Peace and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:20b
28:20 ... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
God is with us always, even to the end of the age. It means He is with us from now on until the time when the antichrist reigns over the world. Moreover, He is with us until Jesus comes a second time on glorious clouds and we sit with Him on the throne of New Jerusalem forever.
1 Chronicles 28:20
28:20 And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God––my God––will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
Solomon is accompanied by God because of being strong and of good courage in building the temple until it is finished.
Now, we, the Church of God, must be strong and of good courage to get the accompaniment of God and His use in the building of the spiritual temple. The spiritual temple means the perfect body of Christ or the heavenly Bride who is ready to welcome Jesus’ second coming until we sit with Him on the throne of heaven.
How can we enter the building of the perfect body of Christ?
We learn from the building of the temple in the days of King Solomon.
1 Chronicles 28:11,19
28:11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat;
28:19 "All this," said David, "the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans."
The planof the building of the body of Christ must be according to the revelation from God, not from human logic. The revelation of God is to reveal the secret of His Word by a verse that explains another verse in Bible.
The revelation of the Word can be received only by faith, so we will go toward the building of the body of Christ. The faith is higher than our logic. If the faith can receive the revelation of the Word, our logic can too. For example, one who has doctoral degree in theology can receive the revelation of the Word. Knowledge can only be received by our brain, so it only goes toward physical or worldly things. The revelation of God’s Word cannot be mixed with the knowledge.
1 Chronicles 13:9-10
13:9 And when they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled.
13:10 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.
Uzza puts out his hand to hold the Ark of the Covenant that refers to the revelation from God. It means mixing the revelation from God with logic or human knowledge. Consequently, there is spiritual dryness up to perdition.
Who may build the body of Christ?
2 Chronicles 3:1
3:1 Now Solomonbegan to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
The steps of the building of the temple or the body of Christ are as follows.
God blesses you.
Matthew 28:20b
28:20 ... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
God is with us always, even to the end of the age. It means He is with us from now on until the time when the antichrist reigns over the world. Moreover, He is with us until Jesus comes a second time on glorious clouds and we sit with Him on the throne of New Jerusalem forever.
1 Chronicles 28:20
28:20 And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God––my God––will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
Solomon is accompanied by God because of being strong and of good courage in building the temple until it is finished.
Now, we, the Church of God, must be strong and of good courage to get the accompaniment of God and His use in the building of the spiritual temple. The spiritual temple means the perfect body of Christ or the heavenly Bride who is ready to welcome Jesus’ second coming until we sit with Him on the throne of heaven.
How can we enter the building of the perfect body of Christ?
We learn from the building of the temple in the days of King Solomon.
1 Chronicles 28:11,19
28:11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat;
28:19 "All this," said David, "the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans."
The planof the building of the body of Christ must be according to the revelation from God, not from human logic. The revelation of God is to reveal the secret of His Word by a verse that explains another verse in Bible.
The revelation of the Word can be received only by faith, so we will go toward the building of the body of Christ. The faith is higher than our logic. If the faith can receive the revelation of the Word, our logic can too. For example, one who has doctoral degree in theology can receive the revelation of the Word. Knowledge can only be received by our brain, so it only goes toward physical or worldly things. The revelation of God’s Word cannot be mixed with the knowledge.
1 Chronicles 13:9-10
13:9 And when they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled.
13:10 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.
Uzza puts out his hand to hold the Ark of the Covenant that refers to the revelation from God. It means mixing the revelation from God with logic or human knowledge. Consequently, there is spiritual dryness up to perdition.
Who may build the body of Christ?
2 Chronicles 3:1
3:1 Now Solomonbegan to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
- Solomon refers to the house of Israelor the chosen people of God.
The temple was built on the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite or the Gentile, by the mercy of God. - Ornan/ Arauna.
The Gentilescan take part in the building of the body of Christ only because of the mercy and trust of God which cost the sacrifice of Christ nothing may buy or replace. The Gentiles must minister in the building of Christ’s body with faithfulness and responsibility. It begins from marriage, shepherding, and inter shepherding. Not being faithful in the building of Christ’s body, the trust will be turned to others and there is no opportunity to get it back. For example, Judas Iscariot is replaced by Matthias and Esau is replaced by Jacob.
The steps of the building of the temple or the body of Christ are as follows.
- The building of the foundation.
2 Samuel 24:18,24-25
24:18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, "Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."
24:24 Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
24:25 And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.
There are two kinds of the foundation as follows.- David builds the altarthat costs fifty shekels of silver, and the plague is withdrawn from Israel.
The altar refers to the altar of burnt offering. It means we believe in Jesus and repent to return to God.
The requirement of repentance is “paying the price.” It means we must be willing to confess our sins to God and other people. Being forgiven, we should not repeat the sin. Moreover, we must “pay the price” to forgive the sin of other people and forget it.
If we do not “pay the price” to repent, we will pay the more expensive price through experiencing the plague from God in the world, namely three times of seven plagues, until entering the hell.
The figure fifty refers to Pentecost or life renewal from water and spirit through being baptized of water and Holy Spirit. As a result, we get a new life in righteousness.
We also must “pay the price” through suffering in flesh in order to be baptized of water and Holy Spirit. Jesus must go to John, the Baptist, although actually He is higher than him. If we do not “pay the price”, we will pay the more expensive price through experiencing the plague from God in the world, until entering the hell.
If we are willing to “pay the price” to repent and live in righteousness, the plague will be withdrawn and there is no curse in our life. - The place to build it is on the threshing floor. It is a place to separate the grain and the chaff.
The chaff refers to the skin, namely Christians who are satisfied and proud of by physical blessings only, but not being filled with the true teaching Word. Consequently, they are empty and blown by the wind. It means being tossed to and fro by the wind of false teaching even rejecting the true teaching Word. Finally, the chaff must be burnt forever.
The grain refers to Christians who use the blessings of God in order to be filled with the true teaching Word. It means to hear and be obedient to the true teaching Word.
Haggai 2:19-20
2:19 ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty–fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid––consider it: 2:20 ‘Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will blessyou.’"
If we have the righteous strong foundation, the plague will be replaced with blessings up to our descendants.
Being blessed, we must be alert that we do not fall in the blessings. We must remember the One who gives us the blessings, namely God, through returning the tithes and offerings. We also must remember other people who need through giving the alms. - David builds the altarthat costs fifty shekels of silver, and the plague is withdrawn from Israel.
- The implementationof the building of the temple.
1 Kings 6:7
6:7 And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heardin the temple while it was being built.
The condition is in peace and holiness.
Hebrews 12:14
12:14 Pursue peacewith all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
If we live in peace and holiness, we will be able to see the Lord in His glory or shekinah glory, and He will provide all things we need.
On the contrary, one will not see the Lord but the faults of other people if there is no peace and holiness. There is Ichabod, namely there is no God’s glory anymore but the plagues.
The requirement of having the peace and holiness in the service and ministry to God is the irregular stones must be prepared in the quarry first. The quarry refers to the sheepfold or the Holy Place of Tabernacle. There are three kinds of equipment there which refer to the perseverance in doing three main services to Godas follows.- Golden Candlestick or perseverance in doing General Service.
- Table of Showbread or perseverance in doing Bible Study Service with Holy Communion.
- Golden Altar of Incense or perseverance in doing Prayer Service.
23:29 "Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "And like a hammerthat breaks the rock in pieces?
We experience the work of the true teaching Word which is as a hammer. It hammers us repetitively to destroy the hard irregular stones. Go does not want to hurt us, but He wants to be with us.
The stone refers to hard-hearted human. There are three kinds of the stone as follows.- Brick.
Exodus 1:11, 14
1:11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
1:14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage -- in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
It is used to build the supply cities. It refers to the hard-hearted human that is burnt by the lust of flesh, so he serves and ministers to God only to seek for physical blessings, not the Word. Such person does not minister to God but gets forced labor for Pharaoh or Satan. Moreover, it also means to leave the service and ministry to God only to seek for physical blessings. Consequently, he gets nothing, even he perishes. - Stumbling block.
Romans 14:13
14:13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling blockor a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
It means hard-hearted human who easily stumbles or gets angry and becomes stumbling block for other people. - Millstone.
Revelation 18:21
18:21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstoneand threw it into the sea, saying, "Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.
It means hard-hearted human who lives and sinks in the sins of Babylon, namely sins concerning eating-drinking, such as smoking, getting drunk, and drugs abuse, as well as marrying-being given in marriage, such as sexual sins with all its kinds, sexual deviation, and false marriage.
1 Peter 2:5
2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
How hard a human is, he will become a living stone someday if he is willing to be shepherded well and righteously or be hammered repetitively.
On the contrary, how great a human is, he will become hard stone up to the millstone Babylon uses if he is not shepherded.
The living stone means the priests and kings or those who are holy to bear the ministry and the gifts of Holy Spirit or to take part in the reconciliation ministry.
Ephesians 4:7,11-12
4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
The living stone is used in the building of the perfect body of Christ. It means our life are preserved, arranged well, and made tidy and beautiful.
For example, Daniel becomes the living stone, so he is preserved although he must be in the lion’s den.
Daniel 6:20-22
6:20 Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.
6:21 And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"
6:22 Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever!
If we become the living stone, God is able to preserve our life in any condition and make all things beautiful. - Golden Candlestick or perseverance in doing General Service.
- The finishingof the temple.
1 Chronicles 28:20
28:20 And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God––my God––will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finishedall the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
The requirement needed is being strong and of good courage.
1 Kings 8:6,10-11
8:6 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim.
8:10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
8:11 so that the priests could not continue ministeringbecause of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
We must be strong and of good courage to bear the Ark of the Covenant until we can enter the Most Holy Place, namely perfection. Afterward, we can experience the glory of God or shekinah glory.
Being strong and of good courage to bear the Ark of the Covenant means we keep on holding fast to the true teaching Word, so we are not tossed to and fro by other teachings or gossips. Moreover, we can keep on living in righteousness and not being disappointed or desperate in facing all things, but we can keep faithful and fervent in spirit. We keep on worshiping God and kneeling at His feet. It is the meaning of the term 'could not continue ministering' [1 Kings 8:11], that we kneel at Jesus’ feet the more, so He is with us to give us His glory, namely His name, eyes, and heart.
1 Kings 9:3
9:3 And the LORD said to him: "I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My namethere forever, and My eyesand My heartwill be there perpetually.
The heart of God means His love we can receive through the Holy Communion tonight. As a result, we can love other people as ourselves to unite with them. We can love God more than anything and unite with Him as John who leans on Jesus’ bosom; in the embrace of God’s hand.
Isaiah 46:3-4
46:3 "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb:
46:4 Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
The results of leaning on Jesus’ bosom are as follows.- God upholds our life. It means He has full responsibility of our life. His merciful hand determines our death and life or our beautiful future life.
- He bears us. It means His merciful hand bears our life that is weary and heavy laden, so all things become easy and light.
- He saves us. It means His merciful hand preserves our life from now on until the days of the Antichrist’ reigning over the world. Moreover, He is able to perfect us.
- God upholds our life. It means He has full responsibility of our life. His merciful hand determines our death and life or our beautiful future life.
God blesses you.