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In doing God's divine work to build the church, typified by the work to build the tabernacle, we must bear a sign to indicate that we are God's people and that we need Him; then we will be able to work not only for God but also with God by being one with God; He will be our strength to work and our energy to labor:
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We are God's people, and we should bear a sign that we need Him to be our enjoyment, strength, energy, and everything so that we may be able to work for Him to honor and glorify Him.
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The Sabbath means that before we work for God, we need to enjoy God and be filled with Him; Peter preached the gospel by the infilling God, the infilling Spirit; therefore, Peter had a sign that he was God's co-worker, and his gospel preaching was an honor and glory to God—v. 14.
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As God's people, we must bear a sign that we rest with God, enjoy God, and are filled up with God first, and then we work with the very One who fills us; furthermore, we not only work with God but also work as those who are one with God.
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In our speaking to God's people, we must always seek to bear a sign that our Lord is our strength, our energy, and our everything for ministering the word—2 Cor. 13:3; Acts 6:4.
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Keeping the Sabbath is also an eternal agreement, or covenant, that assures God that we will be one with Him by first enjoying Him and being filled with Him and then by working for Him, with Him, and in oneness with Him—Exo. 31:16:
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It is a serious matter to work for the Lord by ourselves without taking Him in and enjoying Him by drinking and eating Him—cf. 1 Cor. 12:13; John 6:57.
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As Peter was speaking on the day of Pentecost, he was inwardly partaking of Jesus, drinking and eating Him.
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The Sabbath is also a matter of sanctification (Exo. 31:13); when we enjoy the Lord and then work with Him, for Him, and by being one with Him, spontaneously we are sanctified, separated unto God from everything that is common and saturated with God to replace everything that is fleshly and natural.
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In the church life we may do many things without first enjoying the Lord and without serving the Lord by being one with the Lord; that kind of service results in spiritual death and the loss of the fellowship in the Body (vv. 14-15).
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Everything related to God's dwelling place leads us to one matter—to the Sabbath with its rest and refreshment of the Lord; in the church life we are in the tabernacle, and the tabernacle leads us to rest, to the enjoyment of God's purpose and of what He has done!
Morning Nourishment
Exo. 31:13 Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, You shall surely keep My Sabbaths; for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am Jehovah who sanctifies you.15 Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to Jehovah…
After God gave the revelation concerning the tabernacle and the furniture, and after God selected the builders and gave Moses a charge regarding them, He went on to speak again of the Sabbath. It seems as if God were saying, “Do not forget My Sabbath. Don’t take the excuse that you are not laboring on your own business, but are doing a divine work. You should not think that because you are working to build My dwelling place, you can work every day continually. No, even in doing My divine work, the work of building the tabernacle, you must still bear a sign to indicate that you are My people and you need Me. Therefore you need to enjoy Me first. Then you will be able to work not only for Me, but also with Me and by being one with Me. I will be your strength to work and your energy to labor….You must do the work of building My dwelling place with Me, by Me, and in oneness with Me…. If you try to do a good work for Me by yourselves, leaving Me aside, that would be an insult to Me, for that is a sign of the devil’s people. You are My people, and you should bear a sign that you need Me to be your enjoyment, strength, and energy…. By working in this way you honor Me and glorify Me. This is to bear a sign indicating that you are My people.” (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1826-1827)
Today’s Reading
We all need to learn a basic lesson regarding the Sabbath…. The Sabbath means that before we work for God, we need to enjoy God and be filled with Him. If we have enjoyed God and if we have been filled with God, then we are ready to work for Him. Such work will not be by ourselves; it will be by God. Consider Peter’s situation on the day of Pentecost. When Peter stood up to preach the gospel, he did not preach by himself. He preached by the very God who had filled him up. In preaching the gospel, Peter was not empty. He preached the gospel by the infilling God, by the infilling Spirit. Therefore, Peter had a sign that he was God’s co-worker, and his gospel preaching was an honor and glory to God.The people of the world all work by themselves. They do not have a sign on them that indicates that they belong to God. They do not enjoy God, they do not rest with God, and they do not work with God. Our situation is altogether different because we have a sign….The sign is that we rest with God, enjoy God, and are filled up with God first, and then we work with the very One who fills us. Furthermore, we not only work with God, but we work as those who are one with God.
I pray repeatedly, “Lord, in my speaking I want to practice being one spirit with You so that my speaking will be Your speaking. Lord, it must be that You speak in my speaking. If You are not one with me, I will not speak anything. I would never speak in my empty self. That would be a blasphemy to You, an insult to You. Lord, I would speak not only with You, but also by being one with You. Those who listen must have the impression that while I am speaking, You are one with me. Lord, my speaking involves the practice not only from my side, that I am one spirit with You; it also involves the practice on Your side, that You are one spirit with me.” If we would speak this way, what an honor and glory it would be to the Lord! This is the sign of the Sabbath. In my speaking I always seek to bear a sign that my Lord is my Sabbath. He is my rest, my refreshment, my energy, my strength, and my everything for ministering the Word. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1827-1828)
Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Two, vol. 2, lsn. 16