If we do not have a Christ who issues in the Spirit, then to us Christ is merely a historical figure, and His redemption is nothing more than a doctrine. For many Christians today, Christ is just a historical Person, and Christ’s redemption is only a doctrine. They do not have any personal experience of Christ or of His redemption. On the contrary, to them, Christ and His redemption are strictly objective. Christ is historically objective, and redemption is doctrinally objective.
I can testify that, before I was saved, I also was a person for whom Christ and redemption were objective matters. At that time, I did not have any experience of Christ or of His redemption. Nevertheless, because Christianity was my family religion, I defended it. I defended Christ and the cross. But one day, I was genuinely saved. I contacted the Lord Jesus in a real way, I received Him, and I had a personal experience of His redemption.
Today there are millions of so-called Christians who have Christ only as a historical Redeemer and redemption only as a doctrine. They do not have a personal Christ or a personal redemption. Do you know the reason for this? The reason is that for them Christ and His redemption have been separated from the Spirit. Therefore, in the Lord’s recovery we must touch Christ in the Spirit and minister Him in the Spirit. Whenever we preach the gospel, we must do so in the Spirit. Our grating must have four rings. Our redeeming Christ must issue in the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit.
The New Testament is composed in such a way that it reveals the grating issuing in the four rings. In the four Gospels we see the redeeming Christ issuing in the Spirit. At the end of the Gospels and in the Acts, we have the Spirit. Furthermore, throughout the Epistles the Spirit is emphasized. For example, Paul charges us to walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). Finally, in the last book of the Bible, Revelation, we have the sevenfold, intensified Spirit (Rev. 1:4). According to Revelation 22:17, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come.” Therefore, according to the New Testament, the Spirit is the issue of the redeeming Christ. This is the grating with the four rings.
Now we need to say a word concerning the poles. The poles were staves. Both the rings and the poles must have been very strong in order to bear the weight of the altar. Remember, the altar was about seven and a half feet square, and it was made of acacia wood overlaid with bronze. Thus, it must have been very heavy. Because of the weight of the altar, more than four men must have been needed to carry it. Perhaps as many as sixteen persons were needed to move the altar. The Bible, of course, does not tell us the number. The point here is that the carrying of the altar was done by a corporate body.
By using the words “corporate” and “body” I wish to point out that the move of the cross is by the church. The company of men bearing the altar signify the move of the cross by the church. And what kind of church is this? It must be a church with the four rings, not a church which has been deprived of the Spirit, but a church that remains in the Spirit.
The picture of the altar portrays the redeeming Christ, the all-inclusive Spirit, and the church. It is not sufficient for the cross of Christ to be preached by individuals. If we are individualistic, we lose the power necessary to preach the cross. The cross of Christ must be preached by the church. In other words, it is the Body which carries the cross of Christ, which carries the redeeming Christ in the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit.
As we consider the type of the altar, we see that the altar with the grating, the rings, and the poles signifies the entire New Testament. The New Testament reveals the redeeming Christ, the Spirit, and the church. According to the New Testament, Christ, the redeeming One, issues in the all- inclusive Spirit, and in this Spirit, the church, the Body, bears Christ and His cross. The altar moves by the poles in the rings upon the shoulders of a corporate body. We today are included in the number of those carrying the altar. We have put our shoulders under the poles, and we are carrying the redeeming Christ in the all-inclusive Spirit.
What we need today is the full realization of the redeeming Christ and the genuine experience of the Spirit. We need to realize Christ and His redemption, and we need to experience the Spirit who is the issue of the redeeming Christ. Then we shall become a living church carrying this testimony to the four corners of the earth.
In Revelation 5 the seven Spirits, which are the seven eyes of the Lamb, are sent throughout all the earth. However, these seven Spirits are not sent alone; the seven Spirits are sent with the churches. Therefore, if we do not go to a certain place, the Spirit will not have a way to go there either, for the Spirit goes in us, with us, and through us, the members of the Body. If the poles do not go to a certain part of the earth, how can the rings go to that place? The rings go wherever the poles go. When the poles move, the rings move also. Likewise, when the poles stop, the rings also stop. This means that if there were no Christians on earth today, there would be no move of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit moves with the believers. In other words, the Spirit moves with the church. The church bears the power of the Spirit.
Those who carried the altar first carried the poles. When they bore the poles, they also bore the rings, and when they bore the rings, they bore the grating with the entire altar. This is the reason I say that the altar with the grating, rings, and poles covers the whole New Testament. As we consider this picture, we need to ask ourselves where we are today. We all must have our shoulders under the poles that are in the rings bearing the grating. We must be those bearing the redeeming Christ in the all-inclusive Spirit as a testimony.