Both the completing ministry of Paul and the mending ministry of John speak of the things related to Christ as the ark with the propitiatory cover. In a foregoing message we saw that in Romans 3:25 Paul says concerning Christ, “Whom God set forth a propitiation-cover through faith in His blood.” God has set forth Christ Jesus as a propitiatory cover. As the propitiation cover, Christ is the One who shed His blood and who shines with the glory of God.
The Greek word rendered propitiation-cover in Romans 3:25 is hilasterion. It refers to the place of propitiation. For this reason, in Hebrews 9:5 it is used for the cover, the lid, of the ark. In Exodus 25:17-22 and Leviticus 16:12-16, the Septuagint also uses this word for the cover of the ark. In Hebrews 2:17 Paul uses the Greek word hilaskomai, which means to appease, to reconcile one by satisfying the other’s demand; hence, it means to propitiate. According to Hebrews 2:17, the Lord Jesus made propitiation for our sins to reconcile us to God by satisfying God’s righteous demands on us. Both in 1 John 2:2 and 4:10 the Greek word hilasmos is used. This word denotes something which propitiates, that is, a propitiatory sacrifice. In 1 John 2:2 and 4:10 the Lord Jesus is the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, two apostles, the completing apostle and the mending apostle, used Greek words related to propitiation. Both were concerned with matters related to Christ as the living ark.
Translators sometimes have had difficulty with the words hilasterion, hilasmos, and hilaskomai. Hilasterion denotes the place of propitiation; hilasmos denotes a propitiatory sacrifice; and hilaskomai means to propitiate. Propitiation is needed when one party is indebted to another and unable to meet that party’s demands and requirements. Should a third party appear on the scene, he may solve the problem between the first two parties by paying what the first party owes and causing the second party to be satisfied with this payment. This is precisely what the Lord Jesus did in offering Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice to solve our problems with God.
We praise the Lord that Christ is not only the One who propitiates and the propitiatory sacrifice, but even the place of propitiation, the propitiatory cover. Here God is satisfied, and we are happy. Here on the propitiatory cover God can meet with us and speak with us. Therefore, with Christ as the propitiatory cover of the ark, God and man can meet and have fellowship under a mutually satisfying situation.
The two cherubim of glory with their faces toward the propitiatory cover signify that God’s glory has been satisfied with what Christ has done. The propitiatory blood sprinkled upon the propitiatory cover (Lev. 16:14-15) satisfies the requirements of God’s law under the cover and God’s glory above the cover and thus gives peace to man’s conscience.
Inside the ark, under the propitiatory cover, is the law with its demands, which exposed us and condemned us. Furthermore, above the propitiatory cover is God’s glory watching and observing everything that takes place. But through Christ both the demands of God’s law and the requirements of God’s glory have been satisfied. Now we can meet with God in glory on the propitiatory cover sprinkled with the blood. By the lid of the ark with the redeeming blood sprinkled on it the whole situation on the sinner’s side is fully taken care of. Therefore, upon this lid as the propitiatory cover, God can meet with the people who broke His righteous law without any governmental contradiction of His righteousness, even under the observing of the cherubim, which bear His glory overshadowing the lid of the ark. Because the law with its demands is covered and God’s glory is satisfied, God can speak with sinners, and these sinners can be at peace with God and receive grace from Him. Therefore, this propitiatory cover equals the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16).
When we look at the redeeming blood on the propitiatory cover, our conscience is at peace. We know that Christ died for us and that the blood, the emblem of His death, has been sprinkled for us on the propitiatory cover to satisfy the requirements of God’s righteousness. At such a time God may ask, “Child, are you happy?” and we may respond, “Oh, yes, I am very happy, Father.” Then the Father may say, “I am much happier than you are. Let us embrace and enjoy intimate fellowship.” This is the experience and enjoyment of Christ as the propitiatory cover on the ark of the testimony.
This vision of Christ as the ark with the propitiatory cover is wonderful and inexhaustible. I hope that after hearing of such a Christ, the Christ who lives in you will become much more precious to you than ever before. The Christ who dwells in us is not simply the Lamb; He is the ark with the cap, the top part. He is the all-inclusive Christ living in us for our continual enjoyment and experience. Because we have such a Christ, we need not be troubled by anything. God’s righteousness does not condemn us. On the contrary, His glory justifies us, and God Himself is happy, knowing that everything between us and Him is in harmony and that we can freely enjoy a mutually satisfying fellowship.
The result of this intimate fellowship with God upon Christ as the ark in the Holy of Holies is that we are infused with God. When we contact God in this way and are infused with Him, we are different from what we were before. Eventually, when we enter into the Holy of Holies to be infused time after time, we shall be transformed and become transparent. The ultimate issue will be the New Jerusalem. This is the experience of Christ as the ark of the testimony.