When the tabernacle was set up, the children of Israel were one. Just as the tabernacle had been set up, so they also had been built up into one people. The tabernacle had been built up into one entity. It was not a pile of material that had been gathered together. No, all the material had been built together into one tabernacle. This indicated that all the children of Israel were built up as one. Thus, the physical tabernacle was a type, a sign. The real dwelling place of God on earth was the house of Israel, signified by the tabernacle.
No matter how large the number of the children of God is, they all must be one and be one small building. Never try to be great. Although the church in Stuttgart may have a thousand or even ten thousand people, they all must be one. They should not be a great church, but a church that is small in appearance. However, the content of this church is the presence of God, the glory of God, the speaking of God, the light of God, and the life supply of God. As far as the outward appearance is concerned, everything is small; nevertheless, within this small tabernacle we see God’s glory, we hear God’s speaking, we are enlightened by God’s light, and we are nourished by God’s life. We all have experienced this. When we visited the great cathedrals with their high towers, we found that there was nothing there except darkness and emptiness. However, when we came to a small group of Christians meeting as the church, everything apparently was small, but from within we saw the glory of God, we heard the speaking of God, we were enlightened by the light of God, and we enjoyed the life supply of God. This is a testimony that such a group of Christians is the church.
God’s redeemed and delivered people, who follow Him in the wilderness, must be His dwelling place. Today, we, God’s redeemed people on earth, must be built up together to become the tabernacle of God. No matter how many of us there may be, we must still be one. Whenever we come together, we should not have a great appearance, but we should be inwardly filled with the glory of God and with the presence of God. In us and among us there should also be the speaking of God, the light of God, and the life supply of God. This is the church built with God’s redeemed and delivered people, and this is the picture of the church portrayed in the book of Exodus.
In the first chapter of the book of Exodus we see bondage, slavery, suffering, and affliction. But at the end of the book we see a tabernacle, God’s dwelling place on earth, filled with the glory of God and the presence of God and having the speaking of God, the light of God, and the life of God. If you compare the first chapter of Exodus with the last chapter, you will see a great difference between them. Before we were saved and built up into the church, we were in Egypt, under bondage, slavery, suffering, and affliction. When we were in bondage, there was no God, no light, and no life. Praise the Lord that by experiencing Christ as the delivering Angel, as the speaking Moses, as the redeeming Lamb, as the nourishing manna, and as the satisfying water, we have become the house of God, the dwelling place of God on the earth. This is Christ and the church, the kernel of Exodus.
How I look to the Lord that you would enjoy Christ every day! Daily you need to enjoy Him as your manna to satisfy and strengthen you. There is a proverb which says, “You are what you eat.” Consider the house of Israel. They ate manna day after day. After eating manna for quite a long time, they eventually became the composition of manna. If we eat Christ day by day, we shall become Christ, for we become what we eat. If we enjoy Christ, eat Christ, drink Christ, and take Christ into us, Christ will become our constituent. Christ will be wrought into every part of our being, into our mind, emotion, and will. When we all become Christ, we shall be one in Christ and one with Christ. Then we shall be built together to be the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God on earth. If we have been built up as God’s tabernacle, then whenever we come together in Christ and with Christ, God will be present. His glory, His speaking, His light, and His life will all be with us. This is Christ and the church. Do not emphasize things such as foot washing and head covering. They are not the kernel of the Bible. As we have pointed out again and again, the kernel of the Bible is Christ and the church.
We all have been saved and delivered by the Lord, and now we are following Him. Daily we need to eat and drink Christ, enjoying Him as the manna and the living water. As we enjoy Him in this way, we shall become Him. Our thinking will be His thinking. Then when we come together, we shall be the enlargement of Christ. There will be no old nor young, no Europeans nor Americans. Because Christ has transformed us, He will be all in all (Col. 3:11). If you enjoy Christ as your manna day by day, you will come to look like Him. If we all have the appearance of Christ, then when we come together, we all shall be Christ. Our oneness is not doctrines, beliefs, or the truths we hold. It is the Christ we experience and enjoy day by day. Every day we need to apply Christ to our situation and take Him to meet every need in our daily living. The more we do this, the more we shall be constituted with Christ and become Christ. As a result, we shall spontaneously be one in Christ and become one enlarged Christ. Thus, wherever we are, we shall be the unique tabernacle, the dwelling place of God on earth, to express Christ and to satisfy God. Christ is our daily supply. As we eat and drink Christ, we all become a corporate Christ to be the tabernacle of God on earth. This is Christ and the church as the kernel in the book of Exodus.