To be within the veil is to enter into the Holy of Holies where the Lord is enthroned in glory, and to go outside the camp is to come out of religion, whence the Lord was cast out in rejection. This signifies that we must be in our spirit, where, experientially speaking, the practical Holy of Holies is today, and outside religion, where the practical camp is today. The more we are in our spirit enjoying the heavenly Christ, the more we shall be outside religion following the suffering Jesus. To be in our spirit to enjoy the glorified Christ enables us to come outside religion to follow the rejected Jesus. The more we contact the heavenly Christ in His glory in our spirit, the more we shall go to the lowly Jesus in His suffering outside religion. To contact Christ in the heavens, enjoying His glorification, energizes us to take the narrow pathway of the cross on the earth and to bear His reproach. The book of Hebrews firstly gives us a clear vision of the heavenly Christ and the heavenly Holy of Holies, and then it shows us how to walk the pathway of the cross on the earth, that is, to go forth unto Jesus outside the camp, outside religion, bearing His reproach. To go forth unto Jesus outside the camp, bearing His reproach, is to take the pathway of the cross.
The Holy of Holies, the pathway of the cross (signified by going forth unto Jesus outside the camp, bearing His reproach), and the kingdom are three crucial matters set forth in this book. The Holy of Holies enables us to take the pathway of the cross, and the pathway of the cross ushers us into the kingdom in its manifestation. To enter into the kingdom in its manifestation we need to take the pathway of the cross, and to take the pathway of the cross we need to enter into the Holy of Holies within the veil. The Holy of Holies is crucial to our Christian walk.
If we would enter within the veil, we must get into our spirit (4:12). To be within the veil is to be in our spirit, and to be outside the camp is to be outside anything religious. We must not remain in any camp, but get into our spirit. If you remain in the religious camp, you are still camping outside your spirit. But we are no longer camping—we are in the Holy of Holies. The writer seemed to be telling the Hebrew believers, “Brothers, get out of your camping mind and get into your spirit.” Today we also must exercise to bring our whole being into the spirit. We must not remain in our camping mentality, for that mentality is religious. Again and again we need to enter within the veil by entering into our spirit.
It is difficult for Christian readers to understand why the writer of Hebrews mentions the spirit in 4:12. As he is comparing Christ with Judaism, he suddenly says, “The word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit.” Now we understand that this verse shows us the key to experiencing Christ—our spirit which is joined to the Holy of Holies. Therefore, we must discern our spirit from our camping mentality, from our camping soul. We must no longer camp in our mind but turn to our spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ is with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). Grace is with our spirit (Gal. 6:18). We have seen that we must take grace, but where do we go to take grace? We must go to our spirit. The Holy of Holies, God’s economy, and even the fulfillment of God’s economy are all related to our spirit. What we need today is to enter within the veil by getting into the spirit.
Suppose some young brothers are fighting with one another. This is a type of wild camping. But do not think they need some religious ones to tell them to behave themselves, to learn patience, and to camp religiously. That would merely be to teach them how to camp in their religious soul. This is not to enter within the veil. The brothers who are fighting with one another need to turn to their spirit. Once they turn to the spirit and take grace, they will taste Christ as their hidden manna, partake of Him as the budding rod, and experience the regulating of the law of life. Then they will not need anyone to teach them patience, humility, or the lesson of giving in.
God’s economy is the dispensation of the Triune God into our being. This builds up the Body of Christ, producing material for the building up of the church. This transpires in the Holy of Holies within the veil, which is joined to our spirit. What a difference between this and religion! If we experience Christ in such an inner way, we shall see how much of the religious camping element is still in our blood. Spontaneously, we shall begin to hate this religious element and loathe our camping self. We all need to enter within the veil that the Lord may bring us into such a realization.
If we are faithful to the Lord and enter within the veil day after day and week after week, we shall discover that much of our religious background still remains within us. The brothers with a Jewish background will find that the Jewish religious element is still in them, and those with a Presbyterian or Southern Baptist background will discover that those camping elements remain in their blood. Many times in the past you have probably measured or estimated the condition of the church life by your religious background, comparing the church life with that camping element. But the more we enter within the veil and are transfused and infused with the heavenly Christ, the more we shall say, “Religious background, get away from me!” Nevertheless, although it seems that we have cast out the camping element, some of it still clings to us. Therefore, we need to continue to enter within the veil and go outside the camp.
A very touchy camping element is the matter of tongue speaking. Those who have had a tongue-speaking background often ask, “What about tongue speaking in the church? Where do you put this? Do you think that it is useless?” Perhaps you have asked such questions many times. How difficult it is to leave our religious background! I am not condemning tongue speaking. We are for anything that is for God’s economy, for the dispensing of the Triune God into us for the building up of the Body of Christ. We are not for any kind of religion, whether it is fundamental, Pentecostal, or charismatic. We are for just one thing—the dispensation of the Triune God into our being that we might be transformed and built together as His corporate expression and that we might terminate this age and usher in the kingdom. This can only be accomplished by our entering within the veil to experience the ark of God’s testimony with the hidden manna, the budding rod, and the law of life. By experiencing these things, we are infused, empowered, strengthened, and enabled to go outside of every camp. My real burden in all these messages on Hebrews is that we may all enter within the veil and go outside the camp. This is the goal and the ultimate conclusion of this book.
When we enter within the veil by getting into our spirit, we taste the sweetness of the heavenly Christ that we may be enabled to go outside the camp, forsaking the earth and its love. As we stay within the veil, we also have our spirit filled with the glory of the heavenly Christ that our heart may be freed from the possession of the earth’s enjoyment outside the camp. Furthermore, within the veil we behold the glorified Christ that we may be attracted to follow the suffering Jesus outside the camp. Beholding His countenance in heaven enables us to trace His footsteps on earth. As we enter within the veil, we are infused with resurrection power (Phil. 3:10) that we may be empowered to walk the pathway of the cross outside the camp. We also participate in the ministry of the heavenly Christ that we may be equipped to minister Him to the thirsty spirits outside the camp. Here we enjoy the Lord’s best that we may be enriched to meet the needs of people outside the camp.
Verses 20 and 21 say, “Now the God of peace Who brought up from among the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of an eternal covenant, equip you in every good work for the doing of His will, doing in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever, Amen.” By entering within the veil and going outside the camp we are equipped in every good work. In this way God is doing in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ. He is doing this that we may be able to do His will. God “works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). From beginning to end, this book presents to us a heavenly Christ. Only here, with the word “doing in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight,” does this book imply the indwelling of Christ. It is through the indwelling Christ whom we enjoy within the veil in our spirit that God works in us that we may do His will.
In verse 20 the Lord Jesus is spoken of as being the “great Shepherd of the sheep.” The “sheep” here are the flock which is the church. This confirms the understanding that everything covered in this chapter is for the church life with the experience of the unchanging Christ as our sin offering, through whom we have been redeemed, and as our great Shepherd, by whom we are now being fed.
Verse 20 also speaks of an “eternal covenant.” Hebrews is not a book concerning temporal things, such as the things of the old covenant; it is a book of eternal things, things which are beyond the limit of time and space, such as eternal salvation (5:9), eternal judgment (6:2), eternal redemption (9:12), eternal Spirit (9:14), eternal inheritance (9:15), and eternal covenant (13:20). The new covenant is not only a better covenant (7:22; 8:6), but also an eternal covenant. It is eternally effective because of the eternal efficacy of Christ’s blood with which it was enacted (Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20).
This book closes with the word of blessing, “Grace be with you all. Amen.” If we would realize and participate in all the things unveiled in this book, we need grace. To take grace (12:28) we need to come forward to the throne of grace that we may find grace for our timely need (4:16). It is by touching the throne of grace in the Holy of Holies through the exercise of our spirit that we enjoy the Spirit of grace (10:29) and that our heart is confirmed by grace (13:9). By such an enjoyment of grace we run the race which is set before us (12:1) to reach the goal of God’s economy.