Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:22-23; 2:22; 3:16-21; 4:1-6; 5:26-27; 6:10-18; Psa. 48:2; 84:5-7, 10-11; 87:1-7; 132:13-18; 133:1-3; 134:1-3
Ⅰ
The overcomers as the reality of the Body of Christ are the high peak, the center, the uplifting, the strengthening, the enriching, the beauty, and the reality of the church—Psa. 48:2, 11-12; 50:2; 20:2; 53:6a; 87:2:
A
Zion is the center of the city of Jerusalem, where the temple as God's dwelling place on earth was built; Zion within Jerusalem typifies the body of overcomers, the perfected and matured God-men, within the church as the heavenly Jeru-salem—Heb. 12:22; Rev. 14:1-5:
１
Within the church life there must be a group of overcomers, and these over-comers are today's Zion.
２
Without Zion (the overcomers), Jerusalem (the church life) cannot be kept and maintained; if there are no overcomers in a local church, that church is like Jerusalem without Zion; it will become like a flat tire.
B
The overcomers as the very Zion are the intrinsic reality of the spiritual reve-lation in the holy Word of God.
C
Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians reveals the living of the overcomers, who live in the reality of the Body of Christ by living in the mingled spirit:
１
The reality of the Body of Christ is the highest peak in God's economy and the top revelation of the Bible, revealed through a spirit of wisdom and revelation—Eph. 1:17, 22-23.
２
The reality of the church as the Body of Christ is a living in the mingled spirit, which is the dwelling place of God, the house of God, today's Bethel, the gate of heaven, and the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of the pneu-matic Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God, who is typified by the Ark—2:22; Gen. 28:12-17; John 1:51; Heb. 9:3-4; 10:19-22.
３
The reality of the Body of Christ is the sum total of all the new persons within all of us; we need to pray to be strengthened with power into the inner man for the reality of the Body of Christ, which is the inner experi-ence of the indwelling Christ as life for God's glory in the church—Eph. 3:16-21.
４
The reality of the Body of Christ is the corporate living of the God-men, who are united, mingled, and constituted together with God by the mingling of humanity with divinity and divinity with humanity—4:1-6, 15-16.
５
The reality of the Body of Christ is the reality in Jesus, the actual condi-tion of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels, duplicated in His many members as the corporate living of the perfected God through the renewing of the mind by the renewing Spirit mingled with our regenerated spirit—vv. 20-24; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:19-21a; 4:11-13.
６
The church is filled with the beautifying, bride-preparing Spirit, who is mingled with our spirit, to be Christ's holy, beautiful, God-expressing bride, a bride without blemish or imperfection—Eph. 5:18, 26-27; Isa. 60:7, 19; 62:3; Exo. 28:2; cf. Psa. 27:4; 48:2; 50:2; 110:2-3, 7; Isa. 28:5; 60:21; 61:3.
７
For Christ to be victorious in our entire being, we must experience the slaying Spirit mingled with our spirit so that everything of God's adversary can be killed within us, enabling us to rule in the divine life of the Spirit over Satan, sin, and death for God's dominion and to live a healthy Body life, a healthy church life—Eph. 6:10-18; Psa. 48:12-13.
Ⅱ
The overcomers enjoy Christ as the incarnated Triune God, the God-man, and are those in whose heart are the highways to Zion—"blessed is the man whose strength is in You, / In whose heart are the highways to Zion. / Passing through the valley of Baca, / They make it a spring; / Indeed the early rain covers it with blessings. / They go from strength to strength; / Each appears before God in Zion"—84:5-7:
A
The strippings and weepings result in the enjoyment of the loveliness and sweetness of God's house—vv. 1, 6 and footnotes 11 and 61; cf. 73:26 and foot-note 1.
B
While we are weeping, we are being filled with the Spirit, and the Spirit becomes our spring and the early rain—84:6.
C
The highways to Zion signify our intention to enter into the church as the house of God with the two altars, which signify the leading consummations of the work of the incarnated Triune God, who is Christ as the embodiment of God for His increase—vv. 5, 3.
D
In the church as God's house, although we are on earth, we are nonetheless in the heavenly Zion—Heb. 12:22-23.
E
The blessings of our dwelling in the house of God are our enjoyment of the incarnated and consummated Triune God as our sun to supply us with life (John 1:4; 8:12), as our shield to protect us from God's enemy (Eph. 6:11-17), as grace for our enjoyment (John 1:14, 17), and as glory for the manifestation of God in splendor (Rev. 21:11, 23)—Psa. 84:11.
F
Such enjoyment keeps us in His courts and at the threshold of His house—v. 10.
Ⅲ
"His foundation is in the holy mountains. / Jehovah loves the gates of Zion"—87:1-2a:
A
Zion as a type of the overcomers in the church is built on the highest peak of the "holy mountains," which typify the local churches, and whose foundation is Christ (v. 1); the heavenly Zion, of which glorious things are spoken (v. 3), will be the final place of rest for the overcomers (Rev. 14:1).
B
The gates of Zion are for coming in and going out, signifying fellowship; the fact that the New Jerusalem will have twelve gates (21:12, 21) indicates that God's holy city will be full of fellowship.
C
"Of Zion it will be said, / This one and that one were born in her, / And the Most High Himself will establish her. / Jehovah will count / When He records the peoples: / This One was born there" (Psa. 87:5-6); the unique One, Christ, who is the totality of all the saints ("this one" and "that one"), is the One who is all the saints and in all the saints (Col. 3:11).
D
"I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as those who know Me; / Behold, Philistia and Tyre along with Cush: / This one was born there, they say" (Psa. 87:4); the people from these five places represent all the people on earth; the people in these places boast of the famous persons born there.
E
"All my springs are in you" (v. 7); let Egypt boast of the Nile and let Babylon boast of the Euphrates; they do not have the springs, but we in Zion have them.
Ⅳ
The Songs of Ascents (Psa. 120—134) speak of the preciousness of Zion and Jerusalem in the experiences and praises of the saints:
A
Psalm 132 mentions seven precious items related to the overcomers in their going up to Zion; these items are at the top of the church life, and they portray the situation of the overcomers in Zion, the highest peak of God's mountain— vv. 13-18:
１
Resting with God—"this is My resting place forever" (v. 14a).
２
Dwelling with God—"here will I dwell, for I have desired it" (v. 14b).
３
Food for satisfaction—"I will abundantly bless its provision; / I will satisfy its poor with bread" (v. 15).
４
Glorious clothing—"its priests I will clothe with salvation, / And its faithful ones will shout with a ringing shout" (v. 16; cf. Exo. 28:2).
５
The horn of victory—"there I will cause a horn of David to shoot forth" (Psa. 132:17a).
６
The enlightening lamp—"I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one" (v. 17b).
７
The shining crown—"I will clothe his enemies with shame, / But on him his crown will shine" (v. 18; cf. Isa. 62:3).
B
When Zion is built up as depicted in Psalm 132, we have a place where we can gather and where we can dwell together in oneness; how good and how plea-sant this is!—133:1-3.
C
"May Jehovah, who made heaven and earth, / Bless you from Zion" (134:3); wherever there are some overcomers, there will be God's blessing; God always blesses His people from Zion, from the highest peak, from the ones who have attained to the top, to the position of the overcomers; from this position God blesses all His people.
Ⅴ
Today in the church age, the God who are perfected and matured are Zion, the overcomers, the vital groups within the churches, but in the new heaven and new earth, there will be no more Zion, only Jerusalem, because all the unqualified saints will have been qualified to be Zion.