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The writings of the apostle John have a special place in the Scriptures. His Gospel is unique among the four Gospels, and Revelation, his last book, is the conclusion of the New Testament and of the entire Bible. In these two books there are two words which are the key words not only to these books but also to the entire Scriptures—they are life and building. In the beginning of the Scriptures there is a tree called the tree of life, and at the end of the Scriptures there is a city, a building. It is very clear that the building issues from the life. The life is for the building, and the building comes out of the life. This life is the Triune God. The Triune God is life to us so that the eternal building may be realized. These two words summarize the whole revelation of the Scriptures.
In the Gospel of John life and light are referred to continually. The end result of the life mentioned in John’s Gospel is found in the book of Revelation—that is, the building, the city. In the center of this building is the tree of life, growing in the flow of the living water, to nourish and supply the entire city. Thus, the last picture in the Scriptures reveals that the life is in the building. This life is God in Christ as the Spirit flowing out as life to us.
John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. According to this passage, the incarnated Christ is the very tabernacle. In Revelation 21 John saw the holy city and heard a voice out of heaven, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will tabernacle with them” (v. 3). In these two books written by the same person, we see two tabernacles. Christ is the tabernacle in John’s Gospel, and the holy city is the tabernacle in Revelation. The second tabernacle, the New Jerusalem, is the enlargement of the first tabernacle, Christ Himself. There is only one tabernacle, but it is manifested in two stages. In the first stage, from the time of His incarnation to His death, Christ alone was the tabernacle. Then came His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, descension, and entering into us as the Spirit, and we were regenerated. Now we are being transformed, and eventually we will be completely transfigured. At that time God’s work will be completed; that will be the second stage of the tabernacle. The tabernacle of the first stage, the Lord Jesus, will have increased to a tabernacle including millions of persons.
In that glorious day, Christ, who was the tabernacle in the first stage, will be the very center of the tabernacle in the second stage. Since Christ is the center in the New Jerusalem, there is no need of the sun or moon or any other kind of light in the city. God Himself is the light, and Christ is the lamp, the vessel to contain the light. As the light, God is the glory, and as the lamp, Christ is the container and expression of the glory. The city itself is a great vessel to contain the lamp. The lamp contains the light, and the city contains the lamp. As an example, we may consider a common light bulb with its shade: first, there is the electricity within the bulb; second, there is the bulb, the container of the electricity; and third, there is the lampshade surrounding the bulb. The New Jerusalem as the lampshade is the enlargement of the lamp. Christ is the tabernacle of God, and the church, the Body of Christ, is the enlargement of the tabernacle.
How may this one tabernacle be so enlarged? If we learn how to properly study the Scriptures, we will see the way.
Another expression of this tabernacle is the bride of the Lamb (vv. 9-10). John 3:29 tells us clearly that Christ will have a bride. The New Jerusalem is this bride. Consider the case of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2. We see there how Eve, the bride of Adam, came into being. When God created Adam, He formed just one person from the dust of the ground. Out of Adam He took a part, from which He formed Eve, and He brought her to Adam to be his wife. She was the increase, or enlargement, of Adam. Strictly speaking, the wife is not a separate person from the husband. Rather, she is the enlargement, the increase, of the husband. She is, therefore, the counterpart of the husband. Thus, the tabernacle is the bride, the increase of the Bridegroom. John’s Gospel makes this matter very clear.
Whereas the third chapter of John presents the Bridegroom and the bride, the twelfth chapter reveals the one grain of wheat that is multiplied into many grains. Christ is the one grain that fell into the earth and died. By death and resurrection the one grain is multiplied into many grains. We are the many grains produced from this one grain.
Going on from John 12 to John 15, we see one vine with many branches. This chapter reveals the principle of many in oneness. We do not see this thought with the many grains of wheat. A person may divide the grains. He may say, “I am a grain, whole and entire; I have nothing to do with you.” But remember, we are also branches, and the branches can never be divided. As a branch, if you have nothing to do with another branch, you will be dead, for we are all one in the one vine. Here again, the vine typifies the tabernacle in the first stage, and the vine with many branches typifies the enlarged tabernacle in the second stage.
Let us go on now to John 17. This chapter records the prayer of the Lord Jesus concerning oneness: “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 loved Me” (vv. 21-23). The Us to which the Lord refers in this chapter is He and the Father. In chapter 12 there are the grains, but in this chapter we see the formation of the loaf. As the many grains, we have been formed into one loaf, or one Body (1 Cor. 10:17). Originally, there was but one grain; now it has increased into a loaf. The original one grain is included in the many grains, and the many grains have been blended together into one loaf. In chapter 15 the oneness is somewhat apparent, but in chapter 17 the oneness is formed. This oneness that is formed is the enlargement, or the second stage, of the tabernacle. Our outstanding and desperate need today is to realize how we may become such a tabernacle.
In order to realize this oneness, we must learn how to enjoy Christ as our life rather than simply understand the doctrine concerning Him. We must know how to experience Christ by applying Him as our life and by living in Him. Because we were born of Adam, we are members of Adam. But praise God for the regeneration clearly revealed in John’s Gospel. John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh”—that is something of Adam. However, “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”—this is something of Christ. In the spirit we are a part of Christ, because in the spirit we have been regenerated by Christ and with Christ. Christ was the one grain, and all who have been regenerated of the Spirit have become the many grains of Christ. There are two potential conditions existing in every Christian: in the flesh we have the potential of being the members of Adam, whereas in the spirit we have the potential of being the members of Christ. In the flesh we live by Adam, but in the spirit we can live by Christ. In the flesh we live as the enlargement of Adam, but in the spirit we live as the enlargement of Christ. Here the secret is revealed: it is to live in the spirit.
Then we must go on to the reality of John 15: we must abide in Christ and let Him abide in us. First, we have life in the spirit, taking Christ as our life. Then we must learn to abide in Christ and let Him abide in us. Such abiding requires the absolute denial of our self-life.
We have seen that God desires to build us up with Himself by being life to us in Christ. Christ came to be our life that we may have life and that we may have it abundantly (10:10). How do we receive this life? This very Christ is the Spirit, and this Spirit enters into our spirit at the time we believe. Thus, our spirit is reborn, or regenerated, of Him. From this time forth He is the life-giving Spirit in our spirit. We need only to learn how to live by this spirit, no longer living by our self, our flesh. By this spirit we must learn to abide in Christ and let Him abide in us. We need to practice this abiding. If we live in this way, we will realize how much we need the other members. We will have a deep sense that we need others, that we cannot live by ourselves.
Christians today like to talk about loving one another, and some do indeed love others. But such love is not the love that is mentioned by the Lord Jesus in John 15. Even in human society there is a mutual love that is similar to the love of most Christians. The love mentioned in John’s Gospel results from our abiding in Christ. When we abide in Christ, we sense our need for the other members; thus, we fellowship with others. Likewise, when they abide in Christ, they also sense the deep need of fellowship. Therefore, we have an abundance of mutual fellowship. Spontaneously, then, we love one another. This is the love that Jesus referred to in John 15:17. The kind of love manifested among some Christians is not a love for the Body of Christ, for it is not a love that comes out of Christ. When we learn to love not by our self but by taking Christ as our life in the spirit, and when we learn to abide in Him continually and allow Him to abide in us, immediately we sense that we need the members of the Body. We cannot go on without the church.
Sometimes we speak about paying the price or counting the cost for the Body life, the church life. There is indeed a price to pay, but we do not need to speak too much in this way. At least when we are considering the ministry of the Lord Jesus, we should not say much about the price. When we come to Paul’s ministry we shall see the cost—later we shall refer to this. Presently, we are dwelling on the fact that we are branches of the one vine. Is it a cost, a suffering, to abide in that vine and live by that vine? Oh, this is an enjoyment!
It is very questionable whether some so-called brothers and sisters have really been regenerated. They live as if they have become members only of the Christian religion. Of course, that is a real price, a real cost to them. They do not have a new life in their spirit, yet they are expected to have a new living. That is exceedingly difficult. It is like asking a dog to fly. If the dog could gain the bird’s life, he would need no command to fly; he would fly spontaneously. We must realize that we are regenerated persons and that this new birth is not a matter of religion. Formerly we were born of the flesh; now we have been born again of the Spirit. This means that the human spirit within us has been regenerated. Now in our spirit we have Christ as the life-giving Spirit, and we must learn how to live by this source, by this Spirit. We must learn how to abide in Him and let Him abide in us. Then we will love the church life. We will not say that it is a suffering but that it is an enjoyment.
Birds naturally enjoy flying. Of course, a bird needs to rest at times, but after some rest, it flies again. Sometimes we need a little rest, but if we try to rest very long without meeting together, we deeply sense our need of meeting with the saints. Regardless of whether we eat, drink, sleep, or exercise, we still must go to the meetings of the church. If we are abiding in Christ and He is abiding in us, we will realize the church life. By such mutual abiding, Christ will grow in us, and we will become a part of the increase of Christ. This is the whole message of John’s Gospel.
The Gospel of John reveals that the incarnated Christ is the tabernacle of God, the vessel containing God. This very Christ has come into us, into our spirit, as the seed of life. We must learn to live by Him in our spirit and not live by our own life in the flesh. Then we will enjoy all that He is, and we will deeply sense our need of the other grains, the other branches. We will spontaneously love others, and they will love us. Then together we will have the proper church life. In this way, day by day Christ will grow in us, and we will be transformed from Adam’s nature into Christ’s nature. We will gradually be translated from Adam into Christ, and we will be a real part of the increase of Christ. All of us together with Christ will be one in the Spirit, and this will be the real building of God, the real mingling of God with us. This is God’s dwelling place, the tabernacle, the temple of God.
These things are so simple and clear; we must not make them complicated. We must not merely think of these things but practically apply them. Christ as the life-giving Spirit first enters into our spirit, and our spirit is regenerated (John 3). From that time, He is the life within us, He is the strengthening power (ch. 5), He is the food of life (ch. 6), He is the living water (ch. 7), and He is the light within us (ch. 8). In fact, He is everything to us. But the secret, the one condition, is that we learn to live by Him rather than by our old life. Then we will become a real grain and a real branch of Christ. We will be a grain blended with other grains, and a branch growing with other branches. We will be one in reality with others in the Spirit. This is the enlargement of the tabernacle, and this is the New Jerusalem.
In the so-called churches of today we hear too many doctrines and too many messages that do not help us. We must learn to live in the simple way and help others to live in this way, for then, wherever we are, there will be a wonderful church life, and there will be a real building up of the church. The church life, the real church building, is not realized by organization, gifts, or teaching. It is realized only by taking Christ as our life, living by Him, abiding in Him, and allowing Him to abide in us as the Spirit. This is the unique need today.
Most Christians know that the Gospel of John speaks of the matter of life, but how many have seen the building revealed in this Gospel? We must remember that the life is for the building. The Lord Jesus told the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (2:19). The Lord did build up God’s temple in resurrection; the temple is Himself with His Body, the church. This is the building.
Some Christians ask how to start or organize a church. We cannot form or organize a church. We can do nothing but learn how to live by Christ, taking Him as our life, and seek to help others live by this life. If we can do this, the real oneness will be realized, and we will have the church.
John’s Gospel is not a book of teachings or gifts. In the Gospel of John and in Revelation as well, we do not see the teachings or the gifts but the life. John’s ministry was a ministry of the mending of life. There are many holes in us; there are many broken things, which need to be mended. The more gifts we have, the more holes we will have. Gifts bring in the breaks, the divisions. We can only be mended by the ministry of life.
First Corinthians speaks of the matter of divisions and shows that the cause of the divisions was the gifts. In 1 Corinthians Paul says that the Corinthian believers did not lack in any gift (1:7). They had all the gifts, and they paid too much attention to the gifts and overused the gifts; therefore, there were divisions. They needed the ministry of mending, and the apostle Paul ministered to them in this way. Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians is the ministry of mending, the mending by love in life. The breaks and holes must be mended by love in life. Although we may speak in tongues and speak even the language of the angels, if we do not have love in life, we are like sounding brass, a sound without the life. How different this is from a branch in the vine or a grain of wheat—they both quietly live by Christ.
It is by life that the building is realized. Let us take for example two local churches: in one church, the brothers seek to go on in the way of the grains and the branches. They live quietly, take Christ as their life, abide in Him, and allow Him to abide in them. In the other church the brothers take the way of gifts, speaking in tongues every day. After three years have passed, you will see a great difference between these two groups. The gift-centered group will either be dispersed or dissolved. But the group centered and living in Christ will continue to grow. We are not opposing the speaking in tongues, but we are much concerned lest we waste our time. We can never have a proper building of the church by teachings or by gifts. The only way is to live by the inner life. It may seem slow, but it is steady and it will hit the mark. The only way to obtain the goal of the proper church life is to go on steadfastly in the way of life.
We live today in an environment full of confusion and division. In such a situation the building up of the church desperately needs the mending ministry of life. Life, which issues in building, is the central message of the entire Scriptures. First in Genesis 2 and finally in Revelation 22, we see the tree of life. We must realize and practice this secret of life. By regeneration another source of life, Christ Himself as the life-giving Spirit, has come to live in our spirit. Now we must learn to live in the spirit, living by Christ rather than by ourselves. As we thus abide in Him, we sense the need for the church life, and as we continue abiding, we will have the church life in a proper way. The spontaneous issue will be the real building up of the church. Then we will be the enlarged tabernacle, the corporate expression of Christ. Wherever we are located, we will be together with other Christians as the living and proper church, a real expression of Christ, a real glory to God, and a real blessing to those who are seeking the Lord.
In a certain sense we do need the teachings, and occasionally we need the gifts. But the central requirement for the building up of the church today is the mending ministry of life. It is in this ministry that we experience Christ as our life and as the tabernacle, the dwelling of God. By this ministry we will have the enlarged tabernacle as the very expression of Christ. I am convinced that it is God’s intention to have such a building on this earth today. By taking Christ as our life, we will all become a real, practical, living part of this greater tabernacle.
