Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 2, verse 1.
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
Brothers and sisters, the theme of this conference is God’s testimony, Jesus Christ’s testimony, and our testimony. I have attended many conferences, but never has a conference title been this long. Tonight, through God’s Word, we want to see what God’s testimony is.
The word testimony is the same word used in the book of Acts. Let us turn to Acts 7:44.
Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen.
Here again is the word testimony. When we read the Old Testament and speak of the tabernacle, the Holy Spirit calls it the tabernacle of testimony. This is the same word we find in 1 Corinthians 2:1: “the testimony of God.”
We need to discover how the Holy Spirit uses this word. Then we will know what testimony means in God’s heart. Many times we say that we need to keep God’s testimony, or that we need to testify for God. What does that mean? Through God’s Word, we will understand.
Let us read the first verse in the Bible that uses the word testimony: Exodus 16:34.
As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony, to be kept.
Here the verse speaks of placing the manna before the testimony. If you read the context, the testimony clearly refers to the ark. The Spirit does not say “ark”; He says “testimony.”
Many times in the Old Testament, when the Scripture speaks of the testimony, it refers to the ark. The ark is called the ark of the covenant, and it is also known as the ark of the testimony.
This is the first time the word is mentioned in the Old Testament, and it gives us a picture. The ark is a vessel for the testimony. God put the testimony into that vessel, because the testimony needs a vessel.
Do you remember when Moses was forty days and forty nights on the mountain? God spoke to him and wrote on two tablets with His finger. On these two tablets were the Ten Commandments. The Bible calls them the tablets of the testimony.
Let us turn to Exodus 25:16.
And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
What does this testimony refer to? It refers to the two tablets. This becomes very clear in Exodus 31:18.
And when He had made an end of speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
The tablets of testimony are the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments. They speak of the law. The tabernacle was divided into three parts: the outer court, the holy place, and the holy of holies. At the center was the ark, and God put His testimony in the ark. Therefore, the ark is called the ark of the testimony.
In Exodus, the word testimony is mentioned twenty-one times, always in this context: either the tablets of testimony or the ark of testimony. When we come to Leviticus, the word is used only twice, and again it refers to the ark.
When we come to Numbers, the word is mentioned twelve times. Numbers shows us the people of Israel in the wilderness after the tabernacle had been erected. A very important expression appears: the tabernacle of testimony.
God now calls the whole tabernacle the tabernacle of testimony. Inside were the tablets of testimony; around them was the ark of testimony; and surrounding the ark was the tabernacle of testimony.
This testimony is what Paul calls “the testimony of God.” What does that mean?
The people of Israel passed through forty-two stations in the wilderness. These stations are very important. From Egypt, the eleventh station was Mount Sinai. If you count backward from Canaan, the eleventh station is also significant. Mount Sinai was one of the most important stations in all their journey.
At Mount Sinai, God established His testimony among His people. Psalm 78 says that He established a testimony in Jacob.
Why did God call His people out of Egypt? They were slaves in Egypt, suffering under Pharaoh. Egypt was the house of slavery. God saved them from that pitiful condition.
When Israel left Egypt, it became a picture of our salvation. Before we were saved, we were under the dominion of sin and sold to the world. But one day His grace and mercy reached us, and He saved us out of Egypt. Thank the Lord.
In the first ten stations of Israel’s journey, they experienced God’s presence. They saw the pillar of cloud and fire. At Marah, God made the bitter waters sweet. At Elim, they found twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees. They experienced God’s provision and victory.
As they went through the wilderness of Sin, God gave them manna from heaven because their food had run out. In Egypt, they knew how to live as long as they had the Nile River. But in the wilderness, God sustained them by heavenly food.
They also remembered the meat they had eaten in Egypt. The Lord heard them and provided quail. Quail are seasonal birds that migrate from northern Africa toward Europe. When they reached Sinai, especially near the sea, they were tired. The Lord brought them to the people, and God truly fed them.
When they reached Rephidim, there was abundant water. The Amalekites came from behind and attacked them. But when Moses lifted up his hands, Joshua gained the victory.
Before Mount Sinai, Israel had God’s presence, God’s sustenance, water from the rock, food from heaven, victory over enemies, and bitter water made sweet. Yet at that point God had not established His testimony among them.
When did the word testimony appear? When the tabernacle was erected, the ark was placed in the holy of holies, and the tablets of testimony were placed within the ark.
This was not just an ordinary tabernacle. God was present with His people, but now He was also establishing His testimony among them. At Mount Sinai, God did not merely care for their needs; He also cared for His own need.
God called the people of Israel so that His need could be satisfied. When we speak of God’s testimony, it speaks of God’s heart and God’s need. Testimony has to do with God Himself.
Before Mount Sinai, two million people were full of God’s presence. If a meeting is full of God’s presence, full of His giving, and full of victory in Christ, that is good. Of course it is good.
But do not forget: God brought Israel to the eleventh station, Mount Sinai, where they remained for one year. Throughout that year, He established His testimony in Jacob.
Jacob was known as a worm. Can a worm become God’s testimony? This is amazing. If you look at the people of Israel, they were like Jacob. Yet God said that He would establish His testimony in Jacob.
God did not merely give them His presence, manna from heaven, and water from the rock. If a meeting is full of God’s presence, miracles, and victory, we may think it is heaven on earth. But God has something more in His heart.
When God called Moses, He told him that He would bring the people to a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet that was not His only purpose. From Egypt to Canaan there were different possible routes, but God had a higher purpose.
God did not take them by the northern way, though it was the direct route toward Canaan. He said that they would meet enemies there. Archaeological discoveries show that this route was protected by military fortresses.
God had a purpose in taking them through the Red Sea and the wilderness. He said to Moses, “Bring them to this mountain to serve Me.” Mount Sinai was God’s mountain, the place where God had met Moses at the burning bush.
God wanted to meet His people on that mountain. If they had gone directly to Canaan, they could have taken another route. But God said, “No, I want to meet with them.” That was the purpose in His heart.
They had to pass through Marah, the wilderness of Sin, and Rephidim. They had to experience manna from heaven, water from the rock, and bitter water made sweet. They needed to grow up, because their growth had a purpose: God wanted to meet them.
Brothers and sisters, many of you have been saved for years. You meet every Sunday—fifty-two times a year. You have heard many messages, and God has surrounded you with grace and mercy. He has cared for you from your youth until your old age. But have you seen God’s face?
Why has God led you this way? God wants to meet you. Just as God met Moses, God wants to meet you. The Bible tells us that God would meet Moses at the tabernacle, above the mercy seat, above the ark.
God has a purpose: He wants to meet His people. Through the tabernacle, God wants to dwell among His people. More importantly, by erecting the tabernacle, God establishes His testimony among His people.
From that point onward, Israel not only had the presence of God; they had to lift up the ark—the testimony. When the Bible speaks of the ark being moved, it speaks of carrying it.
David was wrong when he used an ox cart to move the ark. The ark needed to be carried. The people of Israel carried the testimony on their shoulders.
You and I have been saved for many years and attended many meetings. We may gather in the name of Jesus, and the meeting may be full of His glory and grace. But when the church goes through this great wilderness of the world, we have a responsibility. There is something upon our shoulders.
The ark needs to be lifted up. Among His people, God established His testimony. God trained Israel so that they would grow in grace. They were no longer merely children whose needs had to be met.
In the first ten stations, Israel often grumbled. Yet God dealt with them patiently because they were small and young. Children often live for themselves; they do not think of living for something higher.
But once they reached Mount Sinai, the situation changed. Through God’s training and because He dwelt with them, they were no longer to live for themselves. They were to live for the testimony.
When the people of the world looked at Israel, they were not meant to see merely a people. They were meant to see the tabernacle among them, the ark among them, and the tablets of testimony among them. This is what God wanted to accomplish.
Before Mount Sinai, Israel was in the wilderness. After Mount Sinai, they were still in the wilderness, but the situation was different. They continued to grumble, but after Mount Sinai their grumbling had a different significance.
After they crossed Mount Sinai, they again desired meat. They said, “We want barbecue again.” God again sent quail, but the Bible says that while the meat was still between their teeth, God judged them.
Why had nothing seemed to happen before, yet now they experienced God’s judgment? Through God’s teaching, they had to grow. They needed discipline in order to carry the ark.
There was a wilderness before Mount Sinai and a wilderness after Mount Sinai. The Bible calls the latter “the great and terrible wilderness.” Why was it great and terrible? Because in that wilderness the first generation of Israel fell one by one. Only two entered Canaan.
This has to do with testimony. Discipline has to do with God’s testimony. Before God establishes His testimony, people live for themselves. Their meetings are for themselves, and they think only of receiving God’s presence.
But why does God give us so much grace? Why does He bless us and manifest His presence? There is a purpose. God said, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt.” He called them out not merely to leave slavery, but to establish His testimony among them.
Sooner or later, whether personally or corporately, we must be brought to the eleventh station. We must be brought to Mount Sinai, where we meet God face to face and where He establishes His testimony among us.
Among all the furnishings of the tabernacle, the first thing God showed Moses was the ark, because the ark was a vessel for the testimony. Inside were the tablets of testimony; outside was the tabernacle. Thus God’s testimony was established among the people.
The tablets of testimony were placed in the ark. These were the Ten Commandments. God spoke directly to the people of Israel and wrote these words with His finger on tablets of stone.
Moses spoke many words, and the Law of Moses contains many commands. But the Ten Commandments were spoken directly by God to Israel and written by God Himself. In God’s heart, these words are called the testimony.
The Ten Commandments are important:
How are these commandments God’s testimony? Many times we forget the words that come before them. Let us turn to Exodus 20:2.
I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
We need to ask: What is the source and basis of these Ten Commandments? The source and basis are found in this verse: “I am the Lord your God.” This is who God is. “Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery”—this is what God has done. This is His salvation.
The law is based upon God Himself—His character and His work. God says, “I am such and such; therefore, you shall or shall not do such and such.” Testimony tells the universe who God is. The law expresses the conduct that corresponds to who He is.
God established the testimony among Israel. He put the Ten Commandments there. The testimony speaks of His character and His standard.
Let us turn to Leviticus 11:44-45.
For I am the Lord your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy.
For I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Here the Holy Spirit explains the matter. “I am the Lord your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves.” God says, “I am holy; therefore, you shall be holy.” This is testimony.
God does not simply give commandments as a test. He says that we are to be holy because He is holy. We do not murder, commit adultery, steal, or covet because God’s character is holy. His people are called to manifest that character.
Why did Israel gather at Mount Sinai? God’s purpose was to establish His testimony among them. Why did He dwell among them? Because God is holy, and He desired a holy people.
In New Testament language, Paul tells us that we are to be conformed to the image of God’s Son. This is God’s eternal purpose. In Old Testament language, Israel was to be holy because God is holy. In New Testament language, God’s people are conformed to the image of Christ.
God loves His people. He gives grace and His presence, but He also desires that His people live on earth according to His image. Is this not the purpose for which man was created? God created man according to His image so that on earth He might establish His testimony.
Many times we pity ourselves because we have sinned and committed so many sins. But once we are saved and receive so much grace, have we considered that God has a purpose in our salvation? God wants us to be His testimony.
Whenever we are obedient children and the life of Christ grows in us, then however Christ is, that is how we become. Christ lives in us. No longer do we live, but Christ lives in us. Very naturally, we become God’s testimony.
God does not simply call the Ten Commandments “law”; He calls them “the testimony.” God’s testimony becomes law in our conduct. We obey because God says, “I am such and such; therefore, you should be such and such.”
The people of Israel carried one testimony in the universe. It was a glorious thing. These people, who had been like worms, could live a holy life and keep God’s commandment. Why should they be holy? Because God is holy. This is testimony.
If we live for ourselves, we fail. But if we are representing God’s testimony, our failure affects the testimony itself.
The testimony of the United States rests upon the shoulders of its ambassadors. When ambassadors are sent to other nations, they do not represent merely themselves. If an ambassador behaves wrongly, not only is that individual judged; the nation is represented wrongly.
An ambassador may not live simply for himself. In the same way, we bear God’s testimony. This is why, after Mount Sinai, when Israel grumbled, the disciplining hand of God came upon them. They could represent God wrongly before the world.
The whole world saw that the tabernacle went with Israel. The whole world knew what the Ten Commandments meant: God is holy. Yet Israel coveted meat. In their flesh, they damaged the testimony of God.
Because God loved them, His discipline followed them throughout the wilderness journey. That is the story of the forty-two stations.
Do not misunderstand. Many people think that the Ten Commandments were only for the Jews because we are under grace and not under law. That statement is true, but we must distinguish between moral law and ritual law.
Nine of the Ten Commandments are moral commands. The fourth commandment, concerning the Sabbath, has a ritual aspect. Ritual law is temporal; it was given for a particular stage of time. But moral law speaks of God’s character, and therefore it is eternal.
In the New Testament, we are no longer under the Law of Moses, but we are under the law of Christ. We cannot overturn God’s moral standard, because it represents His character.
For example, the first commandment says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Is this command found in the New Testament? Yes, in many ways.
When Paul and Barnabas went to Lystra and healed a lame man, the people called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes. The priest came and wanted to worship them. But they said:
Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good tidings, that ye should turn from these vain things unto a living God.
This is the same principle: you shall have no other gods. Likewise, John says, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.” The moral character of God is still expressed in the New Testament.
The Sabbath commandment is different in that it is a shadow. It points to the rest we have in Christ. Though we do not observe the Sabbath as Israel did, daily in Christ we have rest.
The commandments reveal God’s testimony. “You shall have no other gods before Me” reveals that He is the one true God. “You shall not make for yourself an idol” reveals that God is Spirit. “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” reveals that His name represents His very person.
The Sabbath also speaks of God’s work. God worked six days and rested on the seventh. In Exodus, the Sabbath is connected with creation. In Deuteronomy, it is connected with redemption from Egypt.
The principle of the gospel is this: man begins with rest. Adam was created on the sixth day, and his first full day was the day when God rested. In Egypt, Israel was continually enslaved and working. But God told them to cease from their own work and rest in what He had done.
To keep the Sabbath, spiritually speaking, is to accept God’s work. We accept what Christ has done for us on the cross. We do not need to add our own works.
God put His testimony in a vessel, the ark, and the ark was the center of the tabernacle. When Israel rested, the ark was at the center. When Israel moved, the ark went before them to seek out a resting place, and the priests carried it upon their shoulders.
This is an Old Testament picture. Thank the Lord, the book of Hebrews shows us its precious reality. Let us turn to Hebrews 9.
Now even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service, and an earthly sanctuary.
Hebrews tells us that the tabernacle of Israel was earthly. It was a shadow. The first section was called the holy place, and behind the second veil was the holy of holies.
But into the second went the high priest alone once in the year, not without blood, which he offereth for himself, and for the errors of the people.
This speaks of Aaron on the Day of Atonement. Once a year, he offered a sin offering for himself and for the people, and he entered with blood.
But Hebrews 9:11 shows us that the reality has come.
But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation.
Our Lord did not become a priest according to Aaron’s order, but according to the order of Melchizedek. He passed through the greater and more perfect tabernacle—not the earthly tabernacle, which was merely a shadow.
Nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.
Where is this holy place? Hebrews 9:24 tells us:
For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us.
Christ died for us on the cross, rose again, and ascended into heaven. From the brazen altar on earth, He passed through the greater and more perfect tabernacle and entered into heaven itself.
Hebrews 4:14 says:
Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Our Lord passed through the heavens. Just as Aaron entered through the earthly tabernacle, Christ passed through the greater and more perfect tabernacle. Heaven corresponds to the holy place.
Hebrews 7:26 says that He is “holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” And Hebrews 4:16 tells us:
Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need.
The holy of holies corresponds to the throne of God. Because of the work of the Lord, the throne is now a throne of grace.
The whole tabernacle presents a picture. The outer court speaks of the earth. The brazen altar was in the outer court, where the Lord accomplished redemption through the cross.
The brazen altar speaks of justification by faith, and the laver speaks of sanctification by faith. This is the work of the Holy Spirit here on earth.
The holy place contained the table of showbread, the lampstand, and the altar of incense. It also contained cherubim on the veil. In Revelation 4 and 5, we see life before the throne, worship before the Lamb, and the prayers of the saints. These correspond to the heavenly reality.
The holy of holies speaks of God’s throne. There we see God’s glory. When the tabernacle was erected, the cloud covered it and God’s glory filled it. Even Moses could not stand there.
In the heavenly reality, God’s law is not merely a shadow but the substance. That law orders the whole universe. This is the actual testimony.
Upon the ark was the mercy seat, which speaks of the throne of grace. Because of the blood of the Lamb, God can meet with man there.
What Israel had in the wilderness was a shadow. But now we see why God saved us. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ died for us on the cross and opened a new and living way.
In this universe, God has a testimony, and the responsibility for that testimony is upon our shoulders. According to His law and His standard, we cannot stand before His presence. But thank the Lord: because of His precious blood, God’s throne is a throne of grace.
If the throne were only a throne of sovereignty, who would dare come before God? But because of Christ’s glorious work on the cross, Hebrews tells us that God’s throne is a throne of grace.
God’s law has requirements, and His Word has requirements. Yet the Lord’s grace gives us His life within, that we may be conformed to the image of His Son.
For that reason, as we go through the great and terrible wilderness of this world, you and I no longer live for ourselves. We live for God’s testimony. Let us not damage His testimony. Let us carry His ark.
This is why God saved Israel, and this is why He saved us. After we were saved, has He not fed us with heavenly manna? Many times the water seems bitter and we think we cannot go on, but He places the cross in that environment, and the bitter water becomes sweet.
Many times we feel thirsty, but because Christ was broken for us, the Holy Spirit satisfies us. Why does the Holy Spirit lead us in this way? God will establish His testimony in the universe.
Christ has accomplished the work of His death. He ascended from the brazen altar, through heaven, and above heaven into the holy of holies. At the throne of grace, God’s testimony is found.
We have been saved for many years. We have been Christians for many years. Have we considered whether we have been living for God’s testimony?
The whole universe is like that tabernacle. It reminds us of what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross and how He entered into heaven. At His throne, the throne of the Lamb, there is blood. Therefore, we can come boldly before God.
God’s throne is far away, but He has given us His Spirit, and that distance is shortened. The Lord ascended to heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we can now become God’s testimony.
When God created us according to His image, He did so because He wanted man to be like Him. When He saved us, He did so that we might be conformed to the image of His Son. Why? Because He wants us to be a testimony.
When I was in Brazil, there were many Japanese people. The Brazilians knew Japanese people but not Chinese people, and I looked Japanese to them. Once, while driving, I made a mistake. A Brazilian became angry and called me, “You Japanese.” I was sad because I was representing the Japanese people. Do you understand?
We were created according to God’s image, and God abides among His people. But be careful: we are not living for ourselves. We are living for God’s testimony.
May the Lord bless His Word.
Lord, we commit these words into Your hands. If You see fit, if You feel it is right, please use them.