Page 133 - The Christian Life and the Church Life_Government of God

The Recovery of the Church as the Israel of God 132

The church has many aspects. At the basic level it is the assembly of all
the believers, the ekklesia, those called out of the world to meet in oneness.
It is the house and household of God; the church is the new man; the church
is the counterpart of Christ; the church is the golden lampstand; and we are
quite familiar with aspects of the church as the family of God with all the
children of God becoming sons of God for God’s expression. But let us
remember something foundational revealed in Genesis 1:26-28 – why God
created us. On the positive side, we were created in God’s image with His
likeness to express Him in a corporate way – this is God’s eternal purpose,
but at the same time, we were created to exercise dominion over the earth, to
subdue the earth, because there is an enemy usurping things. This is a very
crucial matter which Brother Nee called the work of God.
We may do many necessary works that benefit people, as we should
and must, like the work of gospel preaching for salvation, but God has a
need. A creature has rebelled, and certain creatures followed him to make
up his own kingdom. There must be a creature to deal with this rebellious
creature; and that is the man who corporately expresses God. Brother Nee
points out that there is no room for the self in doing this work. We have this
commission to exercise dominion. The Lord Himself, when He came, came
as the King, the kingdom, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, teaching
the truths of the kingdom, commissioning us to proclaim the gospel of the
kingdom; because in God’s view, ultimately, our salvation is for the kingdom
of God. And through the church as the kingdom of God, God has a way,
through the victorious Christ, to deal with his enemy. But remember, the
kingdom of God is the realm, and in this realm is the government. We must
not only be in this realm, but we must also be under the government in this
realm. That will involve, as the Lord wills, His dealing with anything in us
personally, and in the church corporately, that is contrary to His government.
But simultaneously there will be abundant provision and grace upon grace,
blessing upon blessing, for us to grow to maturity. Then the Lord will be able
to recover an aspect of the church that still needs to be recovered among us –
that is, the church as the Israel of God.

The church has many aspects. At the basic level it is the assembly of all
the believers, the ekklesia, those called out of the world to meet in oneness.
It is the house and household of God; the church is the new man; the church