The church in Philadelphia has been greatly misunderstood. Yes, it is the church of brotherly love. But what kind of love is this? Is it a mere outward embracing of one another? Is that genuine brotherly love? No, brotherly love is Christ Himself wrought into our being and lived out of us. In typology, our natural love is like honey and will never be accepted by God. The natural life and the natural love are not frankincense; they are the honey that is hateful in the eyes of God. Natural brotherly love is just as hateful to God as leaven is. Real brotherly love is the expression of the Christ who has been wrought into our being. Our natural essence and element must be carried away by the flow of the divine life and replaced with God’s divine element.
What is the significance of being made a pillar and of being written upon by the Lord? How can the Lord make us, who are so natural, being wood or mud, into pillars? The only way is by transforming us, that is, by carrying away our natural element and by replacing it with His divine essence. The meaning of the word make in 3:12 is to constitute us into something, to construct us in a creative way. This is transformation. As the Lord’s testimony in His recovery today, it is inadequate merely to be scriptural. For the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, we all must say, “Lord, I am here. I have seen the vision that I need Your petrification. I am wood and need to be petrified by You. Lord, flow through me and carry away all my natural being and replace it with Yourself.”
The epistle to the church in Philadelphia has never been as open to the Lord’s children as it is today. Throughout the years, Christians have lacked the genuine experience of God’s transformation and building. Due to this lack, there has been no understanding of 3:12. Again I say that it is only through experience that we have begun to realize the significance of this verse. Today in the proper church life the Lord is making us, mere pieces of wood, into pillars in the temple of God. This sentence is simple, but its significance is profound. In the church in Philadelphia the Lord is not correcting us or even just burning us. He is in the process of making us, old ones and new ones alike, into a pillar in the temple of God. This certainly means something. The only way the Lord can accomplish this is by being the divine flow within us. Not even the Lord can do a quick work in this matter. He patiently works Himself into us as the divine flow, not to correct our outward behavior but to carry away our natural essence. God does not desire the mere improvement of our behavior. Today the Lord desires the proper church life. For this, He is eager to get into us at this very moment. Do not wait until tomorrow and do not wonder about others. Look at yourself. The Lord’s work in the church is to work Himself into you as the divine flow to carry away your natural being and to replace it with His divine substance that you may gradually be processed by His transforming element. This is all we need. As God is transforming us, we shall become something else—the precious material for His building. The more we become this material, the more He will build us into His building. Ultimately, this building will become the New Jerusalem.
The Lord is labeling His work, writing a suitable designation upon it. After a carpenter has finished a certain object, he may put a label on it. That label is the designation of the very thing he has made. Likewise, the Lord is making us a pillar in His temple. In some future messages we shall see that the temple will be enlarged into a city. The whole city will be an enlarged temple. Hence, to be a pillar of the temple eventually is to be a part of the New Jerusalem. In 3:12 we are told that the overcomer in Philadelphia will be made a pillar of the temple, yet the designation the Lord puts upon him is not “the temple of God,” but “the New Jerusalem.” Ultimately, we shall not be part of the temple, but part of the New Jerusalem. What the Lord is making us in a creative way is the New Jerusalem. Sooner or later, the Lord will write the name of the New Jerusalem upon us. He will label us according to what He has made us.
All this is based upon a new realization and experience of Christ. Your experience of Christ may be too old. Whenever you stand up to testify of your experience of Christ, it is old. We all need some new, up-to-date experience of Christ. This new experience of Christ must be His making us a pillar and His writing the name of New Jerusalem upon us. This is a new experience, and because of it we have His new name. Only you know what this name is, for only you have had the experiences that produced it. We all must have these new experiences of Christ that we might become a pillar. I hope that many of us who have known the Lord for so long will say, “Lord, I praise You. I have never realized that I need Your transformation. Lord, I have been an individualist for all these years. But now I ask You to flow through me and carry away my natural individuality and to replace it with Your essence. I want to be transformed and built by You with other members in Your Body. Lord, I hate being natural and individualistic. I want to have some new experiences of the transforming and building Christ. I want to experience the transforming and building life of Christ.” Perhaps you have experienced the saving life of Christ. His life has saved you from sin and worldliness. But perhaps you have never experienced Christ’s transforming and building life. Although you have been saved from sin and the world, have you been transformed and have you been built up with others? Through the years, you have been natural and individualistic. May the Lord have mercy on us. We need to pray, “Lord, open my eyes that I may see a vision and experience You in a new way as the transforming and building life, that You may have the opportunity to make me a pillar in God’s temple and that I may become a part of the New Jerusalem.”