Based on this principle, let us see what the main materials of the tabernacle were. First of all, there was the separating wall of the outer court (Exo. 27:9-19; 38:9-20). This wall was like a fence surrounding a property, separating and keeping it from all that is outside. The wall of the outer court was made of three main things: 1) the bronze sockets, 2) the bronze pillars, and 3) the hangings made of fine twined linen. The base of the separating wall consisted of the sockets of bronze. There were twenty sockets on the north side, another twenty on the south side, ten on the west side at the rear, and ten at the front—altogether sixty sockets of bronze. In each of these sockets stood a pillar, and all the pillars were connected and united with connecting rods. The hangings on the pillars were made of fine linen, twined together with two threads. Therefore, the three main components of the wall were the bronze sockets, the bronze pillars, and the hanging of fine twined linen.
The bronze that formed the base of the separating wall was of the same material as that of the two items located within the outer court: the bronze altar and the bronze laver. The spiritual meaning is that the bronze sockets come from the experience of the altar and the laver. Both the altar and the laver were made of bronze; therefore, all the sockets of the separating wall were made of bronze. The components of the outer court made of bronze were the altar, the laver, and the sockets. The immediate impression people received when they came into the outer court was that the base of the separating wall was bronze, the same material that the altar and the laver were made of. This means that the experiences of the cross and the cleansing of the Holy Spirit are the very base for the separation of the Lord’s building.
We know that bronze typifies God’s divine judgment. All that we have, all that we are, and all that we do must be put on the altar to be judged. The altar, or the cross, is first a place of judgment; God judged everything on the cross. According to Numbers 16:38-39, the bronze used to overlay the altar came from the censers of the two hundred fifty rebellious people. When these people who rebelled against God and Moses were judged with fire, God told Moses to pick up all their bronze censers to make a cover for the altar as a memorial. This was a memorial of God’s judgment on the rebellious ones. In order to realize the building of the church, all that we have, all that we can do, and all that we are need to be judged by the cross of Christ. This issues in the sockets of the separating wall of God’s building.
We may be clear concerning the principle of separation, but we may not be able to apply it. To illustrate this principle, suppose I am a brother who was saved in today’s Christianity. Through the preaching of the gospel I heard that I was a sinner, that Christ loved me, and that He died on the cross. As a result, I admitted that I was a sinner. I prayed, “O God, forgive me, for I am sinful. I thank You that You have given Your Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on the cross for me. I praise You that He is my Savior and that my sins are forgiven. Hallelujah! I have joy and peace within me.” Of course, I then went to a pastor, who was a good friend of mine, and allowed him to baptize me. After being baptized, I became a “member” of his church.
Suppose further that one day the Lord opened my eyes to see why He saved me. He saved me for a purpose—that I might be built up together with others to become the dwelling place of God. After hearing a group of believers in my locality talk about the Body life and the building up of the church, I was willing to be built up with them in the Body life. Finally, the Holy Spirit said to me, “Do you come to be built up? Do you come to realize the church life? If so, you must first go to the cross. All that you can do, all that you are, and all that you have must be judged on the cross.” I then had to confess and repent, saying, “Lord, nothing of me is acceptable to You, and nothing is good for Your building. Everything must be judged.”
If we do not follow through with the judgment of the cross, it will be impossible for us to be built up with others; there will be no base, no foundation. If we come into the church in a proud way, it will be possible for us to be organized, but it will be impossible for us to be built up in the church. The foundation, as seen in the sockets of the separating wall of God’s building, comes from the experience of the bronze altar. Thus, the solid foundation of the building of God’s dwelling place comes from the experience of the cross. There is no other way. Everything must be put on the altar and must be burned and judged. At the main entrance of the church is the cross. In order for us to enter into the church, we must put ourselves on the altar of the cross.
When our whole being and all our actions have been put on the cross, we can testify how dirty, how worldly, and how sinful we are. We realize that we need not only Christ’s redemption but also the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. One day, according to my inner sense, I felt like jumping into the laver. I prayed, “Lord, cleanse me. I am sinful, I am worldly. Every bit of me is dirty. I need the cleansing of the Holy Spirit.” By releasing this burden in prayer, I experienced the cross and the laver. At the cross we put everything of ourselves to death, and at the laver we put everything under the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit. This makes us not only pure but also purged. Then we will come humbly to the church by His mercy, by His redemption, and by His cleansing. After a brother experiences the altar and the laver, and after he is purified from all pride and self-righteousness, he has the base, the sockets of bronze, in which the pillars of the separating wall are erected.
The Scriptures tell us that the pillars also were made of bronze (Exo. 27:10a). Furthermore, we are told that the hooks and the connecting rods that fastened the pillars together and the overlaying of the capitals of the pillars were all of silver (v. 10b; 38:17). Silver typifies redemption. This signifies that for God’s building we are all joined and united together and covered by nothing other than the Lord’s redemption. In order to practice the church life, we need to realize that it is by the Lord’s redemption that we are united, and under this redemption we are covered that we may be separated for God’s building.
On the pillars were also the hangings of fine twined linen, giving people the testimony that the church is pure and clean in conduct and behavior. This is the separating line. When the tabernacle was erected with the surrounding separating line, one could see from afar the white linen that demarcated it. That is the testimony of the church to a world that is in darkness. The whole world is black, but the linen hangings erected as the separating line of God’s building testify that the church is clean, pure, and white. This kind of testimony can come only from the judgment of the altar and the cleansing of the laver, which results in a pure behavior and unsullied conduct before the world. This is the fine twined linen that hung on the supporting pillars, which were based on the sockets of bronze. This is the separating line testifying that the church is purged from the world. Outside this line everything is black, but within this line everything is white.