The Bible shows us that God’s coming to be man’s life is for His building. God is building His eternal dwelling place with Himself as life and man as the material. Therefore, on the one hand, life is a line that runs through the Scriptures, and on the other hand, building is also a line that runs through the Scriptures. Actually, these two lines are two sides of the same line; they are inseparable. Wherever there is life, there is building. Life and building cannot be separated.
From the beginning Genesis 2 shows the story of life by speaking of the tree of life; at the same time, it also shows us building materials—gold, bdellium, and onyx stone. When we first read the Bible, we may not be clear why it speaks of gold, bdellium, and onyx stone. But when we read further, we can see that these materials are for God’s building. This is because we see the manifestation of a building at the end of the Bible, one which has been built with gold, pearl, and precious stones and in which there is the tree of life.
In the universe the New Jerusalem shows us the story of life and building. Life is inward—the center; building is outward—the perimeter. Life is for building, and building is the issue of life. Therefore, these two points are really two sides of the same matter. We can never separate life and building. Where there is life, there is building. However, we need to look at these two lines separately so that we may understand them more clearly. In the previous chapter, we saw the line of life; now we will look at the line of building.
The Bible is the explanation of God; even more, it is the explanation of God’s desire. What does God desire to gain in the universe? This is a big question. Many saints have tried to tell us what God is doing in the universe, yet their explanations never hit the mark. In the recent years, we have gradually come to see very clearly, based on the Word of God, that God’s desire is to gain a city—the New Jerusalem. This is because the whole Bible, from the beginning to the end, ultimately shows us that God gains the New Jerusalem. God in Christ puts Himself into the city and makes His home in the city. When the city is manifested, God is fully satisfied. God can rest, because that city is also His resting place.
If we are willing to take the time to survey the entire Bible, we will see clearly the focus of God’s desire. In the beginning of Genesis, God did not have a home. Isaiah 66:1 clearly says that even though heaven was His throne and the earth was His footstool, He did not have a resting place. He did not have a place in which He could dwell; He did not have a place in which He could rest. He was a God without a dwelling place; He was a homeless God. Therefore, He created. In particular, He created man. If we read on from Genesis 1 in a thorough way, we can see so many pictures, each one being more definite and more clearly drawn than the one preceding it. The final picture will show that this once homeless God has been able to make His home in a city, a city that is His eternal dwelling place, His eternal resting place. Once we have gained this perspective, we will understand that God’s eternal desire is to gain a resting place. Therefore, what God is doing in this universe is building His dwelling place.
The Bible shows us two crucial points. First, God wants to gain a dwelling place in the universe; second, God is building this dwelling place with Himself as life. Therefore, in the beginning of Genesis, immediately after God created man He placed Himself as the tree of life in front of man for man to eat and receive. God put Himself in front of man in the form of the tree of life. According to His concept, God is not concerned with man worshipping or serving Him; He cares that man would receive Him and take Him in as food so that He can become man’s inward enjoyment and inward element.
God is doing this so that He and man can be built together. If He wanted man only to worship and serve Him, man would not need to be built by Him. In order for man to be built with Him, He must enter into man and mingle with man to become man’s inward element. Therefore, after He created man, He did not appear to man as One sitting on a throne to be worshipped and served. Instead, He put Himself as an edible tree in front of man to be received.
How do we know that His becoming man’s inward element and man’s life are for building? As we have said numerous times, Genesis 2 is a picture. In the beginning we see the tree of life growing, and later we see a river flowing. Both the tree and the river are symbols; they both signify life. Next, wherever the river flows, there is gold, bdellium, and onyx stone. These are materials for building. Later, when the children of Israel erected the tabernacle, the things inside the tabernacle were made of pure gold, and precious stones were mounted on the breastplate and the shoulder pieces of the high priest. When the high priest entered into the tabernacle, only pure gold and precious stones could be seen. Thus, we should realize that gold, pearl, and precious stones are for building. After the temple was built and the high priest entered into the temple with his shoulder pieces and breastplate, it was a scene still full of gold and precious stones. In the New Testament the apostle Paul says that the church is built with gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12). In the end, when the New Jerusalem is manifested, the city is altogether of gold, pearl, and precious stones.
Thus, when we compare the two pictures in Genesis 2 and Revelation 21, we see that the first picture reveals life and building materials, but the materials have not yet been built together. The final picture not only has life and building materials, but the materials have been built into a building. This shows us that God’s building is accomplished when He enters into man to become man’s element and man’s life. The entire Bible shows us that God comes to be man’s life for the sake of His building. God’s building work is being carried out in whomever has God’s life; God’s building is accomplished through Him as life.