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Scripture Reading: Zech. 6:12-13; 1 Pet. 2:4-5, 9; Gen. 1:26; Rom. 8:29; Exo. 19:6; Rev. 1:6
Zechariah 6:12-13 contains a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus: “Thus speaks Jehovah of hosts, saying, Here is a man, whose name is the Shoot; and he will shoot forth from his place and will build the temple of Jehovah. Indeed, it is he who will build the temple of Jehovah; and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne; and he will be a priest on his throne; and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them.” This portion contains two significant points. First, a man whose name is the Shoot will build the temple of Jehovah. This man refers to the Lord Jesus, who is the righteous Shoot of David (Jer. 23:5). Second, the builder of this temple is a priest yet a king, a king yet a priest. In the Old Testament the priests were one group, and the kings were another group. However, the Lord Jesus is the counsel of peace between the offices of the kingship and the priesthood. This means that these two offices have been combined as one in Him.
First Peter 2:4-5 says, “Coming to Him, a living stone,...you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ,” and verse 9 says, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.” These verses show that the building of God’s dwelling place is related to the priesthood and the kingship. We are living stones, and we are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood. The church as God’s dwelling place is built up with living stones, and this dwelling place is a priesthood. According to verse 5, the priesthood is holy, and according to verse 9, the priesthood is royal.
There is a common element in 1 Peter 2:4-5 and Zechariah 6:13. Both books speak of the building of God’s temple, both speak of the relationship between the priests and the building of God’s temple, and both speak of the priesthood as having a royal aspect. The Lord Jesus, as the Priest who is building up the temple of Jehovah, is on “his throne”; He is both Priest and King. The believers, as living stones who are being built up as God’s dwelling place, are a “royal priesthood”; we are both priests and kings. The priesthood and the kingship are indispensable factors in the building up of God’s dwelling place.
God’s thought and desire can be seen in these verses. When a person writes a poem, there is always a thought and desire that are expressed through words. A good reader will not only read the words of the poem but also touch the inner feeling, thought, and desire of the writer. This is the way that we should read the Bible. The Bible is God’s revelation, and His desire, thought, and feeling are hidden within the words of the Bible. As we read the Bible, we must touch God’s desire and feeling.
In order to understand the relationship between the building of God’s dwelling place and the royal priesthood, we need to consider God’s intention when He created man. God created man in His image and according to His likeness so that man could express and represent Him (Gen. 1:26). Expression is a matter of life and image, and representation is a matter of authority. God created man because He had a desire to enter into man as life, to constitute Himself into man, and to be mingled as one with man. Consequently, when God created man in His image, He created man with a human spirit so that man could receive God (Zech. 12:1), who is Spirit (John 4:24), and be mingled with God in spirit until man’s whole being is thoroughly saturated with God (Rom. 8:16). When God’s life enters into us and saturates us, we spontaneously express God’s image and glory in all things. This is God’s desire and thought in creating man.
Romans 8:29 says, “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers.” This shows that God intends to conform us to the image of His Son; that is, He will work on us until we are the same as His Son. As the Son of His love, Colossians 1:15 speaks of Christ as being “the image of the invisible God.” The Lord Jesus is the image of God. Hence, when we are conformed to the image of God’s Son, we have God’s image and become God’s expression. Inwardly we have His life, and outwardly we bear His image for His expression and glory. Furthermore, God’s authority is entrusted to those who bear God’s image. Of all God’s creatures, only man has the capacity to bear God’s image and be entrusted to represent God’s authority. God’s authority and life are connected because His life enables man to receive God and His authority enables man to represent God.
At the end of the Bible the New Jerusalem signifies a corporate man. This corporate man expresses God’s image and reigns with God, fulfilling God’s desire for man to express His image and represent His authority. If we see God’s desire, we will understand His desire for us to be priests and kings, because priests fellowship with God, bring people to God, and bring God into people, whereas kings exercise God’s authority to rule for God.
Although the Bible does not explicitly say that Moses was a priest, Moses served as a priest. Moses was with God for forty days (Exo. 24:18), and when he came out from God’s presence, the children of Israel could not gaze on his face, because it was full of God’s glory (34:29-30; 2 Cor. 3:7). Moses was a priest because he contacted God, received God, and let God flow through his inner being. Moses was God’s deputy authority as well because he was faithful in God’s house (Heb. 3:2). A priest draws near to God, contacts God, and lets God saturate him in his fellowship with God, and a king comes out from God’s presence and represents God’s authority. Being a priest and a king involve expressing God’s image and receiving God’s authority to represent God.
From its beginning to its end the Bible speaks of God’s desire to gain priests and kings. When He created man, God intended to gain a people who would serve as priests and kings. Regrettably, the God-created man, Adam, failed. Later, however, Noah, Abraham, and Jacob drew near to God and offered sacrifices to Him (Gen. 6:8-9; 8:20; 12:1, 7-8; 18:16-33; 28:10-22). In Exodus 19:6 God spoke of His desire for the chosen descendants of Abraham, the children of Israel, to be a “kingdom of priests.” Kingdom speaks of kingly authority. God’s original desire was that all the Israelites would be priests, a group of people who would draw near to Him, would be saturated with Him, and could be entrusted with His authority. When the Israelites failed at Mount Sinai (ch. 32), God chose the tribe of Levi from among them to replace the Israelites as a whole (vv. 28-29). Subsequently, the priests lived before God, drew near to God, and let God flow through them so that His intention could be revealed through the Urim and the Thummim (28:30).
The situation at that time, however, was not fully according to God’s intention, because God’s authority was represented by a separate office—the kingship. When Aaron passed away, he was succeeded by his son, Eleazar, and when Moses died, Joshua assumed the leadership. Joshua represented the office related to God’s authority, the kingship, whereas Eleazar represented the office related to God’s image, the priesthood. Nevertheless, Joshua and Eleazar shared in the work of dividing the good land among the Israelites (Josh. 17:4; 19:51). This shows that the kingship depends on the priesthood; without the priesthood there is no kingship. Those who do not express God’s life cannot represent God’s authority.
When the priesthood became desolate, God raised up a new priest, Samuel (1 Sam. 2), and Samuel anointed David to be the king of Israel (16:13). Hence, the priesthood brought in the kingship. When David’s condition was proper, he treated matters related to the Ark of God according to the priesthood. When he received the Ark into the city of David, he commanded the priests to serve before the Ark, and he even put on the priestly ephod, the priestly robe. David was not a priest, but when he stood before the Ark of God, he was girded with an ephod (2 Sam. 6:12-15). On this occasion he was a person with both the kingship and the priesthood. He also restored and strengthened the priestly service through his division of the services of the priests and his establishment of the service of song among the priests, arranging them into twenty-four divisions (1 Chron. 6:31-32).
The priesthood and the kingship are involved whenever the Bible speaks of the building of the holy temple, God’s habitation. For example, when King Solomon completed the building of the temple, he devoted attention to the service of the priests before God (2 Chron. 8:14-15), just as his father David had done. This shows that the building of the temple is always related to priestly service and kingly authority. God wants to gain those who fellowship with Him, live before Him, and allow Him to flow through and saturate them. Such ones can express Him, be entrusted with His authority, and build up His dwelling place.
At the time of 1 and 2 Chronicles the kings of Israel were in a fallen condition, and the priests were in a desolate condition. During this time evil kings, such as Ahab, did not represent God’s authority, and the priestly service ceased to function. As a consequence, prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, became prominent (1 Kings 16—22; 2 Kings 1—8). At the end of the Old Testament the book of Zechariah shows that the building of God’s temple still depends upon priests and kings. Zechariah prophesied that the Lord Jesus would be both Priest and King, One who would fellowship with God, be saturated with God, and have God’s authority. The Lord was the Shoot raised up to build God’s temple (6:12-13).
When the Lord Jesus came, He was focused on the temple as the great desire of God’s heart. The four Gospels often speak of Him in relation to the temple. When He was twelve years old, He went to Jerusalem and stayed in the temple to be in the things of God (Luke 2:49). At the beginning of the Gospel of John His zeal for God’s house is portrayed by His cleansing of the temple by driving the moneychangers out of the temple (2:15-17). When the Jews asked Him for a sign, He spoke of rebuilding the temple of His body through death and resurrection (vv. 18-22). The Gospel of Matthew also refers to the Lord’s cleansing of the temple, which occurred chronologically at the end of the Lord’s ministry prior to His death and resurrection (21:12-16). The reference to the Lord’s cleansing of the temple at the beginning of the Gospel of John and at the end of the Gospel of Matthew shows that Christ was continually focused on the temple. Even when Peter received the revelation that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord unveiled the building of the church on the rock that was Christ Himself and the revelation concerning Christ (16:18).
The Lord Jesus, as both Priest and King (Zech. 6:13), is a rock. First Peter 2:4 speaks of Christ as being a living stone as well as the cornerstone who was rejected by the Jews but chosen by God. At the same time, those who have been regenerated with His life are spoken of as being “living stones” (v. 5). Since He, as a living stone, is a royal Priest, we, who are also living stones, should also be royal priests. When we are built together, we become a priesthood, even a royal priesthood. This royal priesthood is not related to individuals but to one corporate Body, which is the building. Only a corporate group of priests and kings can accomplish God’s building work. We must be royal priests, those who live before God, in order to express and represent Him.
From the beginning, God’s desire has been to gain a group of people who are both priests and kings. He has a need for prophets only as a remedial measure when there is desolation in the priesthood and kingship. There are prophets in both the Old and New Testaments, but in the kingdom age and in the new heaven and the new earth in eternity, prophecies will be rendered useless. First Corinthians 13:8 says, “Whether prophecies, they will be rendered useless; or tongues, they will cease.” Both prophecies and tongues will pass away, but the priesthood and the kingship will exist forever (Rev. 22:3, 5). In the Old Testament age the ministry of the prophets was strong when God’s people were in a poor condition. If the ministry of the word is being manifested in the church in the New Testament age, it is because most of the brothers and sisters are in a downward condition. This is not a normal situation. If every child of God is functioning as a priest, the service of the priesthood will be strong and normal, and the ministry of the word will not be as prominent in the church.
I hope that we will clearly see God’s intention for His chosen and redeemed people to be priests with His image and kings with His authority. Our concepts, however, are often contrary to God’s intention, and we have neglected the matter of the universal priesthood. In Christianity today, most people pay attention only to the ministry of the word. For this reason in most meetings Christian messages are given by designated persons who speak and pray as “priests.” This is an abnormal situation.
In these days God is leading us to establish the testimony of the church, and He is also leading us to see the need to build up the church. Hence, the priesthood must be recovered among us. Furthermore, this recovery should involve more than just a small number of saints; instead, all the saints must rise up to receive grace and exercise to function as priests. We should contact God not only individually but also corporately. Our meetings should be meetings of priests; we all should be ministering and serving before God as priests. Such a service is according to the Bible, and it reflects the initial condition of the church during the time of the apostles. In the early church the believers did not come together to listen to one person’s speaking. According to 1 Corinthians 14, all the saints exercised their spirit in the meetings of the church. Some exercised to pray, some exercised to speak for God, some exercised to sing to God, and some exercised to interpret tongues or to speak a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge (v. 26; 12:8, 10). Instead of sitting and listening to a message, the saints functioned as priests before God.
It is common for believers not to function because the church has become more degraded and more desolate. Many believers are accustomed to just sitting and listening to a message. It seems as if the ministry of the word is prevailing, while the priesthood is greatly lacking. This does not mean that I oppose the matter of ministering the word; instead, I desire that every saint would be a priest. In every gathering the spirits of the saints should be living and strong. This is the normal way; it is also God’s way.
After much prayer and fellowship many elders feel that the meetings of the church should not depend just upon one man’s speaking; rather, our meetings should be a gathering of priests who serve God together. Therefore, beginning with the last Lord’s Day in March, we will drop the Lord’s Day message meeting. This does not mean that we will no longer have ministry message meetings; we will still have meetings to minister the word of God, especially when there is a need for leading in a certain matter. Such meetings will relate to specific and timely needs. For our regular meetings, however, we will no longer have message meetings, as we have in the past. We must drop the concept of a “worship service,” which has been passed down from Christianity. Instead, our meetings must become meetings in which everyone is a worshipping priest who burns incense, lights the lamps, sings, and ministers before God.
This decision is based on several factors. It has been more than a decade since we began the work in Taiwan in 1949. During this time many people have been saved and raised up by the Lord. In the first few years we did not feel that there was a problem with the way we met. However, by 1954, when a large number of people were saved and had received some edification, we discovered some problems. For example, when all the saints would come together to listen to the same message, the more experienced ones did not receive much help, because they had heard similar messages in the past. However, new believers had difficulty understanding the message because the speaker was trying to speak to “elementary students” and “college students” at the same time. As a result, the more experienced saints did not progress, and the new believers did not receive much benefit. When a meeting cannot meet the practical needs of the saints, new ones fall behind and leave, and other saints do not progress.
After considering this situation before the Lord, we feel that we must adopt a way that involves some principles of education. Although messages are needed to edify the saints and supply them in their spirit, the messages still need to have an instructional element. Since instruction always involves education, we are considering dividing the saints into “classes.” We have been in Taiwan for more than a decade. If we had followed the principles of our educational system, we should have a college-level understanding of the truth. However, many brothers and sisters who have been among us since 1949 can still be considered as being “elementary” students. Even though they love the Lord fervently, pursue Him, and attend the meetings, they are not able to speak something substantial. Thus, we need to consider how to lead the saints according to their spiritual condition.
Although we do not have absolute assurance that this new arrangement will work, we should try. First, we can simply divide the brothers and sisters into two levels—those who have more spiritual experience in matters such as being consecrated to the Lord, fellowshipping with Him, and understanding basic items of the truth and those who are newer in their experience of salvation.
Each of these groups should focus on gaining knowledge of the truth and growing in life. I hope that the church will have these kinds of meetings twice a week, one on the Lord’s Day morning and the other during the week. The Lord’s Day morning meeting should focus on life, whereas the meeting during the week should focus on truth.
In regard to life, we should lead the saints to know how God’s life, which is in the Son, becomes our life practically when the Holy Spirit indwells us. We need to help the saints to know how the Triune God becomes our life, and we should help them learn to live in the fellowship of this life and according to the sense and light of this life. We must begin with these points in order to lead the saints to grow in life.
In regard to truth, we should lead the saints to know four main items: Christ, redemption, life, and the church. Concerning Christ, we must help the saints to see who Christ is according to the Bible. We can begin with Christ being the eternal God; that is, we should speak on God’s divine, eternal nature. But we must go on to speak of His incarnation, human living, death on the cross, resurrection from the dead as the life-giving Spirit, ascension into heaven, descension as the Spirit of reality, and status in eternity future. The saints have only a fragmentary understanding of these matters; they have not received a fundamental and systematic teaching related to them.
Modern education involves a system. Mathematics instructors follow a progressive curriculum that begins in elementary school and finishes in graduate school. When a person receives instruction through such a system, he is able to learn the full content of the mathematical discipline in an orderly way. Without systematic instruction, however, a person can study for twenty years yet learn very little. Our situation speaks of this kind of failure. We have given many messages for twelve years, but many of the saints do not know the truth concerning Christ, because our leading has not been systematic. In order to help the saints to go forward, we must systematically lead the saints, step by step, to know the truth concerning Christ, redemption, life, and the church.
Strictly speaking, these four main points are the center of the Bible. The Bible speaks of how Christ came to accomplish redemption so that we can receive God as life and be built up together in life to produce the church. These four points are connected. The Bible is centered on these four points. All the other points are supplementary. If we can provide the saints with a thorough understanding of these four points, it will be easy for them to understand other points.
We should use the same subjects in both “classes,” using less material with the newer saints and more material with those at a more advanced level. This can be compared to teaching first graders to add single digits, but teaching second graders to add double digits. Thus, the saints who are more advanced can be given eight or ten verses on the matter of consecration, but newer ones should be given a general sketch of consecration based on only three or four verses. Hence, although the subject can be the same, the instruction, leading, and material should be different.
Presently, we may not be able to do this. However, we should at least have some feeling related to this need. We must lead the saints to exercise so that they can carry out their priestly service before God, learning not only how to pray to God individually but also how to carry out the priestly service corporately with all the saints. Hence, we will begin to change the Lord’s Day meeting. Before we begin, however, we need to have adequate preparation. This is a huge task, and the elders and responsible ones should join together to do it.
In addition, we should lead the saints to pray, not merely individually but with all the saints as priests ministering and serving together in prayer. In the meetings we can lead the saints to exercise to sing, to burn the incense, and to light the lamps. To sing is to exercise to sing hymns. To burn incense is to exercise to pray. When we come together, we should pray; we should open our mouth and exercise to have a strong spirit. To light the lamps is to exercise to receive light from the Lord’s Word. For example, we can pray-read 1 Peter 2:5 and the related verses in Zechariah 6. We should abandon the practice of one person giving a message. Instead, we should fellowship with one another and bring out what we have gained from the Lord. Some saints may help and perfect others, while other saints may receive the help and the perfecting. Those who receive the help and the perfecting can then render help to others. In this way all the saints will serve in the meeting, and the function of the saints will be manifested in the meeting.
This is only a general outline; we still need to seek the Lord’s leading step by step regarding the details. The purpose of this change is not to establish some new rules but to deliver us from meetings that hinder the leading of the Holy Spirit. We should not be like Christianity, which neglects the remembrance of the Lord and the worship of the Father in the bread-breaking meeting and which relies on an outward Sunday worship service. We must exercise to be in spirit in the bread-breaking meeting in order to have real remembrance of the Lord and genuine worship of God.
I also hope that we can have a mutual fellowship in spirit when we come together for prayer, learning to use our spirit to pray freely before the Lord and to have more blending in spirit through prayer. This will allow the Holy Spirit to lead and operate more freely among us. I hope that we will pray before the Lord concerning this matter. We are doing this so that all the saints may exercise to walk, step by step, according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
