LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Read and pray: “When they have completed these days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall prepare your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.” (Ezek. 43:27)
All of us need to be evaluated by the building, the house, in our goings in and out. If we want to enter into the church life, we must enter through a gate. Then we need to progress inward and upward, going higher and higher. As soon as we reach the back of the third story, we realize that we cannot escape, because there are no doors through which we can go out.
In the book of Ezekiel, God measures His people by the temple. For example, in the temple, the number six is used many times. As we have pointed out, the number six here, which is used with the wall, the entrance, and other parts of the temple, typifies the humanity of the Lord Jesus. This indicates that we need to evaluate our humanity by the building and take the humanity of the Lord Jesus as our humanity.
Another example is related to the wood used in the temple. The wood that was used for a certain purpose had to be of a proper measure. This means that the wood had to maintain its position and function according to the measure. If a piece of wood were larger or smaller than its assigned measure, it would not fit properly into the building.
Applying this to our experience in the church life today, we need to consider whether, in our situation, we are compatible with the measurements of God’s temple. Suppose God wants you to measure three cubits. Are you compatible with that measure, or do you have more or less than three cubits?
A sister should be in the position of a sister. If she dares to stand in the position of a brother, she will not be within her measure, and this will not be compatible with the building or fit into it.
There is still another example of being measured by God’s building involving the cherubim and the palm trees. If we are measured by the cherubim and the palm trees carved on the walls, we will consider the matters of expressing the glorious image of Christ and expressing the victory of Christ.
As one who is in the church life, do you have the image of Christ? Do you express the glory of Christ and the victory of Christ? Have you experienced God’s “carving”? Do you have wounds or scars that testify that God has been carved into you? If we are measured by the temple in this way, we may realize that we are still “smooth wood,” wood that has no cherubim or palm trees carved into it.
A particularly important aspect is that in the building there are no independent pieces. Every piece of material has been built in. Each piece is related to the others, and no piece is independent.
What about you? Are you independent? Have you been built into the building? Does your way and peculiarity fit into the building? You may say that you like this and not that, but the issue is not what you like or dislike, but whether you fit into the building, the church.
Does your way fit the church life? Ezekiel was told that from that point on, the house of Israel should behave according to the house of God. This indicates that today we should behave not according to certain teachings, but according to the church.
The church must be our regulation. We need to be regulated by the pattern of the church, by the goings in and out of the church, by the ordinances, statutes, and laws of the church. This means that we should be God’s people not according to the law of Moses, but according to the constitution of the temple in Ezekiel.
Today, the Lord’s concern is not the law—it is the house. His concern is not spirituality—it is the church. The Lord cares for the church, that is, the place of His throne, the place of the soles of His feet, the place where He can dwell for His rest and satisfaction.
Because the Lord cares so much for the church, His house, we also should care for the church as His house and conform to it. If we understand this, we will not care only for biblical teachings or the inner life.
Likewise, we will not care for speaking in tongues or for a particular way of praying. Instead, we should care absolutely for the church and conform to the church, the house of God. The church life, or the Body life, is the greatest test of genuine spirituality. If we cannot pass the test of the church life, our spirituality is not genuine.
We need to see from the book of Ezekiel that the requirement of the indwelling Christ is not according to the law, but according to His house. All must be measured and evaluated according to the measurement of God’s house.
We are not under the dispensation of the law; we are under the dispensation of the house. This is the age of the church, not merely the age of being spiritual. Now is the time of the church life. If what we are and what we do cannot fit into the church life, it amounts to nothing in God’s eyes and may even be an abomination to Him, a kind of prostitution. Therefore, we need to be shaped according to the church and allow the church to measure and evaluate us in every aspect.
After the temple, we come to the altar. In 43:18-27 we have the statutes of the altar. The altar is the place for God’s people to be redeemed and consecrated. According to the record in these verses concerning the altar, it takes seven days for the people to be purified.
They are required to offer a sin offering with the redeeming blood every day for seven days. Then on the eighth day, the day of resurrection, they must consecrate themselves by offering a burnt offering (v. 27).
Following the burnt offering, they enjoy the peace offering as a feast with the Lord and His people. This indicates that after the purification on the altar for seven days, the Lord’s people will be accepted by Him, becoming a satisfaction to Him and feasting with Him.
In the church life today, we need the altar, both for purification and for consecration. We need to offer ourselves to the Lord as a burnt offering. To do this means that we are absolutely for the Lord.
First, we need to be cleansed, purged, and purified, and then we can consecrate ourselves to the Lord. In order to maintain the temple, we need the altar. In order to preserve the church life, we need purification, sanctification, and consecration through the cross.
Purification requires a period of seven days (v. 26). This indicates that purification cannot be accomplished quickly; it takes a period of time for us to be cleansed and purified, a time in which we are kept away from all negative things.
Then on the eighth day, in resurrection, we need to offer ourselves to the Lord as a burnt offering absolutely for His satisfaction. After that, from the eighth day onward, we can feast with the Lord, enjoying the riches of Christ in the presence of God.
A SUMMARY OF THE LAW OF THE TEMPLE
Verse 12 says, “This is the law of the temple: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof all around shall be most holy; behold, this is the law of the temple.” Here we see that the law of the house can be summarized in two points: the house must be on the top of the mountain, and it must be most holy.
To be on the mountain is to be in resurrection and in the position of ascension. This indicates that the church life must be elevated, on the top of the mountain. The church must also be holy, separated and sanctified from anything worldly.
The law of the house, the law of the temple, is related to God’s character. God is a God of height, and He is a God who is holy. Therefore, He wants His dwelling place also to be elevated and holy. Everything in the church life must be both elevated and holy, able to be compatible with the law of the temple.
To be elevated and to be holy—these are two great principles concerning the church. Height is the position of the church, and sanctification is the nature of the church. In position, the church is elevated; in nature, the church is holy. We should not lower the church, nor should we make the church common. Instead, we should always respect the high position of the church and respect the holiness of the church, knowing that in position the church is in resurrection and ascension, and in nature it is most holy.
Is your church life on the top of the mountain? Is your church life holy? We all need to evaluate ourselves by these two aspects of the law of the house. If in our church life we are in resurrection and in the position of ascension and if we are more holy, then we can be in God’s dwelling place.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: "One with You, I Go to the Mountain"
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