God’s goal in His creation of man was to have a corporate expression of Himself. According to this goal, man was made in the image of God in order to be His testimony (Gen. 1:26). This means that man was destined to be the expression of God. Because Adam failed God in this respect, Jesus came as the second man (1 Cor. 15:47b) to take the position and function of Adam. Thus, the living person of Jesus is the expression, image, and testimony of God (Col. 1:15). In the same way, the church today is the testimony of Jesus, that is, His expression. In the first chapter of the Bible, man is in the image of God to express God, and in the last two chapters of the Bible there is a building, the New Jerusalem, to express God. According to the book of Revelation, God on His throne has the appearance of jasper, and the New Jerusalem also has the appearance of jasper (4:2-3; 21:11, 18). This means that the entire city is God’s expression in His image. By this we can see the consistency of the Bible from the beginning to the end.
No doubt, there is the matter of our personal salvation in the Bible. We were all lost, and we must believe in the Lord Jesus to be saved. To a certain extent, we also need to seek the Lord to improve our living and conduct. However, this is not God’s consistent goal. God’s consistent goal is to have a unique expression of Himself. Neither the sun by day nor the moon by night can express God. Even the myriads of angels are not qualified or destined to express God; they are simply His servants (Heb. 1:13-14). In the whole universe, only man has the destiny to express God. The meaning of man is that he is to be the expression of God. Man was created not merely to be saved, to go to heaven, or to be a good person with good behavior. Simply to be saved and have a certain behavior are far off from God’s consistent goal. We were all created in the image of God with the destiny of expressing God.
Moreover, the expression of God according to His consistent goal is not individualistic but corporate and collective. We may claim to be expressing God, but it may be in an individual way, not in a corporate way. From the first page to the last, the Bible reveals that what God desires as His expression is corporate. God commanded the Israelites to build only one tabernacle. At that time over a million people were traveling in the wilderness, and that small tabernacle was only thirty cubits long and ten cubits wide, smaller than a common meeting hall (Exo. 26:15-16, 18, 20, 22-23). Nevertheless, that small tabernacle was the unique center for the worship of God. As such, it was the unique expression of God. Since God is one, He did not want to have more than one tabernacle among His people. God is omnipresent, but He does not desire to be omnipresent in that way. We can never divide God’s expression. God is uniquely one, so His expression must also be uniquely one. Similarly, there was only one temple of God in the ancient times. Since there were twelve tribes, it seems logical that each tribe should have had one temple, just as in modern times the United States has fifty states, each with its own legislature. However, our modern wisdom is not superior to God’s wisdom. All the twelve tribes had only one temple, because God’s expression is unique.
Likewise in the New Testament, there is only one church, because there is only one Christ. In the Old Testament there were three unique things: one God, one tabernacle, and one temple. In the New Testament there are also three unique things: one Christ, one church, and one holy city, the New Jerusalem. When I was in Jerusalem in 1958, I went to see the spot where, according to tradition, Jesus was buried and resurrected. Upon this site is a building, and at various corners of it are sections belonging to different major denominations. This is a picture of the division among Christians. Nevertheless, there is one God, one tabernacle, one temple, one Christ, one church, and one New Jerusalem.
God’s intention is to have a corporate expression. Before I was saved, I was a fourth generation Christian in name and by tradition. As a child I was indoctrinated, drugged, and befuddled with every kind of concept from Christianity. Apparently these concepts were according to the Bible, but in actuality they were not. For many years I heard the preaching of pastors, ministers, and missionaries, but no one ever told me that we must be the corporate expression of Christ on the earth today. God desires an expression in this universe, and wherever this expression is, in each locality, it must be uniquely one.
John says, “I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 1:9). Almost all Christians today would say that they are for the word of God, but very few will say that they are for the testimony of Jesus. We are here not only for the word of God but also for the testimony of Jesus. Immediately after John declared this, he saw a vision of the seven lampstands, signifying the seven local churches (vv. 10-12, 20). The central concept of the first three chapters of Revelation is the seven lampstands as the seven local churches to be God’s expression. We must not think that God has changed His mind today. From the first page through the last, the Bible as the Word of God is always consistent concerning the one God, one tabernacle, one temple, one Christ, one church, one local church in each locality, and one New Jerusalem.
Many Christians desire to be heavenly and spiritual. However, the angels are the most heavenly and spiritual beings, having neither the flesh nor troublesome minds to bother them, but they are not the testimony of God as His expression. They are only His servants to minister to those who are to inherit salvation (Heb. 1:13-14). The testimony of Jesus is the church. According to most of the teachings in Christianity, the church is simply the gathering of the many saved ones who are ready to go to heaven. This definition is poor and is according to a fallen concept. A number of years ago in Taiwan, certain leading ones in Christianity rebuked me, saying, “You should not say that today’s Christianity is fallen.” I responded, “If today’s Christianity is not fallen, then what is? As long as any of us are not up to God’s standard, we are fallen.” Christianity impresses people mainly with personal salvation, at best. It does not convey any revelation concerning the testimony of Jesus. If we are in the testimony of Jesus, we do not need to focus on our personal salvation. Our salvation is secured by being in the testimony of Jesus.
The testimony of Jesus today is the church. This is not merely our own concept. If we read through all the sixty-six books of the Bible, we will come to the last book, Revelation. This book does not speak concerning personal salvation and personal behavior. The crucial matter in this book is the testimony of Jesus. We need not worry about our salvation. As long as we are a part of the testimony of Jesus, we are saved. Likewise, we should not worry about our holiness, spirituality, or any other matter. If we are a part of the testimony of Jesus, we will have everything.