Scripture Reading: John 1:14, 29; 14:20, 23; 15:4a; Heb. 10:5-10
Ⅰ
According to the record in the holy Word, the reality of the universe is Christ as the tabernacle and the offerings—John 1:14, 29; 14:6:
A
As the God-man, Christ is the tabernacle to be the dwelling place for God and man and the offerings for man to enter into God—1:14; 14:20, 23; 1:29.
B
Christ, who is the reality of the tabernacle and the offerings, is the reality and content of the universe—1:14, 17b:
１
God in Christ has passed through a process to become the tabernacle, a mutual abode, for God and man—1:14.
２
Through Christ as the offerings, we can dwell in God, and God can dwell in us; this is the reality of the universe and the content of the Bible—15:4a.
Ⅱ
In the Gospel of John, an abstract of the entire Bible, we have the fulfillment of the tabernacle and the offerings—1:14, 29:
A
The reality of the universe—Christ as the tabernacle and the offerings—is the content of the Bible, and the whole Bible is condensed into one book, the Gospel of John—1:14, 17b, 29.
B
Christ as the tabernacle brings God to man, and Christ as the offerings brings man to God so that man may be united, mingled, and incorporated with God—1:14, 29:
１
Christ is the tabernacle, the dwelling place, for us to approach God, contact God, enter into God, and experience God—v. 14.
２
Christ is the offerings for us to enter into God and enjoy God—v. 29; 14:6.
３
It is a wonderful revelation that Christ is the reality of the tabernacle and the offerings and that now we can enter into Him, enjoy Him, and be mingled with Him.
C
The center and reality of the Gospel of John is the mutual abode for God and His redeemed people; this mutual abode is the enlarged, universal, divine-human incorporation—vv. 20, 23; 15:4a.
Ⅲ
The will of God is to have Christ as the replacement for all the offerings in the Old Testament so that we may enjoy Him as everything for the building up of the Body of Christ—Heb. 10:5-10; Rom. 12:2, 4-5:
A
The sin offering typifies Christ as the One who was made sin for us and who died on the cross to deal with the sinful nature of our fallen being—Lev. 4:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 8:3; John 1:29; 3:14.
B
The trespass offering typifies Christ as the One who bore our sins in His own body and was judged by God on the cross to deal with our sinful deeds that we might be forgiven in our sinful conduct—Lev. 5:6; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18; Isa. 53:5-6, 10-11; John 4:15-18.
C
The burnt offering, which was wholly for God's satisfaction, typifies Christ as God's pleasure and satisfaction, the One whose living on earth was absolutely for God—Lev. 1:3; Num. 28:2-3; John 7:16-18.
D
The meal offering typifies Christ in His perfect humanity as food for God and for those who have fellowship with God and serve Him—Lev. 2:1, 4; John 7:46; 18:38; 19:4, 6.
E
The peace offering typifies Christ as the Peacemaker, the One who became the peace and the fellowship between us and God by dying for us, enabling us to enjoy Christ with God and to have fellowship with God in Christ for our mutual satisfaction with God—Lev. 3:1; Eph. 2:14-15; John 12:1-3; 20:21.
F
The wave offering typifies Christ as the resurrected One in love—Lev. 7:30; 10:15.
G
The heave offering typifies the powerful Christ in ascension and exaltation—Lev. 7:32; Exo. 29:27; Eph. 1:21.
H
The drink offering typifies Christ as the One poured out as wine before God for His satisfaction and also as the One who saturates us with Himself as heavenly wine to be poured out for God's enjoyment and satisfaction—Exo. 29:40; Num. 28:7-10; Isa. 53:12; Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6; Judg. 9:13.
Ⅳ
We need to experience Christ as the reality of the offerings—John 1:29; 16:13; 1 John 5:6:
A
The offerings solve our problems and bridge the gap between us and God—John 14:6.
B
The offerings are Christ as grace to us—1:29, 14, 16-17.
C
The offerings are good for us to enjoy God, to be mingled with God, and to have God assimilated into our being to become our constituent—Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17; Col. 3:10-11.
D
The offerings are the way for us to enter into God and become part of the divine-human incorporation—John 14:6, 20.
E
When we experience Christ as the reality of the offerings, He becomes our genuineness and sincerity so that we may worship the Father in spirit and in truthfulness—4:23-24.
F
The offerings are not only sacrifices to solve our problems but also presents to God for His enjoyment—Num. 28:2.
G
Through Christ as the offerings, we and God, God and we, have a mutual enjoyment, the fellowship of co-enjoyment—Deut. 12:7.