In the foregoing message we considered a chart that presents a summary of God’s New Testament economy. According to this chart, the entire New Testament may be divided into three sections: the four Gospels as the initiation, Acts through Jude as the development, and the book of Revelation as the finalization. In the first section we see the Son with the Father and by the Spirit to be the embodiment of the Triune God in Jesus Christ as God’s tabernacle and God’s temple, living the life of God to develop into the kingdom of God. In the second section we see the Spirit as the Son with the Father to be the consummation of the Triune God in the church as the Body of Christ, the temple of God, the kingdom of God, and house of God, living Christ unto the fullness of God. In the third section we have the seven Spirits out from the eternal One and of the Redeemer to be the intensification of the Triune God in the overcoming church, consummating in the golden lampstands and the New Jerusalem. In this message, the last message in this Life-study of Mark, let us consider the intensification of the Triune God consummating in the golden lampstands and the New Jerusalem.
According to the record of the Gospel of Mark, the disciples followed the Lord Jesus in the way of being brought into Him. They were carried on by the Lord, the all-inclusive One, wherever He went. Hence, He brought the disciples into Himself. He brought them into His all-inclusive death, the death that terminated all the old things, and also into His all-inclusive resurrection, in which they were germinated to be His reproduction and continuation. In the book of Acts we can see that the disciples participated in Christ and enjoyed Him through His all-inclusive death and resurrection. Furthermore, through the disciples the church came into existence. The twenty-one Epistles from Romans through Jude are needed to define what is presented in summary in the book of Acts.
After the detailed definition in the Epistles, we have the consummation of God’s New Testament economy in the book of Revelation. In this consummation the seven Spirits, the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God, play a major role. Through, by, and with the intensified Spirit the church becomes a pure golden lampstand. This is a great matter.
The golden lampstand is a symbol of the Triune God. The gold of the lampstand signifies the divine nature, the nature of God the Father. The shape or form of the lampstand signifies the Son of God as the embodiment of the Father. The seven lamps of the lampstand signify the Spirit of God as the expression. Therefore, in the lampstand we see God the Father as the nature, God the Son as the form, and God the Spirit as the expression.
The lampstand not only symbolizes the Triune God, but also signifies the church. But how can a church full of saved sinners be a lampstand of pure gold? Yes, we all are saved, but we are still too natural, too much in the flesh, the self, and the old creation. How can people such as we become a golden lampstand?
Some saints have told me that they are discouraged and even disappointed with the condition of the church. Some have said, “Years ago the situation was hopeful, but now the condition of the church is disappointing.” If you feel this way, it is an indication that you do not see the sevenfold intensified Spirit. The New Testament does not end in disappointment. On the contrary, the New Testament consummates with a full hope, with the seven Spirits transforming a seemingly hopeless church into a pure golden lampstand.
In 1961 I wrote a number of hymns on the church and the New Jerusalem. I was especially happy to sing the hymns on the overcoming church. One day a brother said to me, “Do you mean that we can have the New Jerusalem today?” I replied, “Brother, I do not say that we can have the New Jerusalem today. But according to the book of Revelation, the churches in this age should be a miniature of the New Jerusalem.” I went on to tell him that I definitely believe that the church can be a miniature of the New Jerusalem. I hope that you all will believe the same thing. The New Testament ends with a word of encouragement. Praise the Lord for the sevenfold intensified Spirit in the overcoming church, consummating in the golden lampstands!