The final need of the seeking one is the building up. We may be like a company of horses, or so improved that we are like a dove or even a palanquin, but we still need to go on to be the city! The building up of the city should be our destination. Our Christian life must continually improve until it reaches the building. Christians today have many different goals. But in the Word we see clearly that the destination of our Christian life is simply the building. There is no need to wait until eternity to reach this destination. The Word tells us that we should reach it in this age, while we are still living in the flesh. If we would read all the Epistles again with the viewpoint of the building, we would see that they all are for this destination. They all point toward the goal of the building.
Consider the arrangement of the books of the New Testament. They are arranged very much in order, just like our body. Our head is on top, and our feet are on the bottom. In the same way, the book of Revelation is at the end of the New Testament. It is indeed significant that the four Gospels are at the beginning, followed by the Acts and the Epistles. The book of Romans does not follow the four Gospels. It was clearly the work of the Holy Spirit that all the books were arranged in such a good sequence. The Gospels are at the beginning, followed by the Acts, the Epistles, and then Revelation.
Christ as such a wonderful Person is first of all presented in the four Gospels. These Gospels are simply a record and revelation of such a wonderful Person. He is not only God, but also man. He is not only life, but also the way. He is not only the Savior, but also the life-giving Spirit. He is the all-inclusive One. He is the Triune God; He is the Father, the Son, as well as the Spirit! He is everything! He is our God, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord, our life-giving Spirit, our way, our life, our everything! Such a One is our humility, our patience, and our wisdom. He is revealed in a full record of four books.
After the revelation of this wonderful Person, the book of Acts shows the spreading of such a Person. He was spread to the north, the south, the east, and the west. He was brought to every direction and imparted into so many human beings.
Following the Acts, the Epistles tell us how this wonderful Person can come into us so that we can be built up together. 1 Corinthians tells us how He is everything to us, and how we must become precious stones to be built up together as God’s dwelling place. 1 Corinthians also shows us many distracting elements which cause Christians to be divided. This is why Paul told them, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly attuned to the same mind and to the same opinion” (1 Cor. 1:10). We need to be attuned to the same mind and the same opinion. Paul also says in Romans 15:6 that the whole Body needs to have one mind and one mouth. All these passages indicate the oneness in building up.
Hence, we see that all the books of the New Testament are arranged in a marvelous sequence. But this is not simply for the sake of appearance. It is for the building. I had been reading and studying the Bible for many years, yet I did not see anything about the building. Only in recent years have I begun to see such a central, solid, and substantial thing as the building in the Bible.
Now we can see that all the Epistles were written for this one purpose and destination. We all must reach this destination. How wonderful that we have received Christ and are enjoying Him as grace! But we must reach the destination, which is the building up. This is not something for the next age; it is for this age. And it is not something in the air, but solidly on the earth. By my experience, I can tell you that this is really substantial. It is so real, and it is so reachable. All the New Testament Epistles simply bring us to this one destination.
We all are familiar with the book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament. At the beginning, it speaks of the lampstands which are built up in different localities. The lampstand signifies the building up. In Ephesus there was one lampstand, and in Smyrna there was also one lampstand. In each one of the seven cities in Asia mentioned in the first chapter of Revelation, there was a lampstand. The lampstands are not for the next age. The Lord wants us all to be built up together as a lampstand in the locality where we are. Then, the book of Revelation ends by speaking of a city which has been built up with precious stones. Hence, it is right to say that the Song of Songs is an extract of the whole Bible. The Song of Songs also has a city at the end, and this city is the bride of Solomon. The city at the end of Revelation is the Bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:2). And like the Song of Songs, this city really looks like the dawn, the moon, and the sun. There is even no night there (21:25).
The New Testament shows that all other things are passing away. Only one thing is increasing, and that is the building. The more we grow in life, the more so many other things will pass away. Perhaps today we still hold on to doctrinal toys, but if we grow in life, so many toys will disappear. When a man becomes as old as I am, he has no more interest in toys. By growing in life, the toys of doctrines and gifts simply pass away. Eventually, there is only one thing left-the building up.
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