Job, David VS the New Jerusalem — God’s Building
Matthew 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome her.
Ephesians 3:17 That Christ might make his home in your hearts by faith, that you might be rooted and established in love.
Revelation 21:2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
|
Aspect |
Job |
David |
The New Jerusalem — God’s Building |
|
Theme |
The highest achievement of human perfection |
A man according to God’s heart |
The ultimate consummation of God’s eternal economy |
|
Meaning |
A representative of human integrity, uprightness, and fear of God |
A representative of loving God and responding to His will |
The mingling of divinity and humanity as one corporate entity |
|
Reason |
To expose the limitation of human virtue apart from God Himself |
To reveal that loving God is not sufficient without God wrought into man |
To fulfill God’s desire to build Himself into His redeemed people |
|
Lesson |
God strips man of all achievements to gain man Himself |
Being after God’s heart still requires Christ living within |
God’s goal is not behavior but building |
|
Function / Effect |
Shows that human perfection cannot satisfy God |
Shows that outward faithfulness can still fail |
Produces a corporate man as God’s mutual dwelling place |
|
Explanation |
Job was perfect outwardly, yet lacked God inwardly |
David loved God but fell because God was not built into him |
The New Jerusalem is God and man dwelling in one another |
|
Relationship |
Reveals the limit of natural human life |
Transitional figure pointing to Christ within |
The ultimate completion of Job’s and David’s experiences |
|
Example |
God questioned Job, bringing him to self-nullification |
God promised to build David a house (2 Sam. 7) |
The city with gates and foundations bearing God’s people’s names |
|
Application |
Stop trusting spiritual achievements |
Seek Christ living in us, not merely loving God |
Allow God to build Himself into us daily |
|
Burden |
Let go of “how perfect I am” |
Let go of “how much I love God” |
Receive God to become our intrinsic constitution |
|
Prophesying Guidance |
Human virtue cannot replace God Himself |
God desires inward reality, not outward devotion |
God’s goal is a built-up corporate expression |
|
Conclusion |
Job ends with gaining God Himself |
David points to the need of Christ as life |
The New Jerusalem consummates God’s building work |
|
Related Scriptures |
Job 1:1; 42:1–6 |
2 Sam. 7:12–14; Ps. 51; Gal. 2:20 |
Rev. 21:2–3, 12, 14, 22; John 14:23; 1 Cor. 3:12; Eph. 2:21–22 |
Core Summary:
Job and David reveal the highest human spirituality, yet both fall short; only the New Jerusalem fulfills God’s heart by producing a corporate entity where the processed Triune God and redeemed humanity are mingled and built together.
*Please refer to the 2025 Thanksgiving International Symposium on Christ, the All-Inclusive Christ Revealed in the Gospel of Matthew, Part Four: Christ as the Center of the Processed Triune God.
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