But this is still not all. There is also the ark in the Holy of Holies. The ark originally contained only one thing: the law which was the testimony of God. Most Christians have a poor concept of the law. They consider the law as ten items we must obey or else we will be condemned. But this is wrong, for the law is the testimony of God. This means that the law is the very definition and explanation of God. The law gives us a picture of what God is. Without the law, no one can know what kind of God we have. It is by the law that we have a complete picture of God.
The law shows us that God is a God of holiness, a God of righteousness, a God of love, and a God of light. The Ten Commandments reveal to us that God is such a God. The law is the picture that portrays such a holy and righteous God of love and light. No one has ever seen God, but the law describes and defines Him. Therefore, the law is the testimony of God, and as the testimony and definition of God, it is put into the ark. This means all that God is was put in Christ.
Suppose I take a photograph of you. This is a kind of testimony. If someone asks me about your appearance, I will show them your picture. The picture is your testimony. We must realize that the law is God’s testimony, which means that it is God’s definition, God’s explanation. So when the law is put into the ark, it signifies that all that God is, is now in Christ.
The ark is Christ because it was made of two things: wood overlaid with gold. Wood signifies the human nature of Christ, and gold signifies His divine nature. He is a man, and He is also the very God. He is the God-man as the ark made of gold and wood. In this golden, living One there is the testimony of God. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily (Col. 2:9). This is typified by the law as the testimony being placed into the ark. Thus, in the ark is the fullness of God, and in the tabernacle is the ark. The ark is the content of the tabernacle, and the fullness of God is the content of the ark. This means that God is the content of Christ, and Christ is the content of the church life.
What is the content of the local church where you are? Is it Christ, or something else? This is the problem. The content of the church life must be Christ, not anything else. And the content of Christ is the fullness of God.
Within the ark is the law which is the description of God, and upon the ark are the two cherubim. These two cherubim are called the cherubim of glory. If we read the Bible carefully, we will see that glory is God expressed, God manifested. When God is manifested, it is glory. It is like the light of electricity that is expressed when it shines out. Without the shining, electricity is just electricity. But by shining, electricity becomes the light, and the light is the glory, that is, the expression and the manifestation of the electricity. Thus, glory is God manifested and God expressed. Within the ark is all that God is, and upon the ark God is expressed. Within, God is contained; without, God is expressed as the glory.
Have you ever looked at Jesus as He is portrayed in the four Gospels? He is the real ark. Within Him is the content of God and all that God is, and upon Him God is expressed and manifested as the glory. Within Jesus is all that God is, and upon Jesus is the manifested God. Thus, within Him there is the law, and upon Him there are the two cherubim. This does not mean two kinds of glory, but a testimony of glory. Two is the number meaning testimony. The two cherubim testify to the expression of what God is.
Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are sinful, so we are short of God’s glory. The glory of God is so high. We may have some goodness, but compared with God’s glory our goodness is short. There may be nothing sinful in our goodness, and we may feel that we are right. Even if this is true, we are still short of God’s glory. We may say that we have never hated others, but we are short. We may say that we love others, but we do not love others as much as God does. Our love is short of God’s love.
In China there were many disciples of Confucius who claimed to be the best beings on earth. However, when some of them read the four Gospels their eyes were opened to see who Jesus is. Then they prostrated themselves on the floor and confessed, “Lord, I am so short; I am good, but my goodness is so short of Yours.”
The living of Jesus manifested God. The daily walk of Jesus was the very expression of God. This is the glory—God manifested and God expressed. All human beings are short of this glory. We are good, but can we compare with Jesus? We love others, but can we compare our love with that of Jesus? When we do, we see how short we are. And this shortage is sin, because man was made in the image of God for the purpose of expressing God. Man was made for God’s glory; that is, man was made to express God. To be short of God’s glory and manifestation means that we are sinful.
I am afraid that, if before reading this chapter someone were to ask us if we were sinful, we would say that we were not so sinful. We are not hateful, and we are not wrong in so many things. But if we have light to see how short of God’s glory we are, we will see how sinful we are. When we see the daily living of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels, we see what glory is, and how short of it we fall. Jesus is the ark and upon Him are the cherubim whose glory condemns us. This glory testifies of all that God is, but it condemns us. Even if we are good and loving, we are still condemned because our love is short of God’s glory.
The glory must be expressed in the church all the time. The church must be God manifested and God expressed— this is the measurement. The standard of morality is not the measurement of the church life. The measurement of the church life is God manifested. Yes, we may love, but we love by ourselves, in ourselves, with ourselves, and for ourselves. Everything is for ourselves. This kind of love is short of God’s glory. God can never be manifested in this kind of love. Maybe we are so humble, but we are humble by ourselves, in ourselves, and for ourselves. This kind of humility can never express God. The church life needs a divine love that expresses God, not a human love. It must be the kind of love that has God in it. The church must have the two cherubim as the manifestation of God’s glory, and this glory is continually watching and finding the shortages.
Most of us do not have much conviction that we are sinful. But suppose the Lord were to come to us and manifest His glory. All of us would fall to the floor and ask for something to cover us. We would have the sense that we are so short of His glory. Compared with others, we may be better. They are humble, but we are more humble. If they love, we can love more. But we cannot compare with God’s glory. When God’s glory is present, there is no comparison. Our shortage will come to the surface, and we will sense how sinful we are. We are sinful, not because we are evil or dirty, but because we are short of God’s glory.