Although in the New Jerusalem revealed in the book of Revelation we see the precious materials of gold, pearl, and precious stones, with these materials we cannot see the intrinsic essence of the divine building specifically. The intrinsic essence of God’s building is actually the Triune God as life to us.
At the center of the New Jerusalem is the throne of God, and out from the throne flows the river of water of life (Rev. 22:1-2). The tree of life as a vine grows along the two sides of the river. As the book of Revelation indicates, the water of life in the river is for us to drink, and the tree of life growing along the river is for us to eat. To drink water is to take it into our being. Likewise, to eat something is to take that thing into us. By eating and drinking we are supplied with the essence of what we eat and drink. The river of life and the tree of life thus indicate the intrinsic essence of the nature of this city. This intrinsic essence is the Triune God Himself as our life and life supply.
In the flowing river with the tree of life we see the Triune God. This river flows out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. According to John 7:38 and 39, this flowing river is the Spirit. Hence, we have God, the Lamb, and the Spirit. This is the Triune God flowing to supply us with Himself as life. This flowing Triune God not only saturates us, but also supplies us with the divine essence.
We may use the petrification of wood as an illustration of how the flow of the Triune God imparts the divine essence to us. The flowing of water causes wood to be petrified. The flowing water saturates the wood with the element of certain minerals. As the wood is saturated with the essence of these minerals, it is transformed into stone. This is a picture of the flow of the Spirit bringing the divine essence into our being. This essence accomplishes the work of transforming us, people of dust, into precious stones. This picture helps us to see that the intrinsic essence of the composition of God’s building, the New Jerusalem, is the Triune God Himself as life and life supply to us.
In Revelation 22 we see that we need to drink of the Triune God. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul says that we were all baptized in the one Spirit and were all made to drink of this Spirit. Our destiny is to drink the Triune God. As God’s chosen people, we have been destined to drink the Triune God. This is our eternal destiny and our eternal enjoyment. For eternity our unique drink will be the Triune God as the divine life. Hallelujah for this all-inclusive drink!
In Revelation 22:1 and 2 we see that the tree of life comes with the water of life. God’s life is our drink to saturate us and also our food to satisfy us.
In the New Jerusalem the river of life flows in the midst of the street. This indicates that in the New Jerusalem we shall walk along the way of life. In this city there will be only one street, the street on which flows the river of life. The river is the river of life, the tree is the tree of life, and the street is the way of life. This way will direct, guide, regulate, and preserve us.
In the New Jerusalem the Triune God will also be our light. Revelation 21:23 says, “And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” In the New Jerusalem the Lamb will be the lamp in which will be God as our light.
In the New Jerusalem the Triune God will be our life to saturate us, satisfy us, and regulate, guide, and direct us. The Triune God will also be our light to enlighten us. Here we have the intrinsic essence of the New Jerusalem.
The intrinsic essence of the New Jerusalem should also be the intrinsic essence in the church life today. In the church life there should be the throne of God out from which flows the Triune God as our drink, with the tree of life as our food to afford us the way of life and the light of life. This is the intrinsic essence of the church life, the essence that transforms us into a pure golden lampstand today and that will transform us into precious stones for the building up of the New Jerusalem in the coming age. By this intrinsic essence we may live a life fully according to and for God’s New Testament economy.