New Jerusalem is God’s Ultimate Building
New Jerusalem is a spiritual entity, a city built by God growing in His people with our cooperation. God’s Old Testament buildings were physical pictures but His New Testament building is spiritual—the Body of Christ to be a living expression of God in Christ.
The New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of all the buildings in the Scriptures. In the Bible we see the building of the tabernacle (Exo. 25:8-9), the building of the temple (1 Kings 6:1-2), the building of Jerusalem (Psa. 122:3), the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 3:8-9), the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:17), and in the New Testament the building of the church. The Lord Jesus told us in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His church upon this rock, and Peter indicates in his first Epistle that we are all living stones for God’s building (2:5)….The New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of building work throughout the ages.*
Jesus said, “I will build My church.” To do this He works in and through all the members of His Body. Not only are we the living stones for the living building, but we are also involved in the building work.
First Peter 4:10 exhorts us, “Each one, as he has received a gift, ministering it among yourselves as good stewards of the varied grace of God.” Each one means every Christian, everyone who believes into Jesus. We minister Christ as grace to one another and this builds His Body.
This matches Ephesians 4:16 which tells us that “the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.” This is the path to New Jerusalem as God’s ultimate building.
* From chapter 26, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.
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Posted by Don on October 24, 2022
