We can refer to the meeting hall in Anaheim to illustrate how God’s building is our protection. Suppose all the materials used in building the meeting hall were still lying on the ground. Then in case of a storm or heavy rain, the materials would be damaged. They would not have any protection. But since the materials are now part of the building, they are protected from the weather. The principle is the same with God’s spiritual building. If we want to be protected, we need to be built into God’s building. Our protection is not our spirituality; our protection is the building.
In my early years as a Christian, I did not see the crucial importance of the building. By the Lord’s mercy, I have loved the Lord from the time I was saved. For more than fifty years, my love for Him has never ceased. Furthermore, I have spent much time to seek Him. I have also pursued holiness, spirituality, and power. I read a number of books on these subjects. However, my pursuit of holiness, spirituality, and power resulted in failure. Eventually I learned that the only way to be holy, spiritual, or powerful is to be built into God’s building.
In the perfecting training messages we dealt with the problems of opinion and peculiarity. But no matter how much you may exercise yourself to solve the problems of opinion and peculiarity, if you are not built up, none of those messages will be of any help to you. Only as we are built up together can the matters of opinion and peculiarity be dealt with. As long as you are willing to be built into God’s building and actually are built in, the problems of opinion and peculiarity will disappear. Do not try to overcome these things by your own effort. Our unique need is to be built in.
As one of the leading apostles, Peter certainly learned a great deal in his life with the Lord. In his first Epistle, a short book of only five chapters, he speaks clearly of the building. He tells us that we need to be nourished in order to be built up into a spiritual house. In 1 Peter 2:2 he says, “As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word, that by it you may grow.” Then in verse 5 he goes on to say, “You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, into a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” According to these verses, the nourishment is for the building, the spiritual house, and the spiritual house is for the holy priesthood. In verse 9 Peter speaks of a royal priesthood: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” When we are nourished and are built up as a spiritual house, a holy and royal priesthood, we shall show forth the excellencies, the virtues, of the One who has called us.
To a very great extent, the efforts of today’s Christians to be holy, spiritual, and powerful are in vain. Many “how-to” books have been written to help believers to be holy and victorious. How much help is actually offered by these books? I would say that the help rendered is very little, if any. I can testify that I have read books in different categories of spiritual and biblical teachings. Furthermore, I tried to practice the methods recommended in these books. As I have already indicated, the result was failure.
Throughout the centuries there have been a number of believers who were truly spiritual. However, many of the biographies of certain spiritual giants are not altogether accurate. A biography does not always present a full and clear picture of a person’s life. After a particular spiritual giant dies, someone may write his biography. That biography may exalt that spiritual person too much. This kind of biography is different from that found in the Bible. For example, the Bible speaks of Abraham’s shortcomings and even exposes David’s sins. If you were to write a biography of David, would you mention his sins? Would you not rather hide them and perhaps exaggerate a little on David’s behalf? Sometimes a believer’s autobiography is more honest and accurate than the biographies.
Even with those who are pious and spiritual, there have been a number of shortcomings. Failures, of course, are different from shortcomings. A person may not have many failures, but he still may have a number of shortcomings. The shortcomings in the lives of even the most spiritual Christians are due to the lack of building up.
Years ago I stayed for a month at a place in England that was famous for spirituality. Yes, there was a certain amount of spirituality among the believers there. However, there was no building. There was much talk about spirituality, but there was no building at all. The dear ones in that place under the Lord’s hand had learned different spiritual lessons and had some spiritual experience. They learned how to trust in the Lord, how to be dealt with by the Lord, and how to experience the cross. They also learned about the life principles of resurrection. But even though they learned all these things, the result eventually was tragedy because there was no building.