Monday Evening, June 3, 1974 — Richmond, Virginia
Ministry through Brother Stephen Kong
Our Father, we do praise and thank Thee for gathering us here tonight. We do lift our hearts to Thee. We desire to seek Thy face, to inquire of Thee.
We do want to be transformed by the Spirit according to Thy image, from glory to glory, that Thou mayest be glorified. We just commit this time into Thy hands and trust Thee to bless Thy word. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
We have been fellowshipping this time on the book of Ezekiel. We mentioned last night the visions of God that God gave Ezekiel while he was among the captives by the river Chebar.
It was the vision of the glory of the Lord. The Lord was on His throne, and the throne was carried by the cherubim. With that vision, God called Ezekiel to be a prophet and commissioned him to go to the children of Israel to proclaim His word. He was appointed to be a watchman among his people.
Then this morning we shared together on one of the visions that Ezekiel saw afterwards: the vision of the valley of dry bones, and how God did the impossible—for these dry bones to come together, fitly framed and rightly joined. The Spirit of God filled them to become a great army of the Lord.
Now this evening, we would like to conclude our fellowship on Ezekiel with the last few chapters, from Ezekiel 40 to Ezekiel 48. We will not be able to read these chapters, but just keep this in mind.
We often say that there are four so-called major prophets in the Old Testament. Again, we say that these major prophets are so called because their books are more bulky—that is all.
But anyway, you will find that the Bible tells us of these four prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. To each one of them, God gave something very special.
To Isaiah, God gave him the revelation of the Redeemer. We call Isaiah the Paul of the Old Testament. Why? Because God gave him a vision of Christ, the Redeemer.
To Jeremiah, God gave him a revelation of the new covenant. With the Redeemer, we have the new covenant—not like the one that God made with the children of Israel when God took them by the hand in the wilderness and tried to lead them.
But God said:
I will put my law in their inward parts,
and in their heart will I write it;
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor,
and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord;
for they shall all know Me,
from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord:
for I will forgive their iniquity,
and their sin will I remember no more.
To Ezekiel, God gave him a vision of the temple—the city-house, the house of God. Ezekiel was basically, as we mentioned again and again, a priest. Even though he was called to be a prophet, yet in his heart he was always a priest.
He was not just there to announce the word of God or to proclaim the word of God. As a priest, he was trying to bring the people of God back to God. To Ezekiel, God gave a great revelation of the house and its service.
Then, of course, to Daniel, God gave a very special revelation of the kingdom to come. One day the kingdom of this world shall become the kingdom of Christ. One day all the kingdoms will be destroyed, and the kingdom of Christ shall be established on this earth.
So here, with these four major prophets, you find four different aspects of revelation. When you put them together, you have a complete revelation of what God intends to do.
Ezekiel 40 through Ezekiel 48 form a separate section. The occasion is found in Ezekiel 40.
In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me thither.
In the visions of God brought He me into the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south. And He brought me thither; and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee; for, to the intent that I may show them unto thee, art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.
It was in the twenty-fifth year of Ezekiel’s captivity. Ezekiel was taken into captivity when he was twenty-five years old, so he would have been fifty at that time.
The city and the temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed for fourteen years already. Well, that is a long time.
It seems like this: when everything seems to go on as usual, and what God has promised—that He will restore His people—does not seem to come to pass. He was twenty-five years in captivity, and fourteen years after the city was destroyed, God’s promise did not seem to come.
It was during that very trying time, waiting to see the fulfillment of God’s promises, that God gave Ezekiel these visions. These visions must have been a tremendous encouragement, lifting his faith.
In the Spirit, he was taken to a very high mountain, and there he saw a city. Actually, the city was a temple—a city-house.
There are different views concerning these visions.
Some people think that because so many years had passed and nothing seemed to happen, God brought Ezekiel, in the Spirit, to see once again the temple that was built by Solomon in order to refresh his mind.
Even though the temple was destroyed, God refreshed his mind by showing him once again, in the Spirit, that temple in Jerusalem. That was one view.
When he was taken into captivity, he was twenty-five years old. Evidently, he knew the temple quite well. Then God simply refreshed his mind by revealing to him the temple of Solomon.
But that is not likely. As you read the descriptions of the temple—the whole city-house—you find that it was quite different from that which Solomon built.
Then there was a second view. The second view was that God was showing the prophet the pattern for the house to be rebuilt when the remnant returned after the seventy years of captivity had been fulfilled.
But when the remnant returned to Jerusalem, what they built did not seem to fit with what Ezekiel saw in the vision. He had a world instead of a city-house; it was just a small temple.
Furthermore, in the rebuilding of the temple, we have no evidence that the remnant really had the pattern which Ezekiel saw before them. Remember, it was not too many years later—only perhaps twenty or twenty-five years later—that they returned to Jerusalem.
If it was God’s purpose that this was the pattern for the rebuilt temple, surely they would have had the pattern in their hands and would have tried to build accordingly. But they did not.
Not only did they not build such a temple, but they did not even attempt to build it in such a way. So it cannot be the temple rebuilt by the remnant.
So the third view came. The third view was that, before the second coming of Christ, God will bring His people Israel back to the promised land, as we have already seen to a certain extent.
Before the return of Christ, Israel will rebuild the temple, and that was the pattern they would follow. Some people call it the third temple.
Then some people say, “No. Even the third temple will be destroyed. Therefore, this temple described by Ezekiel must be the temple built by the children of God during the millennium.” It was a temple in the millennium.
So we can put these two views together: there will be a temple yet to be built. Whether it will be built before the return of Christ or during the millennium, we do not know. But it will be according to the pattern given to Ezekiel.
Now, brothers and sisters, I do not pretend to know, and I am not ready to argue whether there will be a temple rebuilt before the coming of Christ.
It is true that in different passages of the Old Testament, and even in the New Testament, there seem to be some hints about a temple. But we are never told how it is to be built.
The temple that Ezekiel saw cannot fit in literally in many ways.
First, if the temple is to be rebuilt literally and the sacrifices are to be restored literally, then we have a real problem.
Before the coming of Christ, God commanded His people to offer sacrifices. But all these sacrifices are types of Christ. The blood of millions—countless cattle and sheep—was shed, but the blood of goats and bulls actually cannot cleanse us from sin. They are just types of the blood of the Lamb of God.
When Christ came, He was the sacrifice of God. Because He offered Himself once and for ever, the work of redemption is completed. Therefore, there is no need for the shedding of blood and no need for sacrifice anymore. It is finished.
The whole book of Hebrews is based upon this very point. The old economy has passed. Why? Because the shadow has passed, because Christ, the reality, has already come and fulfilled it.
It seems to be against the very principle. Even if the Jews were to offer sacrifices and shed the blood of these animals in order to atone for their sins, that would be going backward. It seems to be in contradiction with the finished work of Christ. How can there be sacrifices since Christ has already been sacrificed?
If the temple is to be rebuilt literally, then the sacrifices will be offered literally, and you seem to contradict the very principle found in the Bible.
If you take this vision literally, then you will find that the temple to be rebuilt will be of such dimensions that it is a city. We are told that, if you were to build such a large place, Mount Zion would not be able to contain it. It is just too big.
Geographically, it is impossible. It is of such dimensions that, unless the land in that area undergoes a great change, the vision Ezekiel saw concerning the temple, the city, and the land cannot literally be fulfilled.
Third, in the visions given by Ezekiel, he separated the temple from the city. The temple stands on one side, and the city stands on another side. They seem to be two separate things.
But the temple built by Solomon was in the city of Jerusalem. Furthermore, you find that some laws of offerings were changed. They were different from what Moses had commanded.
With all these problems, it seems to me that you have to overcome many difficulties before you can really come to the conclusion that the temple will be literally rebuilt. Now, I do not say that the temple will not be rebuilt. I do not know.
But for the temple, as Ezekiel saw it, to be rebuilt accordingly seems to have many problems.
Then the fourth view is this: Ezekiel was not given merely a reminder of the temple built by Solomon, nor was he trying to give the pattern for the remnant to return and build accordingly. Nor was it necessarily a temple to be rebuilt in the future, before the coming of Christ or even in the millennium.
Rather, Ezekiel saw in the vision the temple and all these things. Remember, it is a vision. Because it is a vision, it is not to be taken literally, but it is to be understood spiritually.
In other words, God gave him a vision of the temple to show him all the spiritual realities that God had in His heart.
The visions that Ezekiel saw in these last chapters are more apocalyptic than prophetic. In a sense, you find that they are almost similar to the visions that John the apostle saw at the end of the book of Revelation.
Are you really thinking in terms of a city of such dimensions in the future, and that you will live there? Are you really thinking that you will walk on streets of gold? Are you really thinking in terms of the physical and the material?
Even though that city will be of tremendous dimensions—no city in the world is of that dimension—yet with all the redeemed people throughout the centuries, the Old Testament saints and the New Testament saints, if you are all squeezed into that city, it will be pretty crowded.
Do you take everything literally? Now, brothers and sisters, remember one thing: to be taken literally does not mean to be taken realistically.
In other words, it can be real, and yet it is not literal. We believe that there will be a holy city. We believe that there will be a realm where the redeemed shall be eternally united with God. We believe that.
This realm is represented by the New Jerusalem, with all its features expressing spiritual reality.
How much better it is to think of walking on streets of gold—transparent gold—in terms of the spiritual reality of heavenly, transparent fellowship in Christ. Is that not much better than walking on a golden street?
In other words, here God is showing Ezekiel, and through Ezekiel showing us, that whatever may happen on the earth—whether the temple will be built or whether the temple will be destroyed—these things are all transient and temporary.
But there, in the mind of God, is the temple which God has built. It can never be destroyed, and it always stands.
In these visions we are brought to see, in the mind of God, the spiritual realities of the world to come.
Which will strengthen your faith most? If the Lord tells you that one day the temple will be rebuilt, then you begin to wonder whether that rebuilt temple will be destroyed again or not.
Or will God open your eyes to see that, no matter what happens on earth, there is a temple which always stands and is always there? Which will strengthen your faith now?
I am not trying to enter into any school of interpretation, brothers and sisters. I am just trying to share with you one thing.
To me, whether the temple will be rebuilt or not is another question. It may; it may not. But one thing is sure.
When a person is in such a time and such an environment—fourteen years have passed, the city has been destroyed for fourteen years, nothing has happened; in captivity for twenty-five years, nothing has happened—what does he need to see most?
He needs to see what is in God. If he can see what is in God, all these things will be solved.
Now, I hope as we go on it may become clear. I know it is not clear now, but it may become clearer as we go.
Well, in these nine chapters many things are mentioned. But I think, for our fellowship tonight, we will mention just four things. Number one: the house.
From Ezekiel 40 to Ezekiel 43:12, you find that God led Ezekiel in the Spirit to a very high mountain. On the top of the mountain he saw a city, walled all around.
It was not like the Garden of Eden, which was unprotected. You remember that the enemy slipped in, and that was the fall of man. But here you find it all on a very high mountain, a city walled all around.
Yet this city, as you read, actually is the temple. The whole city is a temple. There was the wall, there were the gates, there were the outer courts, there were the inner courts with all the chambers, and there was the altar of gigantic size.
There was the house itself—that is, the holy place and the holiest of all. You find detailed descriptions of all these things.
And more than that: after these things were described, the glory of the Lord entered through the gate into the house and took up His place.
So, at the conclusion of what he saw, let us read Ezekiel 43:7 and 10–12.
And He said unto me, Son of man, this is the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever; and the house of Israel shall no more defile My holy name, neither they, nor their kings.
Thou, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known unto them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
Here God showed Ezekiel a city-house, a city-temple.
When God showed Ezekiel that house, it was already built. Just like when the Lord showed John the apostle the New Jerusalem, he saw the New Jerusalem descending from heaven. It was already built.
You remember, that city was not built by man; it was built by God. The Lord said:
I will build My church upon this rock;
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
When God conceives a thought, it is done. When God has the thought of a temple, a dwelling place among His people, it does not take God any time. So far as God is concerned, it is there already.
In other words, it is an eternal fact. Therefore, we are not told how it was built or when it was built. When Ezekiel saw it, it was already built. It was already finished. It was there.
Oh, brothers and sisters, what God has built needs no correction.
But look at what man has built. When Christ said, “I will build My church upon this rock,” will He build anything that needs to be torn down or changed? Not so.
But when we build, as in 1 Corinthians 3, some build with gold, silver, and precious stones, and some build with wood, hay, and stubble. So, brothers and sisters, we need to see two things.
First, what God has built is perfect. But what man has built, or is building, always needs correction. It is never perfect.
Second, when God builds, it is finished. God is not limited by time or space. With Him, it is eternal present.
So far as God is concerned, the temple is already there. When God conceives, it is there. You cannot add anything to it, nor can you take anything away from it. It is perfect. It is done. It is there.
But when you come to man, you find that it needs to be gradually built, and it needs many corrections too.
We need to have a vision of the temple in God’s mind. We need to see the temple before God. Why? Because it is an eternal thing. It is finished, it is done, it is complete, and it never changes.
We need to have a vision of that. Actually, what we are building on earth is according to that.
There, in the mind of God, is this dwelling place. God said, “This is the place of My throne. This is the place of the soles of My feet. This is the place of My dwelling among My people.”
On earth, you find a temple built and a temple destroyed; another temple built and another temple destroyed. Maybe more temples will be built and more temples destroyed. But there, before God, is a temple that cannot be destroyed.
It is always there, and it is perfect.
We need that vision, you know. Because if we can see that, then we know where we are going, and we will not be discouraged.
No matter what happens on earth, that spiritual reality before God is always there. It is that spiritual reality that we are after.
What kind of house is that? You find that, in that house, everything is measured by a measuring reed. A man measures everything.
Spiritually, this tells us that Christ is that man. The reed in His hand is actually the measure of Christ. He measures everything with Himself, and there is nothing short anywhere.
In other words, the whole place meets His standard because this is what He is in a corporate way. Now that is what the church is, is it not?
You remember in Revelation 2 and 3, the Lord is there as the high priest. He is looking after the seven golden lampstands. Actually, He is measuring every one of them with His revelation.
At the head of each letter, He reveals Himself to that church, and then He measures that church with that revelation.
God has only one measure, and His measure is His Son, Christ. Here you find the whole city, the walled city—whether it is the wall, the outer court, the inner court, the house, the gates, or whatever it may be—everything is according to His measure.
Until, as Paul says, we come unto full maturity, the full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
So far as our experience goes, we are gradually entering into it. But so far as God sees it, it is already there. Oh, thank God for that. The whole place is measured according to His measure.
Number two: the law of the house is most holy.
From the top of the mountain and all the borders around, the whole city-house is most holy. Why is it most holy? Because there is nothing of man. There is nothing other than God Himself.
Everything is occupied by God. It is the new creation—most holy. We know the word holy means uncommon. There is nothing common, but everything is most holy. Why? Because it is all of God. It is all of Christ.
Today, brothers and sisters, so far as our experience goes, not only at the borderline do you find much that is common; probably in the very core there is much that is common.
How much of man, of the world, and of all things other than God are mixed in it! But thank God, one day, as we enter into God’s purpose—entering into that which God has already had in Himself—we will find that all the borders around are most holy. This is the law of the house.
A tremendous law: nothing common can enter into that. Most holy all around.
Because this house is in such suitability to Him, therefore the glory of the Lord fills the place and takes His position. It is the dwelling place of God. It is the place of His throne, where His authority is known and respected, and where He can dwell in peace and rest with His people.
Brothers and sisters, to us it is in the future—something into which we need to enter by the grace of God. But to God, it is already there.
There is a spiritual reality before God which is always there, which never changes, and which is not subject to anything.
That gives us hope. That gives us stimulation. That gives us a purpose. That shows us a direction, because God is gradually leading us into that reality.
That is the first thing Ezekiel saw. Number two: Ezekiel was not only given a vision of the house.
We cannot go into any detail, because Ezekiel describes it in great detail. We can only point out some principles. From Ezekiel 43:13 through Ezekiel 46:24, you find that God began to show Ezekiel the second thing: the priesthood, the service of the house.
But here you find something very different. You know, when God separated the Levites from among the twelve tribes of Israel to serve in the tabernacle, and later in the temple, He set apart the house of Aaron to be priests.
But in the history of Israel, they were unfaithful. They fell into apostasy. They fell away from God. They began to worship idols and all these things. When such things happened, even the Levites became unfaithful.
They were separated from the tribes to serve God, but during the days of apostasy, even the Levites were unfaithful to God.
So Ezekiel saw in the vision the priesthood. What did he see? He saw that the Levites were restored. They were able to minister to the house, but they were not allowed to minister to the Lord because of their past unfaithfulness.
Of the family of Aaron, only the house of Zadok remained faithful. During the days of apostasy, even when the Levites fell away from God, the house of Zadok was faithful to God.
It was not easy to be faithful when the whole nation went away from God and even the Levites went away. But the house of Zadok was faithful to the Lord.
Because they were faithful, God said that one day, when the Levites were restored, they would be restored only to minister to the house. They could do different things in the house, but they would not be allowed to minister unto the Lord Himself.
Only the house of Zadok would enter into the sanctuary. They would stand before the Lord. They would minister unto the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, there is a difference between ministering to the house and ministering to the Lord Himself.
In one sense, these two should not be separated. If a person is to minister to the house—that is, minister to the people—he ought to be able to minister to the Lord.
If you minister to the Lord, then you are capable of ministering to the people. In other words, they should be together. We should minister to the Lord first and then minister to the people.
But here you find a division. There is such a thing as ministering to the house.
Look at the Levites. When they are ministering to the house, they are really busy. They perspire a lot. Why? Because they have to bring the cattle there, help slaughter them, perhaps skin them, and do all kinds of these jobs.
They are very busy, and they perspire a great deal. They do a good job for the people. They really help the people. But the Lord says, “The people are helped, but I am not here. I am not ministered to.”
How easy it is for us to be busily occupied with all activities, to perspire a lot, and for people to be truly helped. But remember, it may only be a ministry to the house and not to the Lord. Something is missing.
Here you find the house of Zadok. Because of their faithfulness to the Lord, they are able to minister to the Lord Himself. How did they minister?
Ezekiel 44:15 says:
But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister unto Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God.
To minister unto the Lord is to approach the Lord and to stand before Him.
They are not as busy as the Levites appear to be. They are not simply running here and there, in continuous, ceaseless motion. You find that they approach the Lord and just stand before Him.
Brothers and sisters, before we minister to God’s people, do we minister to the Lord first?
You remember in the church at Antioch there were five teachers and prophets. These five prophets and teachers were ministering unto the Lord, and the Lord said, “Separate unto Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
We need to minister to the Lord first. How do we minister to the Lord? We approach and stand before Him.
The picture is like a slave standing quietly before his master, waiting for his order, with his eyes fixed upon his master. That is the picture.
Oh, how we need to be still. How we need to approach God and just stand before Him, waiting on Him. Wait until we are ordered. Do not just rush here and there. Wait until we are heard.
Second, they are in the presence of the Lord to present the fat and the blood, saith the Lord.
You know, the fat in Scripture speaks of the abundant life of Christ. All the fat of the animal of sacrifice had to be burned to God. Why? Because fat is produced from abundance.
After you have eaten, and you have abundance, all that abundance turns into fat. So fat in Scripture represents the abundant life. It speaks of the abundant life of Christ.
Blood speaks of the death of Christ, the finished work of Christ. So here you find that you are able to come to God and simply present Christ to God.
This is your spiritual sacrifice, acceptable to God. God cannot accept anything else. We have nothing to bring to Him. We bring Christ to God. We bring the fat and the blood. We bring the death and the life of our Lord Jesus that we have been made to know.
This we bring back to God, to the satisfaction of the Father. This is spiritual service—something to bring to God, not merely something to bring to man.
In Ezekiel 44:16, we read:
They shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table, to minister unto Me, and they shall keep My charge.
They shall approach the table of the Lord. The table in Scripture always speaks of communion. They shall be in communion with the Lord.
It is at the table of the children that they are able to exhibit Christ. They are in fellowship with the Lord, and they display Christ. That is ministering unto the Lord.
Of course, they are in such closeness with the Lord that they are able to minister to Him in the way they ought to minister: they shall never sweat.
They are not allowed to go into the house to minister to the Lord wearing anything woolen. They are to wear linen. The reason why there is no wool is because it gets you warm and you begin to perspire.
So it speaks of the energy of the flesh. Nothing is to be done in the energy of the flesh, but in linen—you are cool. In the strength of the Spirit of God, you serve.
Brothers and sisters, this gives us the ultimate of spiritual service. In the eyes of God, there is a spiritual reality of priesthood. The priest must first minister to the Lord and then minister to the people.
They ought to teach the people what is holy and what is profane, what is clean and what is unclean. But first they have to minister to the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, we are all called into that priesthood, and it depends very much on our faithfulness. If we are faithful to the Lord, then we will be able to minister to the Lord as well as to the house, as the sons of Zadok.
If we are not faithful to the Lord, probably our priestly ministry will only be to the house and not to the Lord. Again, you find that God shows Ezekiel the spiritual reality of priesthood.
The third thing—we have to go quickly—is found in Ezekiel 47.
And He brought me back unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house was toward the east; and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.
Then He brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looketh toward the east; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
When the man went forth eastward with the line in His hand, He measured a thousand cubits, and He caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. Again He measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again He measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the loins. Afterward He measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.
In other words, you find not only the house and the priesthood, but also the reality of the river of the water of life.
You know, in John’s Revelation, he saw a river of the water of life flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Here you find that Ezekiel saw the water coming out from the temple. It goes by the right side of the altar, underneath the threshold of the door, and begins to flow.
Of course, the river of living water speaks of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God begins with the throne of God, and it flows by the right side of the altar and under the threshold. This simply means that the Spirit of God comes from God and from Christ, and comes by way of the cross.
The altar represents the objective truth of the cross—what Christ has done for us on the cross. The threshold of the door speaks of the subjective work of the cross in us.
The threshold is where people tread upon and pass over. So, in other words, it represents the subjective working of the cross in us.
If we see the throne of God, if we submit ourselves to the authority of God, then the Holy Spirit will come to us by way of the cross.
We experience the Holy Spirit in the measure of our submission to the throne of God and of our acceptance of the cross, both objectively and subjectively.
As it begins to flow, you measure a thousand cubits, and it comes to the ankles. The ankle is where you have the strength to stand up and walk.
You remember in Acts 3, Peter and John went into the temple and saw a lame person at the Beautiful Gate. Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
When they raised that person up, his ankle bones were made strong. So he stood, walked, leaped, and praised the Lord.
In other words, when we submit ourselves to the Lord and to the working of the cross in our lives, then the Holy Spirit begins to touch our walk on earth. We are strengthened. We are able to walk on earth as He walked.
Another thousand cubits, and the water comes to the knees. The knee is the place of prayer. It will affect our prayer. First, it enables us to walk; then it enables us to pray.
Then it comes to the loins. You remember the Bible says, “Gird up your loins” for service. Then you are able to minister to other people.
Another thousand cubits, and it is a river to swim in. When you throw yourself into the water and flow with it, it is a life of union with the Spirit. Here you enter into the fullness of the Spirit.
Oh, brothers and sisters, in the city of God there is always that living water. The river of living water flows all around the city, and it flows out to heal the Dead Sea, to bring forth fruit, and to bring life.
That is the fullness of the Spirit.
There is a reality before God. What the church is, is to be filled with the Holy Spirit—to experience the Holy Spirit to such an extent that it touches our walk, touches our prayer life, touches our ministry, and brings us into such a union with the Spirit.
Then there might be fruit: trees bearing fruit each month, the fruit of the Spirit. There might be healing. The dead will be swallowed up by life. There will be fish in the waters. There will be life—abundant life—everywhere.
This is what the church is before God.
Number four, just briefly: you find in the book of Ezekiel a little description of the city. It concludes with this expression in Ezekiel 48:35:
It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.
Now, you know, in Jerusalem the temple was in the city. In the vision that John saw in Revelation 21 and 22, you find that there is no temple there. Why? Because God is the temple.
God is the temple. But here you find Ezekiel saw the temple in one place and the city in another place.
Now, it is not because the temple and the city are two separate things. Ezekiel, being a man of details, tries to show us different aspects of the same thing.
So what he saw were two things: the temple there and the city here. But actually, the city and the temple are one.
The temple describes one aspect of life; the city describes another aspect of life. The temple is the place of worship. It describes a life with God—our life with God, and God with us.
But the city describes a life with one another. A city is a union. Even though we are many, yet we are one.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Now that is city life.
Probably today people do not like city life very much. They all like to move to the country, and you do enjoy the country. But, dear brothers and sisters, one day you will see that city life is most pleasant and good.
Oh, behold how pleasant and how good it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
When the brethren dwell together in unity, you hear it said, “The name of the city is Jehovah-shammah: the Lord is there.”
Only the Lord being there can make the brethren dwell together in unity. And when the brethren dwell together in unity, the Lord is there. The Lord is there.
Oh, brothers and sisters, there is a reality before God. There is a city foundation, and in that city the Lord is there, and God’s people dwell together in unity.
How we long for that city. How we are tired of the country life, obviously. Oh, that we may enter into that spiritual reality.
So here you find Ezekiel, in the last few chapters, showing us spiritual realities in God. We know that all these are yea and amen in Christ.
To us, it is something to arrive at. To God, it is already there.
Thank God. No matter what happens on earth, it is there. It is there.
God’s purpose stands forever. Praise His name.
Our heavenly Father, oh, do lift us out of ourselves, that in our spirit we may see the realities that are in Christ.
That will give us strength, give us faith, to continue to press on towards the goal. How we praise and thank Thee that nothing, nothing here on earth, can affect that which is with Thee.
It is already there, and we shall be there. Oh, we do praise Thy name.
Do use these things to encourage us, that these may not be theories, but visions that will strengthen our faith and our love to Thee.
We do commit one another into Thy loving care. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.