The Book of Genesis begins with life, a river, and the building materials of gold, bdellium (pearl), and onyx stones. The Book of Revelation ends with the New Jerusalem, a city filled with life and built of precious stones, and a river. In between, the Gospel of John is a bridge laying out God’s plan to dispense divine life into man by forming living stones with which the Holy Spirit can construct the church as a living organism.
When we consider the entire Bible, we see that God’s eternal purpose and good pleasure of His will is to build His church. To carry out His purpose God has a plan which is centered on Messiah who came to earth as a divine man, who was crucified for our redemption, resurrected to be our life, and ascended to the heavens to open a portal for us to sit with Him in heavenly places. God’s intent is to impart the riches of Messiah into His believers and build them together. The Lord cannot build us together with our fleshly, or fallen nature. Jesus can only build His church with the life produced in us. Life creates people who are suitable building materials. The Holy Spirit connects believers together in a community which becomes a living organism connected by the “bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
In this way, believers grow and are transformed into precious materials for God’s building. As the believers come together in Spirit and in oneness, the work of building is carried out for the glory of God.
