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We must see that the church is the new man. In the past we clearly pointed out that the church is the Body. However, we were not so clear that the church is the new man. It was not until recently that the Lord clearly showed us that the church is not only the Body but also the new man.
Why are we pointing out this matter? We are pointing out this matter because when we read the Bible, it is not easy to find verses linking the church as the Body to the Spirit. The best verse one can find is Ephesians 4:4a, which says, “One Body and one Spirit.” From this verse, it seems that the Spirit and the Body are linked. It is also possible to see this in 1 Corinthians 12:13a, which says, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body.” In this verse we may also see a link, although this verse is not directly about the church but about Christ, because verse 12 explicitly says that the Body is Christ. In the past we said numerous times that Christ is not only the Head but also the Body. Christ is the church, and the church is Christ, because the church is the Body of Christ. However, we did not point out clearly enough that the church is the new man. In speaking of the Body, the emphasis is mostly on Christ. In speaking of the new man, the emphasis is altogether on the Spirit.
What is the church? The church is the new man. Where is the new man? The new man is in our spirit. In the past we heard many messages on the cross, on being broken, and on being dealt with. We were told that God deals with us through our wives, our husbands, our children, illnesses, and all kinds of adverse situations. There was nothing wrong with those messages, but there was a great lack in them. It is possible to be dealt with yet not be in the spirit. It is possible to be broken yet still not be in the spirit. Only in the spirit can there be the new man. The new man is the Spirit and is in our spirit. The Spirit in the new man is the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, who is the Lord Himself who went through death and resurrection. This life-giving Spirit in our spirit becomes the corporate new man. Therefore, the Lord is bringing us, step by step, from the Body to the new man.
Ten years ago we saw that the church is the new man, but we did not see it clearly enough, and it did not become a burden in us. I can testify that when I was releasing messages fifteen years ago, every time I spoke about the church, my burden was mainly on the church as the Body. However, today when I speak concerning the church, my inner burden is on the church as the new man. The new man is the all-inclusive Spirit in our spirit. The genuine church life is not merely a matter of receiving the cross, being dealt with, and being broken on the negative side, but a matter of touching the spirit on the positive side. It is not because we have been broken that there is the church. It is not because we have been dealt with that there is the church. It is not because we have been crucified on the cross that there is the church. No! Only when our spirit is released can there be the church. This is because the church as the new man is in our spirit. Therefore, we must turn to our spirit.
If we all could see this light and have a sufficiently clear vision concerning this matter, then we would not need to be dealt with so much by God, because by living in our spirit we would spontaneously put off our old man and put on the new man every day. Consider your experience. Is it not true that when you are truly in spirit, your old man is put off? Every time we are in spirit, we put off our old man and put on the new man. Once we put on the new man, the church becomes something practical to us—the church life. The church life is the living of the new man. How can we have such a living? We spontaneously put on such a living when we turn to our spirit. Once we turn to our spirit, we put off the old man and put on the new man.
From accounts of church history and numerous biographies, we can see that those who received the cross, the breaking, and the dealing might have gained a certain measure of spiritual edification for themselves, but they did not necessarily have the church life. Moreover, most of those who spoke concerning the cross, the breaking, and the dealing did not emphasize the church. Rather, they emphasized only individual spirituality. What God wants today, however, is not spiritual individuals. Instead, He wants the church life. We need to live in the spirit and put on the new man, because the new man is the church life. This is genuine spirituality. Our spirituality must be tested by the church. Any spirituality that cannot stand the test of the church is not genuine. Rather, it is a false spirituality, a questionable spirituality.
I have seen many people who were quite spiritual, but every one of them was individualistic. I ask you to consider whether the spiritual ones whom you admired from the past to the present were individualistic or not. It seems that the more spiritual people are, the more individualistic they become. They become so spiritual that they cannot respect anyone else. They do not admire anyone except themselves. Those who are individually spiritual have little respect for others. Consequently, they cannot get along with others. I do not believe that we have ever seen two spiritual persons cooperating with each other. This is because in the past those who spoke about the breaking of the cross and the dealings through the circumstances overemphasized individual spirituality. In their sermons they rarely mentioned that the breaking is for the church.
However, what the Lord is showing us today is that we should live in spirit and not emphasize individual spirituality. To live in spirit is to put on the church life. Whether or not we are spiritual, whether or not we are broken, whether or not we are under the dealing of the cross, or whether or not we are going through circumstances, we simply need to put on the new man to reach God’s goal. The new man is not individual but corporate, having been created with two peoples—the Jews and the Gentiles. You cannot find the new man in either the breaking of the cross or in the dealings of the circumstances. You can find the new man only in the spirit. You need only to be in the spirit. Then the old man is put off and the new man is put on. When you are in the spirit, you cannot be individualistic, and you also cannot help going to the church meetings and seeking out the brothers and sisters.
In the following sections we will study the Bible. In these days the Lord has given us fresh light in His Word. Therefore, we need to study the Word carefully.
Let us first read Zechariah 3. Verse 9, which is a wonderful Bible verse, says, “Here is the stone that I have set before Joshua—upon one stone are seven eyes.” This is very interesting. Have you ever seen a stone with seven eyes? What does this mean? Suppose there is a piece of stone here that grows eyes that can see you. Such a piece of stone must be living. Therefore, the stone with eyes in this verse is a living stone. It is very interesting that the Bible does not put the word living in the record, yet we are able to discover it in our reading. How do we know that this stone is living? We know because it has eyes. It not only has eyes; it has seven eyes. In the Bible the number seven means completion intensified. This stone is not only living, but its livingness is sevenfold intensified.
There is a stone, and upon it are seven eyes. Who is this stone? The verse continues, saying, “I will engrave its engraving, declares Jehovah of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” This stone in God’s dealing hand is a stone that removes iniquities. The iniquities of God’s people were removed in one day. Who is this stone? “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). This stone is the Lamb of God. Another verse that proves that this stone is the Lamb of God is Revelation 5:6. This verse says, “I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God.” The Lamb has seven eyes. Therefore, the stone with seven eyes in Zechariah 3 is the Lamb with seven eyes in Revelation 5. The Lamb is Christ. Hence, this stone is Christ. Christ is living, Christ redeemed us from our sins, and Christ has seven eyes.
Since Christ is something living and something for redemption, why is He a stone? This stone is for the building. Matthew 21:42 says, “Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner. This was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” The stone that the builders rejected is for the building as indicated by the builders’ original intention to use it.
Acts 4:12 says, “There is salvation in no other, for neither is there another name under heaven given among men in which we must be saved.” According to verse 11, this means that there is salvation in no one except the stone rejected by the builders. Those in Christianity often quote Acts 4:12 but ignore 4:11. This is because most Christian preachers preach salvation but not building. They preach about the Redeemer but not about the stone. Therefore, recently I released several messages telling people that our Savior is the Stone-Savior. Our Savior is a stone, and this stone is a living stone and a redeeming stone. He saves us not to bring us to heaven but to transform us, who are sinners made of clay, into stones with His stony nature and element. He is not bringing us to heaven. He is building us into the New Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
Ephesians 2:20-22 says, “Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone; in whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” The Lord Jesus has become the cornerstone for the building of the church.
First Peter 2:4-5 says, “Coming to Him, a living stone, rejected by men but with God chosen and precious, you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” This passage clearly says that the Lord is the stone.
Now we must find out what the seven eyes are. Zechariah 4:2 says, “He said to me, What do you see? And I said, I see that there is a lampstand all of gold, with its bowl on top of it and its seven lamps upon it.” Chapter 3 says that “upon one stone are seven eyes” (v. 9). Chapter 4 says that upon the lampstand are seven lamps. Can we say that the stone in chapter 3 is the lampstand in chapter 4? Can we say that the seven eyes in chapter 3 are the seven lamps in chapter 4? Yes, we can! We can say this because verse 10 of chapter 4 says, “Who has despised the day of small things? For these seven...” I believe that these seven refers not to the seven eyes but to the seven lamps, because chapter 4 mentions the seven lamps in verse 2 and then explains the meaning of these words in verse 10. These seven refers to the seven lamps. “They are the eyes of Jehovah.” Do you see this? The seven eyes upon the stone are the eyes of Jehovah. How could the seven eyes of Jehovah be upon the stone? This study of the Bible is truly wonderful. After reading the Bible again and again, we have discovered that the eyes of Jehovah are the seven eyes on the stone and that the seven eyes on the stone are the seven lamps on the lampstand.
The seven lamps in chapter 4 are, without a doubt, the seven eyes of God. These seven eyes cannot be another seven eyes in addition to the seven eyes in chapter 3. The seven eyes in chapter 3 are the seven eyes on the stone, and the seven eyes in chapter 4 are the seven eyes of Jehovah. Therefore, this implies that the seven eyes of Jehovah are upon the stone. Who is the stone? The stone is Jehovah! The stone is Jesus, and the name Jesus means “Jehovah the Savior.” Thus, the seven eyes on the stone are the seven eyes of Jehovah because the stone is Jehovah. The stone is Jesus, who is Jehovah—the redeeming Jehovah, Jehovah who removes our iniquities, Jehovah as our Savior, and Jehovah as the Lamb of God. Therefore, His seven eyes are God’s seven eyes.
In Zechariah 3 and 4 there are the seven eyes on the stone, the seven lamps on the lampstand, and the seven eyes of Jehovah. These verses show us that the seven eyes on the stone are the seven lamps on the lampstand, and the seven lamps on the lampstand are the seven eyes of Jehovah. Hence, these three refer to the same thing. The seven eyes on the stone, the seven lamps on the lampstand, and the eyes of Jehovah all speak of the same thing. What is this thing? The answer is in Zechariah.
Zechariah 4:4 says, “I answered and spoke to the angel who spoke with me, saying, What are these, sir?” What is the significance of the one lampstand with seven lamps? Verses 5 and 6 say, “The angel who spoke with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, sir. And he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says Jehovah of hosts.” This clearly indicates that the one lampstand with seven lamps is “My Spirit.” In other words, the lampstand with seven lamps is the Spirit of God.
Verse 7 says, “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain, and he will bring forth the topstone with shouts of Grace, grace to it.” The topstone is the stone on the top of a house. This topstone is the stone with seven eyes in chapter 3. Verses 8 to 10 of chapter 4 say, “Moreover the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it; and you will know that Jehovah of hosts has sent Me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice when they see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; they are the eyes of Jehovah running to and fro on the whole earth.” The plummet in the hand is for building. Hence, all these items are for the building of God’s temple. The stone having seven eyes, the lampstand having seven lamps, and the eyes of Jehovah are just one entity. This entity is the Spirit of Jehovah. In brief, the seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God for His building.
Now let us come to Revelation. Revelation 4:5b says, “There were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” This verse clearly says that the seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God. Let us also read 5:6, which says, “I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God.” The seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God, and the seven eyes are also the seven Spirits of God. Where did the seven lamps in Revelation come from? They came from Zechariah. Where did the seven eyes in Revelation come from? They also came from Zechariah. Zechariah mentions seven eyes, and Revelation also speaks of seven eyes. Zechariah mentions seven lamps, and Revelation also speaks of seven lamps. Furthermore, in Revelation we are clearly told that the seven eyes are the seven lamps. This indicates that the seven eyes upon the stone in Zechariah 3 are the seven lamps on the lampstand. Hence, the seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God, and the seven lamps are also the seven Spirits of God. The seven eyes and the seven lamps both signify the seven Spirits of God. This absolutely corresponds with what was written in Zechariah 4:4-6. In these verses Zechariah asked, “What are these, sir?” and the angel replied that they were the Spirit of Jehovah.
These verses show us that the lampstand in Zechariah 4 signifies the Spirit. In the Old Testament two lampstands are mentioned. One of them was in the tabernacle and later in the temple. The lampstand in the Holy Place within the tabernacle was also a lampstand with seven lamps. In typology, that lampstand denotes Christ. However, in Zechariah 4 there is another lampstand, and that lampstand denotes the Spirit. The lampstand in the tabernacle denotes Christ, whereas the lampstand in Zechariah 4 denotes the Spirit. Since both lampstands are the same, why is it that one signifies Christ and the other signifies the Spirit? This is because the two are actually one. That which is in the Holy Place is Christ, and that which has come to the earth is the Spirit. The lampstand in the Holy Place is Christ, and the lampstand that came to the earth for the building of God is the Spirit. The one in heaven is Christ, and the one that has come to us is the Spirit. The two are one.
How do we know that the lampstand is both the Spirit and Christ? We know this because Zechariah 4 says that there is a lampstand with seven lamps, while chapter 3 says that there is a stone with seven eyes. The seven eyes on the stone are the seven lamps on the lampstand. Thus, the stone must be equal to the lampstand. This indicates that Christ, who took away our iniquities, became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). In Zechariah 3 He takes away our iniquities, and in chapter 4 He has become the life-giving Spirit. When He went to the heavens, He was Christ, and when He comes to us, He is the Spirit.
I have spent much time to show you that in the Lord’s recovery today we should be engaged in the church life all day long. Today we are opposed for living the church life. Some have even advised me not to speak about the church. However, the more they advise me not to speak, the louder I speak. This is my burden, and this is what I speak wherever I go. In the West they call me a troublemaker, one who causes trouble. They are right. I hope to cause trouble among all the Christians, troubling them until day and night they have no peace, until the pastors can no longer function as such, and until the system can no longer continue to exist.
Do not think that I am the first troublemaker. John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus were also troublemakers. In those days when the chief priests were burning incense in the temple, they were at peace with one another, and everything was calm and peaceful. When John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus came, everywhere they went, they shouted, “Brood of vipers, repent!” Both John and the Lord Jesus were troublemakers. However, in reality they did not make trouble. Instead, they brought peace with them. When the Lord troubles you, you may feel bad at the time, but after the troubling, you will truly have peace. The church life is a peaceful life, a restful life. What God has in store for us is the rest of rests—the church life. We must enter into the church life so that we may enter into such a rest.
We all need to see that Christ is not only a stone but also a lampstand. The seven lamps on the lampstand are the seven eyes on the stone. Both the seven eyes and the seven lamps signify the seven Spirits of God for transfusing and infusing the things of God into us and for shining Christ’s essence into us. He not only removes our sins but also transforms us from clay into stone. This is the work of the seven Spirits. I earnestly hope that all the brothers and sisters could see this matter of the redeeming stone being a lampstand. The redeeming stone has seven eyes, and the lampstand has seven lamps. The seven eyes observe us, and the seven lamps shine over us. These are the seven Spirits of God. The Spirit’s shining shines God into us, and His observing infuses Christ’s essence into us, transforming us into stones good for God’s building.
This is not an ethical teaching, a religious teaching, or a teaching from Christianity. This is the revelation in God’s Word. We all must see this. The stone rejected by men and judged by God on the cross is the lampstand today. His seven eyes are seven lamps. When He observes you, He shines upon you. This is the work of the seven Spirits of God today. Hence, in order to have the church life and the reality of the church, the seven Spirits are indispensable. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7a). “The Spirit and the bride say, Come!” (22:17a).
Today in the Lord’s recovery we need to contact the seven Spirits for the Lord’s churches. When we contact the seven Spirits, we contact the stone; that is, we contact Christ, and we contact God, because the seven Spirits infuse God and Christ into us. We need to allow the seven Spirits to shine upon us and to observe us. When the Spirit comes, Christ comes. When the Spirit comes, God comes. When the Spirit comes, we become stones. When the Spirit comes, we become the building materials.
Now let us come back to the wonderful book of Zechariah. Zechariah 12:1 says, “Thus declares Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.” This is the only verse in the entire Bible that specifically indicates that God formed the spirit of man within him. This verse ranks our spirit with the heavens and the earth. Jehovah stretched forth the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him. The heavens, the earth, and the spirit are all equally ranked. Why does Zechariah mention this? Zechariah mentions this because this book speaks of God’s building, which absolutely depends upon the seven Spirits of God. On God’s side there is the Spirit of God, which is the seven Spirits of God, but on our side there must be our spirit. It is not sufficient simply to see the seven Spirits of God. We still need to see that we have a spirit. God has seven eyes shining upon us, and we have a spirit within us.
Zechariah 12:10 says, “I will pour out on the house of David...the Spirit of grace and of supplications.” In 12:1 our spirit is mentioned, and then in verse 10 the Spirit of God is mentioned. Our spirit is like a receiving vessel, and the Spirit of God is like rain poured out. If we would read the book of Zechariah as a whole, we would see that the building of the temple typifies the building of the church today. We would see that God’s building on earth depends upon the pouring out of His Spirit. Moreover, His Spirit in His building is the seven Spirits, the seven lamps, and the seven eyes. We can receive such a Spirit by the spirit within us.
Revelation 1:4 says, “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.” Grace comes from the seven Spirits to the seven churches.
Verses 10 and 11 say, “I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” John first mentioned the seven Spirits, and then he said, “I was in spirit.” Today we all must say, “O Lord, the seven Spirits are here, and we are also in our spirit.” This is sufficient, and this is the church life.
Revelation 2:17 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and to him I will give a white stone.” What is this white stone? This white stone is us! When we eat the hidden manna, the element of Christ as the stone enters into us. Consequently, we become stones. Therefore, the Lord will give us a sign—a stone. This indicates that we are stones in God’s eyes. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who hears is an overcomer, and he who overcomes will enjoy Christ as the stone with seven eyes. The essence of the stone will get into him. You are what you eat. If you eat fish, you will smell like fish. If you eat beef, you will gradually smell like a cow. What you eat becomes you. Our eating Christ as the hidden manna is for the building, in which Christ is a stone. Christ is the manna for our eating, and He is the stone for God’s building. What we take in is manna, but eventually the essence of the stone transforms us into stones. Therefore, the Lord will give us a stone, signifying that we are stones.
Revelation 3:12 begins, “He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God.” The overcomer is no longer just a stone, but the stone has become a pillar built into the temple of God. What is the temple of God? The temple of God is the church. “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” (v. 12b). Ultimately, the church becomes the New Jerusalem.
This is the Lord’s recovery today. This recovery depends on our touching the Spirit as the seven Spirits and the seven lamps in our spirit. If we open ourselves daily, then the essence of the stone will get into us. We will be transformed and will enter into the building. This is the coming New Jerusalem. The Spirit of God is the seven lamps, and the church is the seven lampstands. Therefore, the church is the development of the seven Spirits, and the church is entirely a matter in the spirit.
