Search
A major problem among Christians is that we believe God’s salvation is for us, for individuals; we cannot imagine that God’s salvation is for the church. We consider receiving salvation and obtaining grace and blessings for ourselves, but we do not think of letting God have His church. Without vision and revelation from God, we would never think of the church, because the natural man has absolutely no concept of the church.
At best, Christians have a desire for their personal salvation, blessing, growth, and spirituality, and they meet together merely for mutual help. Therefore, the concept and purpose of being a Christian is limited to one’s personal salvation; it is not related to the church. However, God’s concept and purpose are wholly focused on the church.
Of course, God’s salvation saves individuals, edifies individuals, and leads individual believers to grow spiritually. However, the purpose of God’s salvation is not with individuals but with the church. The Chinese Union Version and some English translations of the Bible often render the Greek word for building as “edifying.” This indicates how much Christians regard God’s salvation as being a matter of personal edification. There is a difference between edification and building. Suppose we have some lumber and bricks. A carpenter would need to plane the lumber until the boards are leveled and smooth, and a mason would need to square the bricks. This is an example of edification. However, the carpenter and mason do a work of edification on the lumber and bricks with the ultimate purpose of building. To make the lumber look nice for display is edifying, not building. The work of edification and messages on edification are common and popular in Christianity, but almost no one is doing the work of building up the church. Most preaching is done with the intention of edifying the believers. Christians believe that they need to be edified because they are not spiritual enough or because they have problems. Most Christians do not have the concept of building the church.
In relation to the church, the New Testament uses the word build (Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 14:4; Eph. 4:12, 16). This word refers to the building of a house. The Greek word for build, oikodomeo, is a verb related to the noun oikos, which is translated “house.” However, many English and Chinese translations often render this word as “edify” instead of “build.” Strictly speaking, the apostles did not use the word building in relation to edifying individual believers but in relation to building up the church—building the saints into a spiritual temple (2:21-22). This can be compared to building a house. The craftsmen labor to smooth the lumber and square the bricks for the purpose of building the house. When the house is built, we no longer see scattered materials; instead, we see a finished house that is built with various materials. No matter how valuable or beautiful a piece of wood may be, if it is lying on the floor, it is out of place, useless, and even an obstacle. Hence, all the material that the craftsmen “edify” must be built together into the house. Any material that is not built into the house is useless.
We have been believers for many years and have received much edification. However, we must ask whether we have been built up as the Body of Christ or whether we are only good for display. There are many attractive and expensive items in an antique shop. These items may be fine antiques made by skillful craftsmen. God has no desire to gain “antiques”; He has a desire to gain a building. Many experienced and spiritual Christians can be compared to fine antiques. These Christians have been edified and dealt with, just like stones whose rough edges have been cut and polished until they are smooth and pleasant to the eye. Such stones are precious. However, from the point of view of building, no matter how much a craftsman works on a stone, it does not fulfill the purpose of building the house if it is not built into the house.
Some Christians have not been edified. Other Christians have been edified, but they cannot be built up with others. Because God wants to gain a builded church, He needs a third kind of Christian. God needs Christians who have been edified and are willing to present themselves to the Body (Rom. 12:1). God needs Christians who are willing to present their bodies for the church life. What kind of Christians will we be? God needs not only spiritual, fine, and precious Christians; He needs Christians who can be built up with others.
We must see that God desires to gain a building. When a believer is willing to present himself, the church lays hands on him as an acceptance of his consecration. Such a laying on of hands emphasizes identification and blessing. The laying on of hands is also the church asking the Lord to give a member his gift, that is, to manifest this member’s function for the building. Furthermore, through the laying on of hands every member, whether or not he is precious, spiritual, or honorable, is built into one Body. First Corinthians 12:23 and 24 say, “Those members of the body which we consider to be less honorable, these we clothe with more abundant honor; and our uncomely members come to have more abundant comeliness, but our comely members have no need. But God has blended the body together, giving more abundant honor to the member that lacked.” Because God has special care for the less honorable members, He places and joins the honorable members with the less honorable so that more abundant honor may be given to the members that lack. God does not allow isolated honor; rather, He gives more abundant honor to the member that lacks and builds the honorable members together with the less honorable members.
We should ask ourselves, “With whom am I built up?” We may not be able to answer this question, because our natural life loves to preserve itself whole, to be isolated, and to not be built up with others. We cannot be “moving stones” in the church, who come and go as we please. A stone that is built into a house is steadfast. It is in the house when it is pleased, and it is still in the house when it is not pleased. It is in the house when strong winds blow, and it is in the house when there is heavy rain. Once a person is built up, he no longer has the freedom to come and go as he pleases. We are living stones for God’s building (1 Pet. 2:5); we are not unbuildable, moving stones. To be built together is to grow together. The laying of hands by the church on a person who presents himself is a declaration of the church that an individual stone is being put into the building. When a person asks the church to lay hands on him, he is saying that he is willing to accept the building of the church and that he agrees to be built up together with other saints into the church as a house. From the day that a believer consecrates himself for the building, he should be prepared to lose his personal freedom, to no longer be individual or closed, and to be completely open to the Body and its members.
God does not want to gain fine antiques. He wants to gain a building as His dwelling place, and this building is the church in each locality. The testimony of the church does not come from scattered, spiritual men, as we may imagine. God does not need an individual, scattered testimony. He needs a group of people built together as His dwelling place in spirit to be His corporate testimony. For this reason we must have a definite ground, and we must not carelessly establish meetings according to our will. We acknowledge that there is only one local church in any place. Whether a church is spiritual, childish, or experienced, the believers must be built into it and not have their own choice. To establish another meeting according to our own choice or preference is to damage the Body of Christ and destroy God’s building. We must never allow such a thing to happen. By the Lord’s mercy may we see that God’s salvation is not for individuals but for building His church.
