Crystallization-Study of First and Second Kings
Message Eight
Growing into a Holy Temple in the Lord
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Eph. 2:5-6 Even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
20-22 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.
Word of Appetizer
What is the meaning of “all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord”?
In Ephesians 2:20 and 21 we see that in Christ, who is the cornerstone, all the building, including both Jewish and Gentile believers, is fitted together and is growing into a holy temple. The actual building of the church as the house of God is by the growth in life of the believers. Today the church is growing. However, it is not growing in our natural life, but in the divine life, the spiritual life. The word “fitted” means being made suitable for the condition and situation of the building. As the Body of Christ, the church has been regenerated, and as the house of God, the church is being built. Apparently, growth and building are separate things. Actually, the building of the house is the growth of the Body. If the Body does not grow, the house cannot be built.
Spiritual Burden
Our being saved by grace, being raised up together with Christ and seated together with Him in the heavenlies, and having access to the Father are for the building up of the church, His Body, through growing into a holy temple in the Lord.
In God’s New Testament economy Christ as the cornerstone, in His saving us , first makes us living stones for the building up of God’s spiritual house and then, in the process of His transforming us, builds us up into a dwelling place of God so that He may carry out God’s eternal economy for God’s good pleasure.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Our being saved by grace, being raised up together with Christ and seated together with Him in the heavenlies, and having access to the Father are for the building up of the church, His Body, through growing into a holy temple in the Lord.
As believers in Christ and as members of the Body of Christ, we are “being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone”.
In Christ, who is the cornerstone, “all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord”.
Referring to the local saints in Ephesus, Paul says, “In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit”.
The Experience of Life
God enlivened us together when He enlivened the crucified Jesus; therefore, He made us alive together with Christ. When we contact God, we come to Him through Christ in the Spirit unto the Father; this is the Triune God in our experience and for our enjoyment.
The more God is added to us, the more growth He gives. The threefold God—God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—is dispensing Himself into us as life and as our life supply. As long as the processed and consummated Triune God is dispensing Himself into us as life, we are nourished and we grow.
Practice and Application
We should daily take time to absorb the Lord, take time to assimilate the riches of Christ. Our contact with the Lord should not be rushed. If we are in a hurry, we shall not be able to absorb much of His riches. We need to allow adequate time for prayer. This will enable us to absorb more of the riches of our God.
We must exercise our spirit to stay in His presence to absorb Him. We should not spend so much time in our mind, emotion, and will, but spend more time in our spirit to adore the Lord, to praise Him, to offer thanks to Him, and to speak to Him freely. As we fellowship with Him in this way, we will absorb His riches, and He will add more of Himself into us. The more God is added into us, the more growth He gives to us. This is the way God causes the growth.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 God made us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:5-6)
(Please illustrate that as sinners we need God’s forgiveness and justification, but as dead persons we need to be made alive.)
T2 If we would enjoy the Father in experience, we must be in the Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
(Please illustrate that in verse 18 the Trinity of the Godhead is implied.)
Day 2
T1 The revelation regarding Christ and the church is considered the foundation upon which the church is built (Eph. 2:20; Matt. 16:18)
(Please illustrate that what the foundation is in Ephesians 2:20.)
T2 To build the church upon the revelation received by the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20)
(Please illustrate that not the Catholic Church, the denominations, or the independent groups, are built upon the proper foundation.)
Day 3
T1 As the house of God, the church is being built (Eph. 2:21; 1 Cor. 3:6)
(Please illustrate that the actual building of the church as the house of God is by the growth in life of the believers.)
T2 The more we grow, the more we are built up (1 Cor. 3:6, 9; 1 Pet. 2:1-2)
(According to scriptures, please illustrate that growth and building are linked together.)
Day 4
T1 All the building is growing into a holy temple (Eph. 2:21; Matt. 16:18)
(Please illustrate that the phrase all the building refers to the universal church.)
T2 To be hold in position is not the same as to be holy in disposition (1 Thes. 5:23)
(Please illustrate the process of to be holy.)
Day 5
T1 New Jerusalem as the tabernacle of God will be the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17; Rev. 21:3, 22)
(Please illustrate that in the new heaven and new earth the temple of God will be enlarged into a city.)
T2 God Himself is the whole city of New Jerusalem, and also a living composition of all God’s redeemed ones (Rev. 21:3, 22)
(Please illustrate that on the one hand, we shall be the New Jerusalem; on the other hand, it will be God and the Lamb.)
Day 6
T1 The sanctuary is God’s dwelling place in our spirit (Eph. 2:22)
(Please illustrate that the church life today is in our spirit.)
T2 The temple and the dwelling place refer to two aspects of the same thing (Eph. 2:21-22)
(Please illustrate that . The temple is the place in which God’s people contact God, worship Him, and hear His oracle. The dwelling place is a place of rest.)
