The Church is the Tabernacle of God and Christ is the Center and Content of the Church

Just as the Ark was the center and content of the tabernacle, so Christ is the center and content of the church; for us to enter into the reality of the Body of Christ, we must see the intrinsic significance of the Ark.

This week in our HWMR on the Crystallization-study of 1 & 2 Samuel we come to a most wonderful crystal – the History of the Ark and the Tabernacle.

In this crystal, we see a marvellous revelation that actually touches and covers the entire church history, for the history of the tabernacle with the ark in the Old Testament typifies the history of the church in the New Testament.

The history of the Ark and the tabernacle is a prefigure of church history, giving us a full portrait of the course and situation of the church from the very beginning to the present time.

It is quite amazing to realize that here, hidden in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, there is such a crystal that shows us church history. This crystal also shows us our own personal history.

This week we will see two main things – one related to the ark and the other related to the tabernacle. And related to the ark we see five matters: the center, the content, the wood, the gold, and the cover.

The center and the content form a pair, the wood and the gold form another pair, and the cover is a particular matter related to the ark.

All these refer to the materials of the ark; the wood is the acacia wood, showing us the humanity of Christ.

The gold overlaying the wood shows us the Lord’s humanity; together, the wood and the gold, the humanity and divinity, are a pair.

Later we will see the history of the church as seen with the history of the ark with the tabernacle.

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel show us the spiritual principles, life lessons, and holy warnings.

As we go through the crystals in these books, we need to see the spiritual principles, learn the life lessons, and receive and heed the holy warnings seen in the divine revelation.

Everything that occurred to Israel is an example to us; they went through particular things, and we need to learn to go through experiences that are for the building up of the Body.

As 1 Cor. 10:11 says, all things were written for our admonition, and we need to receive the holy warnings.

What we see in the Old Testament is not just stories or history; all these were written for our admonition.

We need to receive the warning, we to whom the ends of the ages have come; we need to pay attention to what we see in the Word of God.

May the Lord have a way to infuse us with what is in His heart at the end of this age so that we may be those who hasten His return by being the persons He needs to end this age.

May the whole word of God be profitable to us for the fulfilment of God’s purpose, and may we cooperate with God for His purpose today.

The Church is the Tabernacle of God, the House of the Living God, the Mutual Abode of God and man

The Bible shows us and our experience confirms that Christ has gained us so that we might gain Him in order for God to be built into us and for us to be built into Him.

The issue of such a mutual building of God and man is a corporate God-man, the reality of the church as the tabernacle of God, which is the house of the living God, the mutual abode of God and man (Phil. 3:8, 12-14; John 1:14; Rev. 21:2-3; 7:15; 1 Tim. 3:15; John 14:2, 23).

The tabernacle in the Old Testament typifies the church in the New Testament; the tabernacle was the house of God in the Old Testament, and the church is the house of the living God in the New Testament.

What is God’s dwelling place? What is the dwelling place of God? The dwelling place of God is Christ because the tabernacle firstly is a type of Christ.

In John 1:14 we see that the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.

The tabernacle is also a type of the church. How does the tabernacle become expanded from Christ to the church?

There is a process through which Christ is enlarged so that the dwelling place of God is expanded to include us also.

The tabernacle of God is not only Christ individually but Christ together with the believers.

We become the dwelling place of God, the mutual abode of God and man by Him building Himself into us and building us into Himself.

Right now He is working to obtain the mutual dwelling place of God and man.

God desires to gain a dwelling place, which is the mingling of God and man; He wants to build Himself into us and into Himself.

Day by day we can open to the Lord and enjoy Him, experience Him, and take Him as our life and everything. As we enjoy and experience Christ, He is building Himself into us and us into Him.

As we pursue Christ to gain Him, we become part of the enlargement of God in man, part of the mutual dwelling place of God with man.

And the consummation of the building of God into man and of man into God is the New Jerusalem; the consummation of the tabernacle of God with man is the holy city.

Today we are being built into God and God is being built into us to make us the church as the tabernacle of God, the house of the living God, the mutual abode of God and man.

Amen, may we learn how to behave ourselves in the church as the house of God, the church of the living God (1 Tim. 3:15).

In the Old Testament, the Lord didn’t just want to gain a people who worship Him and contact Him; He wanted to gain the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, and later the temple.

Today in the New Testament age the Lord is after the reality of the church as the tabernacle of God, which is the house of the living God, the mutual abode of God and man.

Our daily living and work in the Lord and in the church are for the purpose of building of the tabernacle of God, the mutual dwelling place of God and man.

May we give ourselves to gain Christ so that He may gain us, and may we allow the Lord to build Himself into us and us into Him for the building up of the house of God, the church, the mutual dwelling place of God and man.

Thank You Lord for gaining us so that we may gain You for the building up of the church as the tabernacle of God with man! Amen, Lord, we give ourselves to You to have God built into us and be built into God so that we may be part of the corporate God-man! Gain the built-up church, Lord, so that You may have the house of the living God, the mutual abode of God and man. Build Yourself into us and build up into Yourself for the mutual dwelling place of God and man! Gain what You are after in us and among us.

Christ is the Center and Content of the Church, having the Preeminence in the Church

In order for us to enter into the reality of the Body of Christ, we must see the intrinsic significance of the Ark.

The Ark typifies Christ as the presence of the Triune God with His people for the carrying out of His economy to establish His kingdom on earth (Matt. 1:23).

The people of Israel considered the Ark as God’s presence; when the Ark went, that was Jehovah going with them.

This is mentioned in Num. 10 by Moses when he prayed, as the ark was moving, Rise, Jehovah, and as the ark was coming back, Return, O Jehovah.

The Ark was called the Ark of the Testimony; the testimony refers to the law, for the law is the testimony of God.

The people of Israel did not see God, but He gave them the law so that they know who He is.

In His work of creation, God accomplished many things; however, it is not easy for us to see who He is and what kind of person He is.

It is the law of God that expresses who God is, for the law was given so that we may have a portrait of God, a description of God, for us to understand what God is.

The testimony of God is Christ; He expressed God, and when He came, God could be seen and understood.

God considered the law as the testimony of God, and when the law was put in the Ark, the ark was called the Ark of the Testimony, and the tabernacle – which contained the ark of the testimony – was called the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Exo. 38:21).

The word “testimony” refers to the law, for the law is the testimony of God.

The law and the Ark of the testimony are a type of Christ; as the Ark was the center and content of the tabernacle, so Christ is the center and the content of the church.

The Ark was the center and content of the tabernacle, signifying Christ as the center and content of the church.

The Ark was the first item mentioned in the vision of the tabernacle, which indicates that Christ occupies the place of preeminence in the church (Exo. 25:22; Col. 1:17-18).

The Ark was the center and content of the tabernacle; the first thing mentioned by God in the pattern of the tabernacle given to Moses was the Ark, which shows the importance, the preeminence of the Ark. This is the place that Christ needs to have in the church.

We shouldn’t take for granted that Christ is the first in the church and that He has preeminence; it is possible for us to start in a good way, but we may not have a good continuation and end.

We could say that Christ is our center, but He may not be the center and content of the church; therefore, we don’t have His glory shining through the church.

We need to make sure that in our life, in our personal life, in our marriage life, in our church life, and in our service, Christ is the center and content.

We shouldn’t be tempted nor should we deceive ourselves.

Many times in our prayer with the saints we sense that others or ourselves have a kind of perfunctory prayer, a prayer that wants to “get things done” and not necessarily touch the Lord.

May we be on guard so that in our personal life and in our church life Christ would have the preeminence.

When we come together to enjoy Him, we give Him the preeminence. The Ark contained the tablets of the law as the testimony of God, the expression and revelation of who God is (Exo. 25:16; 31:18).

The law was called the Testimony; the law is not just a set of demands but rather, the law is a testimony of God.

The law tells us who actually God is and what He is like.

The law is a type of Christ, for Christ is the actual definition of God, the description of God, the explanation of God, and the expression of God.

If we want to know God, we need to look at Christ. The tabernacle is a type of the church; if we want to know what God is like, we need to come to the church and we will see God.

The Ark in the Holy of Holies signifies Christ as the center of God’s dwelling place, the church (Eph. 2:21-22), and the contents of the church as the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15-16; cf. 1 Sam. 4:22; Rev. 3:20). Amen!

The Ark was in the Holy of Holies, the Holiest of all; this shows us that Christ is in our spirit, our mingled spirit, which is the holiest of all.

The outer court in the tabernacle corresponds to the body, the Holy Place corresponds to the soul, and the Holy of Holies corresponds to the spirit.

Christ is the reality of the Ark, and He is in our mingled spirit to be the center and content of the church.

When the Lord came into us, He came not only as the Lamb of God to take away our sin but also as the Ark.

Yes, He did die for us to redeem us, but He, even more, came as the Ark, the embodiment of God, to be the center and content of our being and of the church.

Apart from Christ, we can’t contact God; He is the center of the church and He is the content of the church.

We meet not only on the ground of oneness, which is absolutely necessary but also with Christ as our center and content, taking Him as our everything.

He must be the content, the reality, and the center as the embodiment of God’s testimony.

Thank You Lord for coming into us to regenerate us and be everything to us for the building up of the church. Hallelujah, Christ is the definition, expression, and description of God, and He came into us to be our center and content for the church! We give You the preeminence, dear Lord. Be our center and be our content today. We want to meet not only on the unique ground of oneness and with the exercise of our spirit but also with Christ as our center and content. Hallelujah, just as the Ark is the center and content of the tabernacle, so Christ is the center and content of the church today. We take You as our life, our person, our center, and our content today. We give You the first place. You are our center and our content. Amen, Lord Jesus!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ricky Acosta, and portions from, Life-study of Exodus, msg. 84 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization Study of 1 and 2 Samuel (2021 winter training), week 4, entitled, The History of the Ark and the Tabernacle.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Thou art God’s testimony, Lord, / Much better than the law; / The law in letter was engraved, / In it Thy type men saw. / A definition was the law, / God’s picture to provide; / But Thou art God’s reality, / In Thee doth God abide. (Hymns #194)
  – In redemption He is all, / All through Him is reconciled; / By His blood all things with God / Now in peace are domiciled. / He the great beginning is, / And the Church’s living Head; / He her life and content too, / And the firstborn from the dead. (Hymns #495)
  – Christ as life will be the content, / Heading up all things in light; / All the saints will be the vessel, / To express His glory bright. (Hymns #981)