Crystallization-Study of Exodus (4)
Message Twelve
The Erecting of the Tabernacle and the Tabernacle, the Cloud, and the Glory Being a Full Type of the Triune God
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
On the first day of the first month you shall raise up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting—Exo. 40:2.
And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality—John 1:14.
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle—Exo. 40:34.
Word of Appetizer
In Exodus 40, immediately after the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud descended to cover it, and the glory entered to fill it. What does this signify?
Because the tabernacle is a type of Christ, the cloud represents the Spirit, and glory is God Himself expressed, the picture of the tabernacle covered by the cloud and filled with glory embodies the entire Triune God in figure. The day that the tabernacle was raised up, that the cloud descended and covered it, and that the glory entered and filled it was a great day. Never before had the Triune God been embodied on earth.
Spiritual Burden
The tabernacle, the cloud, and the glory, being a full type of the Triune God, are a picture of the goal of God’s eternal economy—to have a corporate people to be His dwelling place for His expression and representation in eternity.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
With respect to man, the tabernacle was the Tent of Meeting, but with respect to God, it was the tabernacle; the tabernacle is related to God’s testimony (Exo. 38:21), whereas the Tent of Meeting is more outward, external, related to God’s interest on earth and to His move.
The first item of the furniture to be put into the tabernacle was the Ark, indicating that the Ark was the central item of the tabernacle and its furniture.
The tabernacle, the cloud, and the glory are a full type of the Triune God.
In Old Testament times, the house of God was the house of Israel, represented by the tabernacle and later by the temple.
The Experience of Life
The tabernacle covered by the cloud and filled with glory was a great blessing to the children of Israel, but today we have the reality of what they had only in figure. The Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—has been processed to become the life-giving Spirit so that we can drink of Him and that He can become our enjoyment.
Practice and Application
We need a vision of the central matter in the Bible—the divine intention, the divine economy, and the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity into the believers in Christ for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the eternal corporate expression of the Triune God. Every day we should be built up by receiving the divine dispensing within us.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
On the first day of the first month you shall raise up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting—Exo. 40:2.
And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, …Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will tabernacle with them…—Rev. 21:2-3
The Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle, the Eternal Tabernacle
I.With respect to man, the tabernacle was the Tent of Meeting, but with respect to God, it was the tabernacle; the tabernacle is related to God’s testimony, whereas the Tent of Meeting is more outward, external, related to God’s interest on earth and to His move.
II.The first item of the furniture to be put into the tabernacle was the Ark, indicating that the Ark was the central item of the tabernacle and its furniture.
• Eventually, the Ark in the tabernacle will consummate in an eternal tabernacle, the New Jerusalem.
• God’s eternal goal is to have the New Jerusalem as the ultimate fulfillment of the tabernacle and the Ark.
Key Verses (2)
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle—Exo. 40:34.
And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality—John 1:14.
The Tabernacle, the Cloud, and the Glory are a Full Type of the Triune God
•When the tabernacle was raised up, covered by the cloud, and filled with the glory, it became a full type of the Triune God; Because the tabernacle is a type of Christ, the cloud represents the Spirit, and glory is God Himself expressed, the picture of the tabernacle covered by the cloud and filled with glory embodies the entire Triune God in figure.
• The day that the tabernacle was raised up, that the cloud descended and covered it, and that the glory entered and filled it was a great day; The tabernacle covered by the cloud and filled with glory was a great blessing to the children of Israel, but today we have the reality of what they had only in figure.
Key Verses (3)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all—2 Cor. 13:14.
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle—Exo. 40:34.
The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity
The House of God—the House of Israel—a Corporate People
• The Triune God was embodied in Christ as the tabernacle for the purpose of dispensing Himself into His redeemed people for their enjoyment of all the riches of His being; the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity is the unique way to build up the church, which is the Body of Christ and the dwelling place of God.
IV. In Old Testament times, the house of God was the house of Israel, represented by the tabernacle and later by the temple:
•The children of Israel, as the people of God, are a type of the New Testament believers.
• At the end of Exodus a corporate Israel was produced.
• The goal of God’s eternal purpose is to have a corporate people to be His dwelling place for His expression and representation in eternity.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory filled the tabernacle (Exo. 40:2-4)
(The same structure was both the Tent of Meeting and the tabernacle. Please explain the distinction between the Tent of Meeting and the tabernacle.)
T2 The Tabernacle of the Testimony (Exo. 38:20)
(Why was the tabernacle called the Tabernacle of the Testimony?)
D2
T1 The tabernacle, the cloud, and the glory are a full type of the Triune God (Exo. 40:2, 34-35)
(Please explain that the picture of the tabernacle covered by the cloud and filled with glory embodies the entire Triune God.)
T2 The day that the tabernacle was raised up was a great day (Exo. 40:2, 34-35)
(Please explain that the day that the tabernacle was raised up was a great day, but today we have the reality of what they had only in figure.)
D3
T1 The anointing oil used to anoint the tabernacle typifies God the Spirit (Exo. 40:9; John 7:39)
(Please explain that the anointing oil corresponds to the Spirit after Christ’s resurrection.)
T2 The cloud in the day and the fire in the night refer to the same guiding Spirit (Exo. 40: 37)
(Please use your experience to explain that in the night we need the Spirit as the enlightening fire, and in the day we need the Spirit as the guiding cloud.)
D4
T1 The economy of God is a matter of dispensing (2 Cor. 13:14)
(Please explain that the Divine Trinity is for the divine dispensing, that is, for the distribution of God into the believers in Christ.)
T2 The Father is the fountain, the Son is the spring, and the Spirit is the flow (Jer. 2:13; John 4:14; Rev. 22:1)
(Please explain that to carry out this dispensing He needs to be triune.)
D5
T1 Every chapter of Ephesians reveals the Triune God. (Eph. 1:3-14; 2:18-22; 3:16-21; 4:4-6; 5:19-20; 6:10-11)
(Please explain that Ephesians is a clear explanation and definition of the tabernacle in Exodus 40.)
T2 A vision of the central matter in the Bible (Eph. 1:22; Rev. 21:2)
(What is the vision of the central matter in the Bible?) (Please refer to the Outline III. D. 6)
D6
T1 The house of God is the church (Exo. 25:8; 1 Tim. 3:15)
(Please explain that in Old Testament times, the house of God was the house of Israel, represented by the tabernacle or by the temple.)
T2 The books of Genesis and Exodus together consummate with God’s tabernacle, filled with glory (Rev. 21:2-3, 11)
(Please explain that the entire Bible consummates in the New Jerusalem as the eternal tabernacle of God filled with the glory of God.)
