Himself into His redeemed people and to build His redeemed people into Himself to accomplish a spiritual building. Therefore, all who participate in this building must be those who have been built up. Thank the Lord that God predestinated us and redeemed us, and He is building us. What God has been doing for six thousand years is this building work.
Finally, I would still tell the brothers and sisters that we need to be matured. Only when we are matured can we be gathered into the barn. We need to be built; only by being built can we participate in God’s holy city, the New Jerusalem. May the Lord grant us grace that we would not consider these things as mere prophecies. May we be built together today!
