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 tabernacle and the offerings, which also typify Christ, show that the Triune God mingles Himself with His people to dispense all the riches of His being into them for their enjoyment and their portion as their eternal inheritance so that they might become His enjoyment and His portion as His inheritance for eternity. Ephesians 1:11a says, “In whom also we were designated as an inheritance.” The footnote for the phrase designated as an inheritance says, “On the one hand, we have become God’s inheritance (v. 18) for God’s enjoyment; on the other hand, we inherit God as our inheritance (v. 14) for our enjoyment.” Verse 18b mentions “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” The footnote for the word inheritance says, “First, God made us His inheritance (v. 11a) as His acquired possession (v. 14b) and caused us to participate in all that He is, all that He has, and all that He has accomplished, as our inheritance (v. 14a). Ultimately, all these will become His inheritance in the saints for eternity.”
In type, the children of Israel enjoyed and possessed the Triune God in the divine mingling and dispensing, and the Triune God enjoyed and possessed them. The proper living, work, and move of God’s redeemed people in the Old Testament were altogether according to this mingling and dispensing. The New Testament reveals the full reality of the divine dispensing and mingling of the Triune God with His redeemed ones. This revelation is especially clear in the Gospel of John, Revelation, Ephesians, and Paul’s other Epistles. Although the two Epistles to the Corinthians present a somewhat negative picture of the church’s condition, the revelation in these two books concerning the Divine Trinity is profound. In 2 Corinthians 13:14 Paul writes, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Matthew also has a profound word concerning the Trinity. Matthew 28:19 is a unique word in the Bible. It says, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Although it seems that this verse lists three names, the noun name in this verse is singular in number, indicating that there is one name for the Divine Trinity. In a footnote on this verse, Dr. Scofield says, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the final name of the one true God.” According to the revelation in the New Testament, it is clear that God is eternally triune, but this was not made entirely clear in the Old Testament times. Perhaps this is because the Triune God had not yet been processed. The Son had not passed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection, and the Spirit was not yet consummated (John 7:39). After the Lord’s resurrection, He spoke a clear word to the disciples concerning the Trinity in Matthew 28:19.
Ephesians is composed with the Divine Trinity as its basic element and structure. Every chapter of Ephesians reveals the Triune God. Thus, Ephesians is a clear explanation and definition of the tabernacle in Exodus 40. The tabernacle typifies Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God for God’s redeemed people to enter and enjoy all the inward contents. Furthermore, the Triune God entered into His people in type through the offerings, which typify Christ. Before the tabernacle was the altar with all the offerings. No one could enter the tabernacle without first passing through the altar by partaking of the offerings there. This signifies that Christ first enters into us as the offerings, and our enjoyment of Christ as the offerings ushers us into Christ as the tabernacle for us to fully enjoy the Triune God. Through this picture we see the Triune God’s mingling with and dispensing of Himself into His redeemed for their enjoyment and their portion as their inheritance, which causes them to became God’s enjoyment and portion as His inheritance for eternity.