Ⅲ
The holy service portrayed in Numbers is not for a Christ who is inactive but for a Christ who is very active; in His activity, in His move, we must match Him (4:1-33):
Ａ
The priests and the Levites had certain duties in the tabernacle's setting out, in its going forward:
１
The priests appointed the Levites to do their service (vv. 19, 27-28, 33):
ａ
The Levites did their service not according to their way but under the direction of the anointed priests.
ｂ
This indicates that we, the New Testament priests serving God, should not act according to our own idea but under the direction of the anointed view, that is, under the direction of the Spirit who anoints us (3:3; Exo. 28:41).
２
The priests took care of the primary things, the important things, and the Kohathites (Levites) took care of some of the secondary things (Num. 4:5-14):
ａ
To take care of the furnishings of the sanctuary is to take care of the primary things.
ｂ
The priests took care of the Ark; this is to take care of Christ directly and to minister Christ (vv. 5-6).
ｃ
The Kohathites carried the furnishings of the sanctuary (vv. 2-4, 15, 17-20, 34-37); to do this today is to speak concerning the church as the expansion of Christ.
Ｂ
In order to see how Christ moves on earth, we should look at the move of the tabernacle (vv. 5, 25, 31-32):
１
The tabernacle moved on the shoulders of the descendants of the three sons of Levi (Josh. 3:11, 13-15, 17).
２
The Lord moves through our bearing the Ark, the furnishings of the sanctuary, and the Tent of Meeting (vv. 3, 11, 13-15).
Ｃ
The principle in God's New Testament economy is that God needs man to match Him in His move on earth (Matt. 28:18-20):
１
Without man, God can do nothing; in His New Testament economy, God does nothing without man (Acts 1:8; 13:1-3).
２
God must have man to match Him, to be one with Him, to coordinate with Him; this is the basic principle of God's New Testament economy (Ezek. 1:15-21; 1 Cor. 6:17).
３
Christ is moving today throughout the earth, and He is moving with those who are one with Him (Acts 1:8; John 15:4-5, 16):
ａ
We are today's sons of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
ｂ
Christ, the embodiment of God for His expansion, moves through those who love Him (S.S. 7:11-12; Rev. 2:4-5).
Morning Nourishment
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I set you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you.Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The priests and the Levites had certain duties in the tabernacle's setting out. To set out is to go forward. Thus, what is covered in the holy service is not for a Christ who is inactive but for a Christ who is very active. In His activity we must match Him. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 33)
Today's Reading
The Levites did their service not according to their way but under the direction of the anointed priests. This indicates that we, the New Testament priests serving God, should not act according to our own idea but under the direction of the anointed view, that is, under the direction of the very Spirit who anoints us.The priests took care of the primary things, the most important things, and the Kohathites took care of some of the secondary things. To take care of the furnishings of the sanctuary is to take care of the primary things. The priests took care of the Ark. This is to take care of Christ directly and to minister Christ. The Kohathites carried the furnishings of the sanctuary (Num. 4:2-4, 15, 17-20, 34-37). To do this today is to speak concerning the church as the expansion of Christ.
In His New Testament economy, God does nothing without man. Man must be one with God, match God, and be bound together with God. "He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17). This implies that in the New Testament God's economy has bound man together with God. God is willing to be bound to man, for He cannot move without man. Now God moves not only with man but also within man. This is why God never preaches the gospel directly to anyone; instead, He preaches the gospel through man.
Christ is moving today throughout the earth. "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). To be Christ's witnesses is to be His testimony, and to be His testimony is to be His portrait. If we are Christ's testimony, His portrait, people will see Him wherever we go....All gospel preachers are actually witnesses, portraits, of Christ.
We need to see how the Lord moves today. He moves within us. We are today's Gershonites, Kohathites, and sons of Merari. In order to see how Christ moves on earth, we should look at the move of the tabernacle. The tabernacle moved on the shoulders of the descendants of the three sons of Levi. This moving was in a very good sequence, with no confusion. Only Aaron and his sons could look at the holy things and touch them. The Levites could look at them and touch them only after they had been packed and covered. The layman had no right at all to touch the holy things.
From the foregoing we can realize that not everyone is able to bring the Lord's recovery from one country to another. By the Lord's mercy, I can testify that when I came to the United States, I brought the Ark with all the furnishings of the sanctuary. I also brought the Tent of Meeting, which is the enlargement of Christ, the church. The Lord moves through our bearing the Ark, the furnishings of the sanctuary, and the Tent of Meeting.
Christ, the embodiment of God for His expansion, moves through those who love Him. If we do not move, He cannot move. Rather, He is bound and even imprisoned within us. If we do not move, we become a prison to the Lord. (Life-study of Numbers, pp. 36-37, 33-35)
Further Reading: Life-study of Numbers, msg. 5; CWWL, 1950-1951, vol. 2, "Serving according to Revelation," ch. 2