The fact of abiding is mentioned in the New Testament Epistles. After the Gospel of John, there are the Epistles of John. In his first Epistle, John covers this matter of the mutual abiding. We abide in God and God abides in us (4:15). How do we know that God abides in us and that we abide in Him? We know that God abides in us by the Spirit (3:24), and we know that we abide in Him by the anointing (2:27). The most important matter today is for God to abide in us and for us to abide in Him. God abides in us by the Holy Spirit, and we abide in Him by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
What is the issue of this mutual abiding? According to the last book of John, the book of Revelation, the issue is the churches, the temple, and the city. The book of Revelation mentions the churches (1:11, 20), the temple (3:12; 7:15), and the city (21:2, 10), which are different aspects of God’s building. The building issues from the mutual abiding. When we abide in God and God abides in us, we are built up in the divine life. In His resurrection, the Lord on the one hand is in heaven and, on the other hand, He is in us. These two aspects are seen in the writings of John. For instance, in John 21:22 the Lord, referring to the apostle John, said to Peter, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” If I had been there, I would have said, “Lord, are You not here? Since You are already here why do You say that You will come?” In order to answer this question, we must see the two aspects of the Lord. On the one hand, the Lord is in heaven; on the other hand, He is with us and within us. The book of Revelation discloses both aspects, revealing that the Lord is among the seven churches (1:13) and that He is also on the throne in heaven (4:2). If we would realize the presence of the Lord, we must see that He is not only in heaven but also in the midst of the seven churches.
In Revelation 3:12 we are told that if we realize the Lord’s presence, we shall be overcomers and pillars in the temple of God. A pillar is something that the temple relies upon. The temple simply denotes the presence of God. Hence, the presence of God depends on our experience as a pillar. In other words, we must be a pillar for the presence of God. Where the pillar is, there the temple of God is. This means that where you are, there the presence of the Lord is. If you are a pillar of the temple, then you are one on whom the presence of God depends.
Three names are written on the pillar mentioned in Revelation 3:12: the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the new name of the Lord. This means that this pillar is the victorious one who becomes the very expression and manifestation of God. Because he is the manifestation of God, the name of God is written on him; because he has become a vital part of the New Jerusalem, the name of the New Jerusalem is written on him; and because he becomes the new manifestation of the Lord, the Lord’s new name is written on him. The name of God is written on the pillar because the pillar has become the manifestation of God. Why is the name of the New Jerusalem also written on it? Because it has become a part of the New Jerusalem. Likewise, the new name of the Lord is written on this pillar because it has become the new manifestation of the Lord Himself.
In the last writing of John, the book of Revelation, there are the churches, the temple, and the city. The temple depends upon the pillar, which means that the presence of God depends upon the victorious ones. Where they are, there the presence of God is and there the New Jerusalem, or the building of God, is. The New Jerusalem is the ultimate expression of the mingling of God with man.
Now we must see how to practice this experience. We have already seen the way in the last two chapters of the Gospel of John. If we would experience God in resurrection, if we would experience God as the Spirit, if we would experience God in the way that God and we are mingled together, if we would experience being a pillar for the Lord’s presence, if we would experience the writing of God’s new name, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the name of the Lord upon us, then we, like Mary the Magdalene, must seek the Lord. Mary sought Him early in the morning. Along with seeking Him, we must believe that the Lord has been resurrected and that He is now with us, realizing His presence by believing, not by seeing. Do not be like Brother Thomas, who said, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will by no means believe” (20:25). We must believe in the Lord without seeing, feeling, or touching Him. Furthermore, we must attend the church meetings. Do not neglect the meetings. In the morning, we should seek the Lord personally in the morning watch, but in the evening, we must attend the church meetings.
As we seek the Lord, we should not be troubled by the practical matters of our living. In addition to seeking the Lord, believing in Him, and attending the church meetings, we must also trust the Lord for our living. Remember the Lord’s promise: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). If we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, God will certainly take care of our living. Do not go out on your own to fish. If you try to earn a living on your own, you will experience failure and eventually receive nothing. Remember that John 21 reveals that the Lord can prepare fish even on the land where there are no fish. The Lord will give us the fish which have already been cooked.
Finally, we must learn the lesson of Peter’s life and have the experience of being broken. Do not think that you are strong. You may be strong in your natural life, but this strength must be broken. The Lord wants your heart, not your strength. Our self must be dealt with until we love the Lord with our whole heart. We must love the Lord by giving up our strength. As we have seen, Peter had two great failures: denying the Lord three times in His presence and giving up the Lord’s commission and going fishing. Peter denied the Lord and then took the lead to go into the world to make a living. But the Lord met him and asked, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” (21:15). In chapter twenty-one we see that Peter had learned the lesson and had become a broken man. Then the Lord seemed to tell him, “Peter, you must follow Me, work for Me, feed and shepherd My sheep, and build up the church.”
May we all remember the five things which we need to experience: seeking the Lord, believing in the Lord, coming to the meetings, trusting in the Lord for our living, and being broken in our natural man. However strong, clever, and wise our natural man may be, it must be broken. We must forsake our natural strength, cleverness, and wisdom. The Lord wants our heart but He does not want our strength. When we think we are strong, we shall fail. Why must we learn the lesson of forsaking our natural strength, our natural cleverness, and our natural wisdom? Because the Lord Himself must be our life, our strength, our wisdom, and our everything. The Lord needs our heart to love Him so that we may cooperate with Him and give Him the opportunity to be our life. Although the Lord does not need our strength, wisdom, and cleverness, He does need our cooperation. If we love Him, we shall cooperate with Him and give Him the opportunity to live in us. Then we shall be the same as He was when He lived on earth. As He lived by the life of God, so we shall live by the life of Christ. Then we shall experience resurrection. We shall experience that the Lord is not only God in man but also life in death and resurrection in the Spirit. If we seek Him, believe in Him, meet with the saints, forget about the matter of our living, and learn the lesson of denying the natural man, then we shall experience Christ as the resurrection in the Spirit. If we do all this, the Lord will be our reality. This is what it means to be a pillar for God’s manifestation, a part of the New Jerusalem, and the new expression of Christ.