Ⅰ
The Lord within us is aspiring to go on from the tabernacle church life in the wilderness of the soul to the temple church life with Christ, the all-inclusive Spirit, as the reality of the good land in our spirit—Heb. 6:1a; Josh. 3:14-17; Deut. 8:8; Eph. 2:21-22; Col. 1:12; 2:6-7.
Ⅱ
The tabernacle and the temple typify two aspects of the church:
A
First Kings 8:1-11 shows that the tabernacle was merged with the temple; the tabernacle was a portable precursor moving through the wilderness, whereas the temple was the consummation of God’s building in typology.
B
The temple as the enlargement of the tabernacle signifies the strengthening and stabilizing of the church, and the renewing and enlargement of the furniture in the temple signify the renewing and enlargement of the saints’ experience of Christ; the dimensions of the temple and of the Holy of Holies in the temple were twice those of the tabernacle; furthermore, with the exception of the Ark, the size and number of the furnishings and the utensils were greatly enlarged for His enlarged expression—6:2, 20; 2 Chron. 4:1-8; cf. Exo. 26:3, 16, 18, 22-24, 33.
Morning Nourishment
Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity...Eph. 2:21-22 In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.
Are we enjoying Christ as the Passover, yet still in Egypt? Or we may have made our exodus from Egypt and are now in the wilderness, receiving revelation, building the tabernacle, and feasting on manna. Surely it is good to have the tabernacle as God’s building, yet the tabernacle lacked solidity; it was portable with no foundation. There was no stone, only wood, in its construction... Are we wandering in the wilderness of the soul, enjoying manna from heaven and water from the rock and carrying a floating church life with no solid foundation? Or,... are we walking about in a spacious land, full of unsearchable riches? Is the church life built up, as solid as the temple? (CWWL, 1979, vol. 1, “Life Messages, Volume 2,” p. 280)
Today’s Reading
Within us there is a hunger and thirst for something higher in the church life than we have yet experienced. The dissatisfaction that we sense is really not ours but the Lord’s. He within us is aspiring to have the temple church life in the good land. He would have us... out of the wilderness and into the good land, out of the soul and into the spirit.In one way we are happy to be in the church life; in another, we long for something richer... We do have the Ark in the tabernacle church life. By this we can enter a higher level, the good land, where the temple can be built up. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 1, “Life Messages, Volume 2,” pp. 280-281)
We...must see that not only was the temple larger, more stable, and more weighty than the tabernacle, but the furniture in the temple was also made anew, and their dimensions were increased. The altar, the laver, the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden lampstand, and the incense altar were all reconstructed, and in most cases their dimensions were increased. In the tabernacle the altar had been five cubits square and three cubits high, but in the temple it was twenty cubits square and ten cubits high. In the tabernacle there had been only one golden lampstand, but in the temple there were ten of them. In the tabernacle there had been only one table of the bread of the Presence and one laver, but in the temple there were ten tables of the bread of the Presence and ten lavers.
Our experience of the cross, the Holy Spirit, and Christ as our life, light, acceptance, and sweetness should be renewed, deepened, and enlarged... The enlargement of the temple signifies the strengthening of the church, and the renewing and enlargement of the furniture in the temple signifies the renewing and enlargement of the saints’ experience of Christ.
This picture indicates that our spiritual experience must match the stature of the church... The size of the altar (that is, the experience of the cross) must be proportionately increased. The preaching of the gospel must be with greater impact so that when people come in, they would be strongly convicted and saved... The believers’ consecration to God must also be increased... There must be the enlargement of the bronze laver. In other words, the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and the washing by the Holy Spirit must be more intense, frequent, and renewing... Christ as our life supply and light must also be enlarged. In addition, the golden incense altar (that is, our fellowship with God and our experience of being accepted by Him in Christ) also must be strengthened, increased, and enlarged.
Christ is forever the same, but the church must gradually be strengthened and enlarged, and the saints’ spiritual experiences must also gradually be renewed and enlarged. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 1, “The Vision of the Building of the Church,” pp. 206-208)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1979, vol. 1, “Life Messages, Volume 2,” ch. 57