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Scripture Reading: 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:5-6; 5:8-10; 20:6; 22:1-2; Heb. 10:19-20; 4:14-16; Zech. 6:12-13
In order for the church to be built up, our spirits must be released and blended into one, because the building of God is carried out through the saints being blended into one in the flow of the Spirit, which is the flow of the water of life. The believers who allow the Spirit of life to flow out from within them are priests. In the Old Testament the building of the tabernacle and of the temple, including its recovery, depended upon the priesthood. Only when there are persons serving God as priests can the building of God’s dwelling place be carried out. The Lord Jesus is the Builder of the temple of God. He is building the temple by bearing the priesthood. He is full of the honor and glory of the priesthood.
The building of the church depends on whether or not the saints will bear the priesthood before God. Only the priests draw near to God, touch the throne of God, and allow God to flow through them. The water of life can flow through them and into other persons. The flowing of the water of life is the only way that builds up the church of God.
When God does a work of recovery, the recovery of His Word is crucial. When the children of Israel returned from the land of captivity to Jerusalem, they needed Ezra to open the book of law and read the Word of God so that they might know God according to His Word (Neh. 8:1-6). In the process of building the church, we need the opening of the Word of God so that God’s children may see what God is doing in this age and know how God is carrying out the building work. We hope that through these messages the Spirit will bring us into the spirit of the priesthood. The priests are the only people that God needs. The believers are priests, and they need to bear the priesthood by entering into the Holy of Holies, touching the throne of God, and allowing God to flow through them.
Let us consider this matter as presented in the Bible.
God created man in His image so that man would be His expression, and He gave dominion to man so that man would be His representation (Gen. 1:26). When the Bible speaks of man, it first speaks of image and dominion, showing that God cares for His image and dominion in man.
The line of image is the line of the priesthood, because only when man draws near to God and allows God to flow through him can God’s image be expressed. Moses remained in the presence of God and fellowshipped with God for forty days. As a result, he was saturated with God, and his face was shining (Exo. 34:28-30). In those forty days Moses was with God as a priest. He put aside all other matters and remained with God. He lived in the presence of God, touched God, and allowed God to flow through him and saturate him so that his whole being was filled with the glory of God. This shows that those who bear the image of God live the life of a priest in a practical way.
It is easy to associate the line of dominion with the line of the kingship, because a king receives authority from God in order to reign for God. Hence, in the Bible the lines of image and dominion are the lines of the priesthood and the kingship. These two lines run from the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible. When the Bible speaks of God creating man, it speaks of image and dominion. In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, the apostle John says that the Lord has released us from our sins by His blood so that we might be priests (1:5-6), that the Lord made us priests and a kingdom to reign on the earth (5:10), and that when we are resurrected and enter into glory, we will be priests who will reign with the Lord (20:6). Finally, when the New Jerusalem is manifested, the holy city is like jasper (21:11, 18). Jasper denotes the image of God, because God is like jasper in appearance (4:3). In the holy city the water of life—the Spirit of life—flows to fill the city with God; hence, the image of God is fully expressed. Furthermore, those who are a part of the New Jerusalem will reign as kings and exercise God’s authority for eternity (22:5).
The two lines of the priesthood and the kingship run through the Bible. The priesthood enables man to express God, and the kingship enables man to represent God. The priesthood causes man to have the image of God, and the kingship causes man to have the dominion of God.
God created man with the intention that man would be a priest, that is, a person who draws near to God, allows God to flow through him, is saturated with God, and expresses the glory of God. God also intended that man would exercise His authority. The enemy knew that if the water of life could not flow through man, man would not be like God and could not exercise God’s authority. Hence, the enemy came in to damage man so that man would not draw near to God, contact God, or let God flow through him. This is when the Adamic race failed God and fell.
God, however, did not give up His original intention. He continued to work by gaining the fathers, such as Abel, Enoch, and Noah. Later, He chose Abraham from the fallen human race so that his descendants would become a new race, the children of Israel. After the children of Israel came out of Egypt and arrived at Mount Sinai, God said to them, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself...And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exo. 19:4, 6). God intended that the Israelites would become His priests, not individually but corporately as a kingdom.
The desire of God’s heart was for every Israelite to be a priest who drew near to God, allowed God to pass through him, and was saturated with God. Moses is an example. As the representative of the children of Israel, he had the image of God to express God, and he also had the dominion of God to represent God. God’s intention was that every Israelite would be like Moses, having God’s image and dominion.
As soon as God unveiled His heart’s desire, the children of Israel fell and were corrupted. While Moses was fulfilling his priesthood by drawing near to God, the children of Israel were tempted at the foot of Mount Sinai. They did not know how to touch God, draw near to God, or be in His presence; they only knew how to serve a visible god with their physical eyes. As a result, they built a golden calf to worship, thus corrupting themselves. When Moses came down from the mountain and saw the situation, he was furious, and said, “Whoever is for Jehovah, come to me” (32:26). This was a call for those who were on God’s side to stand with Moses. Of the twelve tribes, only the tribe of Levi stood on God’s side. Then Moses told the Levites to take out their swords and slay the idol worshippers. The Levites did not care for human relationships; they slew even their own kinsmen. Because the Levites sanctified themselves and remained loyal to God, the priesthood was transferred from the Israelites to the tribe of Levi (vv. 26-29; Num. 1:53). At this time the Levites became the priests of God. Only the Levites could draw near to God and enter into His presence. They could fellowship with God, allow God to flow through them, and be mingled with Him.
However, history repeated itself, and the priests of the tribe of Levi fell into a desolate state. In the book of Judges a certain Levite was hired by Micah to serve an idol for ten pieces of silver, an array of clothing, and his food, thus undermining the status of a priest and defiling the ministry of the priesthood (17:7-13). Later, at the time of Eli the priesthood was completely corrupted (1 Sam. 2:12-25). The children of Israel became so desolate that the Ark was captured (4:5-11).
It was not until God first raised up David through Samuel and then Solomon that the children of Israel were revived and the priests were revived and strengthened. David divided the priests into twenty-four divisions to minister before God (1 Chron. 24). However, this good situation did not last long. The children of Israel fell into desolation, the priests were not up to standard, the temple was shut, and the altar was abandoned (2 Kings 12:5-8; 2 Chron. 28:24-25; 29:6-8). This was a pitiful situation.
In the New Testament the Lord Jesus is a priest; He is even the High Priest. When He was on the earth, He always brought men to God. He was a person who had entered into God and who allowed God to flow through Him (John 14:9-11). When the Lord was on the earth, the water of life was flowing through Him, and He allowed the Spirit of God to flow through Him. There was no obstacle between Him and God. After He went to the cross and offered Himself to God, He was raised from the dead and ascended to the presence of God to become our glorious High Priest (Heb. 4:14; 7:26).
The Lord Jesus is our Priest, and those who receive Him are also priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9). His priestly life has entered into us; hence, we can draw near to God, fellowship with God, and allow God to flow through us. As believers, we can touch the source of the water of life, and we can allow the water of life to flow into us and to flow out of us as rivers of living water. We can be priests who draw near to God.
According to church history, after the time of the apostles the church became desolate, just as the children of Israel in the Old Testament became desolate, and the priesthood was lost. In Christianity only a few believers function as priests. But even these few believers do not know how to pray and touch the throne of God, nor do they know how to allow the water of life to flow through them. The situation in Christianity is very much like the desolate state recorded in the books of Kings and Chronicles: the temple was closed, the altar was abandoned, and the priests were improper.
In order to recover the building of His church, God must first recover the priesthood. The priesthood upholds the building of the church; without the priesthood it is impossible to build up the church. Hence, God is sounding out a call for us to fulfill the priesthood, just as He called the Levites at the foot of Mount Sinai. Who is willing to stand on God’s side in order to fellowship with God and allow God to flow through him by rising up to be a priest of God?
Let us now consider the line of authority in the Bible. As soon as the Israelites became a kingdom, authority was established among them, because there must be authority in a kingdom. Among the children of Israel, Moses was the first person to represent God’s authority. After Moses there was Joshua, and after Joshua, God’s authority was with the judges. When David was raised up, the authority of the kingship was brought in. The authority of the kingship was the authority of the kingdom. After David and Solomon, the kings became corrupted and defiled the authority that they had received from God. When the priests were improper and the kings were defiled, the prophets were raised up.
God desired to have proper priests and kings. But when the priests and kings were not up to the standard, the prophets came in as a help and a supplement. The Old Testament prophets include Elijah and Elisha. They ministered when the children of Israel were in a desolate state. At the time of King Ahab, who was very evil and corrupt, the priests seemed to have disappeared.
In the New Testament the apostles, such as Peter, John, and Paul, were not only in the priesthood but also had the authority of God. With time, however, the church became desolate, the priesthood waned, and the authority in the church failed. Although there are pastors and preachers in Christianity, the functions of the priesthood and the kingship are missing. Furthermore, the majority of God’s children do not know how to function as a priest or a king. They know only about giving a message or listening to a message. Believers rush to hear a famous preacher, and they attend revival meetings, but their condition remains desolate.
Such a condition exists even among us. Many local churches are seeking eloquent ministers of the word, but they do not pay much attention to every saint functioning as a royal priest. This does not mean that it is wrong to speak for God or that ministers of the word are not needed. The Word needs to be increased and strengthened among us, but the priesthood and the kingship need to be stronger than the prophethood. When the people of God are normal, they should be priests and kings. They should fellowship with God, abide in Him, and allow Him to flow through them, thus bringing in the authority of the kingship. As a result, they will be able to exercise authority in fellowship, or have fellowship with authority.
Everyone in the church should be a royal priest. First Corinthians 14:1 says that the believers should desire to prophesy. This shows that the gift of prophesying is obtained through desiring and pursuing. In contrast, a believer becomes a royal priest as soon as he is saved (1 Pet. 2:9). Every believer has this status. We do not like it when only a few saints pray, nor do we like to see the ministry of the word being stronger than the ministry of the priesthood. We hope that more saints will pray and sing in the meetings. There are times when we need to hear a special word, but the normal situation should be that the meetings are full of the service of the royal priests.
According to Hebrews 4:16, the way to minister as a priest is simply to come forward to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for timely help. Revelation 22:1 says that the river of water of life proceeds from the throne of God. If we compare these two verses, we will realize that mercy and grace proceed out of God to be man’s life. When we come forward to behold God and contact Him by praying in our spirit and touching His throne, we experience the Spirit flowing in us. The operation of the Spirit in us is not only like the anointing but also like the flowing of the water of life. When we draw near to God in prayer to fellowship with Him, we have an inner sense that the Spirit is flowing through us and supplying us. This supply is the timely help, which is the mercy and grace of God. Although we are unworthy, the mercy of God reaches us and positions us to receive His grace as our timely help.
If we give things to someone who is lovable, it is called grace; if we give things to a beggar, it is called mercy. If a person’s condition is normal, he receives grace; if his condition is poor, he receives mercy. In the eyes of God our condition is poor. Nevertheless, God still visits us. This visitation is mercy. After He bestows mercy on us, He gives us grace.
Both mercy and grace refer to God flowing through us and being gained by us. Sometimes a saint testifies, “My landlord was hard on me. Then I prayed, and God opened the way for me as my timely help.” Some sisters testify, “I was in difficulty because my child was sick. Then I prayed, and God answered my prayer by healing my child. This was truly the timely help.” Such testimonies are not wrong, but the descriptions might not be accurate. The answers for these types of prayers are not the “timely help” that we are referring to. Have we not had experiences of prayers that resulted in the opposite of what we prayed for? There have been times when we were in a difficult situation, but the more we prayed, the more trouble there was. Sometimes we have prayed when a family member was sick, but the sickness did not leave. There are many times when our prayers are not “answered” by God in our way of “timely help.”
Whether or not our prayer is “answered,” as long as we contact God, He will flow through us as the living water. This flow is our timely help. The problems might remain or even become worse, but inwardly, we will experience unspeakable peace and joy. This is timely help. Timely help is the living God, the flowing God, coming into us and flowing through us to refresh, water, and supply us.
Our God is a flowing God. The first step that He took was to flow out in His Son. The second step was to flow out in the Holy Spirit. According to the Gospel of John, the first step of His flowing out was to be the bread of life, and the second step of His flowing out was to be the water of life (6:35; 7:38-39). The Lord Jesus is the bread of life, and the Spirit is the water of life. Out of the throne of God and of the Lamb proceeds the river of water of life, and the tree of life grows along both sides of the river. We must see that this is God flowing out. The tree of life is Christ, and the water of life is the Holy Spirit, both of whom flow out to be our supply.
The way into the Holy of Holies is now open, and we can enter in (Heb. 10:19-20). We can touch the throne. God and the Lamb are flowing out from the throne to be our supply. Whenever, by the Lord’s blood, we come forward and touch the throne of grace, God flows to refresh and water us, and we experience indescribable joy, no matter how harsh the circumstances are.
God has only one throne in the universe. He does not have two thrones. Just as the light is in the lamp, God is in the Lamb. God in Christ is sitting on one throne. To the believers, this throne is the throne of grace, but to God’s enemy, it is the throne of authority. The throne of grace is related to the priesthood, and the throne of authority is related to the kingship.
Out from the throne of God flows the river of water of life (Rev. 22:1) and the stream of fire (Dan. 7:10). The river of water of life is for grace, and the stream of fire is for judgment. Those persons who allow the river of water of life to flow through them will end up in the New Jerusalem, but those who are swept away by the stream of fire will end up in the lake of fire. The meaning of the universe is related to these two rivers. The flow of the river of water of life produces a city of water, but the stream of the fire of God’s judgment flows into the lake of fire.
As believers, we have a twofold status: we are both priests and kings. The priesthood is related to the throne of grace, and the kingship is related to the throne of authority. When we touch the throne of grace and allow the water to flow through us, we receive mercy and find grace for timely help. Then we can touch His throne of authority so that He can judge the improper situations within us.
Our function as a priest is to touch the throne of grace. Hebrews says that we can pass through the veil that was split to enter the Holy of Holies in order to contact God by touching the throne of grace (10:19-20; 4:16). When we touch the throne, the water of life will flow into us and become our timely help. Moreover, when we draw near to God in such a way, we will be carried by the flow into fellowship with God and into the building of God. The more we allow the water of life to flow in us, the more we will sense that we cannot be independent, and the more the Spirit will blend us with other saints into one. As a result, we will be built up together.
In order for God to gain His building, we must be those who allow Him to flow through us by entering into the Holy of Holies to touch the throne of God. God desires such priests. God desired that the man created by Him would be such a person. After man fell, God desired that the people called by Him would be such persons. After they became desolate, God desired that the people sanctified by Him would be such persons. God still desires that His redeemed people would be such persons. Therefore, He is sounding out the call for His people to see this vision, answer His call, and stand on His side.
God wants us, His saved ones, to enter into the Holy of Holies in order to touch the throne of grace and allow the water of life to flow through us. Then our inner condition will match the New Jerusalem. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be established in us, and the river of water of life will flow in us. This flow will bring us into fellowship with God and will cause us to be built up in His life to be His holy dwelling place. This is what God desires today.
