Today we must see the church, and we must also see Christ walking in the midst of the churches. Many of us can testify that when we were in the denominations, we did not see much of Christ, nor did we enjoy much of Christ, but since we have come into the church in the Lord’s recovery, we definitely see the Son of Man walking in the midst of the local churches. As to those who say, “We want Christ but not the church,” the more they speak, the emptier they become. In the church we say, “We want the church!” Why do we want the church? Because Christ is in the church. If we really care for Christ, we must care for the church. We can compare this to the way we drink water. If we say that we want water but not the cup, we cannot drink, because without the cup, there is no water.
In April 1957, several brothers who came from England and Denmark greatly appraised the audience attending a big conference held in Taipei. One elderly brother said that he had never seen such an audience in his whole life of service to the Lord. However, after a period of time, he tried to put down the church. Those brothers stayed among us for eight weeks, and they very much appreciated Chinese tea. One day, we sat down to have some tea in the workers’ house, and while we were enjoying the tea, we seized the opportunity to speak. To be sure, I knew what they were thinking within themselves. They thought that we were good in everything but regrettably had a “fly in the ointment,” that is, the matter of the church. However, they did not dare to speak out or openly oppose. Therefore, that day in the workers’ house, while we were drinking tea, I seized the opportunity to say, “You came here and really appreciate our tea, but unfortunately I have discovered that you are trying to break our teacups and our teapot.” Furthermore, I said, “May I ask you, if you break our teapot and teacups, how can we serve the tea? There could be no tea.” They looked at each other and understood in their heart. Nevertheless, after that time, a small number of younger co-workers were affected by them and began to shout the slogan: “We want Christ but not the church.” This was twenty years ago, and there is no way to deny the fact of what has happened to them. Twenty years of history proves to us that those who want Christ but not the church are finished; they are through and have nothing.
Of course, we do not mean that we “drink the teapot but not the tea.” The reason we want the “teapot” is that we want to “drink tea.” When I drink tea at home, I am very particular about the teapot and the teacup. I may spend many dollars to buy the teapot but only five dollars to buy the tea. May I ask, do you spend more money on the teapot or on the tea? We have been fighting the battle for more than twenty years. Today we are still fighting; the battle is not over Christ but over the church. The focus of the dispute is not Christ but the church. Twenty years’ history proves that those who want only Christ but not the church are doomed to be finished. They care only for the tea but do not care for the teapot. However, I care for both the tea and the teapot. The Bible does not stop at Exodus; rather, it goes on all the way to Revelation. At the end of Revelation there is a huge, universal “teapot” called the New Jerusalem. This is a great and unique “teapot.” The divine revelation does not stop at Exodus or Zechariah but goes all the way to Revelation.
Now let us consider again what the golden lampstand is. We have seen that the golden lampstand is the Triune God. The Father is the substance, the Son is the form, and the Spirit is the expression. All those who have seen the light will say, “Hallelujah, the golden lampstand is the Triune God!” Now I would like to point out a few more matters. First, the Bible says that there are seven lamps on the golden lampstand, and the book of Zechariah tells us that the seven lamps are the seven eyes of Jehovah. The seven eyes are equal to the seven lamps. Who, then, is Jehovah? Jehovah is equal to the lampstand. The lampstand with the seven lamps is Jehovah with the seven eyes. This is very clear. The seven lamps are the seven eyes; hence, the lampstand is Jehovah.
Second, these seven eyes are the seven eyes of the Lamb (Rev. 5:6). Originally there was the lampstand; then there was a progression from the lampstand to Jehovah and another progression from Jehovah to the Lamb. This tells us that the lampstand is Jehovah, that Jehovah is the Lamb, that the seven lamps on the lampstand are the seven eyes of Jehovah, and that the seven eyes of Jehovah are the seven eyes of the Lamb. Moreover, Zechariah 3:9 says that these seven eyes are also the seven eyes of the stone; therefore, this stone is equal to the Lamb. The lampstand is equal to Jehovah, Jehovah is equal to the Lamb, and the Lamb is equal to the stone. These four are one. The seven lamps of the lampstand are the seven eyes of Jehovah; the seven eyes of Jehovah are the seven eyes of the Lamb; and the seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven eyes of the stone.
Do not consider this to be simple. I do not know why our God did not present these things in a simpler way when He inspired the writing of the holy Scriptures! More than twenty years ago when I studied these items—the lampstand, Jehovah, the Lamb, and the stone—I had a very hard time with them. Today, however, I have found the way for you. If I had not found the way for you, then even after reading Exodus 25, Zechariah 3 and 4, and Revelation 1, 4, and 5 for a whole day, you would not be able to come to a proper conclusion. What are these four matters? They are the lampstand, Jehovah, the Lamb, and the stone. Now, we will see three other matters: the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits.