Crystallization-Study of Ezekiel (2)
Message Eight
Being Measured by God’s Building
Scripture Reading: Ezek. 43:10-12; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Cor. 12:12-27
I. The entire Bible is a book of building; the main subject of the Bible is the building of God—Gen. 28:10-22; Exo. 25:8; 2 Sam. 7:12-14a; 1 Kings 6:1-2; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:21; Rev. 21:2-3.
II. The book of Ezekiel begins with a vision of the appearance of the glory of the Lord and ends with a vision of the holy building of God; this indicates that the glory of the Lord, the judgment of God, and the recovery of the Lord are all for the holy building of God—1:1, 28; 40:1—48:35.
III. According to the prophecy in typology in 2 Samuel 7:12-14a, Christ is both the One who builds the church as God’s house and the element with which the church is built—Matt. 16:18; 1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 2:21:
A. Christ is the house, His Body, and Christ is also the Builder—John 2:19-21; 1 Cor. 12:12; 2 Sam. 7:12-13.
B. Christ builds the church by building Himself into us, that is, by entering into our spirit and spreading Himself from our spirit into our mind, emotion, and will to occupy our entire soul—Eph. 3:17.
C. This building, a mingling of God’s divinity with our redeemed, resurrected, and uplifted humanity, becomes God’s habitation and our habitation—a mutual abode—John 14:23; 15:4.
D. Eventually, this building will consummate in the New Jerusalem for eternity, in which God’s redeemed are the tabernacle for God to dwell in, and God Himself is the temple for His redeemed to dwell in—Rev. 21:3, 22.
IV. The Lord instructed Ezekiel to describe God’s house to God’s people so that they would be measured by the house and be ashamed of their iniquities—Ezek. 43:10-12:
A. It was God’s intention to check the living and conduct of the people of Israel by the house; in the book of Ezekiel God measured His people by the temple:
1. Because the house of God was to be their regulation, God charged Ezekiel to show them the design of the house—v. 11.
2. The temple of God is a pattern, and if the people examine themselves in light of this pattern, they will know their shortcomings—vv. 10-12.
3. The living of the people must match the temple of God—1 Cor. 3:16-17.
B. We need to see from the book of Ezekiel that the requirements of the indwelling Christ are according to His house; everyone must be measured and checked according to the measurement of God’s house—43:10:
1. Our behavior and conduct should be examined not only according to moral regulations and spiritual principles but also according to the church, the house of God—1 Tim. 3:15-16.
2. Our main concern should not be with behaving ourselves or with becoming spiritual but with fitting into God’s house—1 Cor. 14:12:
a. We may not have “latticed windows,” which signify the fellowship of the life-giving Spirit keeping the opening for the divine communication and protecting from the invasion of all negative matters—Ezek. 40:16.
b. We need to check our humanity by the building and take the humanity of Jesus as our humanity—Phil. 2:5-8.
c. We may realize that we are still “smooth wood” that has not experienced God’s “carving” and thus does not have the expression of Christ’s glorious image and glorious victory, signified by the cherubim and palm trees carved into the walls—Ezek. 41:18.
d. We need to be measured to see if we are “wood” of an appropriate measure and are not independent but built in.
3. If what we are and what we do cannot match God’s building, it amounts to nothing in the sight of God—Eph. 4:16; 1 Cor. 8:1b; 12:28—13:3; 16:14.
C. “This is the law of the house: Its entire area on the top of and all around the mountain shall be most holy. Indeed this is the law of the house”—Ezek. 43:12:
1. To be on the mountain is to be in resurrection and in the position of ascension; this indicates that the church must be high, on the top of the mountain—Eph. 2:5-6.
2. The church must also be holy, separated and sanctified from anything worldly—1 Cor. 3:17.
3. The law of God’s house is related to God’s character:
a. God is a God of height, that is, in resurrection and ascension, and He is a God who is holy.
b. Likewise, in position the church is high, and in nature the church is most holy.
c. If in our church life we are in resurrection and in the position of ascension and if we are most holy, then we can be God’s habitation.
D. Most believers today feel that moral regulations and spiritual principles are sufficient as rules of behavior and conduct; few realize that our behavior and conduct should be examined not only according to moral regulations and spiritual principles but also according to the church, the house of God—14:4-5, 12, 26; Rom. 14:19; 15:2.
E. Today the Lord’s concern is not the law—it is the house; His concern is not spirituality—it is the church—Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:12, 16:
1. The Lord cares for the church—the place of His throne, the place of the soles of His feet, and the place where He can dwell for rest and satisfaction—Ezek. 43:7.
2. Because the Lord cares so much for the church, His house, we also should care for the church as His house and fashion ourselves according to it—Eph. 2:21-22.
V. The Body life is the greatest test of our spirituality; if we cannot pass the test of the Body life, our spirituality is not genuine—1 Cor. 12:23-27:
A. Spirituality is a Body matter; everything we have is in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body—Eph. 4:16.
B. In the Body there can be no independence or individualism—1 Cor. 12:21-22, 27; Rom. 12:5; Eph. 5:30:
1. In the Body life, individualistic thought and action are ruled out.
2. Individualism is hateful in the sight of God; the enemy of the Body is the self—the independent “I”—Matt. 16:21-26.
C. We must keep the oneness of the Body and practice blending, which is most helpful in keeping the oneness of the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:3-4; 1 Cor. 12:24b.
D. The reality of the Body of Christ is a corporate living of conformity to the death of Christ through the power of resurrection—Phil. 3:10.
E. The reality of the Body of Christ is in the resurrection life of Christ; the Body requires the believers to be absolutely in the resurrection life of Christ—John 11:25; Acts 2:24; Rev. 1:18; 2:8; Phil. 3:10.
F. Only Christ is the Head of the Body, and only He has the authority to direct the moves of the members of the Body—Col. 1:18; 2:19; Eph. 4:15.
G. We need to be Body-conscious and to care for the feeling of the Body and the peace of the Body—1 Cor. 12:26-27; Rom. 12:15; Col. 3:15; Phil. 1:8.
H. A basic requirement for the growth and development of the Body is that we recognize our measure and not go beyond it—Eph. 4:7, 16; 2 Cor. 10:13.
I. The Body has its proper order; thus, we should recognize and honor the order in the Body—1 Cor. 12:14-22.
J. Mutuality is the characteristic of the Body; our relationship in the Body is one of mutuality and interdependence—vv. 14-25.
K. The divine fellowship is the reality of living in the Body of Christ—1 John 1:3.
L. We need to care for the growth of the Body and the Body’s building up of itself in love—Eph. 4:15-16.
M. We should always consider the Body, care for the Body, honor the Body, and do what is best for the Body—1 Cor. 12:23-27.
N. The overcomers see the Body, know the Body, care for the Body, honor the Body, and do the work of the Body; they keep every principle of the Body of Christ, as the continuation and extension of Christ on earth, for the full expression of Christ—Eph. 1:22-23; 3:18-19; 4:1-6.