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Only those who serve as priests can be mingled with God, transformed, and built up in the flow of the divine life to be God’s eternal dwelling place. The riches of God flow through such believers and are expressed through them. Those who serve as priests have the image of God, and they represent Him in His authority. The priests are the only group of persons who can accomplish the desire of God’s heart and fulfill His plan. The persons who are useful in God’s plan are those who serve as priests. Now we will consider the way to live as a priest, that is, the way to carry out the priestly service.
God is on the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16), and the throne of grace is equivalent to the expiation cover of the Ark in the Holy of Holies (Exo. 25:17). The Holy of Holies is the most sanctified place. It is separated fully unto God. It is the only place that is absolutely and solely for God. This point is clear in Old Testament typology. In the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, there was only God on the throne of grace. Nearly every place in the universe has something other than God. There is not another place that is absolutely and solely for God and does not have anything other than Him. Hence, the Holy of Holies is the most holy place. God is in the most holy place.
The Holy of Holies refers to God’s habitation in heaven, which is the holiest place in the universe, and also to the regenerated human spirit. Hebrews 10:19-20, which speaks of the Holy of Holies, undoubtedly refers to our human spirit. These verses say that we have boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies. The tone of these verses indicates that it is easy for us to enter the Holy of Holies at any time and in any place. This must refer to our spirit as the Holy of Holies. If the Holy of Holies were only in heaven, we would not be able to enter into it today.
God is Spirit (John 4:24). This is a mystery. Some believers might ask, “How can God be in the Holy of Holies in heaven and at the same time be in the Holy of Holies in our spirit?” With God there is not a problem with time or space. Our comprehension is limited by time and space because we are humans, but God does not have such a problem.
According to God’s ordination and arrangement, our spirit can contain only Him; our spirit cannot contain anything other than God. Our body and our soul can be occupied with many things, but our spirit is useful only to God. Our regenerated spirit is the most sanctified place in the universe. When God enters into us, He makes our spirit His habitation and dwells in our spirit. Hence, our spirit is the Holy of Holies.
How can we enter into the Holy of Holies, that is, our spirit, to approach God? According to Hebrews 10:19-20, God has accomplished two things so that we may enter into the Holy of Holies with boldness. First, the Lord Jesus shed His blood for us. Through His blood we have boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies (v. 19). In the beginning man was without sin and lived before God and fellowshipped with God in the garden of Eden. The tree of life, which signifies God, was also in the garden, indicating that man could contact God freely (Gen. 2:9). When man fell, the way to the tree of life immediately began to be guarded by the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned in every direction (3:24). This prevented sinful man from contacting the tree of life. The cherubim signify God’s glory (Ezek. 9:3; Heb. 9:5), the flame signifies God’s holiness (Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29), and the sword indicates God’s righteousness (cf. Lam. 3:42-43; Rom. 2:5). This means that God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness prevent sinful man from contacting God. Sinful man cannot draw near to God or fellowship with God.
The Lord Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood in order to satisfy the requirements of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness. Furthermore, His resurrection is proof that God was satisfied. Hence, wherever the Lord’s blood is sprinkled, God’s requirements are satisfied. Now sinners can approach God and contact Him with boldness through the blood of the Lord Jesus (Heb. 10:22).
Second, the Lord Jesus split the veil to the Holy of Holies, thus opening a new and living way so that we may pass through the veil and enter into the Holy of Holies (Matt. 27:50-51; Heb. 10:20). Not only do our sins prevent us from drawing near to God, but our fallen human nature, which the Bible refers to as the flesh, also prevents us from contacting God (Gen. 6:3). According to typology, the flesh, that is, the natural man, is a veil between God and man (Exo. 26:33; Heb. 10:20), which separates man from God and thus prevents man from contacting God. If this veil were not split, no one could enter into the Holy of Holies and contact God.
We thank God that the Lord Jesus died on the cross. Not only did He bear our sins and remove the barrier of sin, but He also put the flesh to death on the cross. When He died, the veil in the temple was split in two from top to bottom. This signifies that our fallen man was terminated on the cross. When the veil was split, the Lord opened a new and living way. Now there is no veil to separate man from God. Those who are joined to the Lord not only have the Lord’s blood sprinkled on them; they also have His death on the cross applied to them. Under the sprinkling of His blood we can draw near to God. In His death we are delivered from the old creation and are no longer separated from God. On the one hand, we have the boldness to draw near to God, and on the other hand, we can come forward to God unhindered.
There is only one way to contact God, which is to turn to our spirit. People in the world cannot understand this, but we should be very clear about this. God has accomplished redemption, and our spirit is His dwelling place, the Holy of Holies with the throne of grace. The only way to contact God is to turn to our spirit. We must enter the Holy of Holies, that is, turn to our spirit, in order to fellowship with God.
In the world people use their minds to consider God and analyze Him. They attempt to use a part of their soul to contact God. The soul cannot contact God. Some Christians long for a physical feeling when they enter God’s presence. This is a mistake. We must realize that God is Spirit and that the Lord is the Spirit (John 4:24; 2 Cor. 3:17). God does not dwell in our body or in our soul but in our spirit.
This mystery of mysteries surpasses our comprehension. God is infinite and great, and man is finite and small. But the infinite and great God desires to dwell in the finite and small man. This is almost incomprehensible and even impossible. But according to our experience, this is an undeniable fact: God dwells in our spirit. For this reason, whenever and wherever we would like to contact Him, we need only to turn to our spirit.
Entering into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 10:19) and coming forward to the throne of grace (4:16) both refer to turning to our spirit. When we turn to our spirit, we enter into the Holy of Holies and touch the throne of grace. Some believers have been saved for many years, but they do not know that the Holy of Holies is in their spirit and that the throne of grace is also in their spirit. If we desire to carry out the priestly service, receive grace, accomplish God’s plan, and complete His building, we must enter the Holy of Holies in our spirit and touch the throne of grace. This is the only way.
When we turn to our spirit and touch the throne of grace, we are praying in a genuine way. Turning to our spirit and praying are the same thing; they cannot be separated. If we do not pray, we will not turn to our spirit, and if we do not turn to our spirit, we will not have genuine prayer. When we say that we should turn to our spirit, the emphasis is on prayer. Praying is not a matter of using our mind to remember certain matters. Prayer involves utterances that express the sense in our spirit. Sometimes we sense something within, but we cannot find the utterance to express it. It seems as if human words are inadequate. At such times we can groan (Rom. 8:26). Whether we use words to express the sense in our spirit or we groan, God can flow through us.
Sometimes God will lead us to petition for certain things. However, the purpose of our prayer is not merely to obtain things but to obtain God. Obtaining God far exceeds obtaining outward things. The fact that God grants us the things that we need can only be regarded as a supplementary result. Hence, the focus of our prayer should not be on things to receive but on God Himself, even though He often gives us what we need when He gives Himself to us. Unbelievers do not see this. They think that believers pray in order to ask God for things. Every believer should be clear that the emphasis of prayer is to let God flow through his spirit and to be anointed with God so that He becomes his enjoyment, supply, and timely help.
When we pray in our spirit, God will flow through us. Hebrews 4:16 speaks of receiving mercy and finding grace. Mercy and grace are God. Mercy indicates that we are not worthy to receive God; hence, He reaches us as mercy and places us in a situation that qualifies us to receive Him as grace. To give a beggar one dollar is mercy, but to give a dollar to one’s child is grace. Since we are not worthy to receive God, He gives us mercy, and then, when we are in a situation that matches Him, He takes a further step and gives us grace.
Mercy and grace in Hebrews 4 are the river of water of life that flows out of the throne in Revelation 22:1. In referring to the same thing, Hebrews uses plain words, and Revelation uses signs. These two portions show that mercy and grace are God Himself flowing out from the throne as the river of water of life for our enjoyment.
Hebrews 10:19-20 says that by the blood we have boldness to enter through the veil into the Holy of Holies. The blood and the split veil both speak of the work of redemption accomplished by Christ on the cross. The river of water of life flows out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The Lamb is for redemption. The work accomplished by the Lamb includes the shedding of blood and the splitting of the veil, which enables God to flow out as the water of life (John 19:34). Without redemption, God cannot flow out as the water of life for our enjoyment; He cannot reach us as mercy and grace. God is in the Lamb; hence, we can contact Him, and He can flow out freely as the water of life. He can reach us as mercy and grace for our enjoyment and timely help.
When we draw near to God with our needs, He will flow through us and give us mercy and grace, which then become our timely help. We have all experienced this. For example, a brother may be under pressure, but when he contacts God, the Spirit moves within him, and immediately he feels released. Another brother may be unable to handle his situation, but when he contacts God, he is strengthened inwardly. A sister may sense that she is in darkness and that there is no way for her to go on, but when she contacts God, she is enlightened and has a way to go on. Some saints suffer afflictions or are misunderstood, but when they fellowship with God and contact Him, their situation no longer bothers them. These are examples of receiving timely help.
The timely help that God gives us will not necessarily change our outward environment or solve our problems. Sometimes our environment may become even worse, or our problems may increase. As long as we contact God, He will supply us so that we may overcome in our environment; this is the timely help that we receive from God. A car that is having difficulty going up a steep hill does not need the hill to be leveled. The car needs more power. God may not let us always take a way that is smooth and straight. He often allows us to take a way that is crooked and difficult. Sometimes we may find ourselves climbing a high mountain, and other times we may be going into a deep valley. Nevertheless, if we keep ourselves in fellowship with God, His mercy and grace will flow through us like living water to be our supply and timely help for us to deal with any situation.
In order to receive God as grace, we must draw near to God through prayer. Prayer has a special place in spiritual matters. It cannot be replaced by listening to messages or by reading the Bible or spiritual books. It cannot even be replaced by fellowshipping with other saints. The only way to contact God is to turn to our spirit and pray. This is an ironclad law. If we do not practice this, we will not receive grace. A person who desires to be healthy must eat and drink properly; there is no other way to be healthy. God lives in His believers; hence, if we want to receive mercy and grace, we must contact Him through prayer.
It is possible for some saints to go through a whole day without praying. Some saints do not pray for weeks, months, or even a year. What is the benefit of listening to messages if one does not pray? Some saints pray, but they do not get past their soul; they do not touch their spirit. Such prayers do not have much value.
I would like to ask, how much time do we spend fellowshipping with God? In order for an electric iron to be hot, the switch must be turned on to allow electricity to flow. Are we hot, or are we cold? If we are not hot, we have not let God, our spiritual electricity, flow through us. Contacting God through prayer can be compared to turning on the switch that lets Him flow freely through us. Only in this way can we be burning in spirit.
We must see the importance of prayer: it enables us to contact God and receive Him. Reading the Bible, listening to messages, and fellowshipping are but means that turn us to pray in order to contact God with our spirit. Hence, we should pray whenever we read the Bible, listen to messages, read spiritual books, or fellowship with other saints.
It is regrettable that this is not our practice. Many saints are touched when they hear a message, but they do not pray; hence, the inspiration disappears. Some saints are touched when they read the Bible, but the inspiration is forgotten because they do not pray. Sometimes a saint is inspired through fellowship with others, but the inspiration leaves because he does not pray afterward. These examples show the issue of our lack of prayer.
Christians do not pray enough, and many of those who pray do not know how to turn to their spirit. Their prayers are routine and do not touch the Spirit. After a message meeting, for example, everyone rushes home, because we are not used to exercising our spirit in prayer. Hence, we do not touch God.
The prayer meeting has the lowest attendance. Many saints do not know the importance of prayer. They consider prayer to be tedious and tasteless. Furthermore, even though a larger number of saints attend the bread-breaking meeting, only a few open their mouth to pray and praise; the rest are silent. Some saints attend every bread-breaking meeting, but they never pray. This is our situation. We cannot deny how poor and weak we are in the matter of prayer.
We are short of God’s grace, the work does not spread, the church is not being built up, there is not much growth in life, and there is no coordination, because our prayers are inadequate. This situation can be likened to building a house with cement but not having any water. A person may have all the necessary materials, such as cement, sand, and gravel, but without water the materials cannot be mixed together. This is our situation. The saints love the Lord but lack the mingling in spirit and the flow of the water of life; hence, they are not built up. The reason for this situation is that we are short of prayer. From this time onward, we must focus more on prayer.
After a message is given, we will gather in small groups so that we can spend some time in prayer. In the small groups we will not focus on testing our knowledge. Our desire is to enliven the saints by leading them to use their spirit to pray and thus fulfill their priestly function. Most of the saints know doctrine, but we need to enter into the Holy of Holies, that is, to draw near to God in our spirit. This is not a matter of understanding or speaking doctrines. It is entirely a matter of exercising our spirit to pray.
