Therefore those who are truly His are born again they have a life which is from God, eternal life, never to perish. Nothing but life can suit the living God. While the primary reference here may be to the temple, the thought is similar: there is a living Stone at the foundation living stones are built upon Him to be a living house for the living God. We have a similar thought, as showing the house of God, in 1 Peter: 'To whom coming, as unto a living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ' (1 Peter 2:4-5). That is what 'the Church of the living God' is. As we have already seen, the boards form the house of God believers resting upon the redemption of Christ and complete in Him, are 'builded together as an habitation of God through the Spirit' (Eph. The apostle is showing Timothy, in this epistle of assembly order, how he should conduct himself in the house of God. In this wonderful scripture we have two great facts presented to us, which we may call the casket and the jewel which the casket contains. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manfest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory' (1 Tim. The tabernacle, however was distinctively God's abode in the wilderness, and it is as connected with this place of pilgrim-separation, testimony and responsibility, that the believer is seen in connection with the person of the Lord, just as we learned in connection with the boards: 'That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground (or support) of the truth. 3:12)? And what will be the heavenly and eternal occupation of the redeemed but to hold up in praise and adoration the perfections of their Saviour and Lord? But looking at the house of God in its final state, His eternal abode, does not our Lord promise that, 'Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out' (Rev. This shows a close connection at least between the veil and the clasps, of which we have spoken in pages 84 and 93 in lecture 4.īut how can the people of God in any sense be represented in His house as holding up Christ? It can only be perfect grace that will put them into such a place of unspeakable and transcendent privilege. There were four pillars of shitting wood overlaid with gold, each resting upon one socket of silver their hooks were of gold, and from these the veil was suspended.* It seems that the veil was hung up directly under the golden clasps which united the two sets of curtains (Ex. It was made of the same materials as the ten beautiful curtains - blue, purple, scarlet and fine twined linen, with cherubim but for some reason the blue is mentioned first, instead of the fine linen, which may suggest that as the cherubim for the curtains were embroidered upon a groundwork of white linen, those for the veil were put upon a ground of blue, and the remaining colors were used in forming the figures. The veil which hung before this holiest of all earthly places was therefore of special importance. The inner sanctuary was peculiarly sacred, as it contained the ark and mercy-seat whereon God's glory manifested itself and where He met with Moses (Ex. The inner veil separated the tabernacle into two rooms, the holy and the most holy place (Ex.

Following the order in which the tabernacle was constructed, we come now to the veil and the hanging at the door of the tabernacle, and the pillars from which these were suspended.

Pillars of inmost light