Message 81
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:1-9
During the last century and a half, many books have been written on the typology of the tabernacle. The Bible teachers among the Brethren in particular devoted a great deal of time to the study of the tabernacle. Today we stand on the shoulders of those Bible teachers. Although many of the books written on the tabernacle are quite good, there is a great lack in them. For the most part, these books were written from a doctrinal point of view. There is not much emphasis on Christian experience.
In his writings John twice refers to the tabernacle. John 1:14 says that the Word, which is God, became flesh and tabernacled among us. When Christ was in the flesh, He was God’s tabernacle, God’s dwelling place on earth. Prior to Christ’s incarnation, God dwelt in the tabernacle built at Mount Sinai. Then God moved with the tabernacle and later consolidated it with the temple. Thus, the tabernacle and the temple should be regarded as one dwelling place, not two.
Centuries before Christ was born, God left the temple and returned to the heavens. In Ezekiel 10 we see that the glory of the Lord left the temple and, in a sense, never returned. Hence, there was a period of several hundred years when God did not dwell on earth. Nevertheless, God did not altogether give up the temple until the Lord Jesus was rejected by God’s people. According to Matthew 23:38, the Lord Jesus said, “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” From that time onward the temple was no longer the house of God; it had become the house of the degraded Israelites. It had been the house of God, but it was now called “your house.” The prophecy that their house would be left to them desolate corresponds to that in Matthew 24:2, which was fulfilled when Titus destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
The time the Lord Jesus was on earth was a transitional period. Before the temple made with hands was destroyed, Christ was incarnated and became the real tabernacle of God. When Christ came forth to minister, God dwelt in Him, not in a temple made by human hands. One day, the Lord Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). John 2:21 says, “He spoke of the temple of His body.” Both the temple made by human hands and the body of Jesus as God’s temple were to be destroyed. This was a transitional period, a time of change from the material temple to Christ as God’s temple. The Lord realized that by His death on the cross, the temple of His body would be destroyed. But on the third day, in His resurrection, He would raise it up again. At that time the tabernacle, the temple, would be enlarged into the church. Therefore, the church today is the tabernacle. Ultimately, this tabernacle will consummate in the New Jerusalem as God’s eternal dwelling place. Concerning the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:3 says, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall tabernacle with them.” The New Jerusalem will be the enlargement of the church, and the church is the enlargement of Christ. Christ is the tabernacle, the church is the enlarged tabernacle, and the New Jerusalem will be the consummate tabernacle. The tabernacle not only typifies Christ as an individual person, but also typifies the church as a corporate dwelling place of God.
As we have pointed out, the book of Exodus may be divided into two main parts: the first part consists of chapters one through twenty-four, and the second part, chapters twenty-five through forty. The first twenty-four chapters are a record of preparation, and the last sixteen chapters are a record of the building of the tabernacle. The first nine verses of Exodus 25 are crucial. When we begin to read this chapter, we may not pay adequate attention to these verses. We may have little interest in the different materials mentioned. In 25:1-9 the emphasis is not on the furniture — the ark, the incense altar, the lampstand, the showbread table, the laver, and the altar — but on the tabernacle. In verse 8 the Lord says, “And they shall make for Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” The sanctuary here is the tabernacle as God’s dwelling place. This sanctuary typifies the church. According to the context, we can see that this sanctuary is not an individual person; rather, it is a corporate people, for God speaks of dwelling “in their midst.”
These verses are related to the vision of the tabernacle, not to the vision of the ark. To be sure, the ark typifies the individual Christ. The tabernacle, however, typifies both the individual Christ, the Head, and the corporate Christ, the Body. The New Testament reveals clearly that the individual Christ is the Head. But this Head must have a Body. The Body of Christ is the church. In Ephesians 1:22 and 23 Paul speaks of the church which is Christ’s Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. In Exodus we have not only the ark-Christ, but also the tabernacle-Christ, not only the individual Christ, but also the corporate Christ.
If we apply the type of the tabernacle only to Christ individually, everything about it may be objective and doctrinal. There will be very little place for spiritual experience. But if we realize that the vision in Exodus is not merely a vision of Christ as the ark but also of the tabernacle as the enlargement of Christ, the church, we shall realize the need for experience. To repeat, in Exodus we have not only the ark, but also the tabernacle. This means that we have not only Christ, but also the church. In 25:8 God did not say, “They shall make for Me an ark that I may be expressed.” He said, “They shall make for Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”
It is vital for us to see that the second section of the book of Exodus is concerned with the tabernacle as a type of the church as the enlargement of Christ. In order for Christ to be enlarged into the church, we need to have many spiritual experiences. For this reason, as we consider chapters twenty-five through forty of Exodus, our emphasis will be more on experience. This certainly does not mean that I reject the doctrinal aspect. The point here is that the emphasis is on Christian experience more than doctrine. My burden is to show that this portion of the Word is full of experiences.
Again and again, I wish to emphasize that in chapters twenty-five through forty of Exodus we have a vision of the tabernacle not merely as a type of Christ, but especially as a type of the church, Christ’s enlargement. In order for Christ to have the Body, the church, as His enlargement, we need to have much experience of Christ. If we do not experience Christ, there is no way for Him to be enlarged, to have the Body, or to have the tabernacle as the enlargement of the ark.
Both the ark and the standing boards of the tabernacle were made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. This indicates that the tabernacle is the enlargement of the ark. In the same principle, the church is the enlargement of Christ. The process by which this enlargement comes into being requires the genuine experience of Christ.
Seeing the vision of the tabernacle is a matter of tremendous significance. However, many readers of Exodus have little interest in chapters twenty-five through forty. They may not be concerned with the materials used in building the tabernacle.
Moses received the vision of the tabernacle when he was on the mountaintop under the glory of God. God removed the veil, and Moses saw a vision of heavenly things. Hebrews 8:5 says, “Moses was warned when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, He said, that you make all things according to the pattern that was shown you in the mountain.” In order to see this vision, Moses had to make a journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai.
In order to see the vision of the tabernacle, we need to pass through certain initial experiences: the Passover (Exo. 12), the crossing of the Red Sea (Exo. 14), Marah and Elim (Exo. 15), the enjoyment of manna (Exo. 16), the enjoyment of the living water out of the cleft rock (Exo. 17), and the war against Amalek (Exo. 17). The crossing of the Red Sea signifies baptism, which separates us from Egypt, the world, and delivers us from the tyranny of Satan. The experiences at Marah and Elim point to the dealing of the cross and the fullness of resurrection. After we have passed through the experiences of manna, the living water out of the cleft rock, and the war against Amalek, we arrive at Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, where we may receive the vision. If we lack the initial experiences, we shall not be able to see the vision recorded in chapters twenty-five through forty. We praise the Lord that most of us in His recovery have had these initial experiences.
All the initial experiences are related to Christ. Every one of these experiences is an experience of Christ. But however good these experiences may be, they are still rather elementary. When we come to chapter twenty-five, we have an advance in our spiritual experience.
After God’s people passed through the initial experiences, they entered into intimate fellowship with God at Mount Sinai. During the course of their fellowship with God, they received a revelation of what He is. This revelation was portrayed by the law of God. The law is a portrait, a photograph, showing what God is. Suppose you tell me about a brother whom I have not met and then show me a photograph of him. By the photograph I get some idea of what this brother is like. In a sense, the brother’s picture is a revelation of him. In the same principle, the law was a revelation of what God is. It revealed that He is holy and righteous and that He is a God of light and love.
Although the Ten Commandments with all the supplementary ordinances give us a clear view of what God is, many Christians do not have this understanding when they read Exodus 20 through 23. Instead, they pay their attention to the commandments as requirements for them to keep. Few Christians today realize that the law is a revelation of God.
The law also exposed the condition of God’s people. God is holy, but the people were worldly and common. God is righteous, but the people were filled with unrighteousness. God is a God of light and love, but the people were filled with darkness and hatred. Because the people were exposed, they urged Moses to go to God on their behalf. They realized that because God is holy and righteous, they needed a mediator.
Many of us can testify that when we have intimate fellowship with God and receive His revelation, we are exposed. We sense that we are fallen, sinful, and corrupt and desperately in need of the blood. It is good to receive the revelation of what God is and to be exposed.
Moses saw the vision when he was on the mountain of God. If we would see the vision of the tabernacle, we also need to be on the mountaintop with the Lord.
When Moses was on the mountain of God, he stayed with God under His glory for forty days and forty nights. In the Bible, the number forty signifies tests or trials. It is difficult for us to stand God’s tests. We prefer to see the vision very quickly, within the space of a few minutes. But to see a revelation from God requires a long period of time. It took Moses forty days and forty nights to see this vision. From my experience I can testify that it has taken me forty years to see this vision. Little by little throughout the years, the Lord has shown His revelation. We should not think that we can see the divine revelation in a hasty way.
Some experiences we had in the Lord’s recovery years ago demonstrate that it takes time to see God’s revelation. In 1964 some brothers decided that they would move to different cities in the United States to spread the church life. At first I agreed that such a move would be good for the Lord’s recovery. A few weeks later, however, I encouraged the brothers to wait for a period of time, perhaps three years. Some brothers nevertheless went out to different places and tried to have the church life. Each situation was a failure, and the brothers came back convinced that they should wait a period of time before trying to spread the church life. Three years later, in 1967, I encouraged the saints to wait for another three years. Some brothers could not pass this test of time. Unable to wait any longer, they went out on their own. History has proved that all those who went out in this way were not successful. This indicates that spiritual things take time. In order to see the vision Moses had to spend forty days and forty nights under the glory on the mountaintop.
The forty days Moses was with the Lord on the mountaintop were a test to the children of Israel. They were not able to wait for Moses to come down from the mountain. They demanded that Aaron make them a god. The people took golden rings and brought them to Aaron, and he fashioned them with a graving tool into a calf (32:3-4). Then the people said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (v. 4). Instead of seeing a vision, the people, unable to bear the test of time, made a god for themselves. They could look at the golden calf and declare that this was the god that rescued them from Egypt. Actually, it was an idol. The situation is the same in principle among many Christians today. They may boast that they have seen a vision. Actually, what they have is nothing more than a calf, a self-made idol. Not able to take the time needed to see God’s revelation, they make idols for themselves.
In 25:1-7 God revealed to Moses the materials, the basic elements, to be used in building the tabernacle. All the materials represent basic elements we should use in building the church. Every element, however, is lacking among today’s Christians. Instead of caring for the materials which correspond to God’s revelation, Christians are taught how to organize and how to use psychology. In the Lord’s recovery we do not teach psychology or organization. We need to know all the heavenly materials in a thorough way.
All the materials described in 25:1-7 refer to the virtues of Christ’s Person and work. This means that these materials signify different aspects of Christ. They signify the virtues of what He is in His Person and of what He has done and will do in His work.
Exodus 25:2 says, “Speak to the sons of Israel, that they take for Me a heave offering; from every man whose heart urges him you shall take My heave offering.” According to the Old Testament, an offering is something created by God and prepared by Him, yet gained, possessed, and enjoyed by us. It refers to something created by God which becomes our experience. Suppose, for example, that an Israelite offered a lamb to God. Although the lamb was created by God and prepared by Him, the one offering it had to gain it in a rightful way. He could not steal a lamb and then offer that stolen lamb to God. After possessing the lamb in a proper way, he had to enjoy it and experience it. Then he could offer this lamb to God. Presenting an offering to God is a matter of experience. All the materials prepared by God must become our possession, enjoyment, and experience. Then, through our experience, we shall have the right and the position to offer these materials to God as a heave offering.
In the Old Testament a heave offering refers to an offering lifted up before God. Furthermore, the heave offering and the wave offering belong together. Actually, these two offerings are a pair. The heave offering refers to the uplifted Christ in the heavens, the Christ in ascension. If we would have a heave offering, we must experience the heavenly Christ. The wave offering typifies Christ in resurrection. As the resurrected One, Christ is able to move. He is active and powerful. He was buried in the tomb, but He broke through the bondage of death and came out of the grave. Death cannot retain Him.
Here in 25:2 the heave offering, not the wave offering, is mentioned. The fact that the materials were to be presented as a heave offering means that these materials refer to what we have experienced in resurrection. All the virtues of Christ’s Person and work are offered to God as a heave offering in the character of resurrection, in the position of the heavenlies, and for the building of God’s dwelling place on earth. The materials we offer must have the character of resurrection and a heavenly position. This indicates that the church is built with materials which are filled with the character of resurrection and altogether in a heavenly position.
We have pointed out that the materials used in building the church must be in the character of resurrection and in a heavenly position. If we see this, we shall not take the way of organization. Organizing is natural; it has nothing to do with resurrection. The material for the building of the church must be full of the character of resurrection. Even our love should not be a natural love, but a love in resurrection. When you are about to express love for a saint, you need to discern whether this love is natural or in resurrection. You need to ask whether your love is according to your natural taste, tendency, and purpose, or is of the character of resurrection. If it is in resurrection, this means that the natural life has been crucified and buried. Love that is in resurrection is automatically in a heavenly position. If we have a wave offering, this offering is also a heave offering. It is something which is in resurrection and which is in the heavens. All the materials must be the virtues of Christ’s Person and work that have been possessed, enjoyed, and experienced by us and offered to God in resurrection as a heave offering. Thus, our experiences need to be in resurrection and in the heavenlies.
The church is not built with any natural materials, and it is not even built with Christ directly. Rather, it is built with the Christ who has become our experience. The church is built not merely with the Christ prepared by God, but with the Christ possessed, enjoyed, and experienced by us in resurrection and in the heavenlies. We need a rich experience of Christ’s resurrection and ascension. We should not be natural or earthly. On the contrary, we should be in resurrection and in the heavenlies.
As we shall see, there were twelve kinds of materials used in building the tabernacle. These materials were of three categories: minerals, plants, and animals. In the Bible, animal life signifies redemption. Before the fall, God did not ordain that man should eat animals. Since man had not yet sinned, there was no need for redemption as signified by the eating of animals. The taking of animal life with the shedding of blood signifies redemption.
Plant life in the Bible signifies generating life, producing life. Before the fall of man, there was the need only for this generating life. This was the reason that before the fall it was necessary for man to eat only of the plant life. Man needed generating life for production. But after the fall, he also needed animal life for redemption.
In the Bible minerals are used for building and for fighting. Of course, fighting may also be related to building.
Christ’s life is first for redemption; second, for generation; and third, for building. Christ’s life is a redeeming life, a producing life, and a building life. God’s goal is neither redemption nor regeneration. God’s goal is the building. For us to be built up together as God’s dwelling place, we need both the redeeming life and the generating life. If we would be built up, we need the generating life, and if we would be regenerated, we need the redeeming life.
The reason the minerals are mentioned first in 25:1-7 is that the building is God’s goal. We have seen from verse 8 that God’s desire was that the people make a sanctuary for Him. This sanctuary, this building, requires certain minerals. In the building of the New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of God’s building, there will not be the plant life or the animal life. There will only be minerals: the pearl gates, the golden streets, and the wall and foundations of precious stones. But in order to arrive at God’s goal, we need both the redeeming life and the generating life. Only when we have Christ’s redemption and generation can we have God’s building. Therefore, the three categories of materials are minerals, plants, and animal life to show that the redeeming life is for the generating life and that the generating life is for the building.
