In New Jerusalem we have the redeeming God. One day, because man had fallen, the creating God became the redeeming God. In Genesis 3:15 the redeeming God came as the seed of the woman. The seed of the woman is simply the redeeming God, God becoming the seed of woman to redeem us. This redeeming God is called the Lamb. John 1:29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!”
Revelation 22:1 speaks of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Both God and the Lamb are sitting on one throne. For years I was not able to understand how two could sit on one throne. Certainly they are not sitting side by side. Rather, God is in the Lamb. We know this by the fact that God is the light and that the Lamb is the lamp. The light and the lamp are not side by side. The light is in the lamp. This proves that God is in the Lamb sitting on the throne. Therefore, the two are actually one, just as the light and the lamp are one unit, one entity. In like manner, God and the Lamb are one entity, not two.
God in the Lamb is the redeeming God. For eternity in New Jerusalem we shall see the redeeming God, God in the Lamb.
Revelation 22:1 says that the river of water of life proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. For the water of life to flow out of the throne means that it flows out of God Himself. In order to understand this we must go back to the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John firstly tells us that God was in the beginning, then that this very God became flesh to be the Lamb (John 1:1, 14, 29). Furthermore, in chapter seven of John we are told of rivers of living water flowing out of our innermost being (John 7:37-39). The Apostle John tells us that these rivers refer to the Spirit. Therefore, in the Gospel of John we firstly have God; secondly, the Lamb; and thirdly, the Spirit as the rivers of life. In New Jerusalem we have God in the Lamb, and out of this redeeming God flows the river of life, the life-giving Spirit.
This is a picture of the Triune God. Out of God in the Lamb flows the river of life. This is the dispensing of the Triune God. Before God could dispense Himself into us, He had to redeem us. Thus, the picture in Revelation 22 reveals that the redeeming God is the life-dispensing God. The Lamb signifies redemption, and the river of life signifies the dispensation of life. For eternity, our God will be the redeeming and life-dispensing God. Oh, our God is in the redeeming Lamb, flowing out as the river of life to dispense His life into every part of the city. The tree of life grows in the river of life.
This is a portrait of the church life today. In the church life our God is the redeeming God and the life-dispensing God. Hallelujah, in the church our God is in the Lamb, flowing as the life-giving Spirit to reach us all. When this flow of the life-giving Spirit reaches us and gets into us, we receive the life supply and are nourished. We are satisfied and filled. In this way the Triune God is dispensed into us!
New Jerusalem is a square city with three gates on each of its four sides. The city proper is a mountain of gold. On the top of this mountain is the throne of God and of the Lamb, out of which flows the river of life. The tree of life grows in the river of life. The river of life flows out of the throne and spirals down the mountain, eventually reaching all twelve gates on each of the four sides. This indicates that the flow of the Triune God waters the whole city. Every part of the city receives the life supply, because the tree of life grows in the river and the river reaches every part of the city. The tree of life is not a tall tree; rather, it is a vine growing on both sides of the river. Only as a vine could its growth follow the flow of the river. The river moves in spiral fashion, and the tree grows in the same way. It is like a grapevine, making many turns as it grows along the flow of the river of life. Wherever the river flows, the tree of life grows. Thus, the supply of life is in the flow of life. In the church life today we have the flow of the river of life, that is, the flow of the life-giving Spirit. With this life-giving Spirit we have Christ as the tree of life to be our life supply.
The life, the light, the redeeming God, and the Spirit as the flow of life are all in the city. Where are you? Are you in the city? We all must answer, “Hallelujah, we are in the city!” We know that we are in the city by the fact that we are stones. All the twelve Apostles are stones, the foundation upon which we are built, and we also are stones (Rev. 21:14; 1 Pet. 2:5). The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are inscribed upon the gates of the city (Rev. 21:12). The twelve tribes of Israel represent the Old Testament saints, and the twelve Apostles represent the New Testament saints. The children of Israel and the Apostles are in the city, and we also are in it.