GOD’S DWELLING PLACE
The second principle is that the unique place of God’s choice must be God’s habitation, God’s dwelling place. Ephesians 2:22 helps us to understand the significance of this principle for us today. In this verse we are told that God’s dwelling place is our spirit. This means that the very place of God’s choice is our spirit. Therefore, we discern God’s chosen place by the name and by the human spirit. Today God’s habitation is in our spirit.
Suppose we neglect or ignore the spirit and live instead in the realm of the mind, emotion, and will. This will make it difficult for others to recognize that we are in the place of God’s choice. The place God has chosen is the spirit. In the church life we should not be known or characterized by the expression of opinion, but by the exercise of the spirit. To go to the place of God’s habitation is to go to the spirit.
A PLACE OF ENJOYMENT
Third, the place God has chosen is a place of enjoyment. In Deuteronomy 12 the word eat is used a number of times. Verse 7 indicates that in the place God has chosen we shall "eat before the Lord." In verse 18 we see that the tithe of the produce of the good land and the firstlings of the herd and of the flock were to be eaten before the Lord in the place of His choice. These references to eating point to enjoyment. Therefore, the place God has chosen is a place of enjoyment. If in a particular place we do not sense the enjoyment of the Lord, we should question whether or not it is the place God has chosen. Where do we find the riches of Christ typified by the produce of the good land? At the times of the yearly feasts, the riches of the good land were to be found at Mount Zion in Jerusalem. According to the principle, today we may discern the place of God’s choice by the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. The place of God’s choice is characterized by this enjoyment.
A PLACE OF REJOICING
Finally, the place God has chosen is a place of rejoicing. Deuteronomy 12:12 and 18 speak of rejoicing before the Lord. This rejoicing is related to the eating of the firstfruits and of the firstlings. To rejoice is not simply to be happy. It is possible to be happy silently, but in order to rejoice we must utter something or make a joyful noise. The house of God is a place of rejoicing. The place where His people gather together must be not only a place of joy, but also of rejoicing.
In this portion of the Word we have four ways to discern a proper and genuine church. A genuine church is where there is the unique name, the name of Christ. Furthermore, it is a place where the human spirit is prevailing, where the riches of Christ are enjoyed, and where we rejoice before the Lord. When the riches of Christ become our enjoyment, we shall spontaneously be filled with joy and rejoice. Therefore, in the church life we have the name of the Lord and the exercise of the spirit. We also enjoy the riches of Christ and rejoice in the Lord. This is the place of God’s choice, the unique place He has chosen for keeping oneness.
(The Genuine Ground of Oneness, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
