With the tabernacle and the court of the tabernacle, there are two aspects of God’s expression. Outwardly, God’s expression is righteousness, signified by the linen. Inwardly, God’s expression is holiness, signified by the gold. How can we enter into the realm, the sphere, of God’s righteousness? We enter into this realm only by passing through the gate of God’s judgment, where everything related to us is judged. Then we are qualified to bear God’s righteousness as His expression.
Furthermore, we also have the ground, the way, and the means to enter into the gold, into God’s nature, and to enjoy the divine nature as everything to us. As we have pointed out, in the Holy Place and in the Holy of Holies everything is golden. This signifies that God’s nature is everything to us. By enjoying the divine nature, we have the inward expression of God, that is, holiness as the expression of God’s nature, of God’s being. God’s outward expression is related to what He does, His doings. God’s inward expression is related to what He is, to His being. To be in the Holy of Holies is to be in God’s golden nature.
I hope that we all shall realize something vital concerning God’s judgment. Everyone who desires to come into God’s building must be judged. Apart from the gate of judgment, there is no way for us to enter into God’s building. It is through the judgment of God that we enter into His house.
John 16:8 says that the Spirit of reality “will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment.” This means that He will exercise God’s judgment on the world in a positive way, not that people may perish, but that they may be saved. True repentance is to be under God’s judgment. Whenever a person repents, he places himself under the judgment of God. Only the experience of judgment can keep our spiritual life and our church life stable.
A proper human life is a life constantly under judgment. In order to have a pleasant married life, both the husband and the wife need to live a life that is always being judged. But if a husband tries to justify himself all the time, he will have problems with his marriage. A basic cause of separation and divorce is self-justification. Whenever a husband feels that he is justified, that he is right in every way and in everything, he will automatically condemn his wife. If she is one who has such an attitude, she will condemn her husband. As a result, it will be impossible for them to stay together any longer. The husband justifies himself and condemns the wife, and the wife justifies herself and condemns the husband. This makes a pleasant married life impossible.
But suppose the husband condemns himself and feels that there is nothing good in him, that not even his good intentions are acceptable to God. By the Lord’s mercy and grace, he remains under God’s judgment. Then he will say to himself, “Whether or not my wife is wrong is not my business. My concern is to remain under God’s judgment.” If both the husband and wife have this attitude, they will have a good feeling toward each other, and they will enjoy a very pleasant married life.
In the church life we also need to be under God’s judgment. If we justify ourselves, we shall not be able to stay in the church life. The more I justify myself, the more I shall condemn others. Eventually, I shall leave the church. Those who justify themselves and condemn others are not able to stay with others. In the church God’s way is the way of judgment.