Ⅳ
David and Solomon typify Christ in two aspects for God’s building:
A
David typifies Christ from His incarnation with His God-man living and sufferings unto His death (from the manger to the cross)—Matt. 12:3-4; 22:41-46.
B
Solomon typifies Christ in His resurrection in glory as the life-giving Spirit in us (including His enthronement and His second coming to rule over His kingdom on earth) speaking God’s word of wisdom to build up the church as the temple of God—12:42; 2 Chron. 1:10; 1 Cor. 1:24, 30; 12:8.
C
God “testified and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to My heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22); David “served his own generation by the counsel of God” (v. 36); he was a man according to God’s heart (1 Sam. 13:14) because, as Solomon testified, “It was on David my father’s heart to build a house for the name of Jehovah the God of Israel” (1 Kings 8:17-20; cf. Eph. 1:5, 9; 1 Cor. 12:12-27—see footnote 2 on v. 13).
D
David suffered from his youth, yet through his suffering he prepared the materials, gained the proper ground for the building of the temple, and prepared Solomon, the builder, and all the helpers—1 Chron. 21:18-30; 2 Chron. 3:1; 1 Chron. 28:9-11, 20-21.
E
David’s preparing of the materials in abundance for the building up of the temple of God typifies Christ’s providing for the building of the church of God with His unsearchable riches—18:7-11; 22:2-5, 14-16a; 28:2; 29:2-9; cf. Eph. 3:8-10.
F
David’s preparation in his affliction (1 Chron. 22:1, 14), in his trials, and in the victory of his fightings typifies Christ’s rich provision for the building of the church of God in His trials and in His victory in His life of fighting against Satan with his power of darkness (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10).
G
The pattern of the temple given to David was “the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit” (1 Chron. 28:12); “all this, said David, has He made clear by a writing from the hand of Jehovah upon me, all the details of the pattern” (v. 19; cf. 2 Cor. 3:3); the temple built by Solomon was according to this pattern (1 Chron. 28:11).
H
David’s arranging in order Israel’s services to God related to the temple of God (6:31-48; chs. 23—26) typifies the Spirit’s arranging in order the church services in the New Testament (1 Cor. 12:4-27) and typifies that Christ as the Head of the Body has set up an order in His Body for all His members to keep (v. 18; 14:40).
I
The blueprint of the church is the Spirit of resurrection—the all-inclusive, life-giving, compound, indwelling Spirit; when we live in the Spirit of resurrection in our spirit, the reality of Solomon’s building of the temple according to David’s design (with all the ingredients of Christ’s God-man living, death, and resurrection) is fulfilled within us—John 2:19; Phil. 1:19; Eph. 1:17; 2:22; 3:5, 16; 4:23; 5:18; 6:18.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 12:42 The queen of the south... came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon;… behold, something more than Solomon is here.1 Chron. 28:11-12 Then David gave Solomon his son the pattern of the portico of the temple and its buildings...; and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of the house of Jehovah...
Although there were numerous kings in Israel, only two, David and Solomon, most adequately typify Christ. David is a type of Christ in His suffering on earth before His resurrection. David suffered from his youth and was a fighting king who defeated the enemy, gained the land, and prepared materials for the building of the holy temple (1 Chron. 18:7-11; 22:2-5, 14-16...). Solomon is a type of Christ as the victorious King in resurrection who is building the church as the temple of God in peace (1 Kings 5:2-5; Matt. 16:18). (CWWL, 1966, vol. 3, pp. 170-171)
Today’s Reading
The Lord Jesus revealed the proper blueprint of the church to His disciples before His crucifixion... This matches the type of the temple. The design for the building of the temple was revealed to David, not to Solomon. Even though the design for building the temple was revealed to David, the execution of that design was carried out through the hands of Solomon... This indicates that Christ revealed the blueprint of the church while He was on the earth, and now Christ is executing the blueprint of the church in resurrection in us. Matthew 16 contains the revelation, and Acts 2 reveals the execution. The revealing One is Christ, as typified by David, and the executing One is Christ, as typified by Solomon.Every one of us should learn to reject ourselves and to live in the Spirit of resurrection... We should submit to the elders because of life, not because of regulation; we should submit to them in the Spirit of resurrection, not based on doctrine. As brothers and sisters in the church, we should submit to the elders, who are the authority in the church. If we do not submit, we are unlawful. This is according to doctrine. But if we simply act according to doctrine without living in the Spirit of resurrection, there is not much profit. The revelation seen by David was executed by Solomon. This means that the revelation of the church unveiled in the Scriptures can be carried out only by the resurrected Christ as the Spirit of resurrection.
The blueprint of the church altogether depends upon the Spirit of resurrection... Simply put, the blueprint of the church is the Spirit of resurrection. When we live in the Spirit of resurrection, the reality of Solomon’s building of the temple is fulfilled within us; that is, the reality of David’s design for the building of the temple is executed within us. All the problems in the church are due to the fact that we have David’s design without Solomon’s execution. We have revelation and doctrine but not much expression of the Spirit of resurrection.
We should not merely hold on to doctrine. We must allow the Lord as the Spirit of resurrection within us to break us. We cannot take a doctrine merely as written instructions, nor can we merely take the basis of the Scripture as a safeguard... From the types revealed in the Bible, we can see that the design revealed to David must be executed by Solomon. All the revelations in the Bible can be fulfilled only in the Spirit of resurrection. When we live in the Spirit of resurrection, we will not have contentions in serving the Lord and in the church; instead, we will have the spiritual reality.
If we are willing to submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit, as soon as we begin to argue, we will realize our self and our flesh and be willing to submit, saying, “O Lord, I am about to argue, but my person is not right, so I will stop.” This may seem unpleasant, but at this point the blueprint of the church will be shown in us. This is Solomon’s execution of what was revealed to David. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, pp. 210, 212-214)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 1, “The Vision of the Building of the Church,” chs. 3, 5-7, 9