THE ALTAR
God's building does not need smart or stupid people, but only those who have been put on the cross, those who have been killed, and burned on the altar, those who have been checked, judged, and disposed of.
THE PURGING IN THE OUTER COURT
Why are so many Christians not experiencing the proper building of the church on the earth today? The reason is that some are still in Babel, some in Sodom and some in Egypt. Some have indeed departed from these evil realms, but they are still full of the germs of idolatry, sin, and worldly enjoyment. In the so-called churches of today we can sometimes hear announcements concerning pleasures and amusements. These are the germs. It is impossible to have a proper church life in this way. The reason for this is that many have not experienced the dealing of the altar and the purging of the laver. Thus, there is no foundation for the boundary line of the church.
God's building must have a definite boundary line. Within that line everything belongs to the building; outside that line everything either belongs to Babel, to Sodom, or to the storage cities of Egypt. Today's fallen Christianity does not have the proper, necessary boundary line. Such a boundary line has never been built up; it has never been drawn. The people there are still participating in in idols, sin, and the treasures of worldly enjoyment. They have never experienced the bronze altar and the bronze laver. They have never been judged and put to death on the altar or cleansed and purged by the laver. If we would practice the church life and share in the building of God, we must first experience the bronze altar with the bronze laver. Then we will have the bronze sockets laid as the foundation of the boundary line. It is by such experiences that the boundary line of God's building is established.