The Church as the Temple of God—the Goal of God’s Eternal Economy
Message One
Going On with the Lord from the Tabernacle Church Life to the Temple Church Life
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Not that I have already obtained or am already perfected, but I pursue, if even I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus—Phil. 3:12.
You, O son of man, describe the house to the house of Israel, that they may feel humiliated because of their iniquities, and let them measure the pattern—Ezek. 43:10.
Word of Appetizer
What is the meaning of going on with the Lord from the tabernacle church life to the temple church life?
Surely it is good to have the tabernacle as God’s building, yet the tabernacle lacked solidity; it was portable with no foundation. There was no stone, only wood, in its construction. The wilderness had no supply for building the temple. Only in the good land were there materials suitable for the temple’s construction. He within us is aspiring to have the temple church life in the good land. Out of the wilderness and into the good land, out of the soul and into the spirit.
Spiritual Burden
The Lord within us is aspiring to go on from the tabernacle church life in the wilderness of the soul to the temple church life with Christ as the reality of the good land in our spirit.
Today in His recovery the Lord is working to bring us into the reality of the Body of Christ as the temple church life with a corporate living in our spirit as the Holy of Holies.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The tabernacle and the temple typify two aspects of the church: the tabernacle typifies God’s church in the localities, whereas the temple signifies the church as the reality of the Body of Christ.
In the midst of Israel’s degradation, God raised up Samuel to be a person in whom God’s heart was duplicated and who cared only for God and for God’s interest and profit. God raised up Samuel to gain David and, through David, to gain Solomon for the building up of His temple.
In order to enter into the reality of the temple church life, we must see the history of the Ark and the tabernacle. The history of the Ark and the tabernacle prefigures the history of the church.
The Experience of Life
God became a man in Christ to embrace us, to gain us, so that we might cling to Him and gain Him; Christ has gained us that we might gain Him so that He can be built into us and we can be built into Him to be a corporate God-man, the church as the temple, the house, of the living God, the mutual abode of God and man.
Practice and Application
The work, behavior, and person of God’s people must match the church as the house of God, according to His design and pattern. Since God’s house is spiritual, we must be people who are filled with the Spirit, live by the Spirit, walk by the Spirit, serve by the Spirit, walk according to the spirit, worship in our spirit, serve in our spirit, and overflow with the Spirit to minister the Spirit.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
You, O son of man, describe the house to the house of Israel, that they may feel humiliated because of their iniquities, and let them measure the pattern—Ezek. 43:10.
And all Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of Jehovah. And Jehovah continued to appear in Shiloh, for Jehovah revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of Jehovah—1 Sam. 3:20-21.
The Work and Person of God’s People Must Match the Church as the House of God;
God Raised Up Samuel to Gain David and Solomon for the Building Up of His Temple
II. The work, behavior, and person of God’s people must match the church as the house of God, according to His design and pattern:
•Since God’s house is spiritual, we must be people who are filled with the Spirit, live by the Spirit, serve in our spirit, and overflow with the Spirit to minister the Spirit.
V. God raised up Samuel to gain David and, through David, to gain Solomon for the building up of His temple:
•Samuel was a Nazarite consecrated to God absolutely.
•Samuel was a priest faithful to act on behalf of God.
•Samuel was a prophet established by God to speak the word of God.
•Samuel was a judge established by God to carry out God’s governmental administration.
•Samuel was a man of prayer who prayed for God’s elect, the children of Israel.
Key Verses (2)
And they brought up the Ark of Jehovah and the Tent of Meeting and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; and the priests and Levites brought them up—1 Kings 8:4.
And the priests brought the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah to its place, into the innermost sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies under the wings of the cherubim—6
The Tabernacle and the Temple Typify Two Aspects of the Church
•First Kings 8:1-11 shows that the tabernacle was merged with the temple; the tabernacle was a portable precursor moving through the wilderness, whereas the temple was the consummation of God’s building in typology.
• The temple as the enlargement of the tabernacle signifies the strengthening and stabilizing of the church, and the renewing and enlargement of the furniture in the temple signify the renewing and enlargement of the saints’ experience of Christ.
•The tabernacle typifies God’s church on earth, or His church in the localities, whereas the temple signifies the church as the reality of the Body of Christ.
•God’s unique testimony, the reality of the Body of Christ, is realized in the local churches.
Key Verses (3)
Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity…—Heb. 6:1a
And he brought the Ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil for the screen and screened the Ark of the Testimony, as Jehovah had commanded Moses—Exo. 40:21.
Going On from the Tabernacle Church Life to the Temple Church Life;
The History of the Ark and the Tabernacle Prefigures the History of the Church
IV.The Lord within us is aspiring to go on from the tabernacle church life in the wilderness of the soul to the temple church life with Christ as the reality of the good land in our spirit; in order to enter into the reality of the temple church life, we must see the history of the Ark and the tabernacle:
•In the first stage of its history, the Ark was the center and content of the tabernacle, signifying Christ as the center and content of the church.
•Due to Israel’s degradation, the Ark was captured by the Philistines and was separated from the tabernacle, leaving the tabernacle an empty vessel with no reality.
VI. The history of the Ark and the tabernacle prefigures the history of the church; in the first stage of its history the church was the expression of Christ, and Christ was the content of the church; this is the normal condition.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 The work, behavior, and person of God’s people must match the temple of God (Ezek. 43:10)
(Please explain that it was God’s intention to examine our living and conduct according to His house as a rule and pattern.)
T2 The tabernacle church life and the temple church life (Exo. 40:33-35; 1 Kings 8:10-11)
(Please explain the differences between the tabernacle church life and the temple church life.)
D2
T1 The tent of meeting and the temple (1 Kings 8:4, 6)
(Please explain the similarities and the differences between the tent of meeting and the temple.)
T2 The temple replaced the tabernacle as God’s dwelling on earth (Eph. 2:21-22).
(Please explain the significance of the temple as the enlargement of the tabernacle.)
D3
T1 The unique ministry is for God’s unique testimony (Eph. 4:12; Rev. 1:11)
(Please explain that God’s unique testimony, the reality of the Body of Christ, is realized in the local churches.)
T2 The testimony of the reality of the Body of Christ is God’s final recovery (Eph. 4:1-6)
(Please explain that the Lord’s recovery today is the recovery with Christ being everything to us, with the oneness of the Body of Christ, and with all the members of His Body functioning)
D4
T1 The Ark was the center and content of the tabernacle (Col. 2:9; Exo. 25:10, footnote 1)
(Please explain the significance of the Ark.)
T2 We should not usurp God (1 Sam. 4:11 and footnote 1)
(Please explain that due to Israel’s degradation, the Ark was captured and was separated from the tabernacle, leaving the tabernacle an empty vessel with no reality.) (Refer to Outline IV. C. 1-5)
D5
T1 Samuel was a person who cared only for God and for God’s interest (1 Sam. 3:20-21)
(Please explain why Samuel was so useful in the hand of God.)
T2 Samuel was a Nazarite, a priest, a prophet, a judge, and a man of prayer. (1 Sam. 1:11, 28a)
(According to Outline V. A-E, please explain what kind of person Samuel was.)
D6
T1 The history of the Ark and the tabernacle prefigures the history of the church (Exo. 40:21)
(Please explain that the history of the Ark and the tabernacle prefigures the history of the church.) (Refer to Outline VI. A-E)
T2 The church was the expression of Christ, and Christ was the content of the church (1 Sam. 4:11, footnote 1)
(Please explain what kind of situation the normal condition of the church should be .)
