El-bethel

Genesis 35:7And he built an altar there and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother. 

El-bethel, God of the house of God, signifies the experience of God as the Body, the church, the house of God. This corporate experience of Christ in the church is a much higher experience of the Lord than a personal experience of the Lord individually. Jacob, a representative of all the believers, had both the experiences, beginning with his individual experience, and then progressing to the corporate experience. This is exactly what many believers have been experiencing, especially those who progressed in their Christian lives and proceed further to the Body life. 

Our Christian life is not merely for salvation, nor for spirituality alone, but for the building up of the Body of Christ. Salvation experiences must lead one to spiritual growth, development, and maturity for the building up of the Body of Christ. Else, the fate of such spirituality without the Body nor for the Body will be a conglomeration of divided individual spiritual zealots. God is not after a collection of giants, not builded nor blended, but after the builded Body, that He can indeed be El-bethel. 

Once I cared for my salvation so much, and God graced me the wonderful salvation. Then I sought for spirituality with all hunger and thirst, God has been gracing me that too. Now, my burden is, based on the salvation and spirituality I have been graced with, I am for the building of God's house. Throughout the ages, many lovers and seekers of the Lord have spent their whole being for spirituality, this of course, is much better than worldliness, but is not sufficient for God to accomplish His purpose. Only Bethel, the house of God being gained, and God being the God of Bethel, El-bethel, can fulfill God’s heart's desire. 

This is the need of the age, and only the recovery of the Body life that builds the Body up as the Bride of Christ can only bring the Lord back. My Christian life, my church life, and my service must be for this. 

As we were enjoying this truth in a fellowship of the brothers in the church in Gurugram, we brothers testified whole heartedly and thanked the Lord for gracing us to see the vision of the Body, and live in it. And how we wish that all the believers too see such a vision of the Body and be for the Body of Christ. 

God, the El-bethel, grace us all Your children for Your house, Your heart's desire.