Crystallization-Study of Exodus (3)
Message Seven
The Laver of Bronze
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Readingthe verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing. And you shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it — Exo 30:18.
Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit — Titus 3:5.
Word of Appetizer
After the altar, there is the laver. It is at the laver that the hands and the feet of the priests are washed; what does this typify?
Our feet and hands are dirty from the earthly touch. This is worldliness. This washing is not by the blood but by the spiritual water which is the Holy Spirit. The working of the Holy Spirit is the water in the laver.
Spiritual Burden
Both the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit are working in us continually throughout our life until the completion of the new creation.
We are now in such a washing process so that Christ may “present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish”
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
It is crucial that we understand the significance of the laver of bronze:
The laver of bronze typifies the washing power of the life-giving Spirit issuing from the death of Christ; the priests were required to wash in the laver before serving, lest they die; the laver of bronze was for the operation of the tabernacle.
The Experience of Life
Although we have the divine life, we are still living in the fallen flesh on the earth, and through the earthly touch we are often dirtied; now the laver, the washing of the water, washes us from defilement.
The washing of regeneration purges away all the things of the old nature of our old man, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit imparts something new—the divine essence of the new man—into our being.
Practice and Application
If we would be real priests and practice the priesthood, all defilement from the earthly touch must be washed away; every day we need to come to the laver to be washed by the Holy Spirit from the earthly touch.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outlines
Key Verses (1)
You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing. And you shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet with water from it; when they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they may not die.…— Exo. 30:18~20.
I. Understanding the Significance of the Laver of Bronze
•The laver of bronze typifies the washing power of the life-giving Spirit issuing from the death of Christ.
• Bronze signifies God’s righteous judgment.
•The laver was put between the altar and the Tent of Meeting to continue the work of the altar for the entrance into the tabernacle.
•The water put into the laver—the washing of the life-giving Spirit; the washing away of the defilement that comes from contacting earthly things; lest they die.
•The laver of bronze was for the operation of the tabernacle.
Key Verses (2)
[Jesus] Rose from supper and laid aside His outer garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself; then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded—John 13:4~5.
II. Experiencing the Laver—the Washing of the Life-giving Spirit
In John 13:1-17 we have an experience of the laver portrayed by the Lord’s washing of the disciples’ feet:
•Because the dirt from the earthly touch frustrates fellowship, they need to be washed by the water in the laver.
•The water in verse 5 signifies the Holy Spirit, the word, and life .
•The significance of spiritual foot-washing is that it is for maintaining pleasant fellowship with the Lord and with one another, to wash one another’s feet, therefore, is a matter of brotherly love .
Key Verses (3)
Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit —Titus 3:5.
That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word , that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish—Eph 5:26~27.
The Washing of Regeneration, the Renewing of the Holy Spirit, the Washing of the Water in the Word
Titus 3:5 speaks of the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit:
•The Greek word translated “washing” literally means “laver.
•The washing of regeneration begins with our being born again and continues with the renewing of the Holy Spirit as the process of God’s new creation, a process that makes us a new man.
In His heavenly ministry the ascended Christ is cleansing the church “by the washing of the water in the word.”
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 The significance of the laver of bronze (Titus 3:5)
(Please refer to the Outline I)
T2 At the laver we have the bronze, the mirror, and the water. Please illustrate its significance through your experience. (Exo. 38:8; Eph. 5:26)
D2
T1 The laver was for the operation of the tabernacle. (Exo. 30:18-19)
(Please refer to the Outline I, H)
T2 The reason that we still need the washing of the laver after the problem of sin is dealt with at the altar. (1 John 1:7; John 13:5)
D3
T1 The reason that the believers may be dirtied since they have the divine life. (1 John 2:15-17)
T2 The priests were required to wash in the laver before serving (Exo. 30:19-21; Titus 3:5)
(Please narrate that we need to be washed and renewed daily by the Holy Spirit in the divine element)
D4
T1 The spiritual significance of the Lord’s washing of the disciples’ feet (John 13:14, 34)
(Please refer to the Outline II, B)
T2 The Lord Jesus washed the disciples’ feet with water. Water here signifies the Holy Spirit, the Word, and the life. (Titus 3:5; Eph. 5:26; John 19:34)
(Please explain that we need to allow the Spirit, the living Word, and the inner life to wash us from defilement)
D5
T1 The significance of the believers’ washing of one another’s feet (John 13:14-15, 34)
T2 Please illustrate that this washing is organic and also metabolic. (Titus 3:5)
D6
T1 How does the Lord separate and sanctify the church? (Eph. 5:26-27)
(Please refer to the Outline II, IV )
T2 We need to experience that both the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit are working in us continually throughout our life until the completion of the new creation.) (Titus 3:5)
(Please refer to the Outlines II, III )
