The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat.
And make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end: of one piece with the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof.
And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Let us pray.
Dear heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee because we know Thou art the living God. We praise and thank Thee because Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus, Who died for us, has been raised and is now living forevermore. We do praise and thank Thee.
We know that He is in us, and we are in Him. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. So, our Father, we come together this morning with confidence in our hearts. We want to worship Thee and adore Thee, and we do pray that, again by Thy Holy Spirit, Thou wouldst open Thy Word to us, that it may be real and operative in our lives, to the praise of Thy glory. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
What we have been sharing for the last two or three days, including today, is the believer’s life and ministry as demonstrated in the tabernacle.
We mentioned that, in the beginning of our Christian life, we approach God through the altar, the brazen altar of burnt offering. That is to say, there is no way that we can approach God except through the cross of our Lord Jesus. The cross of our Lord Jesus is the foundation, and we will never be able to get away from it.
It is through the cross of our Lord Jesus that we find our sins forgiven. We find that our old man was crucified with Him. We find that we have been separated from the world. And we also find that, through the cross, we have victory over the enemy in Christ Jesus.
It is by the cross of our Lord Jesus that we are given eternal life. We become the children of God, and not only God’s children, but we are made a kingdom of priests. The cross of our Lord Jesus is the only approach to God.
Then we find, after the brazen altar of burnt offering, the brazen laver filled with water. The priests who serve must wash their hands and their feet. In other words, we find that we who are saved are to serve as priests. But every time we serve, remember, we have to have our hands and feet washed.
As we walk through the world, we find that the dirt and dust of the world begin to crowd upon our hearts, so that our spirits feel dull, slow, unclean, and unclear. We need the washing of the water to renew our fellowship with the Lord, that our fellowship with the Lord may be clear, transparent, and intimate. It is only on that basis that our service will be accepted.
And not only our feet, but also our hands. We can also work with the hands of the flesh. God has no delight in our flesh. He cannot accept any works of the flesh. It has to be in the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we find that both our hands and our feet must be washed every time we approach to serve the living God.
Now, this is the outer court. In the outer court, we find our experience is mainly in the area of purification. We are being purified of our sins by the blood of our Lord Jesus, and we are being purified from all defilements of the world as well as the flesh through the water.
That is the very life of the Lord Jesus. Because He loved us so much, He sanctifies us by the washing of water with the Word, that we may be without spot, without wrinkle, or any such thing; that we may be presented to Him as a glorious church, holy and without blemish. It is the life of our Lord Jesus within us that really cleanses us from all defilements.
Then we find that, after the outer-court experience as priests, we are privileged to enter into the holy place. The holy place is the place of the priests, and the holy place actually is a type of the church, because the church stands between heaven and earth.
The church is heavenly in calling, but so far as testimony is concerned, it is upon the earth. Now, in the holy place, we find that we are to know Christ as the light of life. Our everyday guidance is not by human reasoning anymore; it is by the inner light, the light of life, that shines upon our path.
This is the way we walk. This is the way we grow in the Lord. We also begin to see that our Lord Jesus is the bread of life. He is our very life. We live because He lives in us. That is the only way we can live our Christian life.
Furthermore, we find that He is also our High Priest. He ever lives, making intercession for us. He is able to save those who approach God through Him to the very uttermost. If we do not have the Lord Jesus as our High Priest, where will we be?
We do praise and thank the Lord that, as He intercedes without ceasing for us, the Holy Spirit works without ending in us. Not only is this the believer’s life in the holy place, but we find that it is in the holy place that we serve. We minister unto the Lord.
The golden lampstand is a type of the church, and our ministry is to uplift Christ, that the testimony of Jesus may go forth. Our responsibility is to see that the oil is always abundantly supplied, that the wick is always clean and clear.
In other words, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order that the church may be able to be that vessel for the testimony of Jesus. We need to see that there is no hindrance in our lives. We should not grieve the Holy Spirit. We should not quench the Holy Spirit. We should not resist the Holy Spirit.
Our duty is to obey the Holy Spirit, cooperate with Him, and yield to Him, that He may go through us as through the wick, so that the light may shine upon the whole house.
Not only that, but the church is a fellowship, a table. We are sharing Christ with one another. Now, that is fellowship. You know, there is a great difference between fellowship and being social.
When we are being social, it means that we can share anything under heaven. But when we are having fellowship, we are limited to sharing Christ. If we do not share Christ, it is not really fellowship, because fellowship is sharing in common, and the one thing we have in common is Christ.
As we share Christ, we find a fragrance ascending to heaven to please the Father’s heart. Through fellowship, our joy will be full.
And not only that, brothers and sisters, we find that not only is Christ our High Priest, but we are a priesthood under Him. Therefore, we are worshipers. We worship God through Christ, and we worship God with Christ. We are also intercessors.
The church is a house of prayer for all nations. We do not pray for ourselves alone, but we pray:
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
So we find that, as priests, we do minister unto the Lord. You know, oftentimes we think ministry is only unto the people. That is true. In the outer court, we do minister unto the people. We preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
But in the holy place, when God’s people come together, we actually minister unto the Lord Himself.
Now, this morning we would like to go a step further, and that is the holiest of all. Brothers and sisters, the holiest of all is where God dwells, and this is the place that God calls us into.
In the outer court, we are purified. In the holy place, we serve as priests. But remember, it is in the holiest of all that we dwell. You do not live in the outer court, nor do you live in the holy place. God’s will is that we live in the holiest of all.
In Hebrews 10, we are told that we have boldness to enter into the holiest of all. Why? Because of the blood of the Lord Jesus. Because He has opened a new and living way for us through His flesh, through the veil, which is His flesh. And we have Him as our High Priest. Therefore, let us approach.
Brothers and sisters, the holiest of all is now open to us. It is open through the blood of our Lord Jesus. It is open through the new and living way that He has dedicated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh. It is because He is now our High Priest, making intercession for us.
Because of this, we can approach. We can enter into the holiest of all, to the very presence of God, and not only approach, but even live there.
Now, this is God’s provision. It is open to everyone. It is not just for a few chosen, select people. Every child of God, every priest of God, is privileged today to enter into the holiest of all, to the very presence of God.
And not just to approach it, to stand there for a while, but even to dwell there—to make your permanent home there. This is God’s provision for all of us, and this is God’s will for all of us. But the question is, do we enter in? Do we dwell there?
Sometimes we ask, “Brother so-and-so, sister so-and-so, where do you live? What is your address?” And of course, the answer is, “Well, I live in Richmond, Virginia, United States. I live on a certain street, at a certain number. That is my address.”
But remember, this is only your temporary address. Where is your permanent address? Well, you have no permanent address on earth. Your permanent address is in the holiest of all. In other words, your address is God.
God is our dwelling place from generation to generation. That is what Moses said in Psalm 90: “God, Thou art our dwelling place. Thou art our permanent address. Thou art our home from generation to generation.” This is where our real address is.
But unfortunately, you may have that address, but you do not live there. Remember, this is your permanent home, and you are supposed to be there all the time.
Unfortunately, we find this in the experience of God’s people. Many of God’s people are in the outer court. Thank God for that. They have been to the brazen altar of burnt offering. They know the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior. They are children of God. Thank God for that.
But that is all they know. That is where they are. In other words, they always roam around in the outer court. They never go beyond the altar, even to the laver. They are saved, but they do not even know that they are saved to serve.
They are children of God, as well as being made a kingdom of priests, but they never function as priests. They are children, thank God for that. And you know, as children, you enjoy what is provided for you. You have every right, but you have no duties, no responsibilities; and because of that, you are useless in a sense.
Useless in God’s kingdom. Useless in God’s purpose. Yes, you do enjoy, but what does the Father have in you? He willingly, generously, voluntarily gives everything to you. But what does He get from you? Nothing—dead in Christ.
Unfortunately, we find today that the church is almost like a kindergarten, and probably worse than a kindergarten. We find that the church of God is full of babies. They are all waiting to be fed, and if you feed them a little late, they cry. They get angry at you. Of course, they think they have every right.
Too many babies in the church: always receiving and receiving and receiving, never giving; always enjoying and enjoying and enjoying, never functioning; always sitting there, listening, criticizing, judging, but never standing up to minister and serve with clean feet and hands.
That is what you find in Christianity today. They stay put there.
But thank God there are some who have not only experienced the altar and been saved, but know they are priests unto God, and they begin to serve. They begin to understand that they need to have their hands and feet washed. They have a real ministry unto the world. They really preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Now, thank God for these brothers and sisters. But they never enter into the holy place. All their service is in the outer court. They minister to people, but they never minister to God.
It is only when you really catch a vision of the church, when you begin to minister in the church, that you have every opportunity to minister unto God—not only minister unto the people, but minister unto God.
Thank God, we find there are brothers and sisters who have entered into the holy place, and there they minister unto the Lord as a testimony to the Lord Jesus.
But remember, even the holy place is not your dwelling place. It is where you serve, but it is not where you live. The only place that God has ordained for us to live is the holiest of all. That is, we ought to live in the very presence of God.
It is union with Christ in God. Now, I have to be a little careful here. I use the phrase union with Christ in God. I do not use the popular term union with God.
Why? Because the popular term union with God, so far as I understand, cannot be found in the Bible. I challenge you to search the Scriptures and see if you can find that term, union with God. If you find one, please let me know. I tend to be corrected.
The term union with God is a mystic term. It has been used by mystics, both Christian and heathen mystics, to express the ultimate seeking for union with God.
Let me use an illustration. Madame Guyon was a great woman in the Lord, and I will read some of her writings to you this morning. But she used this example: union with God is like a drop of water which gradually flows until one day it enters into the ocean.
When this drop of water enters into the ocean, it is merged with the water in the ocean. It has lost its identity. It is lost in God. It is union with God. In other words, you are no longer existing as an individual. You become part of God.
Now, that is beautiful, but is it not too mystical? The Scripture never teaches that we will lose our identity, our individuality. God has created us as individuals, and our individualities will remain forever and ever.
Even in the holy city, the New Jerusalem, you find the twelve foundations are all different stones. One is Peter, a sapphire; one is John. You find that everyone is different, and they remain with their individuality.
Yes, the personality that is expressed through that individual is Christ. It is not Peter, it is not John, it is Christ. But the individuality remains to eternity.
It is true that our individualism has to be dealt with. You know, we are too individualistic, as if we are the only person in the world. We are the world. We are self-sufficient. We are independent. We do not need one another.
Brothers and sisters, individualism must go. It must be dealt with by the cross. But the cross never takes away your individuality. God loves variety. Variety, I was told, is the spice of life.
But, you know, the term union with God is now very wrongly interpreted: you lose your identity in God; you become part of God. To put it another way, it is the deification of man. You are God. You are no longer there; you are God.
Brothers and sisters, this is not the teaching of the Scripture. It is true that we are united with Christ in life. That is true. But remember, we never enter into the Godhead. We never become part of deity.
God remains God, and we remain human beings. But thank God, we are united with Christ in life—not only in life, but even in purpose. So I use the term union with Christ in God, and I hope that this will not get us into any error by the grace of God.
But anyway, you will find that what God is aiming at with us, so far as our Christian life is concerned, is union with Christ in life and in purpose. That is the ultimate. And union with Christ in God, to put it another way, is the life of the holiest—that is, you live in the holiest.
You know, in the holiest of all, there is only one piece of furniture, and it is the ark. We know the ark is a type of our Lord Jesus. Why? Because the ark is a chest.
The ark is made of acacia wood, and acacia wood in Scripture always speaks of incorruptible wood. You know, acacia wood is a hardwood that is supposed to be incorruptible. The ark is made of acacia wood because it speaks of the humanity of our Lord Jesus.
Our Lord Jesus, as a human being, is incorruptible. He is sinless, perfect. This is our Lord Jesus as a human being.
But you find this ark is made of acacia wood, overlaid inside and outside with gold. Now, gold in Scripture always speaks of the nature of God—indestructible.
But you notice one thing: the other furniture in the tabernacle may be made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold, but they are only overlaid outside with gold. With the ark, it is different. It is overlaid with gold both inside and outside.
Why? Because it speaks of the fact that before our Lord Jesus came into this world to become a man, He was God. It was God Who incarnated. It was God Who took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh.
So He was overlaid with gold inside first, and then you have the wood, and then overlaid with gold outside too. Even though He was man, while He was on earth, He was still God. He had not lost His deity.
Now, some people teach a heresy in the church that when the Lord Jesus, the Word, became flesh and incarnated, then He came out of deity and was no longer God. He was merely a human being.
Brothers and sisters, it is true, in one sense, that He, being equal with God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, and yet He emptied Himself. But remember, He emptied Himself of all the glory, honor, majesty, and attributes related to God; but He could never empty Himself of His deity.
Our Lord Jesus, even while He was on earth, was still God. He was God originally; He came to become a man, and He is a real man, but He is at the same time still the true God. This is our Lord Jesus, and this is the ark.
Now, the ark is an open chest. In the open chest, there is only one thing deposited there at this time, and it is the Ten Commandments—the testimony.
You know, the Ten Commandments are also called the testimony. Why? Because the Ten Commandments testify to mankind concerning the righteousness of God.
So here you find in the ark there is the testimony. Maybe you remember the story: when Moses came down from the mountain with the two tables of law, he discovered that the children of Israel were worshiping a golden calf. Because of that, he smashed the two tables of stone.
In other words, before the testimony reached the people of Israel, they had already broken it. But the second time, when God called Moses to the mountain to receive the testimony again, there was the ark, so that the testimony could be put in the ark and preserved.
Now, brothers and sisters, God’s law—before it reaches man, it is already broken. God’s law is meant to be kept, right? But who can keep it? Nobody can.
But thank God, there is one person on earth in Whom the law is kept completely, and this is our Lord Jesus.
You remember Psalm 40. It is said:
Sacrifice and offering Thou hast no delight in;
Mine ears hast Thou opened:
Burnt-offering and sin-offering hast Thou not required.
Then said I, Lo, I am come;
In the roll of the book it is written of me:
I delight to do Thy will, O my God;
Yea, Thy law is within my heart.
As it is quoted in Hebrews, it says, “A body didst Thou prepare for Me.”
Brothers and sisters, we find that when our Lord Jesus was on earth, He was the one and only person in Whom the testimony, the law of God—what God is—was preserved intact. His whole life was to do the will of God. Never in His life did He break the law of God.
It was the pleasure of His heart to do the Father’s will. Because of this, how His life on earth satisfied the Father’s heart! A number of times heaven could not remain closed; heaven had to be opened and say, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom is My delight.”
This open chest has a cover, and the cover is the mercy seat. The mercy seat is made of pure gold.
Brothers and sisters, if you remember Romans 3:25, perhaps in your version it says that God has set forth Christ as our propitiation, our propitiatory. But actually, in the original, it is: God has set forth Christ as our mercy seat.
How can God show mercy to a sinful people without compromising His justice, without violating His holiness? How can God do that? We are unrighteous. We are sinful. We have broken the law of God. We have violated God’s testimony. All that we deserve is the wrath of God.
But God loves us. He wants to show mercy to us, but He cannot apart from a basis for it. But thank God, our Lord Jesus becomes the ark.
Because our Lord Jesus, being God, became a man, and yet was still God, and because throughout His whole life the law of God was satisfied—not only in His own life, but especially on the cross—He bore all our sins, paid the penalty of sin, and satisfied the righteous demand of God over mankind.
So, brothers and sisters, it is upon the finished work of Christ that you have the mercy seat. The foundation of the mercy seat is the ark. It is only in Christ Jesus that God can show His mercy to us.
God is able to reveal His love for us in showing us mercy. It is mercy shown on the basis of righteousness. It does not compromise God in any way. On the contrary, it glorifies Him.
So, brothers and sisters, you find that in the holiest of all there is only one piece of furniture. It is Christ, Who has fulfilled all the righteousness of God—not only for Himself, but for all mankind. It is the finished work of Christ, and upon that God is able to show mercy to us.
It is said in Scripture that in the holiest of all, God sits upon that mercy seat. God dwells upon that mercy seat. The glory of God fills the holiest of all. It is there that He spoke to Moses. It is there that He met Moses and spoke with Moses face to face.
Brothers and sisters, we are able to enter into the holiest of all, and not only to enter, but to live there. It is because of the finished work of Christ—not because we are ready. We are never ready. But because He has done it all for us.
God calls us to enter in, to approach with confidence, with holy boldness, and there to live our lives in the very presence of God. It is God in Christ meeting us, speaking to us, and revealing Himself to us.
We mentioned before that in the outer court you have the sunlight. In the holy place, you have the light from the golden lampstand. Now, in the holiest of all, there is neither sunlight nor the light of the lampstand. It would be total darkness if it were not for the glory of God.
In the holiest of all, it is lit with the glory of God. Of course, we know it is very difficult to explain what glory is. I remember Brother T. Austin-Sparks said that it is very difficult to define glory. He tried to give a definition, and I think, so far as I feel, it is the best definition I have ever heard.
He said, “What is glory? Glory simply means God is satisfied. Whenever God is satisfied, glory appears.”
Brothers and sisters, here you find that in the holiest of all the glory of God fills that place. Oh, God is satisfied. God is fully satisfied in His Son. His Son is able to reveal Himself, manifest Himself, and express Himself.
You know, as you grow in the Lord, in the beginning what decides your action is your mind. You weigh the pros and cons: “What is more beneficial to me?” That is how your actions are decided.
But as you grow in the Lord, you begin to find that this is not dependable. You begin to be guided by the light of life. In other words, the Spirit of God within you shines upon you and allows you to see, in the light of God, what is right and what is wrong, what is light and what is darkness.
But strangely, as you grow more in the Lord, you find that your whole life is governed by glory. Your question is no longer, “What is beneficial to me?” Your question is no longer whether this is right or wrong, even in principle.
You know, people can live by principles. Now, that is good living. Lots of people are unprincipled. But if you live by principles, well, you live a higher life. But, brothers and sisters, you can live by principle and become very unlike God.
You have to live by the glory of God. One day, what decides your action is the glory of God: “Will this satisfy God?” Life in the holiest of all.
What is this life in the holiest? It is just like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3: we behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, and we are being changed from glory to glory according to His image, even by the Lord the Spirit.
You know, life in the holiest is face to face with God. You remember in Numbers 12, when Miriam and Aaron became jealous of Moses, God appeared to the three of them and said:
If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision;
I will speak with him in a dream.
My servant Moses is not so;
He is faithful in all My house:
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark sayings;
And the form of the Lord shall he behold.
In other words, here you find it is a face-to-face living. Brothers and sisters, if we dwell in Him and He dwells in us, our life is face to face with God. We behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ—the glory of God sits upon the mercy seat, upon the ark. This is the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. As we see Jesus, we see the glory of God. As we see the glory of God, we are transformed from glory to glory.
Anything that is of the flesh is shameful, but anything that is of God is glorious. We will be changed from glory to glory according to His image by the Lord, the Spirit.
In other words, we cannot change ourselves. But if we look upon the Lord with unveiled face, then the Holy Spirit will change us.
You know, it is probably true: some people say that if you want to have a beautiful baby, when you are conceived, look at beautiful pictures. By looking at beautiful pictures, you will have a beautiful baby. I do not know how true that is.
But I know there is some truth in this. A husband and a wife look at each other so often, and if they are married for fifty years, you discover that they look alike.
Brothers and sisters, if we want to be Christ-like, the only way to be Christ-like is to look at Him constantly. If you look at the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ, you do not need to change yourself. The Spirit of God will change you and conform you to His image.
This is life in the holiest. Life in the holiest is a constant gazing upon the Lord. You see Him all the time. You see Him in every circumstance. Because you see Him, the Holy Spirit transforms you and conforms you to His image.
What is life in the holiest? It is a life within the veil. That is to say, there is no veil between you and God, because the veil has been rent. It is a shadowless communion, a constant fellowship with God.
Life in the holiest, as Colossians 3 says, is that our life is hid with Christ in God. That is a life in the Spirit. Because your life is hid with Christ in God, therefore nothing can touch you.
Life in the Spirit is, as Paul says in Philippians 3, that you apprehend Him as He has apprehended you. Life in the Spirit is living under an open heaven.
The revelation of God comes upon you constantly. The Spirit of wisdom and revelation is given to you unto the full knowledge of God. Life in the holiest is a life in which Christ is made all and in all to you.
This is Christian life. This is what God has ordained for all of us. This is our dwelling place. This is our home.
Now I would like to read you something from Madame Guyon. I am not a mystic, and I do not try to persuade you to be a mystic. The mystics have much to offer, but there is much about which you need to be careful.
Madame Guyon was a French woman whose life was so beautiful. Throughout the centuries, many have received help by reading her life. But even the mystics criticize Madame Guyon for being too passive, and that is true.
But anyway, Madame Guyon wrote a book called Spiritual Torrents. She tried to describe Christian life as flowing water, and there are different kinds of flow. Her writing, of course, was very difficult to read.
Mrs. Penn-Lewis, Jessie Penn-Lewis, reduced that book and made it more readable in a small booklet called Life Out of Death. You can still get it. In this booklet, Madame Guyon describes life in the holiest.
So I will just read a little bit to you.
The characteristics of the life of union:
The soul is possessed by God. It possesses nothing; it is possessed. God being the principle of life, it cannot want for anything. It has left the created for the Creator, nothingness for all things.
The soul has all things in God. It lives no longer and works no longer of itself, but God Himself, by the Holy Spirit, lives, works, and operates within it.
The soul lives without effort. The divine life possessing and working in it works with the same unconscious ease as the natural life. Supernatural life is to live supernaturally, then it becomes natural.
The soul is in perfect rest. It is only satisfying God. It is possessed by the peace of God; therefore its peace is unchangeable.
The soul has a boundless joy. It is joy unspeakable.
The soul is in harmony with the divine will. It has no separate will, for its will is the will of God. It has no desire but to fulfill His desire.
The soul is brought into simplicity. The condition of life has become so simple that it has nothing to say about itself, for this way is simple. It sees nothing except as in God, the one center and principle of all things, and environed by Him.
The soul is one with Christ in God. It is in God as in an atmosphere natural to it. It only knows that God is, and that it no longer lives but in Him. Its treasure is now God alone, from Whom it draws continually all needs. The apostolic life begins. It is the life of abundant fruitfulness.
Now, brothers and sisters, this, I think, describes life in the holiest. Remember, this is not for a few chosen people. This is the right and privilege of every believer. Let us approach with confidence.
Now, how do you enter into the holiest of all? You know, there is a veil standing between the holy place and the holiest of all, and we are told that this veil was very, very heavy.
This veil separates the holiest of all from the holy place. In Old Testament times, you find that only once a year the high priest could enter into the holiest of all, behind the veil. Once a year.
Once a year, when he entered into the holiest of all behind the veil, he had to bring two things. He had to have a censer filled with incense from the golden altar of incense. When he entered behind the veil, the smoke would fill the place and cover him, as it were.
Because he could not see God face to face, he had to be covered. At the same time, he had to enter with the blood. He would sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat and then turn around and sprinkle it upon the veil, to make atonement for the people.
Then he hurriedly came out, lest he die. No one can see God. If anyone dared to enter the holiest place to see God’s face, he would be smitten to death, because he was not worthy.
So the writer of the book of Hebrews says that as long as this veil is there, it shows that the holiest of all has not yet been opened.
But brothers and sisters, is that not wonderful? When our Lord Jesus was crucified outside the gate of Jerusalem, when He said, “It is finished,” and gave up His spirit to the Father, the veil in the temple of Jerusalem was rent from top to bottom in two.
When the veil was rent, the glory of God came out. Oh, brothers and sisters, thank God, the veil is rent.
Now, what is this veil? In Hebrews 10, it is said that God has opened for us a new and living way. He has dedicated a new and living way for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.
So, you know, the veil in the temple is a type of the human flesh of our Lord Jesus. The veil is made of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen, in artistic work and embroidered with cherubim.
What is blue? Blue is the color of heaven. What is purple? Purple in the old days is royalty. What is scarlet? Scarlet speaks of glory—human glory, but not vain glory. Fine linen, of course, speaks of a pure life, righteousness.
Embroidered with cherubim—we have no time to talk about cherubim. It is very interesting. But let me just say that the cherubim here represent God’s original design for creation, creation in God’s mind.
But anyway, you find that this is what our Lord Jesus is. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among men. When He became flesh and tabernacled among men, was not His flesh heavenly?
Though He was on earth, He came from heaven, He lived on earth, and yet He still was in heaven. In other words, He is a heavenly Man. Wherever He went, He brought a heavenly atmosphere with Him. He never left heaven in a spiritual sense.
Purple: look at His life. How regal He was! When people began to crowd upon Him and tried to push Him, He just walked slowly through their midst. He never ran away. He just walked as if nothing had happened.
When He was judged, if He would only say a word, probably humanly speaking He would be released. But He was silent. How regal He was.
Scarlet: glory. He did not seek glory from men; it was the Father Who glorified Him. True glory, not vain glory. His whole life was so pure. He is the Righteous One, the only One Who is sinless and perfect.
All over His flesh, you can see that He is the Man after God’s own heart. He is the Man that God originally designed, the Man that God wants. He is the Man.
But remember, a veil, on the one hand, separates, hides, and covers what is in the holiest of all. Yet, on the other hand, it is the only way to the holiest of all.
Think of our Lord Jesus. His life on earth is like a veil. It is true that He came to declare the Father to us. Yet, in the flesh, the glory of God is always hidden.
It takes spiritual eyes to see the glory of the Lord as the glory of the only begotten from the Father. People just saw Him as a human being, as a man full of grace and truth. But the glory of God was within Him.
On the Mount of Transfiguration is the only time when the glory broke through His flesh. His face shone like the sun. Even the garments He wore became white, whiter than anything that could be done to them.
The glory of the Lord penetrated through that flesh just for that short moment. Why? Because it was at that moment that Moses and Elijah appeared to talk with Him about His exodus.
How would the Lord Jesus exit from the world? He came by incarnation. Now they were talking about His exit. It was at that moment that you find the glory within Him broke forth.
Why? Brothers and sisters, you know that was a very tense moment, a very tense moment. So far as our Lord Jesus Himself was concerned, He had come and had lived a life satisfying to the Father. He was a Man after God’s heart.
So far as He Himself was concerned, He had every right to exit from the mountain and return to the Father. But if He did, there would be only one Man in the holiest of all. There would be only one Man in the presence of God.
But He did not go out. He came down. He went to the cross. He made His exit through the cross. Because He made His exit through the cross, the veil was rent.
Brothers and sisters, today people teach that we must imitate Christ. He is our great example. We should imitate Him. People do not accept His redemptive work. They think that all they need to do is imitate Him as a great teacher.
Remember, if you take the Lord Jesus as a great teacher and try to imitate Him, you are only condemned, because His life will condemn you. He is the only One worthy to see the Father’s face, but you are not worthy.
He is the veil. He will separate you forever from seeing the Father’s face. But thank God, that veil is rent. Because of this, if you trust His redemptive work, then you find that you can enter through Him into the holiest of all.
But remember, He has dedicated that new and living way for us. In other words, He has not only opened that way for us, but He has actually dedicated that way to us. That is to say, He has entered as a forerunner, as the One Who makes the way. And now He says, “Follow Me.”
This is the way of the cross. Follow Me. If you want to live a life in the holiest, you have to walk in the way of the cross. By the strength of His cross, you must take up your cross and follow Him.
There is no other way to enter into the holiest of all and to live that life in the holiest. Or, to put it another way, brokenness is the way to the holiest of all.
You know, brothers and sisters, the flesh of our Lord Jesus—the human flesh of our Lord Jesus—in one sense was the same as our flesh, but in another sense it was different. Physically speaking, it was the same; morally speaking, it was different.
Why? Because our flesh is sinful flesh. We are full of self—this “I,” this self that is selfish, self-conceited, self-pitying, self-loving, self-interested, self-possessed. This self is corrupted.
But our Lord Jesus, even though He took the form, the likeness of sinful flesh, yet His self was pure. You know, the Lord had a self too, as a human being: “Not My will, but Thy will be done.” He had His will.
But you find that His self-life was pure, perfect, undefiled, uncorrupted. Yet even with that perfect self, even with that perfect “I” living in the flesh, it had to be broken.
The very “I” of our Lord Jesus was broken on Calvary’s cross. His body was broken, rent. Why? Because, in spiritual principle, brokenness is the only way to the presence of God.
You know, dear brothers and sisters, in spiritual experience, some people call such an experience the dark night of the soul. I am not going to explain the details of this, but I just mention it.
In other words, you find in the spiritual experience of God’s people that after one has known the Lord as Savior, after one begins to enter into a stage of enlightenment, God begins to adorn him with many gifts, many graces, and many virtues. He seems to be a person admired by other believers.
But oftentimes, you find the dealings of God. A person may have the activities and works of his flesh dealt with, but the life of the flesh still remains intact.
Because the life of the flesh, which is the life of the soul, which is self, is still there, you are willing to give up everything but not “I.” You think that if you give up “I,” you are nothing. But nothing is what God is working at, because nothing means He is everything.
Brothers and sisters, He has to bring us to a point where we become nothing. God may have to strip you of your gifts. He has to strip you even of your virtues. You may feel like a sinner almost.
You are nothing—absolutely nothing. But it is your nothing that brings you God as everything. So, brothers and sisters, you find that brokenness brings you humility, and humility is the character of Christ.
So, brothers and sisters, do we admire the life in the holiest? Of course we do. But are you willing to walk in the way of the cross?
It may seem like a dead path, but actually it is a new and living way, because it leads us to the very presence of the living God. There you stand before Him. You live in Him. It is union with Christ in God.
Now, finally, just very briefly: the holiest of all is not only a life; it is a ministry. As a matter of fact, all true ministries must begin with the holiest.
Whether you are serving at the brazen altar in the outer court, whether you are ministering in the holy place, remember, true ministry has to have its origin in the holiest of all.
Why? Because true ministry is the ministering of Christ. Whenever you minister, you minister Christ. You minister Christ to people. You minister Christ to God.
So Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:
We have this treasure in earthen vessels,
That the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;
We are pressed on every side, yet not straitened;
Perplexed, yet not unto despair;
Pursued, yet not forsaken;
Smitten down, yet not destroyed;
Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus,
That the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.
Now, this is ministry. Where does this ministry come from? It comes from the holiest. We are as earthen vessels—opaque. We have no light. The light is in the treasure.
Now think of that. Nobody puts a treasure in an earthen vessel. You put a treasure perhaps in an alabaster box. But God puts a treasure in an earthen vessel.
The only way for the light of the treasure to be revealed is that the earthen vessel must be cracked, must be broken. It is through brokenness that you find the power of God manifested.
We bear in our body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in other people. Now, that is ministry.
Today we find many so-called ministries that only minister themselves, ministering some teaching, some doctrine, but not ministering Christ, ministering life.
They may enrich people’s minds, but they do not nourish people’s spirits. True ministry comes from the holiest of all.
When you are living in the holiest of all, then, as Scripture says, Moses and Aaron came out from the tent of meeting to bless the people. When they blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
Brothers and sisters, when you minister out of the holiest of all, you find the blessing of God falls upon the people, and people will see the glory of the Lord. That is ministry.
So, dear brothers and sisters, thank God. You are not only able to enter into the outer court. You are called into the holy place. And now, you are exhorted to enter into the holiest of all with confidence. Thank God for this. Shall we pray?
Dear heavenly Father, oh, we cannot but bow and worship Thee, seeing what Thou hast done for us in Christ Jesus. Thou hast made Christ Jesus not only our Savior; Thou hast made Him our High Priest. Thou hast made Him our life, our light, and Thou hast made Him our home.
Oh, we do praise and thank Thee. Lord, it is the prayer of our hearts that it may be no longer I, but it may be Christ—Christ, all and in all—that Thou mayest be satisfied and Thy glory may appear. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.