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But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. (Heb. 12:22-23)
The third symbol that God uses to reveal to us his eternal purpose is that of a city, Scripture teaching us that God is building a heavenly or spiritual city, consisting of a wall, towers, gates, houses and a temple and of which we are the living stones.
As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 2:4-5)
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Eph. 2:21-22)
We see here that the reason God is building us together as he would buildings in a city is that he may, by his Spirit, come and live amongst his people, drawing us into fellowship with himself. In other words, the central concept being conveyed by this symbol is that of relationship.
A city is a place of relative comfort and security in which we may grow in relationship with others, particularly our immediate family. So it is that in the city of the living God his purpose is to create an environment of spiritual security in which those who have been redeemed may grow in their relationship with him and into the "whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13).
Ultimately, at the conclusion of this age, the city that God is preparing out of sight of the world, will be openly displayed in all its glory.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Rev. 21:1-3).
This city is also referred to as the "bride of Christ," and it is at this time that the "marriage supper of the Lamb" takes place.
"Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (Rev. 21:9-10)
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. (Rev. 19:7)
Then the angel said to me, "Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’" (Rev. 19:9)
What is remarkable about this part of Scripture is that after all the cataclysmic and frightening events that herald the end of time, when the universe as we know it is dissolved and a new heaven and a new earth take its place, God will gather his people together as living stones in his eternal city and "will live with them" forever.
This desire of God for an eternal relationship and fellowship with his people can now be clearly seen as the driving force behind all of creation, redemption and the on-going work of the Holy Spirit within the lives of those who own Jesus Christ as their Saviour. It is towards this objective that all history is moving. But much more importantly, it is towards this highest of high goals that the Holy Spirit is preparing each and every one of us.
"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23)
So it is within this Holy City that the Lord teaches his children the meaning of a full and real relationship, of the deepest and most intimate kind, with himself. This is our highest calling.
The distinguishing feature of the cities of Bible times was that, in most cases, a wall was built around the perimeter. This wall had the purpose of helping the inhabitants to resist enemy attacks.
Thus, when a marauding army approached, the citizens would come inside the wall, close all the gates, and man the towers and the ramparts with defenders. Thus would the unwelcome intruders be repelled. As a consequence of this, those living within the city could go about their daily lives, run their businesses, raise their families and relate in various ways to those around them, without the constant fear of being deprived of that which they had worked so hard to gain. The higher and thicker the wall, the more secure was the city. The more strategically placed the towers and the stronger the gates, the more difficult it was for the enemy to enter.
When Nehemiah returned from exile in Babylon the first thing he did was to start the rebuilding of the walls (Neh. 2:17-18). Without strong defences a city of those times had little or no prospects of survival.
So it is with the heavenly Jerusalem. However in this case, it is God’s people who make up the walls, the towers, the gates and the buildings, being the living stones of which this city is constructed. It is the Holy Spirit who builds us into this spiritual structure which provides a place of protection and security in a hostile environment so that the children of God may grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is here that they learn to walk in fellowship with the Father and to experience a deep and real relationship with God that will reach into eternity.
The stones with which a city was built had to undergo working at the hand of skilled stonemasons before they were fitted into place in the wall, tower or building in which they were destined to play a part. The raw stone from the quarry may have had a natural beauty about it, but it was of little value for the building until it had been fashioned and shaped to fit with all the other stones into its allotted place.
In like manner, the lives of those who make up the city of God must undergo a process of change and adjustment before they can properly relate to the other living stones around them. Thus the Holy Spirit, the most skilled craftsman of all, works within us to fashion and shape our life and character so that we will fit easily into the place he has ordained for us in that spiritual structure.
Abraham was the one God chose to be the pioneer of the walk of faith to which we are all now called. For this reason the Bible refers to him as "the father of us all."
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring - not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. (Rom. 4:16)
At God’s command, Abraham, at seventy-five years of age, left his country and his kinsfolk behind and started with his family, his flocks and all his possessions towards an unknown destination.
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you." (Gen. 12:1)
God promised him a son and descendants which could not be numbered. Yet at ninety-nine years of age he was still childless. But he remained steadfast, following God’s directions wherever they led.
Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. (Rom. 4:20-21)
Ultimately he triumphed over all the obstacles and disappointments which stood in his way. He had a son, Isaac, when his wife Sarah was ninety years of age. His descendants, both natural and spiritual, are, as God promised, more numerous than he could have ever imagined.
What was it that sustained this man of God as he followed his Lord he knew not where? What was the source of his faith?
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Heb. 11:8-10)
Somehow, even before the institution of the Old Covenant, Abraham had an understanding and vision of the city of God. Through this, there is no doubt that he had an understanding of the coming of Jesus Christ, of the cross and redemption and of the eternal city towards which it was all pointing. He understood the desire of God for relationship and fellowship with man, and was the pioneer of the faith upon which this relationship is based. This vision sustained him as he endured the hardship and insecurity of living in tents in the sometimes harsh middle-eastern environment.
He was not alone, for the Bible tells us that many others had this same understanding at the very foundation of their lives.
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Heb. 11:13-16)
Thus we can see that at the very centre of God’s eternal purpose is the creation of the New Jerusalem, the city of God, in which he will live and walk in fellowship with his people forever. As, by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit causes us to catch a vision of that city, it becomes the centre of our lives. Everything that happens to us is planned, in some way or other, to prepare us to take our part in that city. All the dealings of God in our lives are part of this process of fashioning and shaping our character so that we can grow in the knowledge of God and fulfil the role in that city that he has destined for us from before the foundation of the world.
The remainder of these studies are devoted to an examination of our relationship with God and the ways in which he causes us to grow in that relationship. This is at the very foundation of our understanding of the eternal purpose of God.
Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers,
consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. (Ps. 48:12-13)
In the last four chapters we have looked at three of the major themes of the New Testament, namely:
These have been seen as different aspects of the eternal purpose of God, divided in this way to make it easier for us to grasp. The purpose of God, of course, is one and as these different aspects of his purpose interact in practical everyday ways with our lives, they overlap in many respects.
In some ways they may be seen as stages of spiritual development through which the Holy Spirit charts a course for us. In any particular area or issue of life, the Lord first of all brings us to the point of submission to his will. It is only then that his nature and life can find expression in our demeanour and in our actions. And it is not until we are demonstrating in real and practical ways the fact that we are "partakers of the divine nature" that we can enter into a real and meaningful relationship with the Lord.
On the other hand, we may see them as three different levels on which God will meet and deal with his people.
In the kingdom of God we have those who relate to him on the basis of law. In other words there are those who are satisfied with a Christian life which consists of a set of rules and regulations and in which success is measured by submission and obedience to these rules. This is a very elementary understanding of the meaning of the kingdom and is the least satisfactory means by which we relate to God. The rules may well be right and proper, but on its own such an approach breeds self-righteousness and ultimately chokes off any real or fruitful relationship with the Lord.
On the other hand, there are others who see their relationship with God as being based upon "doing things," that is, being part of the body of Christ in action. It is most important to note here that while there is no doubt that a real relationship with God will produce appropriate action, it is also clear that all the well-intentioned deeds in the world will not contribute one iota towards a deepening relationship with God. In other words, we must not expect that we will find favour with God because of the things we do. His blessing comes to us by his grace alone, and it is from this starting point that any fruit we bear is produced.
God’s highest purpose for each and every one of us is symbolised by the city of God, in that his great yearning and desire is to draw us into a real and intimate love relationship. From this relationship will flow joyful submission to his will and the outworking of his love through our lives. But it is this relationship which is the hidden source of everything we need and are.
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