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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Building the House of God, #8
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (I Peter 2:4,5—NIV)
It is obvious from the Scriptures that the purpose of the gifts and ministries is to build each member of the Body of Christ, each living stone, to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ.
It is clear also that the purpose of building each member of the Body to maturity is that the Father and the Son may have an eternal dwelling place.
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23—NIV)
It may be of interest to the reader to note that the Greek term translated "home," in the above verse, is the same word translated "mansions" in the King James Version, or "rooms" in the New International Version.
Now that we have established the purpose for the gifts and ministries, and the purpose for bringing the saints to maturity, let us think for a moment about the purpose for creating a house for God, for the Father and the Son coming to dwell in us.
The Purpose of the Coming of the Father and Son To Dwell in Us
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." (Revelation 21:3—NIV)
To understand what is going on here we have to realize that on the new earth there will be two groups of people, the saints and the members of the saved nations.
Of all the things I teach, the one that proves to be the most difficult for Christian people to understand is the idea of the saved nations, of there being saved people who are not part of the Christian Church.
The Christian Church is the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem, the holy city. In addition it is the tabernacle, the eternal dwelling place, of the Lord God of Heaven.
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (Revelation 21:9,10—NIV)
I cannot understand why so many Christians cannot grasp the fact that the new Jerusalem is the glorified Church!
Look at the passage above.
"I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."
"And showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem."
So it is beyond dispute that the new Jerusalem is the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.
Now, could anyone question that the wife of the Lamb is the Christian Church? I know some teach the Lord Jesus has two brides, a Gentile bride and a Jewish bride. But this is so contrary to what the Apostle Paul taught that it is useless even to discuss such an error.
To be continued.