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One with the Church Above, June 10
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.
Ephesians 3:14, 15
.
The church of God upon the earth is one with the church of God above.
Believers on the earth, and those who have never fallen in heaven, are
one church. Every heavenly intelligence is interested in the assemblies
of the saints, who on earth meet to worship God in spirit and truth, and
in the beauty of holiness. In the inner court of heaven they listen to the
testimonies of the witnesses for Christ in the outer court on earth, and
the praise and thanksgiving that comes from the church below, is taken
up in the heavenly anthem, and praise and rejoicing resounds through
the heavenly court because Christ has not died in vain for the fallen sons
of Adam. While angels drink from the fountainhead, the saints on earth
drink of the pure streams flowing from the throne of God, making glad
the city of God....
In every assembly of the saints below, are the angels of God listening
to the thanksgiving, the praise, the supplication, that is offered by the
people of God in testimonies, songs, and prayers. Let them remember that
their praises are supplemented by the choirs of the angelic host above....
The company of believers may be few in number, but they have been
taken by the cleaver of truth as rough stones from the quarry of the world
... to be fitted up by test and trial for a place in God’s heavenly temple,
and they are very precious in the sight of the Lord.... Even in the rough
they are precious in the sight of God. The ax and the hammer and the
chisel of trial and test are in the hands of One who is skillful, and are used
not to destroy, not to bring to nothingness, but to work out the perfections
of every soul....
The Lord will no more cast off the humblest, lowliest believer in Jesus,
than He will demolish His throne. We are accepted in the Beloved. We
are members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King, heirs of
God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
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