After recovering the building of the temple, there is still the need to build up the city. Without the city, there is no protection for the temple. The temple is complete; it is the place of the Lord’s presence, where we meet and serve the Lord; but it needs protection. The wall of the city is the defense to the temple. Without the wall of the city, there is no protection.
This is a type which we must apply in the New Testament. In the New Testament, the building of the church is first mentioned in the Gospels. After Peter declared that Christ was the Son of God, he was told that the church would be built. The church comes after the knowing of Christ; after we experience Christ, the church comes into existence. At the same time the Lord told Peter that He would give him the keys of the kingdom. Therefore, the kingdom follows the church. These three things are necessary: Christ as the rock, the church, and the kingdom. Christ must be experienced, the church must be built up, and then the kingdom will be brought in.
In the Epistles, the church is the house of God-this is mentioned in both Ephesians 2:19 and 1 Timothy 3:15. But in the last two chapters of Revelation, there is a city. And in that city there is no temple (Rev. 21:22), because the city has become the enlargement of the temple. We know what Christ is, and in a sense we all know what the church is, but not many are familiar with the city.
Christ is the divine and eternal center. When He comes into me, into you, and into so many others, there is the increase of Christ. This increase of Christ is the church (John 3:29-30). Christ increased, Christ enlarged, is the church. What is the church? The church is the enlargement of Christ and the increase of Christ. We all are parts of Christ and members of Christ. My hand is a member of me and a part of me; even my little toe is a part of me because it is a member. Regardless of how small you are, as long as you are born of Christ, you are a part of Christ.
Sometimes people ask me what kind of Christian I am. What they really want to know is whether I am a Methodist, Presbyterian, or Baptist. The best way to answer is to say that I am a part of Christ. That is the kind of Christian I am. I am not part of a Presbyterian group, but part of Christ. We are all parts of Christ, and all of these parts put together are the increase of Christ. We are all parts of the Body, the fullness of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). If we look at a certain brother, we see a bit of Christ. All the bits and parts added together become His fullness which is His Body.
The church is the fullness of Christ, because Christ has been increased and enlarged into so many members. But what is the city? The city is a further enlargement of Christ. The first step of the enlargement of Christ is the church as the house. The second step of this enlargement is also the church, not as the house, but as the city. The church as the house must be enlarged to be the church as the city. The city is something larger and safer than the house. Eventually, the whole house becomes the city! Revelation 21:22 says that there is no more temple in the city because the temple has become the city. The city is the tabernacle, the dwelling place (Rev. 21:2-3). The city is the enlargement of the temple, the development of the house to the uttermost.
The building of the house and the city is the center of God’s eternal purpose. This building is simply the mingling of God with man. When Christ comes into us, that is the mingling. Christ mingles Himself with us. Therefore, the church is a mingling of divinity with humanity, a divine mingling of God with man. When this mingling is enlarged and consummated to the fullest extent, that is the city. So the city eventually becomes the mutual building, the mutual habitation, of God and man. God dwells in us, and we in God. Oh, this is really marvelous! This is the universal, eternal mingling of God with man. We are His dwelling place, and He is ours. On a small scale, this is the house, and on a large scale, this is the city.
The Bible from the first page to the last takes this as the central theme. I have mentioned before that the Bible is like a painting of a tiger with thousands of items in the background. The main figure in the painting is the tiger. It is not a painting of a mountain, a bridge, or some trees; it is a painting of a tiger. All these other things simply constitute the background. The Bible is a painting of the mingling of God with man. There are thousands of other items, but they are simply the background; they mean little. The main figure is the divine mingling. The mingling is of four figures: The first is God, the second is Christ, the third is the church, and the fourth and final is the local churches. These are the main figures of this biblical painting. It is the mingling of God with man. If we have the revelation of this mingling, the whole Bible will become transparent from the first page to the last. Otherwise, it is veiled to us.
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