Building the Church according to God’s Plan, “the Pattern Shown on the Mountain”

Though we cannot see God physically with our eyes, if we are pure in heart and have an unveiled face toward the Lord, we can see Him face to face and we can even behold Him and reflect Him like a mirror, and this causes us to be transformed into the same image as the Lord Jesus. We simply need to take care of our heart and keep it pure and single for the Lord, and we will be rewarded with seeing God, gaining God, and being infused with God.

When we see God, we are being transformed into the same image as Christ; when we have a pure heart and behold the Lord with an unveiled face, there’s a metabolic process of transformation going on inwardly, and the result is that we look the same as Christ. We need to have a clear sky between us and the Lord, and we will see Him and we will see His heart’s desire.

God has something in His heart, something that He wants to accomplish; however, unless we are those who go up the mountain to spend adequate time with God, we cannot know what’s on His heart. We need to not only know of God or have the mental understanding of doctrines concerning Him but pay the price to spend time with God to see Him and have a vision of the dwelling place of God with man on earth.

We all are different stages of our growth in life and experience of Christ, but when we have a vision of His heart’s desire, we will give ourselves for the fulfillment of what is in God’s heart, the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. After Moses spent forty days and forty nights on the mountain with God, he received a clear revelation of the tabernacle with all its furnishings, measurements, utensils, and everything.

God wants to dwell among His people, but in order for this to happen, He has some specific requirements concerning His dwelling place. Again and again in speaking to Moses God told him to make sure that he would build the tabernacle according to the pattern God showed him. Today we want to see what does this mean and what is the importance of seeing the pattern on the mountain in our Christian work.

Building the Tabernacle according to the Pattern shown by God on the Mountain

Moses was told by God that he would make the tabernacle according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain; according to all that God showed him, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, so was Moses to make it (Exo. 25:9).

This matter is emphasized in a number of verses in Exodus and also in Hebrews; God wanted Moses to not bring in his own “design suggestions” or “implementation opinions” but build the tabernacle specifically according to how God instructed him. In building God’s dwelling place Moses had no opinion, no thought, no preference, and nothing to say; he simply had to listen to the Lord’s instructions in a specific and clear way and then carry them out exactly.

“The book of Hebrews tells us that the tabernacle was made according to God’s revealed pattern. Before Moses built the tabernacle, he remained on the mountain forty days and nights, in order to give God time to show him the pattern and method of construction for the heavenly tabernacle. There were prescribed patterns for everything from the Holy Place to the altar, including the material and color of each layer of the tabernacle’s covering. Nothing was left to random design; there were prescribed plans and standards for everything. The altar, laver, table, lampstand, incense altar, Ark, and everything else were made according to God’s prescribed pattern, which even specified the kind of metal or wood to be used and their measurements and colors. Nothing was left to Moses’ design.

Moses’ building of the tabernacle gives us much spiritual light. It shows us the proper standing of a servant of God in spiritual work. God prescribed everything concerning the tabernacle; He did not leave one single feature or small detail for Moses to design. God did not allow Moses to propose anything. He told Moses not only the general features of the tabernacle but the details as well. Not only were the patterns, materials, colors, and measurements of every item determined by God, but even the way they were to be made was determined by God. It was not enough for Moses to make them according to God’s prescribed measurements and pattern; he even had to make them according to God’s prescribed procedure. For example, the veils had to be made not only of fine linen but of fine linen that was twined. The lampstand had to be made not only of gold but of one piece of gold of beaten work. God did not leave any room for Moses to make any proposals. He knew what He wanted. He did not need man to be His counselor, and He would not allow His servants to follow their own ideas in carrying out His work.” (Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 38, pp. 351-352)

Wow! Even though Moses was trained in all the culture, education, and skills of Egypt, he had no input in anything related to the design, decision, or making of the tabernacle; he simply had to follow God’s specific instructions and build the tabernacle according to how God showed him.

God took him through many dealings and things until Moses realized, after seeing the pattern of the tabernacle on the mountain: there’s nothing that he has to do or say about it, he simply has to do what God told him to do and follow the instructions exactly, and God will be satisfied!

Lord, show us a vision of the pattern of Your dwelling place. Save us from trying to build up the church with anything of our natural man or the flesh. Lord, cause us to realize that there’s nothing of our natural opinion or preferences that is accepted by You or useful to You in the building up of Your dwelling place. Lord, we want to build up the church according to the pattern You show us in spirit – the vision of God’s dwelling place!

Building the Church according to God’s Plan, “the Pattern Shown on the Mountain”

The Lord Jesus is the One who knows how to build His church (Matt. 16:18), and He is the unique One qualified to build His church. In building the church, God works according to a prescribed pattern and a revealed plan (Heb. 8:5; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:20), and the most important thing in our spiritual work is a knowledge of the pattern shown on the mountain (Exo. 25:9; Heb. 8:5).

If we don’t see the pattern on the mountain, if we don’t have the heavenly vision of the dwelling place of God, we cannot build up the church as God’s dwelling place. God must have some people whom He can trust, some that will build the church not with the wood of natural man, the grass of the works of the flesh, and the stubble of our living that issues from an earthen and untransformed source.

God wants us to be one with Him, see the pattern on the mountain – the heavenly vision of God’s building, and build the church with the various experiences of Christ in the virtues and attributes of the Triune God: the divine nature of the Father with all its attributes (gold), the redeeming Christ with all the attributes and virtues of His person and work (silver), and the transforming work of the Spirit with all its attributes (precious stones) – see 1 Cor. 3:12 and footnotes.

In building the dwelling place of God we cannot bring in our own opinion, thought, or preference – we simply need to follow the pattern the Lord showed us on the mountain. The Apostle Paul was a wise master builder; he saw the vision of God’s economy, Christ and the church, and he cut straight the word of God, giving food to God’s people, raising up churches, nourishing the believers, and releasing a high peak truth for the edification of the saints.

We all need to learn to build with the proper materials that will pass the test of fire. The fire in that day will test everything, of what sort our work is. It is very important for us to have a clear vision of the pattern of God’s building, the vision of God’s dwelling place, otherwise we may “build up the church” and do many things “for God” and “in God’s name”, but in that day the Lord will call us “workers of lawlessness” and “I never knew you”.

May we realize that the pattern of the tabernacle and all its furnishings is a full type of both the individual Christ and the corporate Christ as the Body, the church, including many details of the experience of Christ for the church life and a full picture of the church life will all its details (Heb. 9:4).

How can we build up the church? It is by first seeing the pattern shown on the mountain, the heavenly vision of God’s building, and then being one with the Lord to build exactly how He instructed us so that He may have a dwelling place on earth.

Lord, cause us to advance in our fellowship with You until we reach the peak of the mountain and we behold You, are being infused with You, and see a heavenly vision of the dwelling place of God. Lord, may we see a clear vision of the pattern of the tabernacle with all its furnishings, and may we build up the church according to the pattern shown to us on the mountain. May we have a rich experience of Christ with many details for the church life, so that we may be one with Christ to build up the church as the dwelling place of God on earth.

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, brother Ron Kangas’ sharing in the message for this week, and Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 38, ch. 49 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Exodus (2), week 12 / msg 12, The Vision of God in a Transparent and Clear Heaven and the Heavenly Vision concerning the Desire of God’s Heart to Have a Dwelling Place with Man on Earth.
• All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
• Hymns on this topic to strengthen this burden:
  # And let them make a sanctuary for Me, / That I may dwell in their midst, / Our prayer is “Lord, we give ourselves to Thee, / We’ll be the builders for Your economy.” (Song on God’s dwelling place)
  # Our flesh for building is no good; / God’s house must have acacia wood! / Christ’s human life is balanced and fine, / And it’s adorned with gold divine. / We want to stand as boards so strong, / Held by the bars where we belong; / To be the church for which You long— / One full-grown man! (Hymns #1173)
  # May this vision, Lord, re-center us, / Save us from our old self-centeredness. / Be our center and centrality, / And our inward harmony. / Give us sight to see Your purpose— / Build Yourself into our being! / Mind, emotion, will, Lord, we give to You— / All our heart Your home must be. (Song on God’s building)