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Scripture Reading: 2 Chron. 1:1-13; 1 Kings 3:4-12, 15
In our speaking about the church, we have been able to touch only a few points, because the matter of knowing the church is a broad topic. Nevertheless, the points we have spoken of are very crucial. I hope we would all grasp these crucial points before the Lord and seek clear light concerning them.
The church is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23), and she is joined to Christ as one (5:31-32); this is a tremendous light. If we want to test any Christian group with the Bible, we need to see the crucial point that Christ is the content of the church. In addition, there are also several other crucial points, such as the reality of the church, the authority of the Holy Spirit, the administration of the church, and the move of the church. The more we go on before the Lord, the clearer we become that these points are great filters for any Christian group and even for us. We must ask, “Are we meeting according to the teaching of the clear word in the Bible? Is there anything among us that contradicts the truth in the Bible? Is our intrinsic move truly based on the living Christ as everything in us? Does our administration and move truly come from the Holy Spirit’s operation and ruling?” We should not only examine other meetings; we also need to examine our own meetings with these points.
When we consider these points, we will arrive at one conclusion — the church is Christ Himself. Hence, the church requires us to put off everything of man, the world, and religious organization. Everything related to man, the world, and religious organization needs to be put off completely. We need to put off all the confusion issuing from Christianity because many things of man, the world, and religious organization have been brought into the church. The Bible shows that the church requires us to put off everything of man, the world, and organization. Whenever the elements of man, the world, or organization are in a local church, the church loses Christ’s position and nature. I hope that all the brothers and sisters can firmly grasp these crucial points, studying them one by one and putting them into practice.
We need to consider an important point based upon typology in the Old Testament so that we can have another source for testing and examining our knowledge of the church. During the time of the Old Testament, the center of the service of God’s children to Him was the tabernacle, and the center of the tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant. Those who have studied the Old Testament know that the Ark typifies Christ. In the original text the Ark of the Covenant means “the Ark of the Testimony,” and it typifies Christ as the testimony of God. Inside the Ark of the Covenant there were the two tablets of the covenant, and it is Christ who bears the covenant that God made with His people. The covenant that God made with us is based upon the person and work of Christ. Thus, He is the Ark of the Covenant and the Ark of the Testimony.
We can also see the two natures of Christ from the Ark in the Old Testament, which included both the nature of wood and the nature of gold (Exo. 25:10-11). Wood refers to Christ’s humanity, and gold refers to Christ’s divinity. When wood and gold are joined together, they signify Christ, who has both divinity and humanity.
Furthermore, the outward appearance of the Ark, or the enlargement of the Ark, was the tabernacle. The tabernacle and the Ark shared many similarities. The Ark was joined to the tabernacle, and the tabernacle came out of the Ark. The Ark was the center of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle surrounded the Ark. From both God’s perspective and the perspective of the worship of God’s children, the Ark and the tabernacle could not be separated. The two were as one. However, even though they were one, there was a distinction, but even though there was a distinction, they could not be separated. This can be compared to the head and body being one; there are distinctions, but they cannot be separated. If they are separated, they are finished.
In normal circumstances the Ark and the tabernacle could not be separated when God’s children were worshipping Him because the two were one. Readers of the Old Testament agree that the Ark typifies Christ Himself and that the tabernacle typifies the Body of Christ, the church; in addition, the church is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). The outward appearance of the Ark is the tabernacle. Although there are distinctions between the Ark and the tabernacle, they are joined together; the tabernacle is the expression, location, and outward form and appearance of the Ark. Thus, the tabernacle is the Ark. Similarly, the church is the expression, location, and outward form and appearance of Christ. Christ is in the church in the same way that the Ark is in the tabernacle. The church is joined to Christ, and Christ is in the church; consequently, the church is Christ.
In a normal situation the Ark and the tabernacle should always be joined together and never separated from each other. This means that under normal circumstances Christ and His outward form and expression should not be separated. However, something abnormal happened in the Old Testament — God’s children failed, and the Israelites became desolate and degraded. As a consequence, the Ark was captured by the Philistines and carried away (1 Sam. 4:1-11). The captivity of the Ark is a well-known story in the history of God’s children. The captivity of the Ark signifies the loss of God’s testimony due to the fall of God’s children. This is true according to typology in the Old Testament and also according to the reality in the New Testament. As the church began to be degraded and defeated, God’s testimony in Christ was captured and lost. This separated the Ark from the tabernacle so that the tabernacle was in one place and the Ark was in another. Although the tabernacle moved from Shiloh to Gibeon (Josh. 18:1; 2 Chron. 1:3), the Ark was not in the tabernacle (1 Sam. 4:3).
In the beginning the situation of God’s children was normal because the tabernacle was among them, and the Ark was in the tabernacle. The tabernacle with the Ark inside was the center of the service of the children of God, and they kept God’s testimony on the earth. God’s presence was upon the Ark in the tabernacle. When their general condition declined, the Ark was captured. From that time forward, the Ark and the tabernacle were separated, and even though the majority of the Israelites focused on the tabernacle, the Ark was in another place. The majority of the Israelites saw the outward tabernacle, and they continued to offer sacrifices and serve God there. However, there was a small group of people who loved God and were in God. Their eyes were not focused on the tabernacle but on God’s Ark.
We must pay attention to three points. We need to ask where the Ark was during the time it was separated from the tabernacle. The Ark was in David’s hand, and it eventually stayed in a tent that David pitched in the city of David (2 Sam. 6:16-17). David was not only a king; he was also a person who knew God’s heart. Although the majority of God’s children were in desolation, paying attention only to the outward tabernacle, there were a few people who knew God’s heart and paid attention to the Ark rather than merely the outward tabernacle. David represents these ones. He was different from the thousands of Israelites who offered sacrifices at the tabernacle in Gibeon. David did not focus on the tabernacle, because he knew God; instead, he brought the Ark back and placed it in the city of David. This is the first point.
When God’s children are in a proper condition, the Ark and the tabernacle are never separated. Furthermore, there should have been no distinction between the house of the Israelites and the house of David; all God’s children should worship and serve God together so that the Ark is in the tabernacle, and God is with them. When the children of Israel became abnormal, fallen, and desolated, the Ark was captured and separated from the tabernacle. At that time there was only the outward tabernacle, but there was no Ark inside of it. In other words, when God’s children are in desolation, they may have an outward form without the inward reality. In terms of today’s situation, we may also have the church outwardly without Christ as the reality. This is the second point.
During the period of desolation the majority of God’s children served God at the location of the tabernacle at Gibeon. Nevertheless, they served in a careless way, having only an outward form of service related to the physical tabernacle. Only a small group of people — like David, who knew God, who was according to God, and who was pleasing to God — paid attention to the Ark. This means that they did not focus on the appearance of the church but on Christ, the reality. Their eyes were not focused on outward things but on Christ. This is the third point. I hope we can all firmly grasp these three points.
When David passed away, his son Solomon became the king; however, like a child, he did not know God adequately. After he became king, he was thankful to God. However, he took oxen and sheep and all the leaders to offer sacrifices to God at Gibeon (2 Chron. 1:3). He chose the tabernacle that was far from him instead of the Ark that was near to him; he did not realize that his house was in Jerusalem and that the Ark was also in Jerusalem. He went to Gibeon because Jehovah’s tabernacle and the bronze altar were there.
Outwardly, the tabernacle looked exactly the same as it did when Moses was alive. Solomon took all the leaders to Gibeon and offered thousands of sacrifices. Interestingly, according to the record in the Bible, God came to Solomon that evening and gave him a vision and a dream. God spoke to Solomon in the dream, and Solomon asked God for wisdom; thus, God granted him wisdom. After Solomon received wisdom, he immediately went back to Jerusalem, the place where the Ark was, and he worshipped God there (v. 13; 1 Kings 3:4-5, 15). Before he met God, he had an ordinary view of serving God according to an outward form. This is the reason he went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices. After he received wisdom and a vision from God, he immediately went back to the Ark in Jerusalem and offered sacrifices there. From that point forward, the Bible does not speak any more concerning the relationship between Solomon and the tabernacle; it speaks only of matters related to Solomon and the Ark.
We need to see that when the church is in a normal condition, Christ, the inward reality, and the church, the outward form, are one; the inward Christ is expressed through the outward church. However, the church became desolate, and God’s testimony was lost. As a result, the tabernacle and the Ark were separated. From that moment forward, those who do not have a vision, which constitutes the majority of the people, look only at the outward appearance of the church and neglect the reality of Christ. Only a few people like David do not focus on the outward form and appearance of the tabernacle but care only for the Ark, for Christ. God’s eyes similarly are not on the outward form but on the reality; God does not look on the tabernacle but on the Ark. He does not regard the outward appearance of the church but the reality of Christ. From the beginning of Israel’s degradation, God was interested in the Ark and its location, not the tabernacle. Similarly, God is interested in where Christ can be found, not in the outward appearance of the church.
May God be merciful to us and show us that whenever we speak concerning the matter of the church, we cannot neglect Christ. We cannot do things in a proper way according to the tabernacle but be without the Ark within. We cannot merely have an outward appearance of the church that is according to the Bible but not have Christ within. We must consider the church in our locality. Based on outward form and appearance, it may seem that it is a complete tabernacle that does not deviate in any way from the Scriptures. It may have nothing of the world, organization, and man. It also may not have a special name, special belief, or special fellowship. Additionally, the truth of Christ’s death on the cross may be present, and the gospel may be spread quite effectively. Nevertheless, it may not have the Ark, Christ, within. This is similar to the situation at Gibeon, where there was a tabernacle and a bronze altar but not the reality of the Ark. This is a very serious problem. The tabernacle, the bronze altar, and the Ark were equally important.
If we want to examine the church in our locality, the best means are by the tabernacle, the bronze altar, and the Ark. The tabernacle refers to the outward expression of Christ, the church. The bronze altar refers to the cross, which is the truth of redemption, and the Ark refers to Christ Himself. In a normal situation these three are joined together. However, if there is only a tabernacle and a bronze altar, the situation is not normal.
Outwardly, a certain church may truly look like the tabernacle, having no defects, and in addition, it may have the bronze altar, which signifies the gospel of redemption. The church may preach the gospel, bring people into the worship of God, and even help people receive Christ’s redemption, grace, and salvation. Hence, both the tabernacle and bronze altar are present, and everything can look proper outwardly. Nonetheless, we still need to examine whether it has the Ark — Christ — within.
A type is like a picture; it is not like a piece of writing, which can be understood plainly. In order for us to understand a picture, we need to have some insight and intuition. Originally, the tabernacle with the altar typified Christ, but when the Ark was gone, there was only an outward form without an inward reality. These outward things can remain — for example, the truth of redemption can remain — but the reality can be gone. Originally these three things were one, but now the Ark is often missing. This picture shows that it is possible to have the outward forms of Christ and the redemption of Christ but not have Christ as the center and reality.
A local church may have the form of the church outwardly, and it may also preach the gospel, but whether Christ is present depends on whether the element of the serving ones comes from Christ or from their natural being. If there is only the element of man and nothing of the element of Christ in a church or if there is very little of the element of Christ in a church, then it does not have the Ark; it has lost the Ark. This kind of church may have the outward form of Christ, the redemption of Christ through His cross, and the name of Christ for people to be saved, but it does not have Christ as its inward reality, life, and center.
If we want to speak about the matter of the church, we must see that the tabernacle needs the Ark. Without the Ark the tabernacle is a place that does not have God’s presence. His presence is with the Ark, not the tabernacle. If those who seek God with a pure heart arrive at the tabernacle, God can still give them the vision, revelation, and light to go to the Ark. This was Solomon’s experience. Solomon went to the tabernacle in Gibeon to offer up sacrifices; he had a common view, a general view, the view of most Israelites. In their concept the only place to offer sacrifices to God was at Gibeon. When Solomon went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices and worship God, he was enlightened to see that God’s presence was not there but in Jerusalem. Consequently, he immediately went back to Jerusalem and offered sacrifices there (vv. 4-5, 15). Once a person is enlightened, he pays attention to the matter of the Ark. The Ark typifies Christ, who is the center of the church. The reality of the church is Christ.
May God have mercy on us so that we would not be a common and ordinary people but a remarkable people. We should not have a common and ordinary view; we should have God’s revelation. Even if everyone pays attention to the tabernacle, we should pay attention to the Ark. The Bible is precious, and it shows that the Ark was not in anyone’s hands but David’s. Even though God’s children were desolate, David knew God’s heart. His view was different from the crowds of people, who could have said, “Is this not the tabernacle? Is this not the altar for offering sacrifices?” This can be compared to saying, “Do we not speak of the cross? Do we not preach the cross? Do we not speak of the precious blood of Christ?” This is a picture of today’s condition. The crowds will pay attention to the tabernacle and the altar, but those who know God’s heart will pay attention to the Ark, Christ. The living testimony of God is Christ (Rev. 1:5).
May the Lord grant us strong light to genuinely know the truth concerning the church. We thank the Lord that the tabernacle and the altar are in the church, but what about the Ark? Our testimony in each place cannot be only the tabernacle and the altar; we must also have the Ark. We cannot have only the outward form of the church and the doctrine of the redemption of the cross; we must also take Christ as our center, life, and reality. We must have Christ as the location of God’s presence.
However, this does not mean that we do not need the tabernacle and the altar. If we read the Old Testament in a thorough way, we can see that God revealed to Solomon that he should build a more solid tabernacle for the Ark, the temple (1 Kings 5:3-5). In addition, he also made a bronze altar and a great molten sea of bronze. This means that we should not neglect the altar; that is, we should not ignore the teachings concerning the cross and redemption. However, if we have only the outward form of the church and the doctrine of redemption without Christ as our center and life, then in God’s view, the church is still void and empty of reality. This is because the center — Christ — is missing.
We need to see that the Ark at the center in the tabernacle is the mingling of acacia wood with gold. Acacia wood signifies humanity, and gold signifies divinity. The center of the church is the mingling of God with man — man being subdued before God, being mingled with Christ, taking Christ as his life and person, taking Christ’s heart as his heart, taking Christ’s emotion as his emotion, and taking Christ’s will as his will. The church is not simply man, but man mingled with Christ. This is the Ark.
If every move and idea of a certain church come only from man, this church does not have the Ark. If the brothers serve God by placing themselves in the incarnated Christ and if they take His mind as their mind, His will as their will, His emotion as their emotion, and His life as their life, giving Him the ground to be their center and everything and submitting to the living Christ, then that church has the Ark.
The tabernacle is the outward form of the church, the altar is the truth of the cross and the spread of the gospel, and the Ark is Christ as the life and reality in the church. We should never despise the tabernacle and the altar. Even if there were only the Ark, we would still need to prepare a better temple for the Ark. Merely having the Ark without the tabernacle, the outward form, is not sufficient. We even need to prepare an outward form for the Ark that is larger and more solid and secure, which is the temple. We must see both sides of the truth.
Today many people in Christianity care only about Christ but not about the outward form. In other words, they do not care about the church; they care only about Christ. Because of the church’s desolation, they believe that they will lose Christ’s presence if they care about the church. Nevertheless, if we read 2 Chronicles 3 and 4, we will discover that the Ark needs an outward form; the Ark is not complete without the tabernacle. Just as Solomon needed to build a temple for the Ark, we need both sides of the truth — the outward form and the reality.
In the situation among the churches today, the greatest shortage is in the aspect of the Ark. The only excuse for neglecting this matter is ignorance. The tabernacle of the church is the outward form, and the altar in the church is the redemption of the cross. However, the root, the center, of the church is Christ as life and reality. He is the Ark.
Today orthodox Christians can be divided into three main groups: one group focuses on the tabernacle, another group focuses on the altar, and yet another group focuses on the Ark. However, there are not many who pay attention to the Ark.
One brother told us recently that fifty young people from the United States suddenly volunteered to go to Japan to preach the gospel. These young people were paying attention to the altar. Another youth organization came to Taiwan several times as well. At the most, their work was related to the altar. They tried to bring people to the Lord by playing basketball. However, if people can be brought to the Lord by playing basketball, it is also possible that people can be brought away from the Lord by playing basketball.
Preaching the gospel by playing basketball can bring a Christian only to the altar; it can never bring a Christian to the experience of the Ark. We dare not say that no one can be saved through this kind of basketball gospel preaching, but one thing is certain — we can rarely find anyone who is saved in this way who is willing to forsake the world, bear the cross, take the Lord’s life as his life, and follow the Lord to walk in the way of the cross. This is the meaning of having the altar without the Ark.
Today there are many mission boards that preach the gospel zealously; however, they do not have the tabernacle and the Ark. They have only the altar. We humble ourselves before the Lord and say that we absolutely do not have the intention of criticizing others. We need to speak of these examples because we want to help everyone understand the Lord’s way.
In her proper condition the church should have the tabernacle, the altar, and the Ark at the same time. In other words, she should have the church, the redemption of the cross, and the glorious Christ as her center. We should have all three at the same time, and we should stress them equally. We should not ignore or overemphasize any one of them. On the island of Taiwan, especially in the church in Taipei, there is no problem concerning the tabernacle, and the matter of the altar is adequate. However, the matter of the Ark concerns us very much. I hope that everyone who has an ear to hear would be able to open his heart and spirit for the sake of the Ark. We should never despise the Lord’s gospel, and we should exalt the Lord’s redemption in order to make the bronze altar brightly shine. Moreover, we should never despise the matters related to the church, such as our coordination in the service and our meeting and worship together, but we must pay attention to Christ as our center and reality.
History shows that when God’s children are in desolation and confusion, there is a danger that many with a heart for God will focus only on the tabernacle and the altar and ignore the Ark, which is the desire of God’s heart. This is the reason we want to help the brothers and sisters to know the Ark — Christ. This does not mean that we despise the tabernacle and the altar. Instead, it means that the reality depends upon having the Ark, Christ, as our center and life.
In conclusion, there are three major points in this message. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us to see that when God’s children are in desolation and when God’s testimony is affected by man, we must pay attention to these three things simultaneously: the tabernacle, the altar, and the Ark. According to typology, we must focus on the matter of the church, the matter of redemption, and the matter of Christ as life at the same time.
If we consider the condition of the churches in the localities today, we are satisfactory in respect to the tabernacle and the altar, but we are very short in respect to the Ark. This means that the churches do not have any problem with the outward form of the church and the redemption of Christ, but their knowledge of Christ is poor and inadequate. May the Lord have mercy on us so that we would know Christ more, have the Ark as our center, and not despise the matter of the church with its coordination and service. Furthermore, we should not despise the Lord’s redemption on the cross and His gospel. We must preach the gospel everywhere, help people to believe in the Lord, and help people to gain Christ as their life. We should not have any bias; instead, we should pay equal attention to the tabernacle, the altar, and the Ark.
