«　WEEK 7　DAY 1　»

　　1 Kings 6:15 And he built the walls of the house within with cedar boards; from the floor of the house to the wall of the ceiling he covered them on the inside with wood. And he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress.

　　1 Cor. 2:2 ...I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified.

　　The different kinds of wood used in constructing the temple signify different aspects of Christ’s humanity. In ancient times the Jews planted cypress trees above their graves; hence, cypress (1 Kings 6:15b, 34) signifies Christ’s humanity in His death, the crucified Jesus (cf. Gen. 6:14 and footnote 2). Cedar trees grew on the mountains of Lebanon (Psa. 104:16); thus, cedar (1 Kings 6:9, 10b, 15a, 16, 36) signifies Christ’s humanity in resurrection, the resurrected Christ (cf. S.S. 4:8 and footnote 2). Olive oil typifies the Spirit of God; hence, olive wood (1 Kings 6:23, 31-33) signifies Christ’s humanity in the Spirit of God, the anointed Christ (Heb. 1:9). (1 Kings 6:15, footnote 1)

　　Three kinds of wood were used in the temple: cypress, cedar, and olive wood.

　　In its spiritual significance, the cypress tree signifies death, and in particular, the death of Christ and the death of those who have died with Christ. The doors of the temple were made of cypress wood, signifying that the death of the Lord Jesus is the great entrance into the church.

　　[Cedar] wood, which came from Lebanon, grew on the high mountains... From a spiritual perspective cedar wood signifies the resurrected Christ and those who have been resurrected in Christ. In the temple everything from the ground up was constructed with cedar wood. This shows that the church is being built upward in the resurrection of Christ.

　　The third kind of wood is olive wood. Olive wood was used for the doors on which were carvings of cherubim. Olive oil typifies the Holy Spirit. Hence, olive wood signifies Christ who is in the Holy Spirit and those who are filled with the Holy Spirit. The doors of olive wood with the carvings of cherubim signify the Holy Spirit as the entrance to spiritual matters.

　　In summary, these three kinds of wood show three great matters concerning the Lord Jesus. The first matter is that He died, the second matter is that He resurrected, and the third matter is that He became the Spirit. These three kinds of wood also show us, the saved ones, three aspects of our spiritual experience—our death with Christ, our resurrection with Christ, and our receiving the Holy Spirit with Christ. All those who want to be built together in the church must first be those who have died with Christ; that is, they must be cypress. Second, they must be those who have resurrected with Christ; that is, they must be cedar. Third, they must be those who are in the Holy Spirit with Christ, who have gained a spiritual entrance into spiritual matters and have a spiritual understanding of them, and upon whom the glory of God is manifest; that is, they must be olive wood... In the church there is only the new man in resurrection and in the Holy Spirit, and in this new man there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free man, because all of these have died and been buried with Christ. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 1, “The Vision of the Building of the Church,” pp. 204-206)

　　The church is not composed of natural persons but of persons who have passed through death and entered into resurrection, that is, persons who are as cypress and cedar. Man’s natural ability can never be brought into the church or become building material for the church... Only that which passes through death and resurrection can be brought into the church. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “Three Aspects of the Church, Book 1: The Meaning of the Church,” p. 200)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 1, “The Vision of the Building of the Church,” chs. 3, 5-6, 9