Will you please turn to the letter to the Ephesians?
Ephesians Chapter 1, verses 11 and 12:
In whom we have also obtained an inheritance,
being marked out beforehand according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will,
that we should be to the praise of His glory,
who have pre-trusted in the Christ.
The letter to the Romans, Chapter 11. Romans 11; we begin with verse 33, verses 33 through 36:
O depth of riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be rendered to Him?
For of Him, and through Him, and for Him, are all things.
To Him be glory forever. Amen.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we know that we are in Thy presence. Lead us within the veil, that we may behold Thy glory.
Lord, we trust Thy Holy Spirit to quicken Thy Word to our hearts. Deliver us from anything that is traditional, but bring us into Christ. Deliver us from all things that are of man, and breathe us into Thy truth.
Lord, we want to know Thy truth, for Thy truth sets us free. We want Thee to have a highway in our hearts, that Thou mayest be able to build the church according to Thy good pleasure.
So we commit this time into Thy hands, Lord. This is a work that none can do but Thy Spirit alone, and we trust Thee to do it this morning. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
On this rock I will build My church, and Hades’ gates shall not prevail against it.
This is the word of our Lord Himself. He tells us very clearly that He is the One who reveals the church. The church is something that is so precious to Him that He will not trust anybody else to do this work. He Himself will build His church, and for this we are most thankful.
Because if He should leave it to us, what a mess we would make of it.
Yesterday morning we mentioned the Lord Jesus as the Builder of the church. He is the Originator of the church. In other words, the whole idea of the church is from Him.
Even before the foundation of the world, even before the heavens and earth, even before time, God had already conceived in His mind a purpose in His Son. He wants to give His Son the greatest gift that can satisfy His Son’s heart, and that is the mystery of the church.
This mystery had been hidden throughout the ages. It was hidden, but God was working all the time toward it.
Dear brothers and sisters, what is time? Time is in God’s hand. He uses time to accomplish His good pleasure.
So even in Old Testament times, even when He created the heavens and the earth, God had a purpose behind it all. What God is really after is the church—His gift to His beloved Son.
But it is so precious, so glorious, so magnificent, that He cannot just tell it all at once. Nobody would understand it. Nobody would appreciate it. He needed time to prepare for it.
Not until the fullness of the times, after His beloved Son had come down to this earth and accomplished the work of redemption, was this mystery revealed to the apostles and the prophets.
So, brothers and sisters, today this mystery of the Christ and the church is a known secret. God has allowed us to enter into His secret.
If this is something so precious to Him, how much more should it be dear to us?
You know, brothers and sisters, when we mention this matter of the church, probably to many of us it means very little. What occupies most of our heart is ourselves.
How can my sins be forgiven? How can I go to heaven? How can I proceed in my spiritual life? How can I be spiritual? Probably these are the things that are important to us.
Now, they are important—very important—but they are not the most essential and important thing. In other words, we are so self-centered, even in our spiritual pursuit. It is self.
May God deliver us from ourselves. In a very real sense, brothers and sisters, unless we are delivered from ourselves, we will not be able to appreciate and enter into all that God has intended for us, for His Son.
So our prayer is that God will reveal His Son to us, and His Son will reveal the church to us. We need revelation.
Do not think that you are able to know God’s Son without the revelation from above. Before we believed in the Lord Jesus, we all thought that way. We thought that we knew Jesus Christ. We read the Bible. We thought we understood. We thought we knew Him.
Until one day, when the revelation from above came to us, we realized we had not really known God’s Son. But thank God, it pleased Him to reveal His Son in us. The same way is true with the church.
Dear brothers and sisters, you may have been in the church—as our brother said, in that building. You visit it every Sunday. You are a member of the church. You know the church.
But unfortunately, that is not the church that God is after. It takes divine revelation.
May we humble ourselves before the Lord and pray that God will reveal—that our Lord Jesus will reveal—the church to us.
Brothers and sisters, once He reveals the church to you, you cannot escape. There is no other way but the way of the church. So may the Lord help us.
Now this morning, we will continue with God as the Builder of the church, but we will consider this matter of God being the Planner of the church.
He is not only the One who conceived the idea of the church, but He is also the One who plans for it.
You know, God is not like man. When we do things, oftentimes they just come. We really have not put much thought into them. It is just in the moment, perhaps influenced by circumstances, and so we act and react.
We often do things by chance. And how do we accomplish something? By mistake, by error, by trial and error; and then perhaps we come to do the right thing. Now, that is human, but there is nothing divine in it.
Our God never does anything by chance. He is the perfect Planner. Before He does anything, not only does He have an idea in His heart, but with that idea He plans for His working.
That is why you find this word in the Bible: “according to the counsel of His will.”
First of all, there is the purpose of His will. He purposes a purpose according to the good pleasure of His will. That is what He wants.
Then, after He has purposed that purpose, He sets a counsel. He lays a plan as to how this purpose is to be accomplished. That is God.
Once He has set His purpose, once He has laid down His plan, He will never deviate from it. Nobody can discourage Him from changing His purpose. Nobody can change His plan.
He will work according to the counsel of His will until everything is finished exactly as He has planned. Now, that is our God.
You know, the question is asked: Does the church have a pattern?
Some people say the church does not have a pattern. Why? Because it is the product of history.
In the beginning, a number of people came to the Lord. There was no plan. These people who were saved just came together and met—very simply.
But as more people were added, then some organization came in. And when the world took charge of the church, more organization came into view. As the ages changed, you found the church changed its shape.
So, they say, the church has no pattern. It is just according to history. It is just up to the ingenuity of man to suit the situation.
Now, that is how synagogues came into view. You know, in the beginning, God told the children of Israel that there was one place where they had to go year after year to worship and to sacrifice. They could not do it anywhere else but in Jerusalem, where God chose as His place to put His name.
But then Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple was destroyed. The children of Israel were taken into Babylonian captivity. Thank God, God used this captivity to cure the children of Israel from idolatry.
So when they were in captivity, they wanted to worship God, the one and only God. They wanted to do that, but unfortunately Jerusalem was destroyed. There was no more temple, no more sacrifice; and yet there was a desire to worship.
So, out of their cleverness, they devised what I think is one of the most ingenious things man has ever invented. It is so convenient. It is so free. It caters to everybody’s freedom—whatever you want—and yet you can worship God.
If there are ten Jewish men of leisure—that is, men who are able to give some time for religious activities—you can have a synagogue. You do not need to travel; you have it next door.
You just gather ten men who are of the same mind as you are, who like the same things as you do, and you have a synagogue of your own.
In the synagogue, you can pray. You can read the Torah and read the prophets. You can sing the songs. There is much freedom in the synagogue. You can stand up, read, and preach. You can do everything you like in your worship of God.
That is why synagogues prospered. If you are not happy with one, some people go and get nine more and organize one that will suit their taste. Is that not ingenious?
The only thing they cannot do is sacrifice. But the law said:
Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.
Brothers and sisters, the same idea has taken hold of Christians through the ages. We want to worship God, and we want to worship according to our own idea.
“This is the twenty-first century, not the first century. Why go back to the first century and be so primitive? We are so progressive now.” The church is progressing according to the ideas of men.
So, to many, there is no pattern for the church. Man creates the pattern, and it changes from time to time to suit the society in which you live and the time in which you are.
You know what is happening in China today? There is a movement saying that the Bible has to suit the social system. Everything has to be according to the current time. Be very modern; do not be so backward.
It is no longer salvation by faith; it is justification by love. What a doctrine! That is what is going on in China today.
The church has no pattern, they say. It is man’s creation to suit man’s taste, to satisfy man’s desire, even his religious feelings.
But, brothers and sisters, we have already said that our God is the greatest Planner in the universe.
Before He created the heavens and earth, He planned for them. How much more will He plan for the church—His greatest gift to His Son, His masterpiece in the world?
So we believe that the church does have a pattern. But the problem is: where is the pattern?
Some people try to find a pattern for the church by going back to the Old Testament. We want to view the church according to the pattern we see in the Old Testament.
Now, brothers and sisters, do not be surprised. You will find that, as we are approaching the end, more and more Christianity is turning to the Old Testament for its pattern.
When the church was first organized, they followed the pattern of the Old Testament. With Judaism, you have the priesthood. So Christianity has a sacred class called clergy. You have the clergy and the common people. That is the Old Testament pattern.
In the Old Testament, you find in Judaism a place of worship. It is the temple, then the synagogue. So, in New Testament times, we think we need a sacred place called the church—a building standing at the square of the city, where we will go and worship on the Lord’s Day, perhaps for an hour.
You cannot worship anywhere else but in that place. This is the Old Testament pattern.
I remember during the Second World War, I was in Singapore, and the Japanese came and bombed Singapore. A dear young brother came to me, agitated, and said, “Brother, did you know that a bomb fell into the church? And if the church is not safe, where can we be?”
Thank God, a bomb cannot destroy His church. Hades’ gates shall not prevail against it. But that is the concept.
More and more, Christianity is going back to the Old Testament pattern. When I was a boy, I was brought up in the Methodist Church. In the Methodist Church, it was different from the high church, the Anglican Church, because the pastors did not wear special robes.
But now, if you go back to the Methodist Church, what do you see there?
If you want to have a church, you need a choir, because in Old Testament times you find they had a choir singing unto the Lord. So now we need a choir. Instead of congregational singing, we have the choir to lead us in worship.
Brothers and sisters, people are taking the Old Testament as their pattern now.
But the Old Testament is the type; it is a shadow. When the reality comes, the shadow flees away. Why should we hold on to these shadows?
Brothers and sisters, do we live in shadows? Spend our days in shadows? When shadows disappear, we disappear. Are we living in reality—in all that God has planned in Christ Jesus for us?
I think it was about the late 1960s that there was a movement going on among God’s people: “We want New Testament church.”
Is that not a good slogan? “We want New Testament church.” People began to try to find a pattern for the New Testament church.
Of course, if you want to find a pattern for the New Testament church, go to the Book of Acts. This is where the church begins.
So people read the Book of Acts and came out with the idea: if you want a New Testament church, you need elders—not just one elder. Eldership is always plural, so you need elders.
If you have elders, of course you need deacons who do the work. And, of course, you need a congregation.
Suppose you have ten people meeting together. What are you going to do to have a New Testament church? Well, you need at least two elders and perhaps three deacons. Then you have five as the congregation, so that you have a New Testament church.
Now today you laugh at it, but in those days it was very, very earnest. The result was a mess. It did not work.
Now, if the New Testament is not our pattern, then we are lost. Where can we find the pattern for the church?
Thank God, here is the Planner: our God Himself. He has drawn that blueprint even before there was a church, even before the foundation of the world, even before He created the heavens and earth.
God had already laid His blueprint. That is what the church is to be built after. But it is a hidden mystery.
You know, when God created the heavens and the earth, His beloved Son was the Architect.
In Proverbs 8:30, it is said that before God laid the foundation of the earth, the morning stars sang for joy and the sons of God shouted for joy. These refer to the angels.
When God laid the foundation of the earth, who was the One God used as His Architect? In Proverbs 8, wisdom is used as a personification of the Son of God—Wisdom.
He was before His Father as His nursling. The word nursling, on the one hand, can mean the object of His love, His beloved. On the other hand, that word in its root has the idea of an artist, an architect.
So, in other words, when God created the heavens and the earth, His Son was the Architect. He was the One who drew the blueprint for the heavens and earth.
You find in Colossians 1:16 that all things were created in Him. The word translated “by” in the original is “in Him.”
Because it did not make sense to the translators—how could all things be created in Him?—they translated it “by Him.” Then later on, there is another “by Him” and “for Him.” But actually, it is “in Him.”
So all creation, all created things, were created in Him, in our Lord Jesus. What does it mean? It simply means that He is the Architect.
The architect is the one who puts all the ideas into a pattern, into a design, on a blueprint. Then everything will be built according to that blueprint.
So, when God created the heavens and earth, everything was created in Him, in our Lord Jesus. He is the Architect. He puts God’s idea into a blueprint.
That is the reason why, when the heavens and the earth were created, the heavens declared the glory of God, and the firmament showed His handiwork.
That is why, when we look at created things, we see the divinity and the power of our God. There is no excuse for saying there is no God, because in all creation you can see God’s hand. You can see God’s divine character—His glory and holiness—in this creation.
Now, if this is the case with the old creation, how much more with the new creation? Because the church is a new creation.
How can God build a church, a new creation, without a pattern, without a blueprint, without being planned out in detail? It simply cannot be.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we do believe that the church has a pattern, and that pattern comes from God, not from man. God has already given us this pattern.
For instance, we mentioned yesterday that after God created Adam, there was only half a man. God knew what that man needed.
“I will build him a helpmeet like himself.” That is the first time we have the word build.
Build means something with an idea, with a plan. It is not just something random or something by chance.
God said, “I will build him a helpmeet like himself.” But he could not find his helpmeet among all the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and the living beings on the earth. In other words, there was no pattern there.
I sometimes think it would have been terrible if man had been so anxious to get a companion that, instead of waiting for the divine pattern for the woman, he chose any of the animals to be his companion. That would be disastrous.
But thank God, He did not allow him to do it.
Now, where is the pattern for the woman? The pattern is not in the living things that Adam named, all these living creatures. The pattern is not there.
Where is the pattern? The pattern is in none other than Adam himself. Adam is the pattern.
That is why you find that God performed the first surgery upon Adam, opened his side, took something out of him, and built a woman.
When that woman was led to Adam, you did not need any explanation or introduction. Adam looked at her and said, “This is me.” They joined in one.
So, brothers and sisters, the pattern of the woman is man.
And how about the church? Christ is the Husband; the church is His wife. Where is the pattern of the church?
It is not in anything else. It is not in the Old Testament. It is not even in the letter of the New Testament. It is in the spirit of the New Testament.
Brothers and sisters, the pattern of the church, as God has designed it, is not technical, mechanical, outward, or legalistic.
The pattern God has designed for the church is a living Person, even our Lord Jesus.
That is why, without the Lord Jesus, you can have no church. No Christ, no church.
The four Gospels are given to us to show us that living Person. The church, from the Book of Acts, is to get patterned according to Him.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, it is living. It is organic. It is of life. It is never static. It is not governed by circumstances, by time, or by outward human things.
It is the living Christ who is the pattern of the church. The church grows into Him until He is all and in all. That is the pattern of the church.
So, brothers and sisters, do not try to find the pattern of the church in anything technical, outward, or methodical. They are not it. It is the living Christ.
The more you know about Christ, as the life of Christ grows among God’s people organically, it will change and transform until it is conformed to the image of Christ.
Only that which comes out of Him can be joined into one with Him. So that is the pattern you find for the church.
The church is not an organization that changes by surroundings, by environment, or by meeting a need. The church is an organism. It is living.
Its pattern is life. As the life in Christ grows, the church changes, transforms, and matures.
Brothers and sisters, because of that, it is spiritual. It cannot be carnal. It cannot be according to man. It cannot be according to the elements of this world. It has to be according to Christ.
Where the life of Christ is among His people, when Christ is the Head of the Body, you have an expression of the church.
God is very jealous about His Son. God is very jealous about His pattern. He will not allow us to change or alter it.
You remember when God gave the pattern of the tabernacle to Moses. He warned Moses again and again: “Do everything according to the pattern which I have shown you on the mountain.”
Did He need to do that to Moses? Moses was trained as an architect, because Egypt at that time was the most civilized country in the world. Its architecture was well known, even today. The pyramids are still there.
Moses learned all the learning of Egypt. He was a great architect. All God needed to do was say to Moses, “Build Me a tabernacle.” Moses could have said, “That is easy. I can give You a palace.”
But God would not trust Moses for that. Why? Because the tabernacle was different from all the tabernacles in the world. It was to be the habitation of God Himself.
I will dwell in it among you.
Brothers and sisters, that is what the church is. The church is the house of the living God. It is a habitation of God in the Spirit.
Because of this, He is very jealous of it. Everything has to be done according to the pattern shown on the mountain.
Thank God, Moses was faithful in all God’s house. In what way was he faithful? He denied himself.
He would not let his own skill, his own cleverness, his own training, or his own learning change or alter what God had shown him concerning the tabernacle.
But he denied himself and did everything exactly according to the pattern shown him.
Brothers and sisters, are we doing that? Are we faithful in God’s house? Or do we inject our own thoughts? Do we think we are cleverer than God Himself? God is jealous about it.
Thank God, the church has a pattern. It is a divine pattern, and that pattern always stands. It never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
God is working according to the counsel of His will.
Then, brothers and sisters, we find that in the planning of the church, when you plan something, you do not only plan the design; you also plan the time. How much time will you spend in building that building?
If it is a big building, a magnificent and important building, you may spend years in building that place. So God, in His plan, also planned the timing of the building of the church.
As a matter of fact, time is set apart by God for the building of the church.
Is the church that important? Yes, it is, because it is God’s precious gift to His beloved Son—an eternal gift to His beloved Son. He takes all the time for the building of the church.
When God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle, how long did it take him? Within a year. When Solomon built a temple, how long did it take? Seven years.
But how long will it take God to build the church? All the time.
He is still building. And you can see the magnificence, the glory, of that building—the church.
Oh, brothers and sisters, is your heart warmed?
He is still building. We are still in it. There is still time left—not much time, but still some time left—for us to understand what God is doing and for us to yield our lives to Him, that He may complete it.
Brothers and sisters, there is great responsibility upon us.
Of course, when you plan, you have to get the materials. Not only materials, but even prepare manpower. That is what God is doing, even with us. Think of that.
If it were already finished, then we would be out. We might be able to behold His glory, but we would be outside that city. But thank God, we are involved.
The time is very short, brothers and sisters. Even this morning I was thinking: how much time is left for Him to complete the work?
We may think that it has taken too long, but that is because of His longsuffering, His love, and His patience with us.
Do you realize there is not much time left? Do you realize that we are living in that most critical time? Maybe God is finishing up that great work in our generation.
Now, if that is the case, what should we do? Should we just lie there, enjoy the world, and not be diligent?
Or should we mean business and give ourselves completely to the Lord, allowing Him to finish up in our days? That should be our desire and our prayer. May the Lord help us.
Dear Lord, we thank Thee because Thou art doing a great work. We thank Thee because the whole heaven is involved.
We repent because we do not cooperate with Thee. How often we stand in Thy way!
Oh Lord, convict us. Show us Thy pattern. Show us the glorious church that Thou art building. Deliver us from ourselves.
Allow us to have a part, a living part, in it. Oh Lord, have mercy upon us.
We are Thy people. We want Thy will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Oh Lord, take us into Thy counsel. Take us into Thy work. Do not allow us to stand by idly, wasting our days away.
But, Lord, build us. Build us together, that we may be that which answers to Thy Son’s heart.
We worship Thee, our great God, greatly to be praised. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.