With the altar of burnt offering we have a picture of the entire New Testament. Here we see the redeeming Christ issuing in the all-inclusive Spirit for His move through His Body. This is portrayed, as we have seen, by the altar with the grating, the rings, and the poles. The Body of Christ bears the testimony of Jesus throughout the earth by the all-inclusive Spirit. This is the revelation of the New Testament. The reality of Christ and His redemption are with the Spirit typified by the four rings. Without the rings, the altar would have no power, strength, or reality. In the same principle, without the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, Christ and His redemption would become empty and powerless. They would have no impact and no reality.
It is common among Christians today to have many things without the life-giving Spirit. In Catholicism there are stories and also certain superstitions, but all this is without the life-giving Spirit. In Protestantism there are many scriptural and fundamental things, but the life-giving Spirit may be lacking. For this reason, in Protestantism there is also the shortage of reality. Regarding this matter, what is the goal of the Lord’s recovery? The goal of the Lord’s recovery is to recover the reality, life, livingness, strength, power, and impact of the matters revealed in the Scriptures.
If you gather together the various matters revealed in the Scriptures without the Spirit, you will have a religion. This religion may be Judaism, Catholicism, or Protestantism. But in each case the principle is the same: there is some kind of ism without the life-giving Spirit. The life-giving Spirit is the life pulse, the reality, the power, and the impact of all the doctrines and stories in the Bible. The Bible contains many wonderful stories and doctrines. However, if we do not have the Triune God processed to become the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, all these stories and doctrines will be just a religious ism. This is not God’s salvation. God’s salvation is Christ as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, who is the ultimate expression of the processed Triune God. It is very important to see this.
As I pointed out in the previous message, I believe that the four rings on the four corners were of one piece with the grating, not something added to the grating. This signifies that the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is the issue of the redeeming Christ. The Spirit is not added to Christ; rather, the Spirit issues out of Christ. On the one hand, we may say that the life-giving Spirit issues from Christ; on the other hand, we may say that Christ issues in the Spirit. Therefore, Christ and the Spirit are one. In nature the rings were the same as the grating. This signifies the identity of Christ with the Spirit.
I have read a number of expositions of the tabernacle with its furniture. Just recently I consulted some books that have pictures of the tabernacle and its furniture. But none of these books covers the crucial significance of the grating with the rings for the poles. If the grating, the rings, and the poles were taken away from the altar, the altar would become a useless, empty shell. The meaning and significance of the altar depend on the grating, the rings, and the poles.
We all need to be deeply impressed with the fact that the grating was on the same level as the propitiation-cover of the ark. This signifies that Christ accomplished redemption according to the requirements of the propitiation-cover. The propitiation-cover represents all the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. The shekinah glory was in the Holy of Holies. Furthermore, the cherubim, representing God’s glory, were on the cover of the ark. These cherubim were observing the situation and functioning as guardians of God’s glory. These cherubim were made of gold, and the ark of the testimony was overlaid with gold. Gold here signifies God’s holy nature. This holiness also has demands, requirements. In addition, inside the ark was the righteous law of God with its righteous requirements. Therefore, related to the propitiation-cover of the ark there was the threefold demand of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness. However, the grating in the altar was on the same level as the propitiation-cover on the ark, indicating that the redemption accomplished by Christ fully measured up to the standard of God’s requirements.
The effectiveness, the efficacy, of Christ’s redemption is also according to the standard of God’s requirements. On the one hand, the ashes fell down; on the other hand, the fragrant aroma ascended. The ashes are the evidence that we have been accepted and forgiven and no longer have problems with God. The problems have been solved, and the ashes remain as a confirmation that it is now possible for us to be with God. The fragrance that ascended from the altar was for God’s satisfaction. Therefore, we are at peace, and God is happy, joyful, and satisfied. This indicates that the cross of Christ meets God’s requirements and satisfies God’s heart; the cross also meets our need and gives us peace. The more we consider the significance of the picture of the altar of burnt offering, the more we realize something regarding the cross of Christ that is not revealed in plain words in the New Testament.