The Epistles written by Paul all had the Holy of Holies as the goal. In his Epistles Paul was trying to bring God’s people either from the outer court into the Holy Place or, as was more often the case, from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies. Take the church in Corinth as an example. The majority of the saints were still in the outer court, and a minority were in the Holy Place. In 1 and 2 Corinthians Paul was endeavoring to bring all the saints into the Holy of Holies through the crucified Christ, the Christ who is the riven veil. Paul and his co-workers were the pillars on which Christ as the riven veil was hanging. They were the pillars not only at the entrance, but also in the inner chamber. On the one hand, they bore Christ as the first curtain, the screen; on the other hand, they bore Christ as the second veil, the riven veil. Therefore, with them there was an entrance for God’s chosen people to enter into the enjoyment of God.
It is crucial that we see the all-inclusive death of Christ. In particular, we need to see Christ’s death as portrayed in the tabernacle. To repeat, the record of the tabernacle is presented not only according to doctrine, but also according to spiritual experience. Christ’s unique death, as indicated by the two curtains, has two aspects: the objective aspect related to our sins and the subjective aspect related to our flesh. Writers such as Mrs. Jesse Penn-Lewis speak of the subjective death of Christ; that is, the death of Christ for us. In the book entitled Gospel Dialogue (p. 90), Brother Nee answers a question concerning the difference between Christ dying for us and Christ dying for our sins. The following is his answer:
“Christ died for us” means that Christ died for us sinners. The purpose of His death is to save us sinners. What He has accomplished is for us; that is, to gain us, and to deliver us from ourselves.
“Christ died for our sins” signifies that He died for the sins committed by us sinners. The purpose is to take away our sins so that they may be forgiven, and to save us from the penalty and the power of sin so that we are no longer under its dominion.
Generally, today’s Christians know only the first aspect of Christ’s death, that He died for our sins that we may be forgiven by God. They are not as familiar with the second aspect of His death, that He died for us that we may live to Him in the resurrection life (2 Cor. 5:14-15). In the first aspect of His death He bore our sins (1 Pet. 2:24); in the second He was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). This was the reason Mrs. Penn-Lewis was burdened to put out message after message concerning the subjective experience of the cross. To speak of the cross in this way is to speak of the subjective aspect of Christ’s death.
A. B. Simpson also knew the subjective aspect of the death of Christ. One of his hymns opens with these lines:
I am crucified with Christ,
And the cross hath set me free.
Hymns,#482
Both the writings of Mrs. Penn-Lewis on the subjective experience of the cross and the hymns of A. B. Simpson on being crucified with Christ are neglected by Christians today. This indicates that a great many believers have only a superficial understanding of Christ’s death. Therefore, in His recovery the Lord is leading us into a deeper experiential understanding of the all-inclusive death of Christ.