In the presence of God, the priest wears the breastplate. There is something built up with gold and precious stones, the divine nature, and the transforming work. All the stones are something transformed. Therefore, to arrive at the transformation of building requires four main stops. The first stop is for redemption. The second is for the divine dispensation of life. The third is for the divine administration in light. Then eventually we come to the last stop which is the divine building, a building built up with the divine nature and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. There is redemption, dispensation, administration, and building. At the altar there is the blood, at the showbread table there is the life as the nourishment, at the lampstand there is the light, and eventually at the breastplate, there is the building by transformation. The process starts from the blood and passes through the nourishment of life and the enlightening of light to bring us into the transformation. Then our whole being is transformed into the pieces of precious stones. We are fully changed and transformed in nature. There is no clay, only precious stones. Then we are the proper material to be built up with others in the golden divine nature.
At the table there is the number twelve, and on the breastplate there is also the number twelve. But the same number is grouped in two different ways. At the table, twelve is composed of two by six. Two is the number of testimony and six is the number of man, because man was made on the sixth day. Here in the dispensation of life there is the testimony of man.
On the breastplate twelve is composed of four times three. Four is the number of creation, and three is the number of the Triune God. In Revelation there are four living creatures before God. Four times three means that man is mingled with the Triune God. On the breastplate there is the multiplication which is the mingling of divinity with humanity. The divine nature is mingled with the human nature. This is the building. The building of God is nothing other than the mingling of God with man.
There are still another two things to be added to the breastplate, the Urim and Thummim. The Hebrew word “Urim” means light. The word “Thummim” means perfection. This is quite meaningful. Without these two things we do not have the light, and we do not have the perfection. We need that which is added by these two things.
The twelve pieces of stones with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel represent the transformation of the people of God. But with the people of God themselves, there is no light and perfection. Regardless of how spiritual we are, just by ourselves we are still in darkness. We do not have the light. Regardless of how spiritual we are and how much we have been transformed, just by ourselves we do not have perfection.
Therefore, we can realize that both the light and the perfection are Christ Himself. The need of these two things to complete the breastplate means that Christ is needed. Regardless of how spiritual we are, and how much we have been changed in nature, if we are just by ourselves, we are not the light and we do not have the light. Neither is there any perfection. Only Christ Himself is the light, and only Christ Himself is perfection. We will never reach a place where we do not need Christ.
The material of the breastplate is not clay; it is transformed pieces of transparent, precious stones. They are even shining, but they are not the light. They need the light to be added, then they will shine. They themselves are not perfect. They do not have the perfection in themselves. Only Christ is perfection.
The Lord is so wise, for He has kept these two things a mystery. Christ is a real mystery. He is really mysterious. No one can define or describe what we mean. Regardless of how completely we are redeemed, how richly we have been nourished with the life, how thoroughly we have been enlightened with the light, and how absolutely we are transformed into pieces of precious stones, without Christ added we are still in darkness and we do not have the perfection. Even the most spiritual persons need Christ all the time.
The tabernacle is a type giving us all the aspects of Christ. Christ is the offering, Christ is the bread of life, Christ is the light, and Christ is the incense. And now even on the breastplate Christ is the hidden light and the mysterious perfection. No words can fully express how much Christ is to us. How we need Christ! Even if we have attained to the highest spirituality, we still need Christ to be added as light and perfection.