THE EFFECT OF THE VISION
OF GOD’S BUILDING ON OUR WORK TODAY
The Example of Job
The vision of God’s building will affect our work today. If we see God’s building, we will not try to help others to be more humble or gentle. That is merely something of human virtue, and that is not what God wants. Concerning this, I would ask you to consider the case of Job, a person who had the highest attainment in building up himself in integrity, uprightness, and perfection. Eventually, God stripped Job of all his attainments in order to show him that his only need was God Himself.
Christ Living in Us to Enjoy Himself
as the Good Land
God went on from Job to Abraham, making promises to him regarding a seed and the good land. Who are the ones who enjoy the good land? This question is answered in the prophecy by typology given to David in 2 Samuel 7. The One who enjoys the good land is actually Christ Himself. This means that God in Christ becomes us to be the enjoyer of the good land. David was a man according to God’s heart, but God knew that this was not adequate. Therefore, God revealed that He would build David a house with His Son, who would become David’s seed. On the one hand, this seed is the good land; on the other hand, this seed is the One who enjoys the good land. Who, then, is enjoying Christ? The answer is that it is Christ in us who is enjoying Christ. It is no longer we who live, but it is Christ who lives in us (Gal. 2:20). Christ is living in us to enjoy Himself as the good land.
Our Need to Have God Wrought into Our Hearts
As we will see in a later message, David, a man according to God’s heart, had a great failure. This indicates that merely to be a person according to God’s heart means nothing, for one may be according to God’s heart but still be empty, not having God wrought into his heart. In 2 Samuel 7 God seemed to be saying, "David, you are a man according to My heart, but you need Me to be wrought into your heart. You need Me to be built into your being to make you Me in life and in nature. It is not adequate for you to be according to My heart. You must be able to say, `To me to live is God.’" If David had been such a person, he would not have fallen.
A person may be according to the heart of God and yet be without God, not having God wrought into him. The fall of David illustrates the fact that even if we are a person according to God, if we do not have God wrought into us, we are no better than others. What is the value of being according to the heart of God if we do not have God wrought into our hearts? If we realize that God desires to work Himself into His chosen people and if we realize that this is what we all need, then the goal of our work will be to minister Christ to others so that the Triune God may build Himself into their being.
(Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, Chapter 30, by Witness Lee)
