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There are many more important details to consider about the spirit and the soul, but now our attention must be focused on the building of God’s dwelling place. Much stress has been made on the tabernacle, God’s dwelling place. We have seen that it was composed of the outer court and the two parts of the tent of the tabernacle, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Let us briefly review the contents of these three places.
In the outer court there were the altar, which typifies the cross of Christ, and the laver, which typifies the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Place contained the table of the bread of the Presence, the lampstand, and the incense altar. These three items are types of the various aspects of Christ as our life. The table of the bread of the Presence reveals Christ as our daily life supply — He is our very bread of life. The lampstand typifies Christ as the light of life. The supply of life that we enjoy becomes the light, which shines within us. Next, the incense altar typifies the resurrection savor of Christ.
The Holy of Holies contained one thing, the Ark, the type of Christ Himself. There were three things within the Ark: the hidden manna, which is the inner life and inner life supply; the hidden law, which is the inner enlightening within us; and the hidden rod with sprouted buds, which is the inner resurrection power and authority. The hidden manna, the hidden law, and the hidden authority are all in resurrection and are much deeper than the three corresponding items in the Holy Place.
All these things were the contents of the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. The experiences of all these eight items in the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies are the real contents of the true building of God, the church. If we desire to be the building of God’s dwelling place, we must experience what Christ has accomplished by His cross and the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. We must also adequately experience Christ as our life, our light, and our resurrection savor. Furthermore, we must have real experiences of Christ Himself as the hidden manna, the hidden law, and the hidden authority. The experience of Christ in all these aspects forms the real content of the building of God and provides the very materials for the building.
In these last few years people have been talking much about the New Testament church. But the New Testament church is not a church of a certain pattern but one of life and of experiences of Christ. Suppose that we would say, “Let us make a pattern of a man.” So we would make an arm out of wax, a head out of marble, a torso with wood, and the legs and feet with some clay. Once these are put together in the exact size and shape and are painted in the exact color, we may have the true pattern of a man, but we do not have the reality of a man. A real man is not manufactured according to a pattern but born and matured by the growth of life. A man is first born of a living mother and then grows by receiving daily nourishment. Ultimately, he will become a man with a certain pattern. If it is otherwise, there may be a pattern but not a man.
One time when we were in Pittsburgh, I said to a friend, “Let us forget about the pattern and pay full attention to life. For example, you have a nice little boy. You do not pay much attention to his pattern. You do not try to shape him day by day in a particular way. First, he is born of his mother, and then you nourish him with milk and baby food. The baby then grows and grows, assuming a certain shape and pattern. That pattern comes out of his birth and growth of life. Just as we could not form your child, so neither can we form a New Testament church. If we try to form it, all that we have is a pattern without the life. It is possible for us to form a church with a pattern, but we cannot form a church of life.”
During the last few years I have been continually urging people and pleading with people: “Do not form anything.” Whatever we form is not the real church. Not one living person on this earth through the past six thousand years has been formed; everyone had a birth and the growth of life. The church is the Body of Christ, and no human hand can form it. We can form many things, but we cannot form a living Body composed of living members. We are never commanded or instructed in the New Testament to form the church, but we are exhorted to experience Christ, to minister Christ to others, and to bring forth many children by spiritual birth. The real church, the Body of Christ, only comes out of birth and the growth of life. This is why we stress the principle that the tabernacle comes out of the experiences of the contents.
Based on this principle, let us see what the main materials of the tabernacle were. First of all, there was the separation of the outer court (Exo. 27:9-19; 38:9-20). It is called the separation because it was like the fence surrounding a property, separating and keeping it from all that is outside. The separation of the outer court was made of three main things: the bronze sockets, the bronze pillars, and the hangings made of fine twined linen. The base of the separating walls was made of the sockets of bronze. There were twenty sockets on the north side, another twenty on the south side, ten on the west side at the rear, and ten at the front — altogether sixty sockets of bronze. On each of these sockets stood a pillar, all of which were connected and united with connecting rods. The hangings on the pillars were made of fine linen, twined together with two threads. Therefore, the three main things were the bronze sockets, the bronze pillars, and the fine twined linen hangings.
The bronze that formed the base of the separation was the same material as that of the two things seen in the outer court: the bronze altar and the bronze laver. The spiritual meaning is that the bronze sockets come from the experience of the altar and the laver. Both the altar and the laver were made out of bronze; therefore, all the sockets of separation were made of bronze. Within the outer court were the bronze altar, the bronze laver, and the bronze sockets. The immediate impression people received when they came into the outer court was that the base of the separation was bronze, the same material of which the altar and the laver were made. This means that the experiences of the cross and the cleansing of the Holy Spirit are the very base for the separation of the Lord’s building.
We know that bronze in type is God’s divine judgment. All that we have, all that we are, and all that we do must be put on the altar to be judged. The altar, or the cross, is first a place of judgment; God judged everything on the cross. The bronze used to overlay this altar, according to Numbers 16, came from the bronze censers of the two hundred fifty rebellious people. When these people who rebelled against God and Moses were judged with fire, God told Moses to pick up all their bronze censers to make a cover for the altar as a memorial. This was a memorial of God’s judgment on the rebellious (v. 38). In order to realize the building of the church, all that we have, all that we can do, and all that we are need to be judged by the cross of Christ. This is the separating base of sockets for God’s building.
Perhaps we are clear about the principle of separation, but we are not able to apply it. Suppose that I am a brother who was saved in today’s Christianity. Through the preaching of the gospel I heard that I was a sinner, that Christ loved me, and that He died on the cross. As a result, I admitted that I was a sinner. I prayed, “O God, forgive me, for I am sinful. I thank You that You have given Your Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on the cross for me. I praise You that He is my Savior and that my sins are forgiven. Hallelujah! I have joy and peace within me.” Of course, I then went to a pastor, who was a good friend of mine, and allowed him to baptize me. After being baptized, I became a “member” of his church. One day the Lord opened my eyes to see why He saved me. He saved me for the purpose of being built up together with others to become the dwelling place of God. After hearing a group of believers in my locality talk about the Body life and the building up of the church, I was willing to be built up with them in the Body life. Finally, the Holy Spirit said to me, “Do you come to be built up? Do you come to realize the church life? Then you must first go to the cross. All that you can do, all that you are, and all that you have must be judged on the cross.” I then must confess and repent, saying, “Lord, nothing of me is acceptable to You, and nothing is good for Your building. All has to be judged.” If I do not follow through with the judgment of the cross, it is impossible for me to be built up with others; there is no base, no foundation. If I come into the church proudly, it is possible for me to be organized, but it is impossible for me to be built up in the church. The foundation, as seen in the sockets of the separation of God’s building, comes from the experience of the bronze altar. Thus, the solid foundation of the building of God’s dwelling place comes from the experience of the cross. There is no other way. All must be put on the altar and burned and judged. At the main entrance of the church there is the cross. If we are going to enter into the church, we must put ourselves on the altar of the cross.
When our whole being and all our actions have been put on the cross, we can testify how dirty, how worldly, and how sinful we are. We realize that we not only need Christ’s redemption but also the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. One day, according to my inner sense, I felt like jumping into the laver. I prayed, “Lord, cleanse me. I am sinful, and I am worldly. Every bit of me is dirty. I need the cleansing of the Holy Spirit.” By this burden in prayer, I experienced the cross and the laver. At the cross we put everything of ourselves to death, and at the laver we put everything under the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit. This not only makes us pure but purged. Then we will come humbly to the church by His mercy, by His redemption, and by His cleansing. After a brother experiences the altar and the laver, and after he is purified from all pride and self-righteousness, he has the base, the sockets of bronze, upon which the pillars are erected.
The Scriptures tell us that the pillars were made of bronze, and we are told that the hooks and the connecting rods that fastened the pillars together and the overlaying of the capitals of the pillars were made of silver. Silver typifies redemption. This signifies that for God’s building we are all joined and united together and covered by nothing other than the Lord’s redemption. If we are going to practice the church life, we have to realize that it is by the Lord’s redemption that we are united, and under this redemption we are covered so that we may be separated for God’s building.
Upon the pillars there were also the hangings of fine twined linen, giving people the testimony that the church is pure and clean in conduct and behavior. This is the separating line. When the tabernacle was erected with the surrounding separating line, one could see from afar the white linen demarcating it. That is the testimony of the church to a world that is in darkness. The whole world is black, but here is something erected, testifying that the church is clean, pure, and white. This kind of testimony can only come from the judgment of the altar and the cleansing of the laver, which results in a pure behavior and unsullied conduct before the world. This is the fine twined linen hanging upon the supporting pillars, which are based upon the sockets of bronze. This is the separating line of testimony that the church is purged from the world. Outside this line everything is black, but within this line everything is white.
Although this is good, it is only the experience of the outer court. There were a number of good things in the outer court: bronze, silver, and white linen. But there was nothing of gold, which is the type of the divine nature. This means that when we are in the outer court, nothing of the divine nature has yet been wrought into us that could be expressed. There is only the judging and purging away of the negative things. In other words, a brother who was proud when he came to us is now very humble and seems to have no self-righteousness, self-glory, and pride. But this is only something in the realm of human conduct and its purifying. There is nothing of God wrought into him that could be expressed — there is no gold manifested. It is good on the outside, but this is only the outer court, not the building. This is still in the open air, with no shelter, no covering, and no building. We need something divine to be mingled with our nature; we need the mingling of divinity with humanity. Therefore, we must press on from the outer court to the Holy Place and even to the Holy of Holies.
If by the mercy and grace of the Lord we entered into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, nearly everywhere we would have seen gold — the golden table, the golden lampstand, the golden incense altar, the golden Ark, and the golden boards. All the surroundings were gold, the contents were gold, and every piece of the utensils was gold. What is the meaning of this? Praise the Lord, the wood of the boards (26:15) signifies humanity, the human nature, and the gold overlaying the boards signifies divinity, the divine nature. Now divinity and humanity have become one. On one hand, it was wood, and on the other hand, it was gold. Within the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, divinity is mingled with humanity. That is why they are called the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, for anything holy must be of God. In the outer court we are righteous but not holy. Every aspect of our behavior and conduct in the outer court is right, for it is judged at the cross and purified at the laver. There is righteousness but not holiness, which is the divine nature wrought into man. Not until we enter into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies do we see everything overlaid with gold. Nearly everything, every part, has the element of wood, but it is overlaid with gold. Humanity is there, but it is mingled with the divine nature.
Unless we enter into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies and have something divine wrought into us, it is impossible for us to be the boards built up together as the dwelling place of God. The church is built with the mingling of God with man. The mingling of God Himself with us becomes the very material for the building of the Body of Christ. No matter how much we have been purified, we can only be the white linen; we cannot be the boards for the building of the tabernacle. But the more we are overlaid with gold, the more we become the materials for the building of God. This is why we must enter into the spirit, exercise our spirit, walk according to the spirit, and always be mingled with the Lord in the spirit. It is by this mingling of divinity with humanity that we become the materials for the building of the house of God.
The boards overlaid with gold in the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies were based upon silver sockets, which means that Christ’s redemption is the basis and foundation for the building of God’s house. But from where does the gold for the boards come? It comes from the experiences of the golden table, the golden lampstand, the golden incense altar, and the golden Ark. The more that we experience Christ as our life, as our light, and as our resurrection savor, and the more we experience Christ Himself in the deepest way, the more the divine nature is wrought into us. The gold that overlays the boards comes from the very experience of the contents of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The divinity that is mingled with our humanity only comes from the experience of Christ as our life, our light, and our resurrection savor, and even from the deepest experience of Christ Himself. This forms the materials for God’s building. We must experience Christ daily as our manna, as our light, as our resurrection savor, and experience Himself in the deepest way in order to gain the divine mingling.
In order to be built up, there are at least three other things about which we must be clear. First, each board is one and a half cubits wide (v. 16). We must realize that we are only one and a half cubits and no more. There were forty-eight boards in the tabernacle, which were combined in pairs, each pair of boards measuring three cubits in width. The reason why each board was only one and a half cubits wide is that each was only half the full measure and needed to be matched by another board. We must realize that we are only a half. When the Lord Jesus sent His disciples, He always sent them out by twos. Peter needed John, and John needed Peter. We are only a half, and we need another half to complete us. We should never act and work independently or individually. All our service and function in the church must be accomplished in a corporate way. Two boards must be put together. We are not a complete whole; we need another half. Who is your other half? We must realize that each one of us is not three cubits but simply one and a half cubits. We cannot go alone, we cannot serve individually, and we cannot function and work independently. We must be a coordinated member in the building of God.
Furthermore, each board had two tenons, two extra parts stretching into the sockets (v. 19). Why were there two tenons instead of one for each board? It is clear. One tenon would allow the board to spin around, but two tenons held it firmly in place. Two means confirmation. It is like a person with two feet. If a man stands on one foot, it is easy for him to turn or fall, but with a stance of two feet it is not easy to fall, and it is awkward to turn around. We do not like to have so many “turning around” brothers. In the morning a brother may be facing one direction, and in the afternoon, toward the opposite direction. By the next morning he has turned yet another way; he is always turning around. If we do not know where he is, we can never catch him. He is always spinning around on one tenon. With these unstable brothers and sisters there can be no building. They must become stable. No matter what happens, they must stand there until death. When a person is willing to sacrifice his life, then the building of the church is possible. Others are needed to match us, and we need their confirmation continually.
In addition, there were the bars overlaid with gold and the gold rings that connected and united all the boards together as one. The rings represent the Holy Spirit. We received the Holy Spirit as the rings at the very beginning of our Christian life when we were regenerated (Luke 15:22; Gen. 24:47). The rings held the bars, which also typify the Holy Spirit, but with the human nature — for within the golden bars was the acacia wood. As we have already seen, after the resurrection and ascension of the Lord, the Holy Spirit came down from heaven with both the divine nature and the human nature; thus, He is now the Spirit of Jesus. It is this wonderful Holy Spirit with both the divine and human natures who combines and unites us together. All the boards then become as one. Suppose that all the gold was removed from the boards, the rings, and the bars. Then, with all the gold stripped away, all the boards would become disconnected, individual pieces. The oneness is not in the wood but in the gold. If the gold is taken away, there is no uniting element, and the boards are left as separate and individual pieces. By this picture we can clearly see that the unity, the oneness, the building up, are not in the wood but wholly in the gold. This means that the building up of the church is not in the human nature but in the divine nature. It is in the divine nature that we are all built together. It is the divine nature that joins us, unites us, and holds us together as one.
You and I must learn, first of all, that we are only a half; second, we must never act independently and individually without the confirmation of others. Finally, we must act, live, and serve in the divine nature. It is in the divine nature that we as the boards are united together as one. Then we will have the building of God. Again, it must be repeated that all of this comes from the experiences of Christ as the bread of the Presence, as the lampstand, as the resurrection savor, and as the very Ark, including the hidden manna, the hidden law, and the hidden rod. How meaningful this is. May the Lord fully, deeply, and wholly impress us with this picture. This is the right way for us to be built up together as the dwelling place of God. The church is not a matter of a pattern but of the real experience of Christ as our life and everything; therefore, the only way for the church to be built up among us is to experience Christ in our spirit.
