Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 22 say, “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life.”
In this conference every evening we will focus on the building of God. In the meetings in the mornings we will give additional words concerning the building of God by reading some portions of the Scriptures.
We have just read some portions from John’s Gospel, John’s Epistles, and John’s prophecy. In these few days we hope to see the building of God in the universe through John’s writings. Why are we seeing it from John’s writings? It is first because the ultimate manifestation of God’s building is revealed to us in the book of Revelation written by John. The manifestation of the New Jerusalem is the completion of God’s building in the universe throughout the ages. This is shown to us by John. Hence, if we want to know God’s building, we have to read John’s writings.
Second, we have said repeatedly that God’s work of building in the universe is to have a dwelling place in which He Himself, and also all who belong to God, may dwell. Therefore, God’s work of building is to gain a place of dwelling. In the books written by the other apostles, we rarely see statements telling us that God abides in man and man abides in God. In John’s writings, however, we can easily find this kind of expression. John clearly and repeatedly speaks of God abiding in man and man abiding in God. This abiding has a very close relationship with God’s building. If we would know God’s building in the universe, we need to understand the matter of the mutual abiding of God and man. We must understand how God dwells in man and how man dwells in God. For this reason we need to look at John’s writings.
Third, from Genesis to Revelation we see that after creation the second step of God’s work is His building. The center of the matter of building lies in life. In the garden of Eden God had created everything, but there was no building. Therefore, God shows us that after He created man, He placed him in the center of the garden of Eden, in front of the tree of life. Anyone can realize that God’s intention was to have the man He created eat of the fruit of the tree of life that the life of this fruit would enter into man and be mingled with man as one. This mingling is God’s building. At the end of Revelation, when the building of God is consummated, there will still be the tree of life in the New Jerusalem. This tells us that there is a definite relationship between the building of God and life. God’s building in the universe is altogether completed by His coming into man as life. As food He wants to be received into man, be digested in man, and be mingled with man as one. This mingling is the building. God wants to build Himself into man and also to build man into Himself.
This is like a house built with reinforced concrete, which is built by mingling steel bars with a mixture of cement and gravel. It is the same with God’s building in the universe. God wants to be mingled and beaten together with man. How does God mingle Himself with man? He does this by coming to be man’s life in the way of food. He wants to come into man as man’s food and to be dissolved and digested in man to become man’s life.
The illustration of food that the Bible uses to refer to the mingling of God and man is very fitting, since nothing mingles with man as thoroughly as food. After food is eaten and digested by man, it becomes his blood, his bone, and his flesh, completely mingled with him as one. Please do not be offended when I say that we human beings are the result of the mingling of chicken, duck, fish, pork, and beef. Do not assume that you are only human. Consider how much fish, chicken, pork, and beef has been digested in you for you to be built up. When a person is born, his height is at most a little more than a foot, and he weighs seven or eight pounds. However, he later grows to be five or six feet tall and weighs well over a hundred pounds. Why does he grow taller and bigger? It is because of his inward mingling with a good amount of chicken, duck, fish, pork, beef, wheat, and rice.
This is a very good illustration to help us to understand how God comes into us and mingles Himself with us to complete His building. As food, God comes into us to be our bread and our life. In this way God continuously mingles Himself with man to the point that a building comes forth. This building is the New Jerusalem.
Therefore, it is hard to say what exactly the city of New Jerusalem is. There is a great dispute about this among Bible expositors today. Some say that the New Jerusalem is a physical place, while others say that it is just a symbol. However, we need to see this one thing: God is in this city, and the redeemed people are also in this city. In this city, God and the Lamb are the temple, and the redeemed ones throughout the ages are the foundations and the gates. Therefore, this city is the issue of the mingling and building of God with the redeemed ones. This is God’s mysterious building in the universe, and it is accomplished by God becoming man’s life and mingling Himself with man. Consequently, in this city there will still be the tree of life.
Please remember, the writings of John specifically cover this line. For example, the Gospel of John focuses on God’s entering into man to become man’s life. Therefore, when the Gospel of John talks about the Lord Jesus who comes to be man’s life, it says that He is the bread of life and that He is the vine. If you connect John 6—where the Lord says that He is the bread of life—with what He says in John 15—that He is the vine tree, you can easily see that He is the tree of life coming to be man’s life as food, as portrayed in Genesis 2. The tree of life is a tree, and its fruit is man’s food. This is exactly what John tells us—that this God who comes to be man’s life is the bread of life and He is also a vine tree. For this reason, in order to understand the building of God, we need to read the books written by John.
I will repeat again. First, John particularly shows us that the ultimate manifestation of God’s building is the New Jerusalem. Second, God’s work of building is to obtain a dwelling place in which both God and man may dwell. In the entire Bible, no one speaks more clearly than John concerning God abiding in man and man abiding in God. Third, God’s building is completed by God coming into man to be man’s life and by mingling Himself with man, which is precisely John’s ministry. These are the three reasons that we must read John’s writings.
Due to the limited time, in these messages we cannot read John’s writings chapter by chapter and verse by verse. Besides, reading in such a way may not make you clear. If instead we bring out and touch all the main points, you may have a better understanding. Therefore, I beg all the brothers and sisters to read through the Gospel of John and 1 John beforehand. I do not think this is a difficult task.