Message 129
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8-10; Ezra 2:63; 1 Sam. 23:6, 9-12; 28:6
In the foregoing messages we pointed out that the Urim is a type of Christ as the illuminator burning with oil, the Spirit, by fire from the altar, the cross. We have also seen that the Thummim typifies Christ as the perfecter. As the Thummim, Christ is the alphabet for inscription and completion. Many Christians today do not have Christ inscribed into them in a clear, definite way. But even if we have the definite experience of Christ and the clear inscription of Christ, we still are not complete. Therefore, we need Christ to be added to us to be our completion. In this message we shall go further to see today’s application of the Urim and the Thummim.
The twelve transparent stones in the breastplate indicate that the saints should be transparent in order for Christ to shine through them so that God’s will may be shown. Suppose the twelve stones on the breastplate had been opaque instead of transparent. Furthermore, suppose nothing had been inscribed on any of the stones and no light was shining. Then the stones would have been opaque, without inscription, and without the shining of light. In such a case it would be impossible to use the breastplate to find out God’s will, God’s leading. This is the situation in most Christian groups today. There is no transparency, inscription, or light. It is very possible that this may be the situation of some local churches.
Many years ago in mainland China I visited some so-called churches. It seemed to me that everyone in these groups was opaque, altogether lacking in transformation and transparency. Furthermore, little of Christ had been inscribed into the saints. It seemed they had Christ in name, but they were very short of the experience of Christ. Moreover, there was no light among them. What they needed was a very basic, elementary kind of help. God’s will could not be made known through them.
If you consider the condition of the majority of Christians today according to what we have covered in these messages, you will realize that in most cases with the believers there is opaqueness instead of transparency. There is virtually nothing of the inscription of Christ. Instead of the shining of light, there is darkness.
If as a local church we would be used by God as a breastplate, we all must be transparent, and we must have Christ inscribed into us. This means that we must have some definite experiences of Christ as the letters in God’s spiritual alphabet. Our experience of Christ must not be vague. Rather, it should be clear and definite. However, the situation among most Christians, including us, is very different from this.
If we have been enlightened by the Lord and if we are bearing the burden of the Lord’s interests, we shall be troubled by the situation among God’s people. The more we consider the situation and condition of both the saints and the churches, the more burdened we shall be. We shall be deeply concerned about the lack of transparency, the lack of inscribing, and the shortage of light.
Today’s application of the breastplate with the Urim and the Thummim also requires that the leading ones bear the saints and Christ on their hearts so that they may know the condition of the saints and the completion of Christ for God’s leading. In every local church there should be a group of leading ones who bear the saints and Christ on their heart. These leading ones need to see the Lord’s shining and read the saints. Then they will be able to receive God’s leading concerning the church in their locality.
God’s way of speaking through the breastplate with the Urim and the Thummim is the opposite of what we would expect. God speaks not through the stones that are shining, but through stones that become dark. This means that God speaks through negative situations. Normally the twelve stones in the breastplate were under the shining of the Urim. Suddenly a piece inscribed with a certain name would become dark. This darkening of a particular stone was God’s instant speaking. Our natural concept would be that God’s speaking through the breastplate came from the stones that were shining. Actually, He spoke through the stones that suddenly became dark.
Paul’s Epistles and also the seven epistles of the Lord Jesus to the seven churches in Asia were all written according to this principle. They were written according to the negative situation of the churches, not according to the positive things found in the churches. Take, for example, Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians. If there were no negative things found in the church in Corinth, I doubt that 1 Corinthians would have been written. Paul wrote this Epistle according to his reading of the negative situation at Corinth. By considering that situation, he knew what to write. But although his writing was based on the negative things, in this Epistle he ministered positive things — the riches of Christ — to the church.
The problem among Christians today is that because there is so much darkness, there is no way for God to expose darkness. When everything is in darkness, it is difficult to point out a particular matter that is in darkness. Suppose in a room there are many rows of lights on the ceiling. If all the lights are shining, it will be easy to find one that becomes dark. This illustrates how God spoke through the breastplate. The darkening of a particular stone was God’s instant speaking.
The situation of Christians today is abnormal. Instead of light, there is darkness. As a result, God has hardly any way to speak. In order for the darkness to be made known, there must first be the shining of light. If there is no light in a room, there is no way for darkness to be shown. But when all the lights are shining, it immediately becomes apparent when a certain light becomes dark. That darkness is an indicator that something is wrong. If in a certain church things that are wrong are easily found out, that church is normal. But if in a particular church it is not possible to find out what is wrong, this is an indication that the church there is in darkness. When darkness prevails, it is not possible for negative matters to be exposed. For this, light is necessary. What is exposed under the shining of the light is God’s speaking. God speaks through things becoming negative. This kind of negative situation is an indicator of the shortage of Christ. By reading the negative situations in this way, we come to know God’s leading. Then in our locality we shall know what God wants us to do, and we should then follow His leading.
The leading obtained through the breastplate always involves a judgment. This means that the Lord’s speaking through the breastplate is through negative situations. If this speaking were only through positive situations, there would be no need of judgment, for everything would be positive and justified. But because the Lord’s speaking is through negative situations, that speaking is a judgment.
The Apostle Paul was one who was truly shining. Under the shining of Paul, the darkness was exposed. Paul wrote certain of his Epistles according to the darkness, according to the negative condition, of the saints in the churches. Because Paul saw certain dark areas in the church in Corinth, areas that were letters of God’s judgment, Paul could write Corinthians as a book of judgment. But along with all the judgment contained in this Epistle, there are many positive things: the riches of Christ ministered to the believers at Corinth. This is God’s way of speaking. Both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, God’s speaking is according to the negative situation, yet with the riches of Christ as the supply for His people.
If we as the church would be the breastplate of judgment, we must fulfill certain requirements. First, we need to be transformed and transparent. Then Christ as the letters of the spiritual alphabet must be inscribed into us clearly and definitely. This is to have the adequate experience of Christ.
Recently a brother testified that often, when the leading ones speak to new ones or young ones about the experience of Christ, these leading ones realize that they themselves do not have the clear and definite experience of Christ. If we do not try to minister Christ to others, we may not realize how short we are concerning the experience of Christ. When we try to speak to others about the experience of Christ, we may find that we ourselves are still very short of experience. We may have little of the real experience of Christ to minister to others. As those who would shepherd the saints, we need the experience of Christ. Otherwise we shall lack the proper spiritual vocabulary required for ministering Christ. We may want to minister Christ to others, but what experience of Christ do we have? To some extent, we may be able to teach the Bible, for we may have been reading and studying it for years. But when it comes to ministering Christ, we have a shortage. We do not have that much of Christ inscribed into our being. Perhaps we have only part of a letter inscribed into us. This is the situation of many Christians today. Therefore, it is very difficult to know the Lord’s leading through the breastplate.
Because there is such a shortage of transformation, transparency, inscribing, and enlightening, we need to pray that we may become transparent, have more of Christ inscribed into us, and experience more enlightening. Then we shall realize that, even if we are full of Christ, we still have a shortage, for something of Christ’s riches is still lacking. This is what is indicated by the marvelous picture of the breastplate with the Urim and the Thummim.
With the breastplate and the Urim and the Thummim we see two kinds of alphabets. One kind of alphabet is for inscribing, and the other kind is for completing. If we are not yet full of Christ, what we need is the inscribing. Christ must be inscribed into us until we are full of Him. It is when we are full of Christ that we recognize the need for completion. Thus, if we are not full of Christ, we need Him as the alphabet for inscription. But when we are full of Him, we need Him as the alphabet for our completion. Believers like the Apostle Paul, those who are full of Christ, realize that they still need Christ. However, those who are short of Christ may not sense the need for Christ. Many of today’s lukewarm Christians do not have any realization of how much they need Christ. It is when we have Christ inscribed into us that we realize we are still short of Christ. Then we shall seek Him to be our completion.
It surely is a mercy of the Lord we can speak about Christ inscribed into us and Christ completing us. It is not easy to find Christians who speak concerning this. What we need now is more experience. Only through experience can we understand what it is to have Christ inscribed into us and to have Him complete us. Therefore, we all need to pray more regarding these things. I hope that every local church will become a breastplate according to the picture in Exodus 28.
