Home | First | Prev | Next

E. The Fifth Stage of the Lifelong Enjoyment
of the Divine Goodness and Kindness
in the House of Jehovah

Psalm 23:6 speaks of the fifth stage of the lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and kindness in the house of Jehovah. Surely goodness and kindness will follow us (the grace of Christ and the love of God will be with us—2 Cor. 13:14) all the days of our life (in the present age). Goodness refers to the grace of Christ, kindness refers to the love of the Father, and follow refers to the fellowship of the Spirit. Second Corinthians 13:14 reveals the move of the Triune God for us to enjoy all His riches. The grace of the Son, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit are with us. This is the fifth stage of our enjoyment of the Triune God in Psalm 23.

Eventually, this enjoyment will usher us into the house of God. We will dwell in the house of Jehovah (the church and the New Jerusalem—1 Tim. 3:15-16; Rev. 21:2-3, 22) for the length of our days (in the present age and in the coming age and in eternity). Our days are not only in the present age but also in the coming age and in eternity. We will live for eternity; our days will be that long. Today we are in the church. If we are overcomers, we will be in the kingdom of one thousand years in the New Jerusalem. Eventually, in eternity we will be in the New Jerusalem with all of the chosen and redeemed saints. God's house is our dwelling place where we enjoy the Triune God—the Son's grace, the Father's love, and the Spirit's fellowship. Today we enjoy the Triune God in the church, and in the future we will enjoy Him in the New Jerusalem.

If we are not in the church, we lose the shepherding of Christ. Outside of the church, without the church, there is no way for Christ to shepherd us. This is because He is the Shepherd of the flock, and the flock is the church. To get out of the church is to get out of the flock, and the Shepherd is always with the flock.

To be in the church is an enjoyment. Without the church, I would not like to live on this earth. Without the church, I would not have any enjoyment. Many people like sinful and worldly amusements, so they have parties and go to clubs. We do not do this because the church is our "club," the church is our "party," the church is our amusement. The best place for our amusement is the church life. If we decide to stay home in the evening instead of coming to the church meeting, we will suffer loss. To avoid this suffering, we need to come to the church meetings. In the church meetings, in God's house, we can enjoy the divine goodness (the grace of Christ) and the divine kindness (the love of God) following us (in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit) all the days of our life.

We human beings have to be social. If we are socializing in the wrong place, we will have trouble. The best place for us to be social is the church. The church is the proper society. Eventually, the church will consummate in the New Jerusalem where we will meet together for eternity.


Home | First | Prev | Next
Life-Study of Psalms   pg 92