B
To experience the golden lampstands as the testimony of Jesus, the corporate expression of Jesus (Acts 9:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12), we must be filled with the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7) by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus continually (1 Cor. 12:3, 13; Rom. 10:12-13; Lam. 3:55- 56) to bear the brands of Jesus (Gal. 6:17) as brothers and fellow partakers in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance in Jesus (Rev. 1:9-10).
C
The beating of the gold to form a stand signifies the believers' participation in Christ's sufferings; everything that goes on in our environment is for the producing of the beaten lampstand—Exo. 25:31; Col. 1:24:
１
If we set our mind on knowing God—submitting to the inward working of the Spirit and to the outward environment—every circumstance will become an opportunity for us to know Him—Hosea 6:1-3; Phil. 3:10a; Eph. 6:20; cf. Gen. 41:42.
２
If a man does not know God in his lifetime, he has wasted his whole life; may the Lord make us willing to accept His dealings in our circumstances so that we may know Him more—2 Cor. 4:16-18; 12:7-9; cf. Isa. 7:14-15; 2 Cor. 5:14-15.
３
The crux of the matter is whether or not one encounters the Lord as the great light in the midst of difficulties and trials; suffering can make us understand what we otherwise could not understand—1:8-9; cf. Eph. 1:17; Luke 1:78-79.
D
The shining of the golden lampstands is so that people may see the vision of the glorious Christ as the Son of Man walking in their midst; by knowing the Lord in the midst of the churches as the One who is living forever and ever, we can be assured of His presence in our spirit all the time; He lives always to intercede for us, He appears now before the face of God for us, and He will never fail us nor forsake us— Rev. 1:12-18; 2:1; 2 Tim. 4:22; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; Num. 6:22-27; Deut. 31:6.
E
The shining of the seven lamps of the golden lampstands, the Lord Jesus walking in their midst with His seven eyes like a flame of fire, His feet like shining bronze, and the shining of His face as the sun indicate that we need more and more of the Lord's shining day by day in our daily life and church life for more and more of His shepherding— saving, restoring, reviving, and deifying—Rev. 1:14b-15a, 16b; 4:5; 5:6; Luke 1:78-79; 2 Cor. 4:6-7; Mal. 4:2; Prov. 4:18; Psa. 22, title; 80:1-3, 7, 15-19.
Morning Nourishment
Exo. 25:31 And you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand with its base and its shaft shall be made of beaten work; its cups, its calyxes, and its blossom buds shall be of one piece with it. 36 Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it one beaten work of pure gold.Even though we may have the gold and are beaten together and are built into one as a lampstand, we still need the seven lamps, the seven Spirits of God as the expression. If we do not have the seven Spirits of God, we will be unable to shine to express God. Whether we are young or old, we daily need to be filled with the sevenfold Spirit of God. Whenever we are filled with God's sevenfold Spirit, we are living and shining. Because we are filled with the seven Spirits of God, we cannot be dead or dim…Nothing can suppress us. Because we are full of the Spirit of God, the more we are pressed down, the higher we bounce up.
Sometimes the leading brothers strongly encourage the saints to function in the prayer meetings. But all such functions are not genuine functions but performances, because the saints are not filled with the Spirit. Rather, they are deflated like flat tires…But the leading ones may still insist that these flat tires roll around a little in the prayer meeting. This kind of activity does not come from the infilling and indwelling pneuma but from the pushing of the elders. After a brother or sister has been forced to function, he may not pray for two weeks…When a tire becomes flat, it is better not to roll it around, for the more you roll it, the more damaged it will become. However, none of us should be a flat tire. Instead, we must be filled with pneuma. We have a “station” in the third heaven, and we can always be filled with the heavenly pneuma. When we are filled with the Spirit, we can function at any time. This function is not a performance—it is our living…When we all are filled with the sevenfold Spirit of God in the built-up church, this sevenfold Spirit of God will become the very expression of God in Christ. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 352-353)
Today’s Reading
Beaten work signifies sufferings…When Christ…was on earth, He experienced much suffering, much beating…With the lampstand the gold was beaten to shine forth the light of God. This light equals the glory of God…This indicates that through His sufferings Christ expresses God’s glory.If we are short of sufferings, our light may not shine brightly. Although we should not seek to suffer, we should not despise sufferings, for they are useful. If we never experience any difficulties, any beating of the gold, we will not be able to shine. For example, if your husband or wife or your children are always good to you, this may hinder your shining. But if you face difficulties in your family life, these difficulties will help you to shine. (Life- study of Exodus, 2nd ed., p. 1031)
In all the dealings we face, we have to see the Lord’s hand. We have to see that the Lord is constituting, carving, and molding us. The constitution of the Holy Spirit is not just an idea; it is constituted through the experience of all the circumstances around us. All the experiences we have in our environment are the result of the Spirit’s constituting work. His discipline is actually His constitution. The golden lampstand is beaten out of pure gold. The beating produces the mark, which is the result of the discipline of the Spirit. Everything that goes on in our environment is for the producing of the beaten lampstand. The way of the ministry of the word is not the way of gift, but the way that is wrought through God’s beating. We are all clear within that the way today is the way of the Spirit’s discipline. Where there is the discipline of the Spirit, there is the ministry of the word through the New Testament ministers. Everyone who is used by God is beaten and molded by God. To speak only by gifts, doctrines, truths, and teachings is not our way. (CWWN, vol. 58, p. 195)
Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msgs. 6, 31; CWWN, vol. 58, chs.19, 22, 24, 28—29, 40