Leaders’ meeting, June 2025, message 2

Leaders’ Gathering
June 2025

Message 2

“Christ as Everything in the Body:

the Meaning, the Testimony, the Way, and the Goal”

The continuity of the spiritual process:
from Genesis to the good land

Continuing the overview from the previous message, we were once again led to see how our spiritual journey is reflected in the Scriptures — especially in the first five books of the Bible. We went through Genesis (the beginning of the vision and the fall), Exodus (deliverance), Leviticus (relationship with God), and now we arrive at the book of Numbers, where God forms and prepares an army with Christ as the center and reference.

The book of Numbers shows that deliverance is not the end. To be free does not mean to be free to do whatever one wants, but to do what God wants. The journey toward the good land requires coordination, spiritual direction, the headship of Christ, and a willingness to fight.

Christ: the meaning of our life

During the forty years in the wilderness, the people of Israel lived around the Tabernacle and the Ark. They did not produce, nor did they build cities. The meaning of their existence was the Lord’s testimony — the Tabernacle as God’s dwelling and the Ark as His presence. This teaches us that, in the Christian life, Christ is the only true meaning of life. Everything that does not come from Him or does not have Him as its center loses its value.

Spiritual leaders are called to lead God’s people into this kind of living: a life centered on the presence and purpose of Christ.

Christ: the testimony of God

The Ark was called the Ark of the Testimony. The tablets of the law were called the Tablets of the Testimony. In Revelation 3:14, Christ is presented as the Faithful and True Witness. He is the expression of the fullness of the Godhead (Col 2:9). This reveals that Christ is the testimony of God — He makes visible who God is. When we have Him as our center and live in union with Him, our very life also becomes a faithful testimony of the Lord. The Tabernacle is also the Tabernacle of the Testimony.

Christ: the center of God’s people

In Numbers, the camp of the twelve tribes revolved around the Tabernacle. Everything was arranged from the center. This shows that the Body of Christ is composed of diversity — but with one single center: Christ. Each tribe had its place, its origin, its history. But they all looked to the Tabernacle. There was no lateral reference — the relationship between the tribes happened through the common center, Christ. This is essential for the unity of the Body: only when everyone looks to Christ can the Body be built up with order, harmony, and purpose.

Christ: the leader and the way

We learned that Christ is the one who leads. He is the leader of God’s people. The cloud that moved, the fire that gave light — all pointed to a living God who guides His people in motion. In John 14:6, the Lord Himself says: “I am the way.” This means that the way is not a doctrine or an organizational model. The way is a Person.

The great temptation for a leader is to try to lead others through their own way. But we have learned that we are not the way. Christ is the way. What we need is to seek real fellowship with Him, in prayer and in the Word, and to lead the brothers based on the moving of the Spirit.

Christ: the goal and final target

We were encouraged by Philippians 3:12–14. Paul says he presses on toward the goal. Christ is that goal. Many brothers and churches remain paralyzed, looking to the past, wounded, frustrated, insecure. But the Word calls us to move forward. We must forget what lies behind and press on toward what is ahead — not moved by fear, but by the Spirit. Spiritual maturity comes when we stop mourning the past and begin to seek what God wants to do today.

Formation of an army:

diverse tribes, one Body

In Numbers 1 and 2, God begins the census of the people to form an army. Every man from twenty years old and up was counted by name, by tribe, by family. This reveals that:

• Every person matters, is called by name — no one is just a number.

• Everyone must declare their identity — say to which tribe they belong, where they come from.

• The purpose of the census was not to determine the power of Israel’s army, since power came from God, but to know whom God could count on in battle — He wants to know: “Can I count on you?”

• God respects the diversity and origin of each tribe, but He forms one army. We saw that God’s army is made up of soldiers and priests. Royalty and priesthood are the two sides of service. We are called to fight for God and to serve God. For this, order, coordination, and headship are indispensable.

Spiritual organization:

divine wisdom in the camp

We observed that:

• The tribes were organized into four camps of three tribes each.

• All the camps were facing the Tabernacle.

• Each tribe could only see one side of the Tabernacle. The complete vision comes only through the fellowship of all. Ephesians 3:18 — to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth.

• The order of the camp defined the order of the march. Each position had a function: to advance, to protect, to support.

This teaches us that:

• Our reference cannot be a man, but Christ.

• Our relationship with the brothers must go through Christ, never directly and carnally.

• Even though we are different, we march as one people, one army, because we have one center.

• The camps were facing the Tabernacle, that is, all camps had their backs to the outside because protection came from God.

Key verses covered

• Exodus 25:21 – The Ark as testimony
• Colossians 2:9 – Fullness of the Godhead in Christ
• Revelation 3:14 – Christ, the Faithful Witness
• John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life”
• Philippians 3:12–14 – Pressing toward the goal
• John 10 – The Lord knows His sheep by name
• Numbers 1–2 – Formation and ordering of Israel’s army

Applications for us, leaders

• We need to help the brothers live with Christ as the only meaning of life.

• We must cultivate a life of fellowship so that Christ may truly be the testimony of God in us.

• As leaders, we must be the first to look to Christ as our center and reference.

• We are called to lead with courage, following the Spirit’s direction, not fear.

• Every person has identity, history, and value — but God wants one Body, one army.

• Diversity is not an obstacle to unity — when all are turned toward Christ.