Scripture Reading: S. S. 6:4a; Heb. 9:3-4; 10:19-22; Rev. 2:17
Ⅰ
We have been called by the Lord to live within the veil in the Holy of Holies, in God Himself, to enjoy God in Christ as "the Spirit, the Holy" so that we may be saturated with Him to become His corporate sanctuary, the holy city, the ultimate Holy of Holies—S. S. 6:4a; Eph. 1:4; Rev. 21:2:
A
The deep thought of the Gospel of John is that Christ came as the reality of the tabernacle of God so that man can contact Him and enter into Him to enjoy the riches contained in God—1:14, 29.
B
The goal of 1 Corinthians was to motivate the Corinthian believers to aspire to the growth in life that they might become men who live in their spirit as the reality of the Holy of Holies to be the ministers of the new covenant—2:15.
C
The book of Hebrews charges the believers to come forward to the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus that they may enjoy Christ as the reality of the new covenant—9:3-4, 14; 10:19-22; 6:19-20; cf. 13:13.
D
The highways to Zion are the blessed highways for seeking the incarnated Triune God in His consummations, typified by the furniture in the tabernacle—Psa. 84:3-5:
１
The highways to Zion in our heart mean that we must take the way of the church internally, not merely externally—42:7; Matt. 6:6.
２
Zion is the very spot where God is, the Holy of Holies; the overcomers become Zion, and the Lord's recovery is to build up Zion—Rev. 21:16; cf. Exo. 26:2-8; 1 Kings 6:20; Psa. 48:2.
Ⅱ
The arrangement of the tabernacle with its contents is a very accurate and detailed picture of God's economy in the universe to portray the experiences of Christ which incorporate us into the Triune God to mingle divinity with humanity for His ultimate and universal expression:
A
Day by day we need to practice taking and applying Christ as our sin offering (Lev. 4:3) and trespass offering (5:6), which will usher us into the enjoyment of Christ as the burnt offering (1:3) and the meal offering (2:4-5), consummating in our enjoyment of Him as the peace offering (3:1) plus the wave offering (7:30), heave offering (v. 32), and drink offering (Exo. 29:40).
B
Day by day we need to enjoy Christ as the Spirit-Word, signified by the laver— 38:8; Titus 3:5; Eph. 5:26.
C
Day by day we need to experience Christ as our serving supply, signified by the table of the bread of the Presence—Exo. 25:30; 33:11, 14.
D
Day by day we need to experience Christ as the shining light of life, signified by the lampstand—John 8:12; Exo. 25:31-34.
E
Day by day we need to enjoy Christ as our prayer, signified by the golden incense altar—30:1; Psa. 141:2; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; Rev. 8:3-4.
F
Day by day we need to enjoy Christ as the reality of the Ark of the Covenant and the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies—Num. 10:33; Exo. 25:22; Heb. 9:3-4.
Ⅲ
All the seekers of Christ who live in their spirit as the reality of the Holy of Holies enjoy the hidden Christ as the hidden manna (the hidden life supply), the budding rod (the resurrection life), and the tablets of the covenant (the inner law of life), hidden in the Ark within the Holy of Holies—vv. 3-4; John 6:32; 11:25; Rom. 8:2:
A
These items refer to the highest, deepest, and most intrinsic experiences of Christ revealed in the holy Word.
B
The hidden manna typifies the Christ who is eaten, digested, and assimilated by us to become an eternal memorial to God—Exo. 16:32-36:
１
The hidden manna reveals that we are incorporated into the Triune God by eating, digesting, and assimilating Christ—Rev. 2:17; cf. John 14:20.
２
The hidden manna reveals that the Christ eaten, digested, and assimilated by us is the focal point of God's building—6:57.
C
The budding rod typifies the resurrected Christ, the budding Christ—Num. 17:8; Exo. 25:33:
１
Sometimes for His vindication God puts us into a dark night, a dark tunnel, through which we must pass—cf. Num. 17:4-8.
２
Whatever is impossible for us to do belongs in the realm of resurrection; resurrection speaks of the things that are beyond us, the things which we cannot do in ourselves—2 Cor. 1:8-9.
D
The tablets of the law typify Christ both as the Word of God, the testimony of God, and as the law of the Spirit of life, the automatic function of life—Exo. 16:34; 26:33-34; 34:28; 38:21; John 1:1; Rom. 8:2:
１
By being constituted with Christ as the Word of God, the testimony of God, we become the tabernacle of the testimony, the testimony of Jesus, for His enlarged and expanded expression—Rev. 1:2, 9.
２
We cooperate with the installed and operating law of the Spirit of life by "switching on" this law—1 Thes. 5:16-18.
３
Christ as the law of the Spirit of life functions in us to make us God in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead, shaping us into the image of the firstborn Son of God so that we may become His corporate expres-sion, and also functions to constitute us as the members of the Body of Christ with all kinds of functions—Rom. 8:2, 29; Eph. 4:16.