God’s work in the universe is to use the fullness expressed in His Son to build up the church as the Body of His Son, which is the fullness of Christ. The result of this work is the mingling of God with man through which God gains an expression. Therefore, the normal condition of a local church is that it mingles with God and expresses God. If we know the church, we will see that the church is the place where God is mingled with man and where man expresses God. A local church is not the church of God if it does not express God. The church of God is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all (Eph. 1:22-23). The church can express God only when it is filled with God.
The New Jerusalem revealed in the book of Revelation is the ultimate expression of the church, the manifestation of the church at the fullness of the times. The New Jerusalem shows the proper condition of a local church. In Revelation 21, the universe is in a new condition. The New Jerusalem is the aggregate of all the believers throughout the generations, the corporate body of all the believers throughout the generations in the new universe. Everything of God is in this corporate body, and through this new corporate body God’s splendor and glory are expressed. The content of the city is God Himself, the fullness of God; the expression of the city is also God Himself, the glory of God. Therefore, we can clearly see in the light of the Holy Spirit that the content of the New Jerusalem is the fullness of God and that the appearance of the New Jerusalem is the glory of God. Inwardly the city is filled with God Himself, and outwardly it expresses God Himself. This is a picture of what a local church should be.
In a normal situation a church will reach the state of being the fullness of the New Jerusalem. A local church should be as new as the New Jerusalem. The entire old creation will pass away and become new in God. Hence, there is the mingling of God with man, the mingling of the Creator with the creatures. The fullness of the Creator becomes the content of the creatures, and the glory of the Creator becomes the expression of the creatures. Whether we look at the church outwardly or touch it inwardly, what we see and touch is God Himself. This should be the condition of a church. Regardless of how we speak concerning the church, we must see that the church is the mingling of God with man.
From Genesis 1 until the end of Revelation, God has been working and revealing Himself continually, and what He desires to gain ultimately is the New Jerusalem. The church is a miniature of the New Jerusalem. In order to know the church, we need to know the meaning of the New Jerusalem. The church is altogether a new thing created in God. The content of the church is the fullness of God, and the expression of the church is the glory of God. In the New Jerusalem we see the mingling of man with God and we see that God can express Himself from within man. This is marvelous. The Creator and the created—God and man—are inseparable in experience. In the New Jerusalem who can say what part is man and what part is God? This is because God and man are one: God is in man, and man is in God. God becomes man’s content, and man becomes God’s expression.
How can God be mingled with the church and expressed through the church? In order to clearly see the mingling of God with man, we must look at Revelation 22. Revelation 21 does not clearly show the mingling of God with man. In chapter 22 the throne of God is the center of the city, a river of water of life proceeds out of the throne, and on both sides of the river of water of life is the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month (vv. 1-3). Hence, the throne is the factor of God’s mingling with man. The main factor of God’s mingling with man is God’s authority; God’s throne is His authority. Wherever God’s throne is, there is God’s authority. God can be mingled with man in the church because God’s throne with His authority is in the church.
All the problems in the universe are due to opposition to God’s authority. All God’s children should see that this is the basic problem in the universe. Satan rebelled to overthrow God’s throne and authority. In his evil intention, Satan led man to rebel against God and His authority. Mankind fell to the extent of collectively building the tower of Babel to make a name for themselves, openly and shamelessly pushing God aside to establish their own throne (Gen. 11:3-4). This was man’s ultimate rebellion against God and man’s negating of God’s authority to the uttermost. Throughout human history, man’s denial of God’s authority, his setting of God’s authority aside, offends God to the uttermost. As a result of their rebellion, mankind entered into a long period of darkness and chaos, lost God’s blessing, produced every form of corruption, and brought in suffering, death, and disaster.
The Lord Jesus came to the earth to accomplish the work of redemption. His life on earth was absolutely submissive to God’s authority. Jesus the Nazarene lived and moved on earth fully under God’s authority. His every word and action were under God’s rule, and He fully recognized God’s authority. He was a man with more than perfect behavior; He was a person completely under God’s rule. In the Gospels we see His absolute submission to God’s authority. Submitting to God’s restriction and rule, He passed through death and resurrection to save a group of people who became the church. On the day of Pentecost He caused these ones to submit to God’s authority, just as He had. This established God’s throne among them. God’s presence was fully in their midst as they acknowledged His throne.
At the tower of Babel mankind completely pushed God aside and negated God’s authority. However, at Pentecost some received God into them and fully recognized God’s authority. At Pentecost God’s throne and authority were established in the church. When God’s authority is in the church, the church is full of light, not darkness; full of life, not death; and full of God’s blessing, not cursing.
A church should be the place where God rules among men so that His throne can be established. In 1 Corinthians 11 the apostle Paul showed that the meaning of the sisters’ head covering in the church is to declare that God is the Head of the universe. God is the Head in the universe, and He has His authority in the universe. Verse 3 says, “Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.” Head covering is not an outward form; it is a real sign of our declaring that by God’s grace we recognize God’s authority and submit to His authority and to the establishing of His throne among us. This is the reason that the church is blessed. The main reason that the church can be mingled with God and can express God is because the church allows God to sit on the throne and rule within the church. This is an unchangeable principle.