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The Lord has shown us that there is the need to build the church. The present need of the church is not merely for the believers to love the Lord fervently, to pursue spirituality, or to preach the gospel zealously in order to lead people to salvation. Rather, the present need is for the believers to be built together in spirit to become a living, spiritual temple as the Body of Christ for Him to obtain rest, to be expressed, and to be glorified.
In 1958 we released a series of messages concerning the building (see the following three books: The Building Work of God, The Basis for the Building Work of God, and The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the House of God). The response of the saints to these messages was inadequate. However, there has been a strong response from the saints to the recent messages concerning the building of the church. This response has resulted in some amount of practical building in the church.
While pursuing the practical building, we discovered that there is a serious lack in spiritual riches among us. We still are lacking in matters related to the spirit, because we are short of genuine fellowship and prayer. In the spring of 1958 the leading brothers sensed this shortage. The brothers saw that many saints have a heart for the Lord and enjoy coming to the meetings and listening to messages but lack personal fellowship with the Lord. Therefore, we had three conferences to cover how to eat, drink, and enjoy God and how to absorb His riches through reading the Word and prayer (see How to Enjoy God and How to Practice the Enjoyment of God). The Lord spoke a fresh and timely word to us in those meetings, and a number of saints experienced a turn in their fellowship with the Lord.
However, there is still a great lack in the practical living of the saints in relation to the present need of God’s building. We still do not have adequate fellowship with the Lord. The more we fellowship concerning the relationship between the saints who serve as priests and their being built up together, the more we sense this need.
First Peter 2:5 says, “You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood.” The spiritual house is produced through the living stones being built up together. This house is a priesthood, a group of built-up priests. Therefore, for the saints to be built up together, they must be priests. The priests who serve God, draw near to Him, and fellowship with Him are the spiritual house, the dwelling place of God.
In both Exodus and Leviticus the priests’ service was always related to the tabernacle; the tabernacle was entrusted to their care. In the picture of the Old Testament typology the priests were the serving ones, and the tabernacle was God’s dwelling place. The priests and the tabernacle were distinct but not separate from each other. When the tabernacle was pitched, the priests served God in the tabernacle. When the children of Israel moved, the tabernacle was entrusted to the priests. Among the children of Israel there was always a corporate body of priests caring for the tabernacle. The tabernacle and the priests could not be separated.
In the New Testament 1 Peter 2 speaks concerning the priests and the tabernacle being mingled as one. Verse 5 says that the priesthood is the spiritual house. The New Testament priests are the New Testament tabernacle. Every priest is a constituent of the tabernacle. Every saint must be a living priest in order for us to be built up together as the church. A saint who lacks fellowship with the Lord and the flow of living water cannot be considered a living stone, nor is there the possibility for him to be built with others. Therefore, we must bring the saints into the priestly service for them to live a life in the Holy of Holies, that is, to live continuously before God and in fellowship with Him. This is the only way that we can be built up together.
Apart from being brought into the priesthood, there is no other way for the children of God to be built together. It is not sufficient for us to nurture and edify the saints. The saints must be brought into the priestly living so that they may serve in the tabernacle, that is, live before God and let God live in them. Then their spirit will be fresh, and they will grow daily and be able to be blended and built up together. To be blended in spirit is to be built up. We cannot be built up in ourselves; we can be built up only in the Spirit.
With respect to the Body of Christ, on the one hand, we have been baptized in the Spirit, and on the other hand, we have been given to drink the Spirit. First Corinthians 12:13 says, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.” This means that we are baptized in the Spirit outwardly and that we drink the Spirit inwardly. These are the two aspects of our experience of the Spirit. We experience His outpouring and His infilling. With respect to the outpouring, we are baptized in Him; with respect to the infilling, we drink Him. If we are in the Spirit and let the Spirit blend us together, we will experience the one Body. This is real coordination, blending, and building. We must see that unless the saints are brought into the priestly service, there is no way for the church to be built.
Concerning the Lord Jesus, Zechariah 6:13 says, “It is he who will build the temple of Jehovah; and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne; and he will be a priest on his throne; and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them.” As the Builder of the holy temple, the Lord holds the two offices of the kingship and the priesthood. In Him there is the counsel of peace between the two offices. The two offices are joined together in Him for the building of the temple. This corresponds with 1 Peter 2:5, which says that the living stones are being built into a spiritual house, which is the holy priesthood. In addition, verse 9 says that the priests are a royal priesthood. The priests serve not only as priests but also as kings.
In the Old Testament the two lines of the priesthood and the kingship were involved with the building of the tabernacle and of the temple. In the building of the tabernacle, Moses represented the aspect of authority, the kingship, while Aaron represented the aspect of fellowship, the priesthood. After Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Eleazar continued to represent the aspects of authority and fellowship (Num. 34:17). Eleazar continued the line of fellowship, and Joshua continued the line of authority. Authority and fellowship are inseparable. Joshua was the authority, but he could not rule independently. All his actions had to be balanced and regulated by Eleazar’s fellowship with God. Eleazar bore the Urim and the Thummim when he fellowshipped with God. In this way he brought all of God’s people before God and brought God’s intention to His people. This was the function of fellowship in the priesthood. In such a fellowship God and His people were mingled as one. Joshua’s actions in the aspect of authority were based on this fellowship. Joshua could not exercise authority without Eleazar’s fellowship. Moreover, Eleazar’s fellowship could not be executed without Joshua’s authority. If either were lacking, the rank and order among God’s people would not have been maintained. Therefore, among God’s people there must be the execution of authority, and there must also be fellowship to touch God’s heart. These two aspects need to be in coordination in order for the people of God to be in oneness and thereby be built together.
After the children of Israel entered into Canaan, during the age of the judges, the people fell into confusion. There were problems among the priests, and some even left the tabernacle to become family priests, serving idols (Judg. 17:7-13; 18:14-20). The aspect of fellowship among the children of Israel was completely destroyed. Once the fellowship was destroyed, authority was lost, and order was replaced with chaos. Hence, the book of Judges says, “There was no king in Israel; everyone did that which was right in his own eyes” (17:6; 21:25). That was a time of desolation among the people of God.
Later, Samuel was raised up in the position of a priest. He was not a priest of the house of Aaron; he was a Nazarite. In the Pentateuch God arranged that His people could serve Him either by ordination or by voluntary consecration. To serve by ordination meant that one was a male of the house of Aaron and, hence, a priest by birth. To serve by voluntary consecration meant that a person was not a priest by birth but that he volunteered to become a Nazarite (Num. 6:1-5). This was a door of grace opened by God for His people to serve Him. At the time of Samuel this door of grace was used. When the ordained priests were in desolation, a voluntary Nazarite was able to come in and replace them. Samuel wore the ephod and stood in the position of a priest, even while he was still a boy (1 Sam. 2:18). By serving as a priest, he brought in the kingship. Hence, fellowship always brings in authority; that is, the priesthood brings in the kingship.
When David was a proper king, having a normal relationship with God, he also wore the ephod. The two offices of the priesthood and the kingship were not borne by one person. However, when David brought the Ark into Jerusalem, he danced before God and was girded with a linen ephod (2 Sam. 6:14). This is a type of the Lord Jesus possessing the two offices of the priesthood and the kingship. David’s wearing the ephod on that occasion was related to God’s tabernacle, His dwelling place. When David brought the Ark into Jerusalem, the Ark was no longer in the tabernacle, its resting place. Hence, in Psalm 132 David said that he would not go up onto the couch of his bed or give slumber to his eyelids until he found a place for Jehovah, a tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob (vv. 3-5). The fact that David as a king put on the priestly ephod is a strong indication that in order for God to have a dwelling place, the priesthood and the kingship must be blended. In other words, there must be the fellowship that coordinates with, balances, and brings in authority.
David not only desired to build the temple for God; he also set the priests in divisions. God’s dwelling place cannot be separated from the priesthood. The Old Testament is consistent in this matter. While David was gathering material to build the temple, he paid attention to the strengthening of the priestly service. He divided the priests and the Levites into two groups. One group was responsible for the service in the house of Jehovah and had twenty-four divisions (1 Chron. 24:1-19). The other group was responsible for singing praise and also had twenty-four divisions (ch. 25). The singing was performed by the Levites, but they were attached to the priests. In the New Testament there is no distinction between the priests and the Levites. Whatever the priests and Levites did in the Old Testament should be done by the New Testament priests.
The glorious situation with the priesthood did not last long. The priesthood fell into desolation, and the doors of the temple were even closed. When the fellowship was lost, the kingship fell into degradation. During the reign of Ahab the priesthood was desolate, and the kingship failed completely. At this time the prophets emerged. The prophets functioned during an abnormal situation. They emerged during the degradation of the priests and kings.
During the recovery of the building, when the people of God returned from the land of captivity to rebuild the temple, Zerubbabel was the governor, and Joshua was the high priest. The coordination between the kingship and the priesthood, between authority and fellowship, was necessary for the temple of God to be recovered (Zech. 6:13). Later, Ezra, a priest and scribe, taught God’s people the books of the law, and Nehemiah, who was the governor, led the people to rebuild the holy city (Neh. 8). In these two men we can see the coordination of the priesthood and the kingship. As the person who builds the temple of God, the Lord Jesus possesses the two offices of the kingship and the priesthood. In order to build the church, there must be fellowship and authority.
How wonderful it is that at the end of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, there is the throne of God and a river of water of life flowing through the New Jerusalem: “He showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street” (22:1). This is a picture of authority in coordination with fellowship. According to John 7, the river of water of life denotes the Spirit of life flowing out of God into all those who belong to Him (vv. 38-39). The fellowship among God’s people is the flowing out of God in the Son as the Spirit.
This river flows out of the throne, which is the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). However, since it is a throne, it is for exercising authority. The fact that there is one throne indicates that God cannot be separated from the Lamb. In the New Jerusalem God is the light, and the Lamb is the lamp (Rev. 21:23). The light is in the lamp, so the two are one. God is in the Lamb, who died to shed His blood and terminate the old creation. His blood has purified the things that were defiled by Satan’s rebellion (Heb. 9:23-24). Therefore, God can flow out of the throne. Here is fellowship and also authority. May we all see this eternal principle of God.
Revelation continues the Gospel of John. John’s Gospel says that God is from the beginning, that in Him is life, and that He came for man to have life (1:1, 4; 10:10). He is the Lamb of God who was slain and shed His blood to take away the sin of the world and terminate everything of the old creation, and He is the Bridegroom who will have His bride (1:29; 3:29). These items are found in the Gospel of John.
The consummation of the Bible is at the end of Revelation, where we see the bride, the Lamb, the river of water of life, and the tree of life (chs. 21—22). This conclusion portrays God, who is eternal, accomplishing redemption in His Son, the Lamb, and flowing into His people as the Spirit, the river of water of life. This flow brings us into one fellowship and joins us together. This fellowship is accompanied by the throne of authority. The throne is related to the kingship, and the flow of the water of life is related to the priesthood. The two offices of the kingship and the priesthood are joined together. In the universe there are the throne and the river of water of life — there are God’s authority and His fellowship. As children of God, we are royal priests. We serve as priests in the fellowship of God, and we are under His authority. In such a balanced situation of fellowship and authority, we can be built up together to be His dwelling place. The building up of God’s children is the only way for God to gain a dwelling place.
The entire Bible shows that God desires to gain priests. After creating Adam, God placed him in a position in which he could draw near to God. Abel, Noah, and Abraham were priests because they offered sacrifices to God. In the New Testament every believer can enter into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 10:19). In the Old Testament only the priests could enter the Holy of Holies. Therefore, God desires everyone who is saved to be a priest.
A priest is one who fellowships with God and contacts God. God intended for the children of Israel to become a kingdom of priests (Exo. 19:6). But when the children of Israel worshipped the golden calf, eleven tribes lost the priesthood, and only one tribe, the Levites, came forth to stand on God’s side (32:19-29). Hence, the priesthood was given to the tribe of Levi (Num. 18:22-23; Deut. 33:8-10). A priest is a person who draws near to God, fellowships with God, and affords God an open opportunity to work in him. This is the standing that every believer has. Therefore, there should not be any barriers between us and God. We should fellowship with Him and afford Him sufficient opportunities to work Himself into us and to bring us into fellowship with Him so that the water of life can flow freely in us.
Our former understanding concerning the priests was superficial. The Lord has given us a complete view. A priest is a person who lives before God, has fellowship with God, and is mingled with God. He has the divine life and nature within him and possesses God’s image and authority. Such a person expresses and represents God in the divine fellowship; he also allows all that God is to pass through him and be accomplished in him. This is the meaning of a priest. Only the priests can accomplish the building of God.
Our urgent need is to live in the Holy of Holies and help the saints enter into such a fellowship. God has prepared many things for us; our need is to dig the well and let the water of life flow among us so that the practical building can be accomplished. In the churches there is the need for everyone to have a practical living in the Holy of Holies. We should also focus on the matter of perfecting the saints in the various meetings.
There is only one group of people who can fulfill God’s intention. The persons in this group exercise their spirit to fellowship with God, and they let God flow through their spirit. Such persons have a spirit that is strong, living, and released, and they exercise their spirit in order to be mingled and built up with others. Our urgent need is to be such persons.
May we be diligent and burning in our spirit to rise up and receive this burden. We need to grasp every opportunity to pray in groups of two or three. Then when we come to the meeting, we will serve in our spirit, have the supply of the spirit, and exercise our spirit. May the Lord grant us grace so that the saints will enter into the fellowship of the spirit and the genuine building. Whoever allows the Spirit to flow in him will be built with others. The flow of the Spirit brings the divine elements into us and also cleanses us of filthiness, impurities, complications, mixtures, and the old creation. Then we will have the real building in the fellowship of the spirit.
