Tuesday

Related Verses

Eph. 2:21-22
21 In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord;
22 In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.

1 Cor. 3:6, 9
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s cultivated land, God’s building.

Col. 2:19
19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.

Eph. 4:12-13
12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,
13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

1 Pet. 2:2
2 As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation,

Related Reading

[In Ephesians 2:21] we see that in Christ, who is the cornerstone, all the building, including both Jewish and Gentile believers, is fitted together and is growing into a holy temple.

The actual building of the church as the house of God is by the growth in life of the believers. Today the church is growing. However, it is not growing in our natural life, but in the divine life, the spiritual life.

The word fitted means being made suitable for the condition and situation of the building.

As the Body of Christ, the church has been regenerated, and as the house of God, the church is being built. Apparently, growth and building are separate things. Actually, the building of the house is the growth of the Body. If the Body does not grow, the house cannot be built. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 236, 233) [Week 8, Day 3, Morning Nourishment]

In the Scriptures we often see that growth and building are linked together.

First Corinthians 3:9 says, “You are God’s cultivated land, God’s building.” As God’s cultivated land, we need to grow; as God’s building, we need to be built up…Hence, Ephesians 2 says that this spiritual house, this dwelling place of God, is built up by growing (vv. 21-22), just as our body reaches its full stature by growing. Moreover, 1 Peter 2 says that having been saved and having put away sins, we need to long for the spiritual milk so that we may grow (vv. 1-2). Following this, it says that as living stones we are being built up as a spiritual house (v. 5). Ephesians 4:12-13 says, “Unto the building up of the Body of Christ, until we all arrive…at a full-grown man.”…The more we grow, the more we are built up…God’s growth and mingling in us are God’s building. (CWWL, 1958, vol. 2, “The Building Work of God,” p. 279)

[God] gives the growth by getting into us…The growth of the Body depends on the growth of God, the addition of God, the increase of God, within us. Therefore, God gives the growth by giving Himself to us in a very subjective way.

We should daily take time to absorb the Lord, take time to assimilate the riches of Christ. Our contact with the Lord should not be rushed. If we are in a hurry, we shall not be able to absorb much of His riches. We need to allow adequate time for prayer. This will enable us to absorb more of the riches of our God.

Our God today is the processed, all-inclusive Spirit, and we have a spirit with which to absorb Him. Thus, we must exercise our spirit to stay in His presence to absorb Him. This takes time. Although we all have experienced absorbing the riches of God, our experience is not yet adequate…Do not spend so much time in your mind, emotion, and will, but spend more time in your spirit to adore the Lord, to praise Him, to offer thanks to Him, and to speak to Him freely. As you fellowship with Him in this way, you will absorb His riches, and He will add more of Himself into you. The more God is added into us, the more growth He gives to us. This is the way God gives the growth.

Only God can give growth. In my ministry the most I can do is to plant or water. I cannot give growth to anyone, for I cannot give God. Only God can give you Himself…God Himself is our food, and we need to seek Him at His dining table, where we need to take time to eat Him slowly. Then more of Him will be added into us. This addition of God into us is the growth He gives. For God to give us growth actually means that He gives us Himself. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 456-457) [Week 8, Day 3, Today’s Reading]

Corporate Reading: The Meaning of Human Life and a Proper Consecration, chapter 10, section(s): Three Crucial Items for the Release of the Lord’s Life