Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 1:30; 3:11-12a; Phil. 2:17; 3:10; Eph. 3:17-19; 4:16

Ⅰ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ as the foundation—1 Cor. 3:11:

A　

Christ as the living foundation holds and supports the entire church—v. 11.

B　

While Christ is holding and supporting, He is dispensing His divine element of life into us; this dispensing of Himself as the life element into our being will transform us into precious materials—v. 12a; 2 Cor. 3:18; Zech. 3:9; 4:10.

C　

Christ as the foundation also grows, and as the foundation grows, it imparts His growth into us—Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:15-16.

Ⅱ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ as the cornerstone—Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6:

A　

Christ as the cornerstone joins together the two walls, one wall being the Jewish believers, and the other, the Gentile believers—Eph. 3:6.

B　

The Jewish leaders rejected Christ as the cornerstone; however, to God this Christ is precious, and to the believers He is the preciousness—Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:6-7.

C　

In Christ, the cornerstone, all the building, including both the Jewish and the Gentile believers, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord—Eph. 2:20-21.

Ⅲ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ as the topstone—Zech. 4:7; 1 Cor. 15:10:

A　

To bring forth the topstone is to complete the building; the shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" indicate that the topstone itself is grace—Zech. 4:7.

B　

The topstone typifies Christ, who is the grace from God to us to be the covering of God's building—1 Cor. 15:10; John 1:16-17.

Ⅳ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ as the peace offering—Eph. 2:14:

A　

As the reality of the peace offering, Christ is our peace; through Him and in Him we have peace with God and with one another—Lev. 3:1-5; Eph. 2:14-15.

B　

We need to experience Christ as the peace offering for the Body of Christ— vv. 14-17; 4:3; 6:15; Col. 1:20-22; 3:15.

Ⅴ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ as the precious building materials—1 Cor. 3:12a:

A　

Gold, silver, and precious stones signify the various experiences of Christ in the virtues and attributes of the Triune God—v. 12a.

B　

We must build the church with Christ, both in objective knowledge and in subjective experience, as Paul did—Phil. 3:7-10.

Ⅵ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ as wisdom to us from God—1 Cor. 1:30:

A　

The crucified Christ preached by the apostles is the wisdom of God—v. 24; cf. 3:18-20; 2 Cor. 1:12; James 3:15.

B　

God's wisdom is Christ, who is the hidden mystery, predestined, predesignated, and ordained before the ages for our glory—1 Cor. 2:6-7; Col. 1:26-27.

Ⅶ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ in the power of His resurrection—Phil. 3:10-11:

A　

The power of Christ's resurrection is His resurrection life, which raised Him from the dead; the Spirit is the reality of Christ's resurrection and its power— Eph. 1:19-20; Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 1 John 5:6.

B　

For the temple, the reality of the Body of Christ, we must be absolutely in the resurrection life of Christ—John 11:25.

Ⅷ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ in His death—Phil. 3:10; S. S. 4:5-6:

A　

The mold of Christ's death refers to His continual putting to death of His natural, human life so that He might live by the life of God—John 6:57a.

B　

God has put us into the mold of Christ's death, and day by day God is molding us to conform us to this death—Rom. 6:3-4; Phil. 3:10-11.

Ⅸ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ in His love—2 Cor. 5:14; Eph. 3:17-19; 4:16:

A　

The love of Christ constrains us; this is the love of Christ toward us, which was manifested on the cross, through His dying for us—Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:25.

B　

As we are rooted and grounded in Christ's love, we grow and are built up in His life and know His immeasurable, knowledge-surpassing love—3:17-19.

C　

The Body builds itself up in love—the love of God in Christ, which becomes the love of Christ in us, by which we love Christ and the fellow members of His Body—4:16.

Ⅹ　

For the building of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ as the drink offering—Phil. 2:17; Gen. 35:14:

A　

The drink offering typifies Christ as the One poured out as the real wine before God for His satisfaction—Exo. 29:40-42.

B　

The drink offering typifies not only Christ Himself but also the Christ who saturates us with Himself as heavenly wine until He and we become one to be poured out for God's enjoyment and satisfaction and for God's building—Gen. 35:14; Matt. 9:17; Phil. 2:17.