Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” There are two things related to the creation of man: image and authority. Man was created in the image of God, and was committed with the divine authority of God.
Now let us read Genesis 2:9. As we read it we must keep in mind these two words, image and authority. “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life...” Here, we have the word “life.” Image and authority are mentioned in chapter one, and the matter of life is mentioned in chapter two. Then Genesis 2:10 says, “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden.” In this verse we have the “river” or, in other words, the “flow.” The river which waters the garden is the flow of life. Then verses 11 and 12 say, “The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium (pearl) and the onyx stone.” In this verse, we see the gold, pearl, and onyx which represent transformation.
In these two chapters are the image of God with the divine authority, the life of God, the river as the flow of life, and the transformed materials of gold, pearl, and precious stones. If we put all these words together by the inspiration and anointing of the Spirit, we will see that though man was created in the image of God and committed with the divine authority, he still needs the life of God, that by the flow of this life he will be transformed into gold, pearl, and the onyx stone. Later, we will see that all of this is for God’s building.
God created man according to His image with the intention that man might be His very expression. As he expresses God, man will be in the divine authority. To fulfill this purpose, man must have the divine life. Only God’s life can express God and bring man into the divine nature which is signified by the gold. Life always has a kind of nature. Then by the life with this nature man will be transformed into pearl and precious stones which are good for the building of God’s house.
Let us read Exodus 26:29, “And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.” In other words, all the wooden boards are united and put together as one with the gold and in the gold. If we read this chapter carefully, we will see that the forty-eight boards for the tabernacle are all one. They are not one in themselves, for in themselves they would fall apart, but they are one in the gold. All the boards are overlaid with gold, and on the overlaying gold are the golden rings. Within the golden rings are the golden bars which unite all the boards together as one. They are not one in the wooden nature, but in the golden nature. As we have seen, the wooden nature signifies the human nature, and the golden nature signifies the divine nature. We all are the boards. In our natural life, or human nature, we are just parts, but in the divine nature, the gold, we all are one. We are all one in life with the divine nature of God. Here we can see the building of God. All the pieces are united and fitly framed together as a building.
Exodus 28 gives us a clearer view of the building. This is the building upon the garments of the priests. “And thou shalt take two onyx stones...thou shalt make them to be set in ouches (settings) of gold” (Exo. 28:9, 11). These two onyx stones are set into the gold. We know that this means building. Even the onyx stones by themselves are separated, but after being set into the gold, they are built up together. Then verses 13 and 14 say, “And thou shalt make ouches (settings) of gold; and two chains of pure gold...” The function of the chains is to bind the pieces together. This is the building united and built up together by the pure gold.
In Exodus 28:17-20, four rows of twelve precious stones are on the breastplate of the priests. All these stones are set in enclosings of gold. Gold is the setting which holds all the precious stones together. They are united together as one by being set into the gold.
“And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathed work of pure gold” (Exo. 28:22). The chains are binding and the settings are holding. It is by the binding and holding of the gold that all the pieces are one. So I repeat that the building is on the garments of the priests. It is a building with the gold holding and combining all the precious stones together. And the precious stones come from the transforming work of the divine life. As seen in Exodus 26 and 28, the precious materials are built up together in the divine life and nature.
Now we must read 1 Corinthians 3:11-12: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones...” We must build on Christ with gold, silver, and precious stones.
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into (of) one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). We are in one Spirit baptized into one body, and now we are drinking of the one Spirit. Within, the Spirit is the drinking water; without, the Spirit is the baptizing water. In other words, we are in the water to be filled with the water. All believers are in the Spirit to be filled with the Spirit. Outwardly we are in the Spirit, and inwardly we are filled with the Spirit. We are all in the Spirit and filled with the Spirit.
Now we must read Ephesians 2:22. “In Whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” We are all being built together as a dwelling place of God in spirit. We are being built up together in spirit.
Also, 1 Peter 2:5 says, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood...” It is not a wooden house or a physical house, but a spiritual house. And this spiritual house is the holy priesthood. We are the living stones built up together as a spiritual house—a house in the spirit and filled with the Spirit. And this spiritual house is a holy body of priests separated unto God in the spirit.
Next, we must read Revelation 4:2-3. “Immediately I was in spirit; and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and One sitting upon the throne, And He Who was sitting was like in appearance to a jasper stone and a sardius...” The precious stone, jasper, signifies the image of God, because God looks like jasper and sardius stone. This verse must be read with Revelation 21:18: “And the building material of its wall was jasper...” This means that the wall of the city is in the image of God. It gives the impression of the appearance of God. When we look at the city, its appearance is just like that of God’s image. God looks like jasper, and the wall of the city is built up with jasper, so the appearance of the city must be like the image of God.
“And the city was pure gold, like pure glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone...” (Rev. 21:18-19). Then the twelve different kinds of precious stones are listed. “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was, respectively, of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold as transparent glass” (Rev. 21:21). The city is of gold with the precious stones set upon it and with the pearls as gates.
Finally, we must read Revelation 22:1-2: “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
I believe that we have gone through the whole Bible from the beginning to the end. The Bible opens with the image of God and with the divine authority. Then there is the tree of life and a flowing river producing precious materials. The flowing of the living water will first of all bring the divine life with the divine nature into us. This life is flowing within us all the time to transform us into gold, pearl, and onyx stone in order that we might be built up together as one in the divine nature. Then we become a spiritual house, a living body of priests to express the image of God under His divine authority. This is the priesthood. So we can see that the priesthood covers the whole vision of the Scriptures.