Crystallization-Study of Exodus (4)
Message Eight
Lighting the Lamps in the Sanctuary of God by Serving as Priests Clothed with the Expression of Christ
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
And you shall command the children of Israel to bring to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall set it in order from evening to morning before Jehovah; it shall be a perpetual statute to be observed throughout their generations by the children of Israel—Exo. 27:20-21.
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty—Exo. 28:2.
Word of Appetizer
Do you know what it means to light the lamps in the sanctuary?
To light the lamps is to give off light. In typology lighting the lamps in the sanctuary of God signifies the proper way to meet as Christians. The proper way to meet is to light the lamps, that is, to give off light; everything that we do in the church meetings should cause the holy light to ascend.
Spiritual Burden
For the building up of the Body of Christ, we need to live and walk under the unique and genuine light. The proper way to meet is to light the lamps, that is, to give off light; everything that we do in the church meetings should cause the holy light to ascend. The purpose of the gathering of the believers is to have the sanctuary of God with the lighting of the lamps by qualified priests so that we may have a vision of the different aspects of Christ.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
God is light, and the believers in Christ, as children of God, are children of light. God’s light is in the sanctuary, and in this light we see light and the true nature of things.
In typology lighting the lamps in the sanctuary of God signifies the proper way to meet as Christians. The lighting of the lamps is a priestly service, a service of the priests.
Certain elements are involved whenever we experience the genuine lighting of the lamps in the church meetings—the embodiment of the Triune God, the divine nature, the uplifted humanity of Jesus, and the Spirit of Christ.
The qualification for the priests to light the lamps in the sanctuary of God is the expression of Christ, signified by the priestly garments.
The Experience of Life
God’s light is in the sanctuary, and in this light we see light and the true nature of things. Once we are in the sanctuary—in the spirit and in the church—we will have another view, a particular perception, of the situation. In our spirit and in the church, under the shining of God’s light, we receive divine revelation and obtain the explanation to all our problems.
Practice and Application
A life that expresses Christ with the divine glory and human beauty sanctifies us and qualifies us to carry out the priestly service of lighting the lamps in the sanctuary of God. The proper way to meet is to light the lamps, that is, to give off light. Everything that we do in the church meetings should cause the holy light to ascend.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
…that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all—1 John 1:5.
This was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man—John 1:9.
In Your light we see light—Psa. 36:9b.
God Is Light; the Light in the Sanctuary of God—a Divine Light, God Himself
I. God is light, and the believers in Christ, as children of God, are children of light.
IV. The light in the sanctuary of God is neither a natural light nor an artificial light; it is a divine light, a holy light, the real light, which is God Himself.
V. God’s light is in the sanctuary, and in this light we see light and the true nature of things; we see what God sees and know His way.
Key Verses (2)
And you shall command the children of Israel to bring to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall set it in order from evening to morning before Jehovah; it shall be a perpetual statute to be observed throughout their generations by the children of Israel—Exo. 27:20-21.
Lighting the Lamps—the Proper Way to Meet as Christians, a Service of the Priests;
Experiencing the Genuine Lighting of the Lamps
II. In typology lighting the lamps in the sanctuary of God signifies the proper way to meet as Christians
III. The lighting of the lamps is a priestly service, a service of the priests.
VI. Certain elements are involved whenever we experience the genuine lighting of the lamps in the church meetings—the embodiment of the Triune God (the lampstand), the divine nature (gold), the uplifted humanity of Jesus (the wick), and the Spirit of Christ (olive oil).
Key Verses (3)
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty—Exo. 28:2.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ —Gal. 3:27.
The Qualification to Light the Lamps—Serving as Priests Clothed with the Expression of Christ
VII. The qualification for the priests to light the lamps in the sanctuary of God is the expression of Christ, signified by the priestly garments:
• The significance of the priestly garments is the expression of Christ in the priesthood; the qualification for a priest to light the lamps in the sanctuary of God is the expression of Christ.
• The garments signify Christ lived out of the priesthood.
• The priestly garments, being mainly for glory and for beauty, signify the expression of Christ’s divine glory and human beauty.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 God is light (1 John 1:5; Eph. 5:8)
(Please explain that the believers in Christ, as children of God, are children of light.)
T2 Lighting the lamps in the sanctuary signifies the proper way to meet as Christians (Exo. 27:20-21)
(Please explain that the proper way to meet is to light the lamps.)
D2
T1 To light the lamps is to give off light (Exo. 27:20; Luke 11:33)
(Please explain that everything that we do in the church meetings should cause the holy light to ascend; all the singing of hymns and the giving of testimonies must be the lighting of the lamps.)
T2 The lighting of the lamps was a priestly service, a service of the priests (Exo. 27:21)
(Please explain that there is the need for holy persons to light the holy lamps in the Holy Place.)
D3
T1 The light in the sanctuary is a divine light (John 1:4-5, 9)
(Please explain that the light in the sanctuary is neither a natural light nor an artificial light; it is a divine light.)
T2 “In Your light we see light.” (Psa. 36:9b)
(What is the difference between the first “light” and the second “light”?)
D4
T1 The light in the sanctuary issues from the lampstand (Exo. 37:17)
(Please explain that the lampstand is the embodiment of the Triune God.)
T2 The light of the lampstand comes from the burning of the wick (Exo. 27:20)
(Please explain the reason it is necessary to saturate the wicks with oil in order to have light.)
D5
T1 Christ is the olive tree (Rom. 11:17; 8:9)
(Please explain that just as olives pass through a process to produce olive oil, so the Spirit of Christ has passed through a process.)
T2 Whatever we utter in the meetings must be with the pure oil of the olive tree (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10; 1 Cor. 6:17)
(Please explain that meeting to light the lamps in the sanctuary comprises every aspect of our spiritual experience in the Christian life.)
D6
T1 The priestly garments signifies the expression of Christ (Exo. 28:1-5)
(Please explain the significance of the priestly garments.) (Refer to Outline VII. A-C)
T2 The qualification for a priest to light the lamps in the sanctuary is the expression of Christ (Exo. 28:2)
(Please explain how we should exercise and experience Christ in the daily life that we may be qualified to light the lamps in the sanctuary.)
