Message Eleven

God¡¯s Dwelling Place¡ª
a House of Prayer and the House of His Beauty

Scripture Reading: Isa. 57:15; 66:1-2; 56:7; 62:6-7;
60:1-3, 7, 9, 13-14, 19-21

Isa. 57:15  For thus says the high and exalted One, / Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: / I will dwell in the high and holy place, / And with the contrite and lowly of spirit, / To revive the spirit of the lowly / And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isa. 66:1-2  Thus says Jehovah, / Heaven is My throne, / And the earth the footstool for My feet. / Where then is the house that you will build for Me, / And where is the place of My rest? 2For all these things My hand has made, / And so all these things have come into being, declares Jehovah. / But to this kind of man will I look, to him who is poor / And of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Isa. 56:7  Even these will I cause to come to My holy mountain / And to rejoice in My house of prayer; / Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable upon My altar; / For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

Isa. 62:6-7  Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent. / You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; 7And do not give Him quiet / Until He establishes / And until He makes Jerusalem / A praise in the earth.

Isa. 60:1-3  Arise! Shine! For your light has come, / And the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you. 2For, behold, the darkness will cover the earth, / And deep darkness the peoples; / But Jehovah will rise upon you, / And His glory will be seen upon you. 3And nations will come to your light, / And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isa. 60:7  All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you; / The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; / They will go up acceptably upon My altar, / And I will beautify the house of My beauty.

Isa. 60:9  Surely the coastlands will look eagerly for Me; / And the ships of Tarshish will come first, / To bring your children from afar, / Their silver and their gold with them, / Unto the name of Jehovah your God / And unto the Holy One of Israel; for He has beautified you.

Isa. 60:13-14  The glory of Lebanon will come to you, / The fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together, / To beautify the place of My sanctuary; / And I will make the place for My feet glorious. 14And the sons of those who afflicted you / Will come bowing down to you, / And all those who despised you will bow down / At the soles of your feet; / And they will call you the City of Jehovah, / The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Isa. 60:19-21  You will no longer have the sun for your light by day, / Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; / But Jehovah will be an eternal light to you, / And your God your beauty. 20Your sun will no longer go down, / Nor will your moon withdraw; / For Jehovah will be an eternal light to you, / And the days of your mourning will be ended. 21Then all your people will be righteous; / They will possess the land forever, / The branch of My planting, / The works of My hands, / That I may be beautified.

                  I.    The central thought of the Scriptures is that God is seeking a building as a living composition of persons redeemed by and mingled with Himself¡ªMatt. 16:18; Eph. 2:21-22; 4:16:

Matt. 16:18  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Eph. 2:21  In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord;

Eph. 2:22  In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.

Eph. 4:16  Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

                          A.    God¡¯s intention is to have a group of people built up as a spiritual building to express Him and represent Him by dealing with His enemy and recovering the lost earth¡ªGen. 1:26; 1 Pet. 2:5.

Gen. 1:26  And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

1 Pet. 2:5  You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

                           B.    God¡¯s building is the desire of His heart and the goal of His salvation¡ªExo. 25:8; Matt. 16:18; 1 Pet. 2:2-5.

Exo. 25:8  And let them make a sanctuary for Me that I may dwell in their midst;

Matt. 16:18  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

1 Pet. 2:2-5  As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation, 3If you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4Coming to Him, a living stone, rejected by men but with God chosen and precious, 5You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

                           C.    God¡¯s building is the expression of God as life in a corporate Body¡ªEph. 2:21-22; 4:15-16; Rev. 4:2-3; 21:11, 18a.

Eph. 2:21-22  In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; 22In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.

Eph. 4:15-16  But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, 16Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

Rev. 4:2-3  Immediately I was in spirit; and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne there was One sitting; 3And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance.

Rev. 21:11  Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.

Rev. 21:18a  And the building work of its wall was jasper;

                          D.    The principle of God¡¯s building is that God builds Himself into us and builds us into Himself; that is, God mingles Himself with us as one building¡ªJohn 14:20; 15:4; 1 John 4:15; Eph. 3:17a; Rev. 21:3, 22.

John 14:20  In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

John 15:4  Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

1 John 4:15  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God.

Eph. 3:17a  That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith,

Rev. 21:3  And I heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will tabernacle with them, and they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Rev. 21:22  And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

                           E.    God¡¯s building is the corporate expression of the Triune God¡ª1 Tim. 3:15-16; John 17:22; Eph. 3:19b, 21.

1 Tim. 3:15-16  But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth. 16And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, / Justified in the Spirit, / Seen by angels, / Preached among the nations, / Believed on in the world, / Taken up in glory.

John 17:22  And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one;

Eph. 3:19b  that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.

Eph. 3:21  To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations forever and ever. Amen.

                II.    The Lord Jehovah desires to have as His dwelling place a group of people into whom He can enter¡ªIsa. 57:15; 66:1-2:

Isa. 57:15  For thus says the high and exalted One, / Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: / I will dwell in the high and holy place, / And with the contrite and lowly of spirit, / To revive the spirit of the lowly / And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isa. 66:1-2  Thus says Jehovah, / Heaven is My throne, / And the earth the footstool for My feet. / Where then is the house that you will build for Me, / And where is the place of My rest? 2For all these things My hand has made, / And so all these things have come into being, declares Jehovah. / But to this kind of man will I look, to him who is poor / And of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

                          A.    God intends to have a dwelling place in the universe that is the mingling of God and man, in which God is built into man and man is built into God, so that God and man, man and God, can be a mutual abode to each other¡ªJohn 14:2, 20, 23; 15:4; 1 John 4:13.

John 14:2  In My Father¡¯s house are many abodes; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:20  In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

John 14:23  Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.

John 15:4  Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

1 John 4:13  In this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, that He has given to us of His Spirit.

                           B.    In the New Testament this dwelling place, this house, is the church, which is God¡¯s habitation in the believers¡¯ spirit¡ªEph. 2:22; 1 Tim. 3:15:

Eph. 2:22  In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.

1 Tim. 3:15  But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.

                                      1.    The Lord looks to the one who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and He dwells with the contrite and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite¡ªIsa. 66:1-2; 57:15.

Isa. 66:1-2  Thus says Jehovah, / Heaven is My throne, / And the earth the footstool for My feet. / Where then is the house that you will build for Me, / And where is the place of My rest? 2For all these things My hand has made, / And so all these things have come into being, declares Jehovah. / But to this kind of man will I look, to him who is poor / And of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Isa. 57:15  For thus says the high and exalted One, / Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: / I will dwell in the high and holy place, / And with the contrite and lowly of spirit, / To revive the spirit of the lowly / And to revive the heart of the contrite.

                                      2.    For the building of God¡¯s dwelling place, the Lord is one with our spirit, and our spirit is one with the Lord; our spirit is where the building of the church, the dwelling place of God, takes place¡ª1 Cor. 6:17; Eph. 2:22.

1 Cor. 6:17  But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

Eph. 2:22  In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.

                           C.    The ultimate consummation of this universal building, this universal house, is the New Jerusalem; in this city God is in man, taking man as His dwelling place, and man is in God, taking God as his habitation¡ªRev. 21:3, 22; Gen. 28:12, 17; 2 Sam. 7:12-14.

Rev. 21:3  And I heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will tabernacle with them, and they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Rev. 21:22  And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

Gen. 28:12  And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Gen. 28:17  And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

2 Sam. 7:12-14  When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14I will be his Father, and he will be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will strike him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men;

              III.    God¡¯s dwelling place is the church as a house of prayer¡ªIsa. 56:7; 62:6-7:

Isa. 56:7  Even these will I cause to come to My holy mountain / And to rejoice in My house of prayer; / Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable upon My altar; / For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

Isa. 62:6-7  Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent. / You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; 7And do not give Him quiet / Until He establishes / And until He makes Jerusalem / A praise in the earth.

                          A.    In the church as a house of prayer, God wants us to pray concerning His sons, concerning the work of His hands, and concerning Jerusalem:

                                      1.    ¡°Concerning My sons, / And concerning the work of My hands, command Me¡±¡ª45:11.

Isa. 45:11  Thus says Jehovah, / The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him, / Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, / And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.

                                      2.     ¡°Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent. / You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; / And do not give Him quiet / Until He establishes / And until He makes Jerusalem / A praise in the earth¡±¡ª62:6-7.

Isa. 62:6-7  Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent. / You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; 7And do not give Him quiet / Until He establishes / And until He makes Jerusalem / A praise in the earth.

                           B.    In the church as a house of prayer, we pray for the fulfillment of God¡¯s desire, the carrying out of God¡¯s will, and the accomplishment of God¡¯s economy¡ª1 Kings 8:48; Dan. 9:1-23; John 15:7; Matt. 6:10; Eph. 3:14-21; 5:27; Rev. 14:1; 21:2:

1 Kings 8:48  And if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who have carried them captive, and they pray to You toward their land that You have given to their fathers, the city that You have chosen, and the house that I have built for Your name;

Dan. 9:1-23  (see reference below)

John 15:7  If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

Matt. 6:10  Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.

Eph. 3:14-21  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, 15Of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named, 16That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, 17That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are 19And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. 20But to Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which operates in us, 21To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations forever and ever. Amen.

Eph. 5:27  That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.

Rev. 14:1  And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

Rev. 21:2  And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

                                      1.    In the church as a house of prayer, we pray according to God¡¯s desire and thought; such prayer is precious and weighty, and it will shake the gates of Hades and affect Satan¡ªDan. 9:1-23.

Dan. 9:1-23  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, a Median descendant who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans, 2In the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by means of the Scriptures the number of the years, which came as the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet, for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years. 3So I set my face toward the Lord God to seek Him in prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4And I prayed to Jehovah my God and confessed; and I said, Ah, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness with those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5We have sinned and have committed iniquity, and we have acted wickedly and rebelled, to the point of even turning away from Your commandments and from Your judgments. 6And we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our chief men, and our fathers, as well as to all the people of the land. 7To You, Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us, shamefacedness, as it is this day, that is, to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far off in all the lands to which You have driven them because of their trespass by which they have trespassed against You. 8O Jehovah, to us belongs shamefacedness, to our kings, our chief men, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10And we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in His instruction, which He set before us through the hand of His servants the prophets. 11Indeed, all Israel has transgressed Your law, to the point of even turning away so as not to obey Your voice; thus the curse has been poured out upon us, the very oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12And He has confirmed His words which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us great ill; for under all heaven there has not been done anything like that which has been done in Jerusalem. 13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this ill has come upon us, yet we have not entreated the favor of Jehovah our God by turning from our iniquities and attending to Your truth. 14Therefore Jehovah has been vigilant with the ill and has brought it upon us, for Jehovah our God is righteous in all the deeds that He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice. 15And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made for Yourself a name, as it is this day, we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16O Lord, in accordance with all the manifestations of Your righteousness, may Your anger and Your wrath be turned away, I pray, from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. 17And now hear, O our God, the prayer of Your servant and his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that has been desolated, for the Lord¡¯s sake. 18O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city that is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You based upon any righteous doings that we have done, but based upon Your great compassion. 19O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God; for Your city and Your people are called by Your own name. 20And while I was still speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God, 21Even while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, reached me in my utter exhaustion about the time of the evening oblation. 22And he informed me and talked with me and said, Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. 23At the beginning of your supplications the command went forth, and I have come to tell you, for you are preciousness itself. Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

                                      2.    The prayer that is pleasing to God is the prayer that asks for the accomplishment of God¡¯s will and for the completion of God¡¯s work¡ªMatt. 6:10; Col. 1:9; 4:12; Isa. 45:11; 62:6-7; Ezek. 36:37.

Matt. 6:10  Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.

Col. 1:9  Therefore we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Col. 4:12  Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

Isa. 45:11  Thus says Jehovah, / The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him, / Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, / And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.

Isa. 62:6-7  Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent. / You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; 7And do not give Him quiet / Until He establishes / And until He makes Jerusalem / A praise in the earth.

Ezek. 36:37  Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Moreover for this I will be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

                                      3.    Our prayer in the church as a house of prayer should be for the fulfillment of God¡¯s economy; the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple are three crucial things regarding God¡¯s economy¡ª1 Kings 8:48; Dan. 6:10.

1 Kings 8:48  And if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who have carried them captive, and they pray to You toward their land that You have given to their fathers, the city that You have chosen, and the house that I have built for Your name;

Dan. 6:10  Now when Daniel came to know that the writing had been signed, he went to his house (in his upper room he had windows open toward Jerusalem) and three times daily he knelt on his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, because he had always done so previously.

                                      4.    The prayer in the church as a house of prayer is in the position of ascension, and with this position of prayer there is the authority of prayer; when we have the heavenly position and authority, our prayers become God¡¯s administration, the executing of God¡¯s will¡ªEph. 2:6; Matt. 6:9-10.

Eph. 2:6  And raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus,

Matt. 6:9-10  You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; 10Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.

                                      5.    In the church as a house of prayer, we pray in an executing way, binding on the earth what has been bound in heaven and loosing on the earth what has been loosed in heaven; this is the prayer of the Body; we can have this kind of prayer only when we ask ¡°in harmony¡±¡ª18:18-19.

Matt. 18:18-19  Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven. 19Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.

                           C.    The central subject and goal of prayer in the church as a house of prayer is to prepare a glorious church for Christ, a church that will match Him and fulfill the desire of His heart¡ªEph. 1:5, 9; 3:14-21; 5:27.

Eph. 1:5  Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Eph. 1:9  Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself,

Eph. 3:14-21  (see reference above)

Eph. 5:27  That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.

              IV.    Jehovah will beautify the house of His beauty so that He may be beautified¡ªIsa. 60:7, 9, 13, 19; Psa. 50:2:

Isa. 60:7  All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you; / The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; / They will go up acceptably upon My altar, / And I will beautify the house of My beauty.

Isa. 60:9  Surely the coastlands will look eagerly for Me; / And the ships of Tarshish will come first, / To bring your children from afar, / Their silver and their gold with them, / Unto the name of Jehovah your God / And unto the Holy One of Israel; for He has beautified you.

Isa. 60:13  The glory of Lebanon will come to you, / The fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together, / To beautify the place of My sanctuary; / And I will make the place for My feet glorious.

Isa. 60:19  You will no longer have the sun for your light by day, / Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; / But Jehovah will be an eternal light to you, / And your God your beauty.

Psa. 50:2  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, / God shines forth.

                          A.     ¡°Your eyes will see the King in His beauty¡± (Isa. 33:17a); ¡°the King will desire your beauty¡± (Psa. 45:11a).

                           B.    All the beauty, the excellency, and the attributes found in the Godhead depend upon the Godhead being three yet one; three yet one¡ªhere is the beauty¡ªHeb. 2:3-4; Matt. 28:19.

Heb. 2:3-4  How shall we escape if we have neglected so great a salvation, which, having had its beginning in being spoken by the Lord, has been confirmed to us by those who heard, 4God bearing witness with them both by signs and wonders and by various works of power and by distributions of the Holy Spirit according to His will?

Matt. 28:19  Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

                           C.    In the corporate constitution of the Body of Christ, there is much beauty, excellency, and virtue¡ªEph. 1:22-23; 4:16.

Eph. 1:22-23  And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, 23Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.

Eph. 4:16  Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

                          D.    The New Jerusalem will be the ultimate, corporate expression of the Triune God, full of beauty¡ªRev. 21:2, 10-11.

Rev. 21:2  And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev. 21:10-11  And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.

                           E.    The virtues manifested by us Christians should be the manifestation of the glory and beauty in the divine attributes; a Christian is one who has divinity as his element and reality, from which the divine glory and beauty are expressed through the human virtues¡ª1 Cor. 10:31; Phil. 1:20-21a; 4:5, 8.

1 Cor. 10:31  Therefore whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Phil. 1:20-21a  According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I will be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death. 21For to me, to live is Christ

Phil. 4:5  Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is near.

Phil. 4:8  Finally, brothers, what things are true, what things are dignified, what things are righteous, what things are pure, what things are lovely, what things are well spoken of, if there is any virtue and if any praise, take account of these things.

                           F.    In Song of Songs the lover and the Beloved both have beauty, and they appreciate the beauty in each other¡ª1:15-16; 4:1-5, 7.

Phil. 1:15-16  Some preach Christ even because of envy and strife, and some also because of good will, 16These out of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.

Phil. 4:1-5  So then, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, in the same way stand firm in the Lord, beloved. 2I exhort Euodias, and I exhort Syntyche, to think the same thing in the Lord. 3Yes, I ask you also, genuine yokefellow, assist them, since they contended with me in the gospel, as well as with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is near.

Phil. 4:7  And the peace of God, which surpasses every man¡¯s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

                          G.    As the bride, the church needs beauty¡ªEph. 5:27:

Eph. 5:27  That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.

                                      1.    The beauty of the bride comes from the Christ who is wrought into the church and who is then expressed through the church¡ª3:17.

Eph. 3:17  That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

                                      2.    Our only beauty is the shining out of Christ from within us; what Christ appreciates in us is the expression of Himself¡ªPsa. 50:2; 90:16.

Psa. 50:2  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, / God shines forth.

Psa. 90:16  Let Your work appear to Your servants, / And Your splendor, to their children.

                V.    The glory of God will be seen in the house of His beauty¡ªIsa. 60:1-3, 13-14, 19-21; 2 Chron. 5:13-14; Ezek. 43:1-5; Hag. 2:1-9; Eph. 3:21; Psa. 26:8; 29:9b:

Isa. 60:1-3  Arise! Shine! For your light has come, / And the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you. 2For, behold, the darkness will cover the earth, / And deep darkness the peoples; / But Jehovah will rise upon you, / And His glory will be seen upon you. 3And nations will come to your light, / And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isa. 60:13-14  The glory of Lebanon will come to you, / The fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together, / To beautify the place of My sanctuary; / And I will make the place for My feet glorious. 14And the sons of those who afflicted you / Will come bowing down to you, / And all those who despised you will bow down / At the soles of your feet; / And they will call you the City of Jehovah, / The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Isa. 60:19-21  You will no longer have the sun for your light by day, / Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; / But Jehovah will be an eternal light to you, / And your God your beauty. 20Your sun will no longer go down, / Nor will your moon withdraw; / For Jehovah will be an eternal light to you, / And the days of your mourning will be ended. 21Then all your people will be righteous; / They will possess the land forever, / The branch of My planting, / The works of My hands, / That I may be beautified.

2 Chron. 5:13-14  And when the trumpeters and the singers were one to make themselves heard with one voice in praising and in giving thanks to Jehovah, and when they lifted up their voice with trumpets and with cymbals and with musical instruments in praise to Jehovah, saying, For He is good, for His lovingkindness is forever; then the house, the house of Jehovah, was filled with a cloud. 14And the priests were not able to stand and minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of God.

Ezek. 43:1-5  Then He brought me to the gate, that is, the gate that faces toward the east. 2And the glory of the God of Israel was there, coming from the way of the east, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth was illuminated with His glory. 3And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, that is, like the vision that I had seen when He came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I had seen by the river Chebar. And I fell on my face. 4And the glory of Jehovah came into the house through the gate which faced toward the east. 5And the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner court, and just then the glory of Jehovah filled the house.

Hag. 2:1-9  In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of Jehovah came through Haggai the prophet, saying, 2Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying, 3Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares Jehovah; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land, declares Jehovah, and work; for I am with you, declares Jehovah of hosts. 5Both the word which I covenanted with you when you came forth from Egypt and My Spirit endure among you; do not fear. 6For thus says Jehovah of hosts, Yet once more¡ªit is but a little while¡ªI will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7And I will shake all the nations, and the Desire of all the nations will come; and I will fill this house with glory, says Jehovah of hosts. 8The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, declares Jehovah of hosts. 9The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former, says Jehovah of hosts; and in this place I will give peace, declares Jehovah of hosts.

Eph. 3:21  To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations forever and ever. Amen.

Psa. 26:8  O Jehovah, I love the habitation of Your house, / And the place where Your glory abides.

Psa. 29:9b  And in His temple all say, Glory!

                          A.    Glory is the expression of God; the glory of God is God expressed in His divine life and nature¡ªActs 7:2; John 17:22.

Acts 7:2  And he said, Men, brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,

John 17:22  And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one;

                           B.    Eternal glory is the ultimate goal of God¡¯s salvation; God¡¯s salvation leads us into His glory¡ªRom. 8:21; Heb. 2:10.

Rom. 8:21  In hope that the creation itself will also be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Heb. 2:10  For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

                           C.    The Lord Jesus prayed for the believers¡¯ oneness in the divine glory for the corporate expression of God¡ªJohn 17:22-23:

John 17:22-23  And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one; 23I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.

                                      1.    This oneness fulfills the Son¡¯s prayer that He be fully expressed, that is, glorified, in the building up of the believers, and that the Father also be fully expressed, glorified, in the Son¡¯s glorification¡ªvv. 1, 5.

John 17:1  These things Jesus spoke, and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You;

John 17:5  And now, glorify Me along with Yourself, Father, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

                                      2.    The Father is glorified through the organic union of Christ¡¯s believers with the Father in the Son in a wonderful coinhering oneness¡ªv. 23.

John 17:23  I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.

                                      3.    The oneness in John 17 is for the Father¡¯s glorification in the Son; this oneness is actually the divine glorification.

                          D.    An outstanding feature of the New Jerusalem is that it has the glory of God, His expression; the city will be completely filled with the glory of God, containing God and expressing Him¡ªRev. 21:10-11.

Rev. 21:10-11  And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.

                           E.    The church today should have God¡¯s glory, manifesting and expressing Him in this marvelous divine attribute; God¡¯s glory is wrought into the church, and He is expressed in the church; hence, God is glorified in the church¡ªEph. 3:21.

Eph. 3:21  To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations forever and ever. Amen.