We must notice again that all the people of Israel brought their produce to one place, to the place chosen by God, to worship God and to enjoy the produce before God and with God. What they produced, typically speaking, was Christ, and what they offered to God was Christ. What they produced they offered to God to enjoy mutually before Him and with Him.
One of the offerings which God’s ancient children offered was rather distinct and special. It was the peace offering. In the peace offering there was something for the one who offered it to enjoy, there was something in it for others to enjoy, and there was also something for God to enjoy. If I came to offer the peace offering, there would be a part for me, a part for others, and a part for God. Read Leviticus, chapter 7. You will see that the peace offering is an offering to be enjoyed by the one who offers it and to be shared with others and with God.
Brothers and sisters, every time we come together to worship God in Christ, with Christ, and through Christ, we are offering Christ as the peace offering. And with this Christ, there is a part for God, a part for us, and a part for others. We enjoy Christ mutually with God and before God. This is the real worship, and this is the heaping of shame upon the enemy, Satan.
We must be deeply impressed with the word in Deuteronomy 12—it is extremely important. We must bring all our produce to the place chosen by God. What is this place? It is the place of God’s habitation. You must bring Christ to this central point; I must bring Christ to this central point; we all must bring Christ to this central place, there to mutually enjoy Him before God and with God. This will result in the habitation of God. We must realize that when we enjoy Christ not only in an individual way but in a corporate way, there will be an issue. The habitation of God will come into being. That means that on this earth, in this age, at this very moment, God will have a place to dwell. Brothers and sisters, when we enjoy Christ to a certain extent and when we come together to enjoy Christ before God and with God, this fact emerges—we are the habitation of God; God dwells among us. When anyone asks where God is, we may tell them to come and see. If we want to find a brother or a sister, we go to their home, their habitation. There we will see them; there we can commune with them. People today are asking where God is. They are saying, “You preach God, but where is God?” If we are those who enjoy Christ as the good land to such an extent that we come together upon the ground of unity to enjoy Him mutually with God, we will be the proper church. If we have such a situation and people ask us where God is, we can answer, “Come and see. God is in His home. Now God has obtained a dwelling place upon this earth.”
Let me illustrate. If you come to a city and wander throughout it day by day, having no certain dwelling place, it will be extremely difficult to locate you. A letter addressed to you could hardly be delivered by the post office. But if you settle down in a particular house on a certain street in a certain district, you will have a definite address. Anyone can locate you.
You and I who are believers are talking continually about God. But the unbelievers are asking, “Where is God? You talk so much about Him, but where is He?” You may answer that God is so great; God is omnipresent; God is everywhere. But I wish to tell you that when we enjoy Christ in a corporate way to a certain extent, God, in a certain and real sense, will be localized. He will have a definite address on this earth. You can say to your friends, “Come and see God. Come to the habitation of God. Come to His home.” The home of God is the very place where “Christ Incorporated” is. Wherever you go, if you can find “Christ Incorporated,” there is the home of God. Chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians tells us that when Christians come together in the proper way, people will come in and bow down, acknowledging that God is truly among them. In other words, they will confess that it is the habitation of God.
Of what is this habitation, this home of God, built? It is built of Christ mingled and blended with so many believers. With them, Christ is everything. He is the all-inclusive land to them. Christ is what they eat, Christ is what they drink—Christ is everything to them.
Take a healthy, American youth for example. Every cell in his body is American. He was born in America, he was brought up in America, and he is saturated and constituted with the produce of America. All his living has been reaped from the land of America. He has eaten American eggs, American beef and chicken, American potatoes, oranges, and apples, etc. Day by day he has been eating America, and day by day America has been digested by him and mingled with him. He has become a part of America. He is one hundred percent American.
In exactly the same principle, a Christian is a Christ-man. A Christian is one who day by day is eating Christ, drinking Christ, digesting Christ, becoming mingled with Christ. After some time, Christ to a certain extent becomes this man. If you are an American, you need not tell others. Most anywhere you go in the world, people will recognize you as such. There are certain distinguishing characteristics that mark you out as an American, one of which is the things you eat. In like manner, if you are Chinese, everyone knows it. If you know what the Chinese people eat, you only need to exercise your sense of smell to discern their origin and constitution. It is rather difficult sometimes to distinguish the Japanese from the Chinese. Just by looking at their eyes, it cannot be easily discerned. But if you are familiar with the diet of both the Chinese and the Japanese, you may distinguish them by using your sense of smell. The Japanese eat certain foods which emit certain odors, and the Chinese eat different foods which emit different odors. In other words, you become what you eat, and you are known by what you eat. Just as an American is something of America, so a Christian is something of Christ. This morning he eats a little of Christ, and this evening he eats a little of Christ. Day by day he eats Christ and drinks Christ. Christ is gradually digested by him and mingled with him so that he and Christ become one. Then when he comes together with other Christians who have done the same thing, he brings Christ and they too bring Christ. Christ is everything to them. Christ is their very constitution. Wherever they go, they cannot help but bring Christ. When they meet together, they offer Christ to God, they enjoy Christ together, and they exhibit Christ. Whenever they speak, Christ comes out. Everything is Christ. This is the habitation of God; this is the home of God.
It is abundantly clear that this is the real church, the real expression of the Body of Christ. It is a group of people mingled with Christ, saturated with Christ, enjoying Christ day by day, and coming together with nothing but Christ. They enjoy Christ mutually, and they enjoy Christ before God and with God; therefore, God is among them. At that very moment they are the habitation of God; they are His house, His home. The habitation of God is the temple of God. And if we have the temple of God, we have the presence of God and the service of God.