In our speaking about the church, we have been able to touch only a few points, because the matter of knowing the church is a broad topic. Nevertheless, the points we have spoken of are very crucial. I hope we would all grasp these crucial points before the Lord and seek clear light concerning them.
The church is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23), and she is joined to Christ as one (5:31-32); this is a tremendous light. If we want to test any Christian group with the Bible, we need to see the crucial point that Christ is the content of the church. In addition, there are also several other crucial points, such as the reality of the church, the authority of the Holy Spirit, the administration of the church, and the move of the church. The more we go on before the Lord, the clearer we become that these points are great filters for any Christian group and even for us. We must ask, “Are we meeting according to the teaching of the clear word in the Bible? Is there anything among us that contradicts the truth in the Bible? Is our intrinsic move truly based on the living Christ as everything in us? Does our administration and move truly come from the Holy Spirit’s operation and ruling?” We should not only examine other meetings; we also need to examine our own meetings with these points.
When we consider these points, we will arrive at one conclusion—the church is Christ Himself. Hence, the church requires us to put off everything of man, the world, and religious organization. Everything related to man, the world, and religious organization needs to be put off completely. We need to put off all the confusion issuing from Christianity because many things of man, the world, and religious organization have been brought into the church. The Bible shows that the church requires us to put off everything of man, the world, and organization. Whenever the elements of man, the world, or organization are in a local church, the church loses Christ’s position and nature. I hope that all the brothers and sisters can firmly grasp these crucial points, studying them one by one and putting them into practice.
We need to consider an important point based upon typology in the Old Testament so that we can have another source for testing and examining our knowledge of the church. During the time of the Old Testament, the center of the service of God’s children to Him was the tabernacle, and the center of the tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant. Those who have studied the Old Testament know that the Ark typifies Christ. In the original text, the Ark of the Covenant means “the Ark of the Testimony,” and it typifies Christ as the testimony of God. Inside the Ark of the Covenant there were the two tablets of the covenant, and it is Christ who bears the covenant that God made with His people. The covenant God made with us is based upon the person and work of Christ. Thus, He is the Ark of the Covenant and the Ark of the Testimony.
We can also see the two natures of Christ from the Ark in the Old Testament, which included both the nature of wood and the nature of gold (Exo. 25:10-11). Wood refers to Christ’s humanity, and gold refers to Christ’s divinity. When wood and gold are joined together, they signify Christ, who has both divinity and humanity.
Furthermore, the outward appearance of the Ark, or the enlargement of the Ark, was the tabernacle. The tabernacle and the Ark shared many similarities. The Ark was joined to the tabernacle, and the tabernacle came out of the Ark. The Ark was the center of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle surrounded the Ark. From both God’s perspective and the perspective of the worship of God’s children, the Ark and the tabernacle could not be separated. The two were as one. However, even though they were one, there was a distinction, but even though there was a distinction, they could not be separated. This can be compared to the head and body being one; there are distinctions, but they cannot be separated. If they are separated, they are finished.
In normal circumstances the Ark and the tabernacle could not be separated when God’s children were worshipping Him because the two were one. Readers of the Old Testament agree that the Ark typifies Christ Himself and that the tabernacle typifies the Body of Christ, the church; in addition, the church is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). The outward appearance of the Ark is the tabernacle. Although there are distinctions between the Ark and the tabernacle, they are joined together; the tabernacle is the expression, location, and outward form and appearance of the Ark. Thus, the tabernacle is the Ark. Similarly, the church is the expression, location, and outward form and appearance of Christ. Christ is in the church in the same way that the Ark is in the tabernacle. The church is joined to Christ, and Christ is in the church; consequently, the church is Christ.