In the previous chapter we said that the church needs not only to be edified but also to be built up, which is a step further than being edified. In this chapter I feel that I should address this matter more emphatically. I really hope that after these messages God’s children will all be able to see the need for the church to be built up and that they will have a deep feeling that no matter how much edification they have received in the past, they cannot become a dwelling place to satisfy the mutual need of God and man if they have not been built up.
Among the apostles’ Epistles in the New Testament, there are two that are concerned particularly with the building of the church. These two books are Ephesians and 1 Corinthians. Several portions listed at the beginning of this chapter are taken from 1 Corinthians, a book which speaks very much about the building of the church. The same is true with respect to the book of Ephesians. The matter of building is mentioned in a particular way in chapters two and four. For instance, chapter two speaks about our being redeemed and points out that we are being built together in the Lord into a dwelling place of God in spirit (v. 22). This indicates that the reason we were saved by God is so that He can build us into His dwelling place. Chapter four goes on to say that after His ascension Christ gave various gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ (vv. 8, 11-12), which is the dwelling place of God mentioned in chapter two. With respect to Christ, the church is being built up to be His Body, because Christ has committed Himself to the Body. With respect to God, the church is being built up to be the dwelling place of God with God Himself dwelling in it. Therefore, in order to be both the Body of Christ and the dwelling place of God the church firstly has to be built up. Hence, as saved ones, we all need to be built up before we can become the dwelling place of God. Moreover, all the gifted persons who work for God need to see that the gifts given by God are all for the building up of the Body of Christ. Therefore, they must always do the work of building, not merely the work of edification.
However, today the children of God lack the view of building. Almost all those who zealously pursue the Lord think that they will be all right as long as they love the Lord, stay away from sin, forsake the world, have more fellowship with the Lord, and learn to live before the Lord. They also think that it is enough if they live a sanctified and victorious life to please the Lord. Please remember that this is altogether according to the concepts of individual spirituality and edification. Brothers and sisters, please consider your Christian life. Is this not your condition? You thirst after Christ, pursue Christ, and learn some amount of practical dealing. However, if you seriously check the goal of your pursuit, I am afraid that from the beginning to the end it is for your self-edification. I am afraid you never have had the view that you need to be built together with your brothers and sisters. No doubt, sometimes you may feel that you need to be humble, gentle, loving, forbearing, and considerate when you are around the brothers and sisters. But the reason that you have this kind of concept is simply because you think that if you do not behave in this way, you will have problems getting along with them. You may have never considered the need to be built together with all the saints.
Not only are God’s children like this in general, even those who work for the Lord today have very little view of building. Often they think that it is good enough to preach the gospel and save some souls and do not think that they have to care about whether or not there is the building. They also think that everything is all right as long as they lead people to love the Lord and pursue after Him and that they do not have to be bothered about whether or not there is the building. Therefore, the goal of their work is merely to lead people to be saved and to be spiritual. Their only concern is how they can help people to know the Lord, to pursue spirituality, to serve the Lord, and to live for the Lord. They never consider the question of the building of the church or God’s desire to have a house among the saints. They lack the vision of building.
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