«　WEEK 3　DAY 4　»

　　1 Pet. 2:5 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.

　　9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

　　In the Old Testament, God could move by Himself, without man. For instance, when God created the heavens and the earth, there was no need of man to match Him. But the New Testament begins with the divine incarnation. This set up the principle for God's New Testament economy, which is that God needs man to match Him. Without man, God can do nothing. In the Old Testament, God could do many things without man. In the New Testament, God has given Himself to be bound together with man....In the New Testament, 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. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 33)

　　The duties in the tabernacle's setting out involve both the priests and the Levites. In the Old Testament there is a distinction between the priests and the Levites. However, in the New Testament there is only one class, that of the priests, which includes the Levites. Hence, what the Levites did in the Old Testament, we, the New Testament priests, should also do.

　　[In Numbers 4:19b] we see that the service of the Kohathites was under the assigning of Aaron and his sons. This indicates that in the Old Testament there are two classes—the priests and the Levites. But in the New Testament these two classes are one. We today are both priests and Levites. When we as priests do the Levitical work, we must be under the supervision of our priestly view. For example, arranging chairs in the meeting hall is not a spiritual work but a Levitical service. But this Levitical service should be carried out under the inward, spiritual view of the priesthood. If the arranging of chairs is done in this way, the serving ones will pray for the church and for those who will sit on the chairs. The principle is the same with knocking on people's doors for the purpose of preaching the gospel. The Levitical service of door-knocking should be carried out under the supervision of the priestly view. Then those who visit people with the gospel in this way will have much prayer. They may pray, "Lord, while I am knocking on this person's door, I ask You to knock on his heart."

　　Today we should not separate the Levitical service from the priestly view. Any kind of outward activity must be carried out under the supervision of the inward, spiritual view of the priesthood.

　　We need to learn to do outward things under the inward view of the priesthood. For instance, the way work is done in the church business office should be very different from the way in a bank....All the service in the church business office should be done under the heavenly view and supervision of the priests. Then whatever we do in the church business office will become a spiritual activity and will minister life to others. While we are caring for business matters, we should minister life to others. If we do this, our Levitical service is under the view and supervision of the priesthood. (Life-study of Numbers, pp. 35, 37-38)

　　When a person serves God, there is the priestly work on the one hand, and there is the Levitical work on the other hand. Both should be accomplished. On the one hand, you participate in the spiritual service, and on the other hand, you should also take care of the practical affairs....These things occupy a great part of Christian work. This category of things is what everyone in the church must properly learn before God. (Further Talks on the Church Life, p. 135)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1966, vol. 1, "The Priesthood and God's Building," ch. 11; Watchman Nee, Further Talks on the Church Life, ch. 5