Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:1-8; 26:1-14
Ⅰ
All the materials in 25:1-7 refer to the virtues of Christ's person and work, signifying different aspects of Christ, and all were presented to God as a heave offering for the building of His dwelling place:
A
Whatever Christ is and whatever He has done and is doing are all for the building; the building is God's goal—25:8; Matt. 16:18.
B
Christ's life is a redeeming life, a producing life, and a building life; the redeeming life is for the generating life, and the generating life is for the building—John 1:29; 12:24; 1 Cor. 3:9.
C
All the materials must be the virtues of Christ's person and work that have been possessed, enjoyed, and experienced by us and offered to God in resurrection as a heave offering—Exo. 25:2:
１
The heave offering refers to the uplifted Christ, the Christ in ascension; if we would have a heave offering, we must experience the heavenly Christ—Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 12:2.
２
The church is built with the Christ who has become our experience, the Christ possessed, experienced, and enjoyed by us in resurrection and in the heavenlies—Eph. 2:5-6; 3:8.
３
The church is built with materials which are filled with the character of resurrection and altogether in a heavenly position—Phil. 3:10; Eph. 1:3.
D
The minerals signify Christ as the building material ordained by God and prepared by Him—Exo. 25:3:
１
The gold signifies that we need to experience Christ in His pure and everlasting divine nature—2 Pet. 1:4; Rev. 3:18a.
２
The silver testifies that we have been redeemed, terminated, and replaced.
３
Bronze signifies the testing of God's judgment—Rev. 1:15a.
４
In the Lord's recovery we repudiate the wood, the grass, and the stubble; we would rather have a small amount of gold, silver, and precious stones than a huge pile of wood, grass, and stubble—1 Cor. 3:10-17.
Ⅱ
The four layers of the covering of the tabernacle do not refer to the believers but refer only, absolutely, and thoroughly to Christ—Exo. 26:1-14:
A
The first layer—made of linen—typifies Christ as a perfect and complete human being—vv. 1-6:
１
In the Bible fine linen signifies the proper and righteous conduct of a pure and perfect human being—Rev. 19:8.
２
When we see Christ from within, we know that He is heavenly, He is kingly, He is the redeeming One, and He is glorious:
ａ
Blue signifies something heavenly in both nature and appearance.
ｂ
Purple signifies that which is kingly in both position and behavior.
ｃ
Scarlet signifies the shedding of blood for redemption.
ｄ
The cherubim signify God's glory manifested in Jesus.
３
The humanity of the Lord Jesus covers us, protects us, and embraces us.
B
The second layer—made of goats' hair—typifies Christ being made sin for us—Exo. 26:7-13; 2 Cor. 5:21:
１
Goats signify sinners, and goats' hair signifies the sins, the evil deeds, of sinners—Matt. 25:33, 41.
２
Whereas the first layer signifies that in Himself Christ is glorious and wonderful, the second layer signifies that this wonderful One was made sin for us—2 Cor. 5:21:
ａ
These two layers signify that the Lord Jesus, the perfect man, was made sin in the eyes of God for our redemption—Rom. 8:3.
ｂ
Christ protects us by being made our Substitute, by being judged for us, and by dying for us; therefore, Christ's substitution becomes our protection—1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18.
C
The third layer—made of rams' skins dyed red—typifies Christ as the One who accomplished redemption to meet God's need and ours—Exo. 26:14a:
１
Rams signify Christ as a strong man, and the covering of rams' skins typifies Christ's suffering death and shedding His blood—Heb. 9:12-14, 25-26, 28.
２
Because the perfect man, Jesus Christ, was made sin for us, redemption has been accomplished—Col. 1:14; Heb. 9:12.
３
Praise the Lord that we are under the rams' skins dyed red, that we are covered by the full and complete redemption of Christ!
D
The fourth layer—made of porpoise skins—typifies Christ as the One who is strong toward the enemy and who is able to resist all his attacks—Exo. 26:14b:
１
The function of the porpoise skins is to protect us not from God's judgment but from the attack of the enemy—Eph. 6:11.
２
The porpoise skins signify that toward Satan, the principalities, and the demons, Christ is rough and tough—Isa. 53:2; John 14:30b; Eph. 6:10-17.
３
As the rams' skins Christ enables us to stand before God, and as the porpoise skins He enables us to stand against Satan and all his attacks—Rom. 5:1-2; Eph. 6:13.