Return to the Church Christ Is Building: Unless the Lord Builds the House, They Labor in Vain Who Build It; Psalm 127:1 (Nasb)

By Walter W. Fox Jr.

The focus of this book is how and why Christ is building His church. There are men building churches, and there is the church Christ is building. The church Christ is building is not natural; it’s spiritual. It’s the lampstand church. Jesus walked among the lampstands in each of the seven churches in Revelation. The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands. Revelation 2:1. (NASB) Christ has been restoring truth lost after the early church ended with the persecution of Christians under Emperor Domitian (81-96 AD). God will fulfill His eternal purpose by restoring the priesthood of all believers and the lampstand church. You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, 1 Peter 2:5. (NASB) The priesthood is the preparation for perfecting the bride of Christ who will rule and reign with Christ in eternity future. The eternal purpose of God for this present world and His creation and the church age is to prepare a Kingdom people to rule over the world yet to come.

For He did not subject to angels the world to come, Hebrews 2:5.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664110618

Walter W. Fox Jr.

Sandy and Walter Fox were not saved during their initial nine--­year marriage. It was their first marriage. They divorced in the ninth year. After seven years of divorce, God saved Walter and told him to “return to the wife of his youth.” Walter and other believers began to pray for the reconciliation of his marriage. Sandy received the Lord in her heart following a Sunday morning church service several months later. After a season of restoration, they were married again in the Lord. They wrote this book to share their testimony of God’s abundant love, mercy and power. The book will bring to the reader a renewed hope and faith in God’s power to heal marriages. Sandy and Walter believe husbands and wives can live an abundant married life in Christ and bring joy to the heart of God. The same healing anointing God poured into their lives, is available to every Christian couple willing to allow God to become first in their marriage! Sandy and Walter are ordained ministers and currently oversee LoveSavers Ministry and LoveSaversRADIO productions. Their web site is www.lovesaversministry.com.

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Copyright © 2021 by Walter W. Fox, Jr.

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Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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Rev. date: 10/23/2021

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

About the Book

Chapter 1 Restoration of a Broken Marriage: A Personal Testimony

Chapter 2 Before the Foundation of the World

Chapter 3 A Birdseye View of Church History

Chapter 4 Eve and the Glorious Church

Chapter 5 Restoration of the Tabernacle of David

Chapter 6 Build According to the Pattern

Chapter 7 The Early Church

Chapter 8 God’s Message to the Lukewarm Church

Chapter 9 The Seven Foundations of the Christian Life

Chapter 10 The Church Men are Building

Chapter 11 Church Ministry

Chapter 12 The Consecration Offering

Chapter 13 The Lampstand Church

Chapter 14 The Seven Spirits of God

Chapter 15 Growing Up into All Aspects of Christ

Chapter 16 The Marriage of the Lamb

FOREWORD

As we move ahead into the restoration of the priesthood of all believers, we need to be aware that old patterns, old doctrines, and past experiences will not serve to move the church from the outer court into the holy place. In other words, the corporate church moves from a natural church into the lampstand church that functions in the holy place. The lampstand church views everything in the Spirit by the illumination that comes from the golden lampstand and the seven spirits of God before the throne of God found in Revelation 1:4. The showbread represents the living and abiding word of God. The seven spirits of God provide the revelation of the word of God to the ministry of the lampstand church. The current system of the church will become obsolete in the next holy place dimension of illumination. If we can’t see this and we insist upon remaining in the status quo, we will soon be walking in a relative degree of darkness. Outer court ministries that focus only on the outer court dimension of ministry will soon find themselves without a valid ministry. The lack of vision in today’s ministries has never been so critical since the early church. In all past restorations, we have not seen the transition from one measure of light to another, which is about to take place in the visible church. Of course, He has always been building His church in the holy place dimension. The visible church has not been confronted with the illumination of the fullness of the seven spirits of God. Those who refuse to make the transition will soon find themselves in more irrelevant activity and losing their mature believers to the next restoration. Those believers who are dissatisfied and are desperate today for new life will be looking for the ultimate truth of salvation. Thousands will soon be asking the way to Zion.

Pastor Leo Fenton

Eternal Vision Ministries

New Philadelphia, Ohio

eternalvisionministries.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am very grateful to God for interrupting my path to destruction. He is worthy of being praised! I want to acknowledge those God placed in my life who were used by God to counsel and pray for the reconciliation of my marriage. We are grateful to Dr. Howard Morgan, a born-again Jewish believer for his anointed counsel, his prophetic word over our lives and the many bible studies conducted in the basement of his house in Brooklyn and several years of teaching in a New York apartment on East 69th Street in New York City provided by a good friend in the Lord, the late Joe DeVoto. I also want to acknowledge the late Arthur Katz and his wife the late Inger Katz, who God used to minister salvation to my wife Sandy in the early 1980’s.

I’m also very grateful for the prophetic teaching ministry of Pastor Leo Fenton. Pastor Leo’s teachings focus on God’s eternal purpose and represent the foundational teachings in this book. Leo’s teachings encourage the church to move from the outer court dimension into the holy place dimension to fulfill God’s eternal purpose. The transition from the outer court into the holy place is essential in making the consecration offering, according to Romans 12:1. I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (NASB)

I acknowledge the faithfulness of my wife Sandy and her willingness to trust God in times of trial. Her faith has always been a blessing as a helpmate in our life and ministry. Sandy and I have a Christian radio program on a local Christian radio station on eastern Long Island. We interview best-selling Christian authors like Gary Chapman, Greg Smalley, and Gary Thomas each week following Focus on the Family. Sandy does the interviewing and has done more than 260 interviews over the past five years.

My daughter Cassandra has been tremendous support at many levels in our walk with the Lord. Cassandra hears from the Lord and has always encouraged us with Holy Spirit wisdom and council. She is a blessing in every way and will reap the rewards from God for honoring her mother and Father, as promised in the word of God.

Our son Walter III has matured into a talented adult who has a big heart and is in the center of God’s plans for his life. We look forward to seeing what God will do as Walter III continues to add more success to everything he does.

INTRODUCTION

The restoration of my marriage led to many spiritual insights regarding God’s eternal purpose in creating and saving us. Our willingness to obey the Lord opened my eyes to the hidden manna. After over 40 years of serving the Lord, I now see the keys to the Kingdom of God. God is restoring the priesthood of all believers and preparing the bride of Christ for the marriage of the Lamb in eternity future.

The church system we see today began over 1,500 years ago. Emperor Constantine the Great played an essential role in the Edit of Milan conducted in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance for Christianity in the Roman Empire. Constantine was influenced by his Greek mother, who was a Christian. As a result of his degree of tolerance, Constantine designed the church system we see today. He modeled the church after the hierarchy of the Roman Empire. One of the most notable departures from the first-century church structure was creating the pulpit/pew system. The pulpit/pew was never a part of the first-century church or God’s design for the church. The head of the Roman Government was the emperor. The head of this new church system was the Bishop of Rome or the pope.

The focus of this book is how and why Christ is building His church. The church He is building is not natural; it’s spiritual. The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, Revelation 2:1. (NASB) Jesus walked among the lampstands in each of the seven churches in Revelation. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, Revelation 2:11. (NASB) Christ is building the lampstand church. We refer to the church men are building as the outer court church. The experiences in the outer court prepare believers to participate in the lampstand church as New Testament priests. The New Testament priesthood and the preparation of the bride of Christ are essential truths as we move closer to the end of the age of the Gentiles and the return of the Lord.

God has no plans for the first Adam created from the dirt of the ground. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come, 2 Corinthians 5:17. (NASB) Born-again Christians are not ordinary people. They are unique creatures; they are a new species upon the earth. Before Calvary, this species did not exist.

A species came from Adam, the first man, but this new species originated in heaven and comes from Christ, the last Adam. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive, 1 Corinthians15: 20-22. (NASB)

We can say that the new creature in Christ is a new Genesis: So also, it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the Second Man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so to are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say this, brethren, that flesh, and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable, 1 Corinthians 15:45-50. (NASB) We look to the book of Genesis to see what God purposed for His creation.

In Genesis chapters 1 and 2, God created man and woman. He made Adam from the dirt of the ground and breathed life into his nostrils. Then the Lord God formed man of dirt from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being, Genesis 2:7. (NASB)

God made the woman differently than He made the man. She was not made from the dirt of the ground. He made the woman from a bone from the side of the man. God did not breathe the breath of life into the woman because she took her life from Adam. Adam was the first human species on earth that existed from Genesis 1 until Calvary. From Calvary on, God created a new species. This species is called the new creation.

This new creation still carries around something of the first creation, even though we are not of the first creation. The reason is that the new creation begins as a spiritual embryo within the old creation. The embryo is formed when we conceive the seed or Word of God within our inner man. This embryo needs to grow to maturity. It’s the Spirit of Christ (Word of God) that comes into the old creation to produce the embryo. Christ in us, the hope of glory. That moment is best described as the embryotic conception of Christ within our inner man. It is the Spirit of Christ that creates the conception to produce the embryo of Christ in you.

The Word in Greek is Sperma. A conception from the sperma must take place to be born again. Merely responding to an altar call may not be enough unless there is an actual conception within the inner Spirit of man. However, you are not in the flesh but the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him, Romans 8:9. (NASB) Paul talked about living in a tent (his natural body) as he walked out his new creation experience. One day we will lay aside this tent and move into a new dwelling place; we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, 2 Corinthians 5:1. (NASB)

There is something unusual that Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 5. He says that when we lay aside this tent, we don’t want to be found naked. (NASB) Without the garments (covering) of Christ, we are all naked. Paul was referring to the natural man, which Paul calls a tent. But now there’s a new creation, which dwells inside that tent. So, if this tent were to be laid aside, then the new creature in Christ within us is revealed.

For this reason, Paul declares, we are longing to be clothed upon with our dwelling from heaven. Our earthly body is of the earth and will return to the earth, for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive, 1 Corinthians 15:22. (NASB) It is the inner spirit of man that is made new, saved, and made alive for eternity!

The life that Adam had is not the life that Jesus had. Adam’s life is called psyche (the human soul, mind, and Spirit), and Jesus’ life is called Zoe, which is translated from the Greek language as eternal life – the uncreated life of God. We can never make Adam a Christian without the Spirit of Christ because Adam is the wrong species. Only the species which come down from heaven can return to heaven.

Sadly, the visible church has been trying to get Adam saved for hundreds of years. They tell Adam, come forward and answer these questions: Do you believe Jesus rose from the dead? Do you believe He died for your sins? Do you believe He got resurrected from the dead on the third day? Do you believe He’s coming again? Yes, I believe all that. Great! You just got saved! But Adam is of the old species, and just agreeing to doctrine cannot save him. There must be an actual embryo created within the inner man to be born-again. You can dress Adam up, make him a faithful church member, teach hm to pay his tithes, teach him how to usher, and even teach him how to preach. Unless the Spirit of Christ produces a spiritual embryo within the inner man at the time of hearing the Word of God, the individual remains the same.

Regardless of what you say or do, Adam cannot be saved without the Spirit of Christ creating an embryo within the spirit of man. Adam is flesh and blood and can never inherit the Kingdom of God. Now I say this, brethren, that flesh, and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable, 1 Corinthians 15:50. (NASB)

You cannot transform the old species into the new species with words alone. For the Kingdom of God does not consist in words but power, 1 Corinthians 4:20. (NASB) The only plan God has for the first Adam is death and burial. What goes on to eternity is the new inner man who the Spirit of Christ creates within the old man. Christ is the second Adam.

Pilate said to Jesus; I heard you are the King of the Jews. Jesus answered Pilate, are you saying this on your initiative, or did others tell you about Me? Yes, I am a King, but My Kingdom is not of this world. If My Kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My Kingdom is not of this realm, John 19: 38-39. (NASB)

If Jesus’ Kingdom is not of this realm, then where is His Kingdom? Is it up in heaven somewhere? No, the Kingdom of God is here. Jesus explained, Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God after it has come with power, Mark 9:1. (NASB) The Kingdom has already come with power, and therefore the Kingdom is here. We need to understand that the Kingdom of God is not of the earthly realm – which is the dirt realm. Instead, it is of a spiritual realm, and His Kingdom is within us. The Kingdom of God comes not with observation: Neither shall they say, here! Or there! For, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you, Luke 17:20-21. (NASB) When Christ is in us, the Kingdom of God is in us! To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, Colossians 1:27. (NASB) Remember the promise the Lord made, Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom, Luke 12:32. (NASB)

The church Christ is building is an expression of the Kingdom of God. It’s not a natural church, it’s a church birthed from above. It’s a kingdom of priests who have consecrated their lives to do the whole will of God, whatever that means between them and God. The pattern of His church follows the pattern of the first-century church. The first-century church was a community of believers dedicated to teaching the Word, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. These activities kept the church strong spiritually, socially, and economically.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Return to The Church Christ is Building is based on what was in the heart of God before anything was created. He has restored truth to the church over the past 1500 years lost when the first-century church experienced widespread persecution. The restoration of the eternal priesthood of all believers is the next restoration of truth. You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, 1 Peter 2:5. (NASB)

The priesthood is the preparation for perfecting the bride of Christ. The bride of Christ will rule and reign with Christ in eternity future. The bride represents the first fruits of the Lord’s harvest before His glorious return. These truths are somewhat abstract for the natural mind to comprehend since we live and are saved in a natural realm. Preparation of the bride of Christ is a truth rarely preached from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. As born-again Christians, the preparations we make in this realm will determine where we will spend eternity in the eternal realm. I believe that preparing the body of Christ for the eternal realm must be the primary goal for every local church in the times we are living. For sure, it should be the primary goal in our individual walk with the Lord.

Our salvation begins with sincere repentance and faith towards God at the cross of Calvary. We must continue to grow to maturity from this initial experience so that an inner transformation takes place within us by the exchange our life for His life. Taking up the personal cross is key to this transformation. The consecration offering is the decision to do the whole will of God. God is calling believers and the corporate church to make the consecration offering. Consecration is the requirement for the functioning eternal priesthood and preparation of the bride of Christ.

As we carry our personal cross, repentance and obedience continue to grow from the time of our salvation. This enables the Lord to remove everything in us that is not of Christ. The transformation by inner sanctification does not happen when we first get saved. Jesus saved the thief on the cross from the wrath of God, but the thief never had an opportunity to be changed into the image and likeness of Christ. God desires to change us from who we are to who we are to become. Every born-again, Christian is called to grow up into all things in Christ. This call to spiritual maturity is the requirement for the bride of Christ to make herself ready. But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, Ephesians 4:15. (NASB)

The gifts of the five-fold ministry given to the church has a two-fold purpose. First, to equip the believers for ministry; second, bring the church to spiritual maturity. And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, Ephesians 4:11-13. (NASB) New Testament ministry is not a one-person assignment. The government of the local church is ruled over by mature men of God called elders. Any other type of church government is unbiblical. Body ministry and spiritual maturity will be out of reach without the five-fold ministry functioning in the church. The vision of the bride of Christ and making herself ready, is missing in today’s preaching routine.

We preach the Word of God and share facts and information to the Body of Christ. These activities are part of the ministry in the church. However, only what God reveals within us can change us and have lasting, eternal value. The Holy Spirit is the teacher. The Holy Spirit teaches, reveals, and actualizes truth within our inner man. It’s the inner spirit of man that God saves and sanctifies. God’s plan for Adam is death and burial. Paul prayed that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, Ephesians 3:16. (NASB) Paul was referring to our eternal being, our inner Spirit. When the Holy Spirit teaches the inner spirit man, the teaching changes us for eternity.

We grow to spiritual maturity by the revelation of the Word of God revealed within our inner man. Understanding and knowing truth require direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. Natural man in his logical mind does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised, 1 Corinthians 2:14. (NASB) Revelation changes us into the image of Christ. Paul made this clear in 1 Corinthians when he said that the mystery of God is revealed through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. (NASB)

This book reveals the eternal purpose of God unveiled in the tabernacle of Moses. God has been restoring truth lost to the church over the past 1,200 – 1,500 years. I have experienced God’s power to heal a broken life. And that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time, Acts 3:20-21. (NASB) The word restoration is defined as the action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition.

The motivation to write this book began as a prophetic word from the Holy Spirit. I’ve received several prophetic words from a variety of individuals to write books. My first book, Return to the Wife of Your Youth, was published a few years ago. This book was about our testimony. My second book Return the God’s Eternal Purpose book focused on the eternal purpose of God in creating us and saving us.

As mentioned, we grow to spiritual maturity by direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. Reading the Word of God with our natural eyes will produce a natural understanding. Spiritual understanding comes by revelation and illumination by the seven spirits of God. Spiritual understanding occurs when our spiritual eyes open within the inner spirit of man. Paul prayed that the church at Ephesus experiences inner life revelation from the Holy Spirit: For this reason, I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, Ephesians 1:15-17. (NASB)

I’m convinced the most valuable Christian experience is transformation from who we are to who we are to become. I’ve participated in thousands of bible studies, prayer meetings, and church services since 1979. The Word of God was planted in my spirit, and many preachers and teachers watered those seeds. On the other hand, I can attest to the fact that actual growth and maturity came exclusively from the inner work and revelation of the Holy Spirit. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth, 1 Corinthians 3:6. (NASB) We have a choice. We can choose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or the tree of life. Eating from the tree of life will produce the