«　WEEK 6　DAY 6　»

　　Psa. 27:4 One thing I have asked from Jehovah; that do I seek: to dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Jehovah, and to inquire in His temple.

　　46:4-5 There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she will not be moved; God helps her at the dawn of the morning.

　　The main aspects of the house speak of God’s presence, whereas the principal aspects of the city bespeak God’s authority, God’s ruling power, God’s reigning. Hence, the house is for the expression of God, and the city is for the dominion of God. The house and the city of God fulfill the purpose of God in the creation of man as expressed in Genesis 1:26….The image is for the expression, and the dominion is for the authority. Eventually, through Christ and with Christ we have the house for God’s presence, as God’s expression, and we have the city for God’s authority, as God’s dominion. God’s eternal purpose is fulfilled by the house and the city. In the house God is a Father, and in the city God is a King. Both the house and the city are the church, or we may say, the local churches. A local church, in one sense, must be the house of God, and in another sense it must also be the city of God. (CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” p. 198)

　　A city is much stronger and larger than a house. Therefore, we say that when the house is enlarged, it becomes the city, just as the New Jerusalem. We are told that in the New Jerusalem there will be no temple (Rev. 21:22), no house, but just the city. It is because the entire city of the New Jerusalem is the enlargement of the temple. The temple enlarged becomes the city. It is larger, stronger, and safer than the house.

　　We can apply the principle of the house and the city to the local churches in this way: If the presence of God is among us, if when people come to our meeting, they worship and say, “God indeed is among you,” this is the house. If, on the other hand, when people come among us and realize that there is not only the presence of God but some kind of divine rule and authority, this is not only the house but the house with the city.

　　Sometimes in a local church we sense the presence of God but not much of God’s authority. We sense that God is among them, but that on the other hand there is a shortage of divine order. That means that in that local church there is the reality of the house but not much of the city. In other churches we sense not only the presence of God but also something of divine government and heavenly authority. That is the city. If a local church is in this kind of situation, that church is considerably stronger and safer. It is more elevated, more established, and more enlarged. It is not only the house but the house with the city.

　　The Psalms show us that God’s intention is to recover His title, His legal rights, over the whole earth through Christ in the church, through Christ in the house, through Christ in the city. Hence, there is the need of the holy mountain of Zion. We not only need Christ, but Christ in Zion, Christ in the holy mountain. Thus, we have seen that the beachhead, the steppingstone, for God to take over the earth is the church. The building up of the church is not a small matter; it is the key to God’s purpose. This is His work; it is not ours, and we have no ambition in this affair. But we are burdened today that God must have His key. Without the house, without the city, there is no beachhead for God to launch back and recover the earth. (CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” pp. 198-201)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” ch. 24; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Issue of Christ Being Glorified by the Father with the Divine Glory,” chs. 3-5