After I was saved, I knew I had been regenerated, but I had no understanding of what had taken place within me. I did not know that I had become a board of acacia wood overlaid with gold. I realized simply that I had been saved and that henceforth I should do my best to glorify God. This concept, of course, is positive. It is wonderful to know that we have been saved and to desire to bring glory to God. However, this knowledge is natural; it does not contain any divine light. It is merely to know that once we were sinners bound for hell, but now, as saved ones destined for heaven, we should behave ourselves properly for the glory of God. It is crucial to realize that when we were saved and regenerated, a change took place in our being. We were fallen and were sinking lower and lower. But when we believed in Christ, He came into us, and we became buoyant. We experienced a change in nature, for a new element was added into our being. This element is nothing less than Christ Himself. Thus, through regeneration we have become acacia wood overlaid with gold. We have the uplifted humanity of Jesus and His divine nature. Now our new being is part of the enlargement of the ark.
As Christians, we have been not only saved, but also changed in our nature and being. Within us we have the uplifted human nature signified by acacia wood and the overlaying divine nature signified by the gold. Anyone who does not possess such a new being is not our brother or sister in Christ. All those who have been chosen by God and regenerated by Him have these two natures—acacia wood and gold.
Through regeneration our humanity has been renewed and reinforced. For example, regeneration causes us to be wiser and more prudent and understanding. If I had never been saved and regenerated, I would not have the understanding I possess today. Furthermore, many believers were like jellyfish before they were regenerated—they seemed to be people without a backbone. They could easily be defeated by anyone or anything. But now, through regeneration, they have become acacia wood. Their will is very strong to resist sin. According to 2 Timothy 1:7, God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, love, and a sober mind. Power is related to the will, and love to the emotion. God’s salvation has indeed changed us; it has made us a new being.
Through regeneration we have the uplifted humanity of Jesus. One of our hymns speaks of being “Jesusly human.” Because we have the uplifted humanity of Jesus, others may find it difficult to understand us. On the one hand, we seem to be ordinary human beings; on the other hand, we are different from others because we have the divine life and the divine nature. The divine nature is expressed in our humanity. This is typified by the gold overlaying the acacia wood.
I appreciate the three words God, good, and gold. True gold and true goodness are both God Himself. This means that if we would be a good man or a gold-man, we must first be a God-man. The acacia wood should express the gold which covers it. If we are not gold-men, we cannot express God. As boards of acacia wood, we should express not ourselves, but the gold which overlays us. This means that what others see in us should be the expression of God.
When you hear about acacia wood overlaid with gold, you may find it difficult to believe that, as a Christian, you are such a board. You may be tempted to say that you are still weak. If you think you are weak and then proclaim that you are weak, you will in fact be weak. In experience what you are will be according to what you think and say. Thus, it is crucial for you to change your thinking. No longer should you consider yourself a jellyfish. In faith you should proclaim that you are a board of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Do not speak according to what you are by nature, but speak according to your faith. If you say that you are weak, you will be weak. If you say that you have no way to handle a particular situation, you will not have a way to handle it. But if you declare that you are strong and have the best way to handle a difficult situation, you will be strong and you will also have the way.
To speak in this way is to fan into flame the gift of God we have received. Recently we have seen in the Life-study of 1 Corinthians that all believers in Christ have received the initial gifts, the gifts of the divine life and the Holy Spirit. Now we must fan these gifts into flame, realizing that God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sober mind. We must see what we are through regeneration and then declare this. Do not look at yourself, but stand on the Lord’s word and act on it. When the Lord Jesus told Peter to step out of the boat and come to Him on the water, Peter did so (Matt. 14:28-29). He walked on the water according to the word of Christ. But when he looked at the environment, his faith disappeared. We should be like Peter in the first matter, but not in the second. According to the Lord’s word, we should say in faith that we are boards of acacia wood overlaid with gold.
Acacia wood signifies the regenerated and uplifted humanity of the new creation in Christ as the basic material, strong for standing. Acacia wood is thus the basic material of the standing boards. The ability to stand does not depend on the gold; it depends on the acacia wood. Although gold is precious, it is too soft to have the necessary standing power. As boards, our standing power is the acacia wood. We stand because we have a regenerated and uplifted humanity. However, we do not express this humanity. Instead, we express divinity. Thus, gold is the church’s expression. The fact that the acacia wood was overlaid with gold signifies that the divine nature of Christ has become one with our human nature to be the expression of God.