A Digital Newsletter from Living Stream Ministry
The New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of the mingling of the Triune God with man…He went to so much trouble not only to save us but also to join Himself to us and to mingle with us. When we all get there in the new heaven and the new earth as the New Jerusalem, we will be in ecstasy. We will be crazy to the uttermost!
The New Jerusalem is much better than a physical, heavenly mansion. It is the full mingling of the Triune God with His redeemed, regenerated, and transformed people. The mingling of God with man can be seen in typology in Leviticus 2:4 with the meal offering, composed of fine flour mingled with oil. The entire New Jerusalem will be the fine flour mingled with the oil. The chorus of Hymns, #976 says that the holy city is God’s complete expression in humanity. Humanity is the fine flour, and God is the oil. The coming New Jerusalem will be a great meal offering, a big cake, made of fine flour mingled with oil. The Triune God is being mingled with us today, and this mingling will consummate in the New Jerusalem. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy,” pp. 355-356)
Whether or not we have actually gained Christ can be proven by five points. First, we will have the presence of God; we will sense that God is like fresh air being breathed in by us. Second, we will sense that we are in the light and are shining inwardly.
Third, we will feel that we are supplied within, having living water to quench our thirst and living bread to satisfy our hunger. Fourth, the demands related to positive and negative matters will become higher and higher, just like a rising thermometer. This indicates that life is continually growing. Fifth, we will have an inward vitality. Whenever we come to the meeting, we will feel that we have to pray and sing; we will feel that we must be active. These five aspects are proof that we have gained Christ.
A person who is not gaining much of Christ and who has a low level of life may not have a good attitude toward his parents and siblings. He also may feel that there is nothing improper with his attitude. After pray-reading the Word, the Lord’s life will begin to grow in him. After there has been some growth in life, he will begin to feel that his attitude toward his parents is not proper. This knowledge does not come from someone’s rebuke; it is the growth in life within that causes him to have this feeling. Dealing with sins and mistakes is a manifestation of the growth in life that relates to negative matters. In regard to positive matters, the growth in life may cause a person to perceive that his consecration to God is too low and shallow and that he needs to consecrate again in order to deal with his reservations before God. There is no way to determine a standard for consecration; the criterion depends on the level of our life. When our level of life is high, the demand on our consecration will be high. When our level of life is low, the demand on our consecration will be low (CWWL, 1967, vol. 1, pp. 67-68, 66).
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