The Tabernacle #3: Holy of Holies — Stephen Kaung

The stabs shall be in the rings of the ark, they shall not come out from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony that I shall give thee, and thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, of beaten works shalt thou make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.

And make one cherub at the end of the one side, and one cherub at the end of the other side. Out of the mercy seat shall he make the cherubim at the two ends thereof. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings over it, covering over with their wings the mercy seat, and their faces opposite to one another.

Toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be turned. And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark, and shalt put in the ark the testimony that I shall give thee. And there will I meet with thee, and will speak with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, everything that I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee because we know Thou art the living God. We praise and thank Thee because Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus, who died for us, has been risen, and is now living forevermore.

We do praise and thank Thee. We know that He is in us, and we are in Him. And there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. So our Father, we just come together this morning with confidence in our hearts.

We want to worship Thee and adore Thee. And we do pray that Thou wilt again, by Thy Holy Spirit, open Thy word to us, that it may be real and living and operative in our lives, to the praise of Thy glory.

We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. We have been sharing for the last two or three days, including today, is the believer's life and ministry as demonstrated in the tabernacle. We mentioned that in the beginning of our Christian life, we approached God through the altar, the brazing altar of burnt offering.

That is to say, there is no way that we can approach God except through the cross. The cross of our Lord Jesus is the foundation, and we will never be able to get away from it. It is through the cross of our Lord Jesus that we find our sins being forgiven.

We find that our old man was crucified with Him. We find that we have been separated from the world, and we also find that through the cross we have the victory over the enemy in Christ Jesus. And it is by the cross of our Lord Jesus that we are given eternal life.

We become the children of God, and not only God's children, but we are made a kingdom of priests. Then we find after the brazing altar of burnt offering, there is the brazen laver filled with water. We find that we who are saved, we are to serve.

Every time we serve, remember we have to have our hands and feet. Because as we walk through the world, we find that the dirt and the dust of the world will begin to crowd upon our feet. Our spirit will feel dull, slow.

The hands of any works has to be in the power. Therefore we find that every time this is the case. Now in the altar court we find our experience is mainly in the area of purification. We are being purified of our sins by the blood, and we are being purified from all defilements of the world as well as the flesh through the water, and that is the very life.

Because He loves us so much, He sanctifies us by the washing of the water with the word that we may be spotless, without spot, without wrinkle or any of such spot, that we may be presented to Him as a glorious church.

It is the life of our Lord Jesus within us that really cleanses. Then we find after the altar court experience, our privilege to enter into the holy place. The holy place is the place, the holy place actually is because the church stands between heaven and earth, in calling, concern is upon the earth.

The Holy Place: Christ as Light, Bread, and High Priest

Now in the holy place we find that we are to know Christ as the light, everyday guidance upon our path. And this is the way we walk, this is the way we grow in the Lord. And we also begin to see that our Lord Jesus is also the bread of life.

He is our very life. We live because He lives in us. That is the only way we can live. Or we find that He is also our high priest, intercession for us, He is able to save those who approach God through Him to the very uttermost.

If we do not have the Lord Jesus as our high priest, where will we be? We do praise and thank the Lord that as He intercedes without ceasing for us, the Holy Spirit works without ending. And not only this is believer's life in the holy place, but we find it is in the holy place that we serve, we minister, it is a type of the church.

And our ministry is to uplift Christ, that the testimony of Jesus may go forth. And our responsibility is to see that the oil is always abundantly supplied, that the wick, we need in order that in our lives, breathe the Holy Spirit, we should not quench the Holy Spirit, we cannot resist the Holy Spirit, our duty is to obey the Holy Spirit, cooperate with Him, yield to Him, that He may go through us as through the wick, so that the light may shine upon the whole house.

Not only that, but the church is a fellowship, a table. We are sharing one another, with one another, Christ. Now that is fellowship. You know there is a great difference between fellowship and being social.

When we are having social, it means that we can share of anything being social. But when we are having fellowship, we are limited to sharing Christ. We do not share Christ, it is not really fellowship, because fellowship is sharing in common, and the one thing we have in common is Christ.

And as we share Christ, we find the fragrance will ascend to heaven, and through fellowship, our joy. And not only that, brothers and sisters, we find that not only Christ is our High Priest, we are a priest, therefore we are worshipers.

We worship the church, we do not pray for ourselves alone, but we pray, Thy Kingdom come. We find that as priests, we do minister unto the people. You know often times we think ministry is only unto the people.

In the outer court, we do minister unto the people. We preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. But in the holy place, people come together. We actually minister unto the Lord. Now this morning we would like to go a step further.

Entering the Holiest of All

And that is the holiest, sisters, in the holiest of all, that God let us, the holiest of all, through the new and living way, that He has dedicated, because He is now our High Priest, making intercession for us.

Because of this, we can approach, we can enter into the holiest of all, to the very presence of God. And not only to approach, but even to live there. This is God's provision, open to everyone. It is not just for a few chosen, select, today, holiest of all, to the very presence of God, and not only just to approach it, to stand there for a while, but even to dwell there, permanent.

Where do you live? What is your address? And of course we answer, well, I live in the United States, on the street, at a certain number, that is my address. Permanent address. Permanent address on earth.

Your permanent address is, your address is your dwelling place for a generation. That is what Moses said, generation. The address, but you don't live there. Permanent home, and you are supposed to be there all the time.

We find in the experience of God's people, many of God's people, they are in the outer court, thank God for that. They have been to the brazen altar of burnt offering. They know the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior.

They are children of God, thank God for that. But that's all they know. That's all where they are. In other words, they always roam around in the outer court. They never go beyond the altar, to even the laver.

In other words, you find that they are saved, but they don't even know that they are saved to serve. They are children of God, as well as being made a kingdom of priests, but they never function as priests.

They are children, thank God for that. As children, you have responsibility, every right, but you have no duty, no responsibility. And because of that, you are useless in a sense. You are in God's kingdom.

Useless in God's purpose. You do enjoy, but what do the father has? Internally, we find today, the church is almost like a kindergarten. It's probably worse than a kindergarten. You find that in the church of God, it's full of babies.

They are all waiting to be fed. And if you feed them a little late, they cry. They get angry at you. Never giving. Enjoying, enjoying, enjoying. Never functioning. Sitting there, listening, passing judgment, but never stand up and minister.

There are some, who have not only experienced the altar, so they are priests who serve. Need to have their hands and feet washed. And they have a real ministry unto the world. They really preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Now, thank God for these brothers and sisters. Service is in the outer court. They will never minister. Really catch a vision of the church. When you begin to minister in the church, that you have ministered.

And thank God, where you live. God has ordained for us to live. Be careful here. Union, popular term, union with God. Because the popular term, union with God, in that term, union with God. If you find one, please.

It is true, union with God is a mystic. By the mystics, the heathen mystics, that the ultimate is union with God, union in the Lord. And I will read some, union with God is like this. You are like a drop of water.

And this drop of water gradually flows, until one day it flows into the ocean. And when this drop of water enters into the ocean, it is merged with the water in the ocean. It has lost its identity. It is lost in God.

It is union with God. In other words, you are no longer existing as an individual. You become part. That we will use our individuality, that God has created us as individuals. Our individualities will remain forever and forever.

Even in the holy city, the New Jerusalem, you find these twelve foundations are all different. You find that everyone is different, and they remain to have their individuality. Yes, the personality, it is not Peter, it is not John, it is Christ.

But the individuality remains, that our individualism has to be dealt with. You know, we are too individualistic, person in the world. All the world will take away individuality. God loves variety. Variety, I was told, is the source.

But you know, the term union with God is now very wrongly interpreted. And that is, you lose your identity in God. You become part of God. To put it another word, it is the deification of man. You are God.

You are no longer man. You are God. Brothers and sisters, not the teaching. True that we are united with Christ in life. That is true. But remember, we never enter into the Godhead. We never become part of the epic.

God remains God, and we remain human beings. But thank God, we are united with Christ. Not only in life, but even in purpose. So I use the term union with Christ in God. And I hope that this will not get us into any error by the grace.

You find that what God is aiming at with us, so far as our life, Christian life is concerned, it is true, the ultimate is union in life. Union with Christ in God. To put it in another way, it is the life of the Holy Spirit.

The Ark as a Picture of Christ's Deity and Humanity

So in the holiest of all, there is only one piece, and it is the Ark. It is a type. Why? Because the Ark, Acacia wood in the scripture always speaks of incorruptible wood. You know, acacia wood is a hard wood, that is supposed to be incorruptible.

The Ark is made of acacia wood. Why? Because it speaks of the humanity of our Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus as a human being, He is incorruptible. A human being. You find this Ark is made of acacia wood, of the nature's in the furniture in the tabernacle, they may be made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold, but they are only overlaid outside with gold.

But with the Ark it is different. It is overlaid with gold both inside and outside. Because it speaks that before our Lord Jesus came into this world to become a man, He was God. It was God who incarnated.

It was God who took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh. So He was overlaid with gold inside first. And then you have the wood and then overlaid with gold outside too. Because even though He were man while He was on earth, He is still God.

He has not lost His deity. Now some people you find, there is a heresy going on in the church, teaching that when the Lord Jesus, the Word became flesh and incarnated, then He came out of deity and He is no longer God.

He is a human being now. Brothers and sisters, it is true. In one sense that He being equal with God, and that is not something to be grasped at. And yet He emptied Himself. Now remember, He emptied Himself of all the glory and the honor and the majesty, that the attributes that are related to God, but He can never empty Himself of His.

He was on earth. God originated originally. He came to become a man and He is a real man, but He is at the same time still the truth. The dark thing deposited there at this time is also called the testimony.

Why? Because the Ten Commandments testify. Therein you remember the story. Jesus came down from the mountain with the two tables of stones. The children of Israel, they were worshipping a golden calf.

And because of that He smashed these two tables of stones. In other words, before the testimony reached the people of Israel, they had already broken it. But when God called Moses to the mountain to receive again the testimony, there was the ark there, so that the testimony could be put in the ark and be preserved.

Now brothers and sisters, God's law, before it reaches man, it is already broken. God's law is meant to be kept, right? Nobody can. Thank God there is one person on earth, in whom the law is kept, and this is our Lord Jesus.

You remember in Psalm 40 it is said, sacrifice and oblation, God thou does not desire, but thou hast prepared me an ear. And as it is quoted in Hebrews, it said, thou hast prepared me a body. Burn offering and sing offering, thou does not demand.

Behold, it is recorded in the word, Lo, I come to do thy will, is written upon my heart. Brothers and sisters, we find that when our Lord Jesus was on earth, He was the one and only person in whom the testimony, the law of God, what God is, is preserved intact.

His whole life is to do the will of God. Never in His life He has broken the law of God. And it is the pleasure of His heart to do the Father's will. And because of this, how His life on earth satisfies the Father.

A number of times the heaven, you know, the heaven was not able to be closed. The heaven has to be open. And said, this is my beloved son. In whom is mine. The open chest, there is the mercy seat. Mercy seat is made of pure gold.

If you remember the book of Romans chapter 3 verse 25, maybe in your version it is said that God has set forth Christ as our propitiation, or propitiatory. But actually in the original, it is God has set Christ as our mercy seat.

The Mercy Seat and the Finished Work of Christ

How can God show mercy to a sinful people? Without compromising His justice. Without violating His holiness. How can God do that? We are unrighteous. We are sinful. We have broken the law of God. We have violated God's testimony.

And all that we deserve is the wrath of God. But God loves us. He wants to show mercy to us. But He cannot. There is no basis for it. But thank God our Lord Jesus becomes the ark. And because our Lord Jesus, He being God, He becomes a man.

And yet He is still God. And His whole life, the law of God is being satisfied. Not only in His own life, but especially on the cross. He bore all our sins. And paid the penalty of sin. And satisfied the righteous demand of God over mankind.

So brothers and sisters, it is upon the finished work of Christ. The foundation of the mercy seat is the ark. It is only in Christ Jesus, God can show His mercy. God is able to reveal His love for us.

Showing us mercy. And it is a mercy shown on the basis. It does not compromise God in any way. On the contrary, it glorifies. So brothers and sisters, you find that in the holiest of all. There is only one piece of furniture.

It is Christ. Who has fulfilled all the righteousness of God. Not only for Himself, but for all mankind. It is the finished work of Christ. And upon that, God is able. It is said in the scripture that in the holiest.

God told the holiest. And it is there that He spoke to Moses. It is there that Moses entered into the holiest of all. And not only to enter, but it is because we are worthy. We are never worthy. But because He has done it all.

And God calls us to enter in. Approach with confidence. With holy boldness. And dare to live our life in the very presence of God. Because it is God in Christ. Meeting us. Revealing Himself. We mentioned before that in the outer court.

You have the sunlight. In the holy place, you have the light from the golden lampstand. Now in the holiest of all. There is neither sunlight. Nor the light of the lampstand. It will be total darkness.

If it is not because. In the holy place, it is lit with the glory. So brothers and sisters. Of course we know it is very difficult to explain what glory is. I remember brother T. Austin Spock said. It is very difficult to define glory.

And he tries to give a definition. And I think so far I feel this is the best definition I have ever heard. And he said what is glory? Glory simply means God is satisfied. Whenever God is satisfied. Glory appears.

Living by the Glory of God

Brothers and sisters. Find in the holiest of all. The glory of God filled that place. Oh God. God is fully satisfied. In his son. To reveal himself. As you grow in the Lord. In the beginning. What decides.

Your action. Is your way to pros and cons. What is more beneficial to me. Your action. As you grow in the Lord. You begin to find that no. That is not dependable. You begin to be guided by the light of life.

In other words. The spirit of God within you. He will shine upon you. And allow you to see in the light. What is right. And what is wrong. What is light. And what is darkness. But strangely. As you grow more into the Lord.

You find your whole life is governed by glory. Your question is no longer. What is beneficial to me. Your question is no longer. Whether this is right or wrong. Even in principle. You know people can live by principles.

Now that is a good living. Lots of people are unprincipled. But if you live by principles. Well you live a higher life. But brothers and sisters. You can live by principle. But you can become very ungodlike.

You have to live by the glory of God. One day what decides your action. Is the glory of God. Will this set in the holiest. This life. In the holiest of all. It is just like Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 3.

He said. We behold the glory of the Lord. Will unveil face. And we are being changed. From glory to glory. According to his image. Even by the Lord. In other words. Life in the holiest. Is face to face.

You remember in Numbers chapter 12. When Miriam and Aaron. They became jealous of Moses. And then God appeared to the three of them. And God said. Now if there is a prophet upon the earth. I will reveal myself to him in a vision.

I will speak to him in a dream. But not so with my servant Moses. Who is faithful in all my house. Because mouth to mouth. Will I speak to him. And not in riddle. And he has seen my form. In other words.

Here you will find. It is a face to face living. Brothers and sisters. We dwell in. And he dwells in us. Our life is a face to face. We behold the glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. The glory of God.

In the face of Jesus Christ. The glory of God sits upon a mercy seat. Upon the ark. And this is the glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. As we see Jesus. We see the glory of God. And as we see the glory of God.

We are transformed from glory. You know anything that is of the flesh. Is shameful. But anything that is of God. Is glorious. We will be changed from glory to glory. According to his image. By the Lord.

The Spirit. In other words. We cannot change ourselves. But. If we look upon the Lord. With unveiled face. Then the Holy Spirit. You know it is. Probably true. Some people say. If you want to have a beautiful baby.

When you are conceived. Look at beautiful pictures. You know by looking at beautiful pictures. You will have a beautiful baby. I don't know how true it is. But I know there is some truth in this. You know a husband and a wife.

You know they look at each other so often. And if they are married for 50 years. You discover they look alike. If we want to be Christ like. The only way to be Christ like. Is to look at him constantly.

If you look at the glory of the Lord. In the face of Jesus Christ. You do not need to change yourself. The Spirit of God will change you. And will conform you to his image. This is the life in the holiest.

A life in the holiest. Is a constant gazing upon. You see him. All the time. You see him in every circumstance. And because you see him. The Holy Spirit. Transforms you. And conforms you. To his image.

What is the life in the holiest? It is a life. Within the veil. That is to say. There is no veil. Between you. Because the veil has been rent. It is a shadowless. Communion. Constant fellowship. A life in the holiest.

As Colossians chapter 3 said. Our life is hid. With Christ. That is the life. In the Spirit. Because your life is hid with Christ in God. Therefore. Nothing can touch you. The life in the Spirit. Is Paul says.

In Philippians. Chapter 4. Chapter 3. That you apprehend him. As he has apprehended. A life in the Spirit is living under an open heaven. The revelation of God. Comes upon you. The Spirit of wisdom and revelation.

Is given to you. Unto the full knowledge. A life in the holiest. Is a life. Is made all. And all. This is what God has ordained for all of us. And this is our dwelling place. This is our home. Now I would like to read you something.

The Soul's Rest, Joy, and Union with Christ

From Madame Guillen. I am not a mystic. And I do not try to persuade you to be a mystic. The mystics have lots to offer. But. There is much you need to be careful. Now. Madame Guillen. Was a French woman.

Whose life. Was so beautiful. Throughout the centuries. Many. Many. Received help. By reading her life. But even with the mystics. Their criticism of Madame Guillen. I try to be balanced. Their criticism of Madame Guillen is.

She is too passive. And that's true. But anyway you'll find that Madame Guillen. She wrote a book. It is called Spiritual Torrents. She tried to describe Christian life. As. Torrents. Flowing. And there are different kinds of flows.

But her writing of course. Was very difficult to read. So. Mrs. Pan-Lewis. Jessie Pan-Lewis. She reused that book. And make it more readable in a small booklet. Called Life Out of Death. You still can get it.

And this Life Out of Death. Now in this booklet. Madame Guillen described. Life in the Holiest. So I will just. Read. A little bit to you. The characteristics of the life of union. Number one. The soul is possessed by God.

It possesses nothing. It is possessed. God being the principle of life. It cannot want for anything. It has lost the created for the creator. Nothingness for all things. I don't think I need to explain.

Number two. The soul has all things in God. He lives no longer. And works no longer of itself. But God himself. By the Holy Spirit. Who lives. Works. Operates within it. Number three. The soul lives without effort.

The divine life possessing. And working it. Works with the same. Unconscious ease. As the natural life. Supernatural life. Is to be lived naturally. Then it is natural. Number four. The soul is in perfect rest.

It is holy. Satisfied in God. It is possessed by the peace of God. Therefore its peace is unchangeable. Number five. The soul has a boundless joy. It is joy unspeakable. First Peter one eight. Number six.

The soul is in harmony with the divine will. It has no separate will. For its will is the will of God. It has no desire but to fulfill his desires. Number seven. The soul is brought into simplicity. The condition of life has become so simple.

That it has nothing to say about itself. For this way is simple. Seeing nothing except as in God. The one center and principle of all things. And environment by him. Number eight. The soul is one with Christ in God.

It is in God as it is in the atmosphere natural to it. It only knows that God is. And that it no longer lives but in him. Its treasure is now God alone. From home it draws continually all needs. The apostolic life begins.

It is the life. Of abundant fruitfulness. Now brothers and sisters. This I think described life in the holiest. And remember this is not for a few chosen. This is the right and privilege of every believer.

The Veil, the Cross, and the New and Living Way

Let us approach with confidence. Now. How do you enter into the holiest of all? You know there is a veil. Standing between the holiest of all and the holy. And we are told that this veil is very very heavy.

This veil separates the holy of all from the holy place. And in the old testament time you find that only once a year. The high priest could enter into the holiest of all behind the veil. Once a year.

And once a year when he enters into the holiest of all behind the veil. He has to bring two things. He has to bring. He has to have a censer filled with the incense from the golden altar of incense. So when he enters behind the veil the smoke will fill that room.

Cover as it were. Him. Because he cannot see God face to face. He has to be covered. And then at the same time he has to enter with the blood. He will sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat. And then turn around and sprinkle upon the veil.

To make atonement for the people. And then he hurriedly came out. Lest he die. No one can see God. If anyone dare to enter the holiest place to see God's face. He will be smitten to death. Because he is not worthy.

So the book. The writer of the book of Hebrews said. As long as this veil is there. It shows that the holiest of all has not been opened yet. But brothers and sisters. Isn't that wonderful? When our Lord Jesus was crucified.

Outside the gate of Jerusalem. When he said it is finished. And he gave up his spirit to the father. The veil in the city. In the temple of Jerusalem. Was rent from top to bottom into two. When the veil is rent.

Then the glory of God. Now brothers and sisters. Thank God. The veil is rent. Now what is this veil? In Hebrews chapter 10. It is said. That God has opened for us a new and living way. Just dedicated.

A new and living way for us. Through the veil that is his flesh. So in other words. That veil in the temple is a type of the human flesh of our Lord Jesus. Now the veil is made of blue. And purple. And scarlet.

Fine linen. In artistic work. And embroidered with cherubim. Now what is blue? Blue is the color of heaven. What is purple? Purple in the old days is the royalty. What is scarlet? Scarlet speaks of glory.

Human glory. But not vain glory. And fine linen of course. Speaks of a pure life. Righteousness. Embroidered with cherubim. We have no time to talk about cherubim. It is very interesting. But let me just say that the cherubim here.

Represents God's original design for creation. Creation in God's mind. Anyway you find that this is what our Lord Jesus is. The Word became flesh. And tabernacle among man. When he became flesh. And tabernacle among man.

His flesh. Isn't he. Doesn't he live a life so heavenly. Though he was on earth. He came from heaven. He live on earth. And yet he still is in heaven. In other words you find he is a heavenly man. Wherever he goes.

He brings a heavenly atmosphere with him. He never leaves heaven in a spiritual sense. Look at his life. How regal. When people began to crowd upon him. And try to push him from the cliff. He just walks slowly.

Never running away. He just walks as if nothing happened. When he was judged. And if he only will say a word. Probably humanly speaking he will be released. But he was silent. How regal. Glory. He does not seek glory for man.

It is the Father who glorifies him. True glory. Not vain glory. His whole life is so pure. He is the righteous one. The only one who is sinless perfect. And all over his flesh. You can see he is the man after God's own heart.

He is the man that God has originally designed for. That God wants. He is. But remember. A veil. On the one hand it separates. It hides. It covers. What is in the holiest of all. Yet on the other hand it is the only way to the holiest.

Think of our Lord Jesus. His life on earth. Is like a veil. Now it is true that he comes. Clear the Father to us. And yet in another sense. In the flesh. The glory of God is always hidden. It needs spiritual eyes to see the glory of the Lord.

As the glory of the only begotten. People just see him as a human being. As a man. Full of grace and truth. But the glory of God is hidden. On the Mount of Transfiguration is the only time. When the glory breaks through his flesh.

His face shone like the sun. Even the garment he wears becomes white. Whiter than anything that can be done to it. The glory of the Lord penetrates through that flesh. Just for that short. Why? Because it is that moment that Moses Elijah appeared.

To talk with him about his exit. How will the Lord Jesus exit from the world? He came by incarnation. Now they are talking about his exit. And it is at that moment that you find the glory within him. Breaks forth.

Brothers and sisters, you know that is a very tense moment. Very tense moment. Because so far as our Lord Jesus himself is concerned. He has come. He has lived a life satisfying to the Father. He is a man of God's heart.

And so far as he himself is concerned. He has every right to exit from the mountain. To return. But if he does. There will be only one man in the holiest of all. There will be only one man in the presence of.

But he did not go out. He came down. He went to the cross. He made his exit through the cross. And because he made his exit through the cross. The veil. Brothers and sisters, today people teach about.

We must imitate Christ. He is our great example. We should imitate him. People do not accept his redemptive work. They think that all they need to do is to imitate him as a great teacher. Remember. If you take the Lord Jesus as the great teacher and try to imitate him.

You are only condemned. Because his life will condemn you. He is the only one worthy to see the Father's face. But you are not worthy. He is the veil. He will separate you forever from seeing the Father's face.

But thank God that veil is red. And because of this if you trust his redemptive work. Then you'll find you can enter through him into the holiest of all. But remember. He has dedicated that new and living way for us.