Message 146
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 29:29-46
In the foregoing message we emphasized the value of the types in the Old Testament, and we also considered different attitudes toward these types. In addition to the plain words in the New Testament, we need the types, the pictures, in the Old Testament. In particular, we need to pay attention to the types of Christ presented in Exodus 29. If we apply this picture of Christ to our experience, we shall enjoy more of Christ and learn how to grow Christ and produce Him so that we can offer Him to God in the church meetings.
I hope that all the saints in the Lord’s recovery will be willing to drop their old, religious background. At least to some extent, this background influences the saints unconsciously or subconsciously. When they come to the meetings, many are still under the influence of the background of religion. Because of this influence, they come to the meetings merely to sit and join the congregation in singing. Others may offer a prayer or give a testimony. This, of course, is an improvement. Nevertheless, the situation of the meetings is still too much under the influence of what we inherited from traditional Christianity. We may regard this inheritance, this influence, as an old culture that we need to drop.
In these messages on Exodus 29 we have been considering the sanctification of the believers to serve God as priests. This is related to the question of how to meet. What is revealed through the types in Exodus 29 is absolutely different from the practice of traditional Christianity. For this reason, I urge you to lay aside your old background and take up something new according to the picture in Exodus 29.
Toward the end of Exodus 29 we see the bull for the sin offering, the lambs for the burnt offering, the flour and the oil for the meal offering, and the wine for the drink offering. Daily our practice needs to match what is revealed in these types. This means that in our living we should experience Christ in all these ways. No longer should we live the Christian life in an old way. The New Testament makes clear what the Christian life is. However, the New Testament does not give us the details. The details are pictured in the Old Testament types. Here in Exodus 29 we have a picture showing that daily we need a bull, two lambs, flour, oil, and wine. Where is the sin offering in your way of living the Christian life? Where are the lambs, the fine flour, the oil, and the wine? It is possible that you do not have any of these in your daily life. The aspects of Christ are pictured in the Bible, but they are not part of your experience; they are not found in your daily life. Our way of living the Christian life may have its source in ethics, culture, religion, and the natural concept. It is not constituted of the elements portrayed in Exodus 29. We may be like Bible students studying the Old Testament who study the types in Exodus 29, but do not live according to them. We do not make them one with our daily living. What is the purpose of the picture of the bull, the lambs, the flour, the oil, the wine? To be sure, it is not just for the composition of the Bible. It is a picture of what we should experience in our daily life.
It is possible to be under the Lord’s ministry for years without applying in our daily life the revelation we have received. If this is our situation, we have the ministry in our listening, learning, or reading, but not in our living. Furthermore, what we have in our Christian life may be derived from tradition. Even what we gain from the Lord’s ministry may do nothing more than influence our traditional way of living the Christian life. It does not lead to a radical change, to a revolution, in our daily living. The picture in Exodus 29 should bring about a radical change in our Christian life. It should cause us to no longer have our daily life in a traditional way.
We may illustrate what we mean by tradition from certain practices of Catholicism. According to the Catholic way, regularly a believer should go to confession and then attend mass. In addition, when she is in a church building, a woman is supposed to have a covering on her head. Also according to Catholic tradition, some may buy candles and place them in front of an image. This is the Catholic way according to tradition. Although you do not follow this kind of tradition, in principle your way of living the Christian life may also be traditional. Therefore, I hope that as we are speaking concerning how to meet and how to be priests serving the Lord, we shall apply all the matters in Exodus 29 to our daily living. May all these things cause a revolution in our Christian life. In particular, we need to be revolutionized in our praying.
I can testify that I am still learning how to have a proper Christian life. I admit that in the past I was strongly under the influence of tradition. We do not know how deep in tradition we are. When we try to get out of tradition, we discover that it is extremely difficult to get out.
In Exodus 29 the bull typifies Christ as our sin offering and the lambs typify Christ as our burnt offering. I encourage you to practice offering Christ to God as your sin offering and also as your burnt offering. I would also encourage you throughout the day to enjoy Christ as the meal offering, as the fine flour mingled with oil, and even to experience Him as the wine to be poured out to God as a drink offering.
Because it is somewhat difficult to understand these matters and practice them, let me try to explain further what I mean. I do not mean that you should do anything in a legal way. The Lord is living and present, and we love Him. He is present with us, and we are present with Him. Is the Lord not living and present? And are you not also living and present? Therefore, both you and the Lord are living and present to each other. There should be some spontaneous communication between you and the Lord. As you and the Lord enjoy such a relationship, you will realize that you are still sinful, and you will offer the sin offering.
Living in the Lord’s presence will make us conscious of the fact that we are sinful, even that we are sin itself. If we do not have this feeling when in the Lord’s presence, there must be something wrong. Of course, there cannot be anything wrong with the Lord. Whatever is wrong must be on our side. But if the situation is proper, probably the first thing we shall do is to say something like this: “O Lord, I am still in the old creation, still in myself, my old nature, and in the flesh. Lord, I confess that I am sinful. Thank You, Lord, that You died for me on the cross as my sin offering. Lord, now in Your presence, I lay my hand on You and apply You as my present sin offering.” This is to take Christ as the sin offering in a spontaneous manner, not in the way of legality.
A spontaneous prayer in which we apply Christ as our sin offering is a true praise to the Lord. When we pray like this, we render Him the best appreciation. This kind of prayer is different from common prayer according to religious tradition or habit. The following is an example of a rather common prayer, a prayer that may be offered according to habit: “Lord, I am sinful. I thank You for Your precious blood that I can now apply to me.” This kind of prayer certainly is good, but the expression indicates that, at least to some extent, the one who prays in this way is still under the influence of tradition. However, if we apply Christ as the sin offering in the way illustrated above, that will be a sign that we are not under tradition but that we are under the Lord’s enlightenment.
When we and the Lord, as living persons, are together in fellowship, something will operate within us and cause us to realize that the Lord is new and that we are old. Then we may say, “O Lord, You are so holy and new, but I am old. I live in the old creation, and I am still in my flesh and in my old nature. I am sinful — I am even sin. Even though I have been saved and regenerated, I am still sin.” This is a realization that comes spontaneously when we have genuine, intimate contact with the Lord. It is not a common, traditional prayer offered in a legal way. On the contrary, it is an intimate way of speaking to the Lord. Then, we may go on to say, “Lord, I thank You that You were made sin for me. When You died on the cross, You condemned sin. Lord, I thank You for condemning my flesh.” This kind of prayer is not according to tradition; it is a loving, intimate word spoken to the Lord under His enlightenment. This kind of expression is according to the sentiment deep within us.
Often in our actual practice, our way of speaking to the Lord is very different from the way we speak to the members of our family. Instead of speaking to Him in an intimate way, we may be formal and even speak as if we were performing. It is not at all pleasant to come to the Lord in such a way. Why not contact the Lord in the same kind of living, spontaneous, and intimate way you contact those who are close to you? When you see your husband or wife, you do not speak in a formal manner. On the contrary, you speak in a loving, spontaneous way. We should also talk to the Lord Jesus this way.
Have you noticed that in the Gospels the disciples did not pray to the Lord Jesus in a way that was religious, formal, or traditional? Rather, the disciples prayed by talking to the Lord intimately and lovingly. We should learn from this example to cease from our old way of praying and live a life according to what is pictured in Exodus 29.
I have learned from experience how good it is to be intimate with the Lord and one with Him. Sometimes we should not first speak to Him. We should let the Lord speak first. When He speaks, we should not immediately speak in return. This means that we and the Lord should be like friends who take time to listen to each other. Suppose a friend visits you and begins to speak to you about certain things. If you interrupt him and begin to speak about other matters, that would indicate that you do not care for what he is saying. That is not the way for intimate friends to converse together. The proper way is that your friend talks to you, and you listen. Then, after a period of time, he will give you an opportunity to speak, and he will listen. It certainly would not be proper for him to do all the talking and then, when he is finished, to say goodbye and leave. He should give you the opportunity to speak to him. This should also be true of our relationship with the Lord.
Early in the morning, when you are with the Lord, He may begin to speak to you. As He speaks, He enlightens, for His speaking is our enlightening. Sometimes He may encourage you. At other times, He may rebuke you or even scold you. But no matter what He says, you must listen to Him. Then He will give you time to speak. I am rather certain that whatever you say will be in the realm of the sin offering. You may answer Him by saying, “Lord, I am sin, but You are my sin offering. You were made sin for me, and You died on the cross to condemn sin. How I thank You that Your precious blood is the blood shed by You as my sin offering. O Lord, how I treasure this blood!” Talking to the Lord in this way will cause you to love Him very much. You will sense that you have never loved Him as much as you love Him now. Furthermore, you will give Him the highest appreciation. All this will cause you to live a daily life of enjoying the Lord. In particular, you will enjoy Him as the fine flour feeding you and supplying life to you. Also, spontaneously you will walk in spirit, act in spirit, and speak in spirit. In this way you will enjoy Christ as the olive oil. Then you will become willing to sacrifice yourself for the Lord and for others. This is to have a life in which we pour out Christ as wine. In this way you will have a bull, two lambs, and an amount of flour, oil, and wine.
If you come to the church meeting with Christ in these aspects, you will not come in a traditional way, in a common way, in a way according to the religious background. No, the way you come to the meetings and function in the meetings will be absolutely different. I do not know what you will do, but I believe that spontaneously you will offer praise to the Lord and testify of Him. The Bible reveals that whatever fills us will eventually be poured out. This means that if we are filled with Christ, we shall pour Him forth in praise and testimony.
Our way of meeting is still too formal and traditional. For instance, we may think that testimonies should be given at the end of the meeting. According to this concept, if we testify at the beginning of the meeting, we break the rules or regulations of the meeting. Actually, there is no rule that says we should testify at the end of the meeting and not at the beginning. If this rule exists, it exists in the saints as a self-made rule. Suppose we come to a church meeting or even to a ministry meeting and testify one by one. There may be so many testimonies that there will not be an opportunity for anyone to give a message. My intention in saying this, however, is not to present a proposal concerning the way of meeting. My burden is to point out how formal, religious, natural, and traditional we are. My intention is to show that we are still under the influence of traditional Christianity. In our daily practice and in our meetings we need to get away from this influence.
I would take as an illustration my experience of turning from the old, Oriental culture to the modern, Western culture. As a result of much contact with Westerners, my family began to be influenced by Western culture. But the influence of the old, Oriental culture was so strong that it took a while before we could follow the modern way. When we are in a situation where we must choose between two cultures, we need to exercise discernment to know which is better. From my youth, I began to realize that the modern culture was better than the traditional culture. But the vast majority of the Chinese did not realize this and even opposed modern culture. I use this as an illustration of our situation today. Today there are two atmospheres, one more prevalent than the other. The more prevalent atmosphere is that of Christianity; the other is that of the Lord’s recovery. We need the proper discernment to know which atmosphere we should be in, the atmosphere of Christianity or of the Lord’s recovery.
Christ is living, present, and real. In reality and in actuality He is our sin offering, our trespass offering, and our burnt offering. He is the fine flour for the meal offering composed of flour mingled with oil, which signifies the life-giving Spirit. He is also the wine with which we are filled and which we pour out as a drink offering for God’s enjoyment. Christ is all these things. But we need to have a life not only to match this, but also to reflect it. Our living should be the reflection of such a Christ.
If we attend ministry meetings week after week and year after year and do not put into practice the things we hear in the messages, then this kind of meeting becomes merely a class for Bible teaching. We all need to practice the things revealed from the Word through the Lord’s ministry. I hope that I myself shall receive mercy and grace to take the lead to practice these things. May we put all these matters into our daily life and make them a reflection of Christ according to the picture of the Old Testament types.
We need to experience Christ daily in a practical way as our present sin offering and burnt offering. We should also experience Him as the meal offering, that is, as our life supply. This means that we should have the fine flour mingled with an adequate amount of oil. We should not be dry; we should have the oil of the life-giving Spirit not only poured upon us, but also mingled with us. Then we should be thoroughly saturated with the oil of the Spirit. Following this, we need to have Christ as our wine to fill us up and make us so happy that we shall be willing to sacrifice everything for the Lord and pour out everything for Him.
The fine flour comes from grains that have been ground. This grinding of the grains is a picture of the working of the cross in our experience. The dealing of the cross is a grinding. We may be grains, but we may not be fine flour. This means that we may have the experience of Christ as grain, but may not have the experience of Him as the fine flour, because we do not have the experience of being ground. We need this experience, this dealing of the cross.
The olive oil comes from olives that have been pressed. If olives are not pressed, no oil can flow out. Olives flow out oil only through the process of being pressed. The same is true of grapes. Unless grapes are pressed, they cannot flow out wine. The pressing of the olives and the pressing of the grapes are both illustrations of the dealing of the cross. Thus, the grinding and the pressing both signify the operation of the cross in us. If we would enjoy Christ as fine flour, we must be conformed to His death. We must live a life under the grinding of the cross. Moreover, in order to flow out oil and wine, we must live a life under the pressing of the cross.
As we consider these matters, we may feel that they are difficult to comprehend. But if we put them into practice in our daily life and have a living that is a reflection of this picture, spontaneously we shall experience the grinding of the grains and the pressing of the olives and the grapes. If we are not under the pressing of the cross, we cannot have oil. We cannot have a life rich in the life-giving Spirit. In like manner, if we are not under the pressing of the cross, we cannot have any wine to drink, much less have wine to pour out for the Lord and for others. Wine and oil come from the pressing, and fine flour comes from the grinding.
Verses 42 and 43 say, “It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, where I will meet with you to speak with you there. And I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by My glory.” These verses indicate that if we have the life described in this chapter, the Lord will meet with us and will speak with us. According to verse 43, He will meet not only with the priests, but with the entire congregation. Furthermore, everything will be holy, sanctified. Verses 44 and 45 say, “And I will sanctify the tent of meeting and the altar, and Aaron and his sons I will sanctify to serve as priests to Me. And I will dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel, and I will be their God.” This also is the outcome, the issue, of the kind of life depicted in this chapter. Finally, in verse 46 we have the conclusion: “And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, who brought them out from the land of Egypt that I might dwell in their midst; I am Jehovah their God.” The result of experiencing Christ according to Exodus 29 is that the Lord dwells in our midst.
