Ⅰ
Christ has gained us so that we might gain Him in order for God to be built into us and for us to be built into Him to become a corporate God-man, the reality of the church as the tabernacle of God, which is the house of the living God, the mutual abode of God and man—Phil. 3:8, 12-14; John 1:14; Rev. 21:2-3; 7:15; 1 Tim. 3:15; John 14:2, 23.
Ⅱ
In order to enter into the reality of the Body of Christ, we must see the intrinsic significance of the Ark:
A
The Ark typifies Christ as the presence of the Triune God with His people for the carrying out of His economy to establish His kingdom on earth—Matt. 1:23.
B
The Ark was the center and content of the tabernacle, signifying Christ as the center and content of the church; the Ark being the first item mentioned in the vision of the tabernacle indicates that Christ occupies the place of preeminence in the church—Exo. 25:22; Col. 1:17b, 18b:
１
The Ark contained the tablets of the law as the testimony of God, the expression and revelation of who God is—Exo. 25:16; 31:18.
２
The Ark in the Holy of Holies signifies Christ as the center of God's dwelling place, the church (Eph. 2:21-22), and the contents of the church as the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15-16; cf. 1 Sam. 4:22; Rev. 3:20).
Morning Nourishment
Exo. 40:20-21 Then he took the Testimony and put it into the Ark…. And he brought the Ark into the tabernacle…and screened the Ark of the Testimony…Col. 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
1 Tim. 3:15 …You may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God,…the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
According to Exodus 25:22, this Ark was called “the Ark of the Testimony.” In the book of Exodus the testimony refers to the law. God regarded the law decreed through Moses on Mount Sinai as His testimony.
Suppose I have never met a certain brother. When someone shows me a photograph of that brother, I see a testimony of what that brother is like. As a description of the brother, his photograph is his testimony. (Life-study of Exodus, p. 983)
Today’s Reading
In His work of creation God accomplished many things. However, Genesis 1 does not reveal what kind of God our God is. We do not know from this chapter whether He is a God of love or of hate, a God of darkness or of light,…whether He is holy or common, righteous or unrighteous. The law was given that we might have a portrait, a description, of God and thereby understand what He is. For this reason, God considers the law as His testimony. As a testimony of God, the law is a type of Christ. Christ is the living portrait of God, His living definition and description. Therefore, Christ is the real testimony of God.The tabernacle is called the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Exo. 38:21), because the testimony is in the Ark, and the Ark is in the tabernacle. In…Exodus, when we speak of the Ark of the Testimony or the Tabernacle of the Testimony, we should understand that the word testimony refers to the law. However, it refers to the law as a definition of God, not as commandments for people to keep.
The tabernacle had a number of important furnishings: the altar and the laver in the outer court; the showbread table, the lampstand, and the incense altar in the Holy Place; and the Ark in the Holy of Holies, the inmost chamber of the tabernacle…. As the first item, [the Ark] occupied the place of preeminence. We know from Exodus 40:2 and 3 that it was in the tabernacle, and from 40:20 and 21, that it was in the Holy of Holies.
The Ark as the embodiment of God’s testimony typifies Christ as the embodiment of God. All that God is, is embodied in Christ. Colossians 2:9 says that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily. Our use of the word embodiment is based on this verse. Because God is embodied in Christ, He is portrayed, defined, and explained by Christ. Christ is God’s definition, His explanation. As God’s testimony, Christ is typified by the Ark of the Testimony.
Because the Holy of Holies is in the inmost part of the tabernacle, it is the center of the tabernacle. It is the focus of the tabernacle and signifies the center of God’s dwelling place. God dwelt in the tabernacle but not in the outer court or in the Holy Place. He dwelt in the Holy of Holies. The Ark in the Holy of Holies signifies the center of God’s dwelling place, the church (Eph. 2:21-22). The cover of the Ark is equal to the throne of grace in Hebrews 4:16. It was upon the cover of the Ark, the throne of grace, that God dwelt. This was the exact place where God was. In the Old Testament this place was in the Tabernacle of the Testimony. But in the New Testament this place is in the church. The church today is God’s tabernacle, His dwelling place.
The Ark also signifies the contents of the church as the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15-16). Just as the Ark as the embodiment of God’s testimony was the content of the tabernacle, so Christ as the embodiment of God is the content of the church…. Inwardly the church must have Christ as the content in reality and not merely in terminology. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 983-987)
Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msg. 84