We need to have the glory of Christ carved into our being through sufferings, and we need to send our roots deep into Christ to absorb Him and grow with Him, even to manifest His resurrection life.
As believers in Christ, we are in the process of being made materials for God’s building; the Lord is transforming us and carving us so that we may bear His glory, and we experience Christ in His resurrection and ascension by sending our roots deep down into Him to be full of sap and green, bearing fruit abundantly. Amen!
On one hand, Christ came as the tabernacle of God, and He said that His body is the temple of God, which was broken in His death and enlarged in His resurrection.
On the other hand, we are the temple of God, for we are the many members of the Body of Christ to be the temple of God where we dwell with God and He dwells with us.
Since we are the temple of God, we need to take heed of how we build; we cannot build God’s temple with our natural man or the things we do in our natural ability. Christ builds up the church, and we cooperate with Him to build up the Body of Christ in our daily life and in the church meetings.
On one hand, we build up the church in the meetings of the church; when we function to speak for the Lord and release our portion in the meetings, the saints are edified and the church is built up.
On the other hand, we build the Body of Christ in our daily living, for our subjective experience of Christ is what builds up the church.
We are not members of the Body only when we meet in church meetings; we are full-time members of the Body, and we are constantly in the process of being transformed so that we may be conformed to the image of Christ for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.
As we enjoy and experience Christ, we have a portion of the grace of God, and we become ministers of this varied grace of God among the saints, learning to impart Christ to others for God’s building.
May we be those who cooperate with the Lord today to be produced as building materials for God’s building, the church.
May we give ourselves to enjoy and experience the crucified and resurrected Christ as the Spirit in our spirit for God’s building.
In this series of articles, we are looking at the intrinsic significance of the materials used to build up the temple of God in 1 Chronicles, and in particular, we want to see five major materials and how they apply to our experience.
We are the temple of God, and the temple built by Solomon is a type of the temple of God.
May the Lord shine on us and bring us into the experience of Himself to the extent that He as the building material is wrought into us and we become building materials for God’s building.
Having the Victory of Christ and His Glory Carved into our Being Through Sufferings
![And two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door folded, and the two leaves of the second door folded. And he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers [on them,] and he overlaid [them] with gold evenly applied over the carved work. 1 Kings 6:34-35](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/And-two-doors-of-cypress-wood-the-two-leaves-of-the-one-door-folded-683x1024.webp?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "And two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door folded, and the two leaves of the second door folded. And he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers [on them,] and he overlaid [them] with gold evenly applied over the carved work. 1 Kings 6:34-35")
The doors of the temple were made of cypress wood and were carved with cherubim and palm trees (1 Kings 6:34-35; Ezek. 41:18-20).
If we have the view of God’s economy as we read these portions of God’s word, we will be very much encouraged and edified; however, if we read this just with our natural mind and understanding, we will simply admire the temple with its features.
The entrance into God’s temple is the death of Christ; cypress wood signifies the death of Christ.
For us to enter into the building of God, for us to do anything and be anything in the church for God’s building, we need to experience Christ in His death.
Paul declared that he did not determine to know anything among the saints except Jesus Christ and this One crucified.
We need to remain in our mingled spirit and not be drawn out of the spirit to be in the things of the flesh.
May we bring everything to Christ and allow His death to be applied.
On the doors, there were cherubim and palm trees carved. Cherubim signify the glory of the Lord manifested upon the creatures (10:18; Heb. 9:5), and palm trees signify the victory of Christ and the everlasting and ever-existing power of Christ (Ezek. 40:16; Rev. 7:9).
The palm trees and the cherubim were not painted on the door but were carved; this shows a certain process involving suffering.
The carving of the palm trees and the cherubim on the doors of cypress wood signifies that the victory of Christ and the glory of the Lord has been “carved” into our being through sufferings (Acts 16:7; Phil. 3:10; 2 Cor. 4:10-12).
We can confirm that this is our experience.
Through our experience of the death of Christ in many situations and circumstances, the Lord is able to carve something onto us where we don’t express ourselves but we express His glory.
And this becomes an entrance to the people; they have a way to enter into Christ and into the church because they see the glory of the Lord and the victory of Christ carved into us.
![Thus says the Lord Jehovah, I will also take [a] [twig] from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out; from the topmost of its young twigs I will crop off a tender one, and I will transplant [it] upon a high and prominent mountain. On the high mountain of Israel I will transplant it; and it will bear branches and produce fruit and will become a magnificent cedar; and under it all birds of every kind will nest; in the shade of its branches they will nest. Ezek. 17:22-23 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, Who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 1:3-4](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Thus-says-the-Lord-Jehovah-I-will-also-take-a-twig-from-the-lofty-top-of-the-cedar-683x1024.webp?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "Thus says the Lord Jehovah, I will also take [a] [twig] from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out; from the topmost of its young twigs I will crop off a tender one, and I will transplant [it] upon a high and prominent mountain. On the high mountain of Israel I will transplant it; and it will bear branches and produce fruit and will become a magnificent cedar; and under it all birds of every kind will nest; in the shade of its branches they will nest. Ezek. 17:22-23 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, Who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 1:3-4")
We all can testify that we have met saints who passed through many sufferings and many trials, but what we saw in them is the glory of the Lord, and the victory of Christ was expressed through their living.
They may not be the brothers speaking a message on the platform in front of everyone, but when you touch them and speak with them, the Lord’s glory is manifested and His victory is expressed.
Yes, there is the carving, and suffering is present, but what we see is the glory of the Lord, and we all have a way to enter into God’s building and enjoy the Lord.
May we learn to say Amen to the Lord’s carving of His glory and His victory into us. May we desire not merely to have the Lord’s victory “painted” on us but carved on us.
May we be those who express the victory of Christ and the glory of the Lord.
May our being be open to the Lord so that the everlasting power, the freshness, and the evergreen life of Christ be carved into our being so that we may bear this kind of image and impression wherever we go.
When this takes place in us, our very being becomes an entrance into God’s building for many others.
We will express His glory and victory, and others will have a way to enjoy God and be brought into the church through our being.
Lord Jesus, we open to You and we allow You to work Yourself into us for God’s building. Make us those who are suitable materials for Your building. May Your glory be manifested through us and may Your victory be expressed through us. Keep us enjoying You and experiencing You as the everlasting power, the freshness, and the evergreen life of God. We say Amen, Lord, to Your work of transformation within us. We say Amen to Your work of carving in us for You to gain an expression of Your glory and Your victory. We give ourselves to You, Lord; we place ourselves into Your wise hands. Have a way in our being. Have a way to break and remove anything that doesn’t match You. Have Your way to make us those who bear Your glory and express Your victory for many people to enter into the enjoyment of Christ and be part of God’s building!
Sending our Roots into Christ, Growing in Life, and Experiencing Christ’s Resurrection Life
Another kind of wood found everywhere in the temple is cedar; cedar signifies the resurrected Christ (1 Kings 6:9-10, 15-16, 36).
Cedar trees grew on the mountains of Lebanon; thus, cedar signifies Christ’s humanity in resurrection, the resurrected Christ (Psa. 104:16; Song of Songs 4:8).
The resurrected and ascended Christ as the King is a majestic and magnificent cedar out of the house of David (Ezek. 17:22-23; Rom. 1:3-4; Acts 2:22-24, 32-36; Heb. 2:9).
He is the twig from the cedar tree and transplanted on a high mountain, and He becomes a magnificent cedar.
In His humanity, He was resurrected, and His human part was resurrected and brought into divinity; now He is the cedar, the resurrected Christ.
![And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength, Which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, Far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come; And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him [to be] Head over all things to the church, Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. Eph. 1:19-23](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/And-what-is-the-surpassing-greatness-of-His-power-toward-us-who-believe-1-683x1024.webp?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength, Which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, Far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come; And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him [to be] Head over all things to the church, Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. Eph. 1:19-23")
We need to experience Him as such a One; we need to experience Christ as the resurrected Christ.
We need to be those who send forth our roots into Christ, like the cedar trees of Lebanon, causing us to grow in life as we are planted in the house of Jehovah (Hosea 14:5-9; Psa. 92:12-14; 2 Kings 19:30).
We are like cedar trees planted in the house of Jehovah, flourishing in the courts of our God, still bringing forth fruit in old age, and being full of sap and green!
If we read and pray over these portions of God’s word, musing over them with much prayerful consideration, we will be supplied and encouraged by the Lord.
We need to take time to send our roots deep down into Christ; we need to spend adequate time with the Lord to absorb Him.
The roots are the part of the tree that no one sees; they are the growth of the tree that is underground and is not seen.
We need many times in secret with the Lord to just enjoy Him, absorb Him, and take Him in.
The power of resurrection comes from this kind of time with the Lord.
The power of resurrection for us to face the chaotic situations and the satanic chaos around us comes from our time with the Lord in which we send our roots downward.
May we sed our roots downward deep into Christ so that we may grow upward and bear fruit.
May the Lord save us from falling into the trap of just being busy with the things of the Lord, the things of the church, or our own things; may we learn to spend adequate time with God to send our roots down into Him.
May we never overlook the step of taking root downward, for this is our salvation.
If we daily spend time with the Lord, we will be full of sap and green even in the old age, and we will still bring forth fruit when we are older. Amen!
But if we don’t take the time to send our roots downward, instead of being full of sap and green, we will just be full of memories of the good old days, and we will criticize how low the condition of the saints and young ones today is.
We need to daily send our roots deep down in the Lord, live a pure life of trusting in God and stand steadily in the uplifted humanity.
Then, we will flourish and spread, and there will be the glory in fruitfulness with the sweet odour of a life in the uplifted humanity.
Others will enjoy the sufficient grace that we have and minister, and we will produce satisfying food for others to partake of and the cheering drink for them to be made happy.
May this be the situation in the church life in the Lord’s recovery: may we all send our roots downward and bear fruit upward, growing like cedar trees and being suitable for God’s building.
Cedar trees signify the resurrected Christ; the same power that operated in Christ to raise Him from the dead now operates in us.
The surpassing greatness of His power which God caused to operate in Christ is now in us (Eph. 1:19-20), and He demonstrates His power in us as the church.
The church is the same as the resurrected Lord not only in nature but also in power, for just as God broke through all barriers in the Lord, so He is breaking through all barriers in the church.
As we experience the resurrected Christ, the church becomes as powerful, as free, and as unfettered by any limitation as the Lord is.
The church is the depository and storehouse of the power of resurrection, and the same resurrection power that operated in Christ now operates in us.
This power operated in Christ to make Him the Head, and the same power operates in us to make us the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:19-23; Rom. 8:2, 11; 12:1-2; Phil. 3:10). Hallelujah!
On one hand, we have the glory and victory of Christ carved into our being, and on the other hand, we manifest His resurrection life as the church!
Lord Jesus, we want to send our roots down into You as the rich soil by spending adequate time to absorb You and enjoy You. Save us from rushing or skipping our personal, private, intimate, and spiritual time with You. We treasure our time with You, dear Lord, for we can send our roots downward into You to absorb Your riches. We want to grow in life as we are planted in the house of Jehovah and flourishing in the courts of our God! Amen, Lord, may we be still bringing forth fruit in old age, being full of sap and green! Keep us enjoying You as the resurrected Christ! May the power that operated in Christ to raise Him from the dead, enthrone Him above all things, and make Him Head over all things to the church, operate in us! Hallelujah, the church is the depository and the storehouse of the resurrection power of Christ!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ricky Acosta in the message, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1961-1962, vol. 2, “The Vision of the Building of the Church“, chs. 10-11, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Kings (2022 summer training), week 7, entitled, The Intrinsic Significance of the Materials of the Temple.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Deepen all Thy work, O Master, / Strengthen every downward root; / Only do Thou ripen faster, / More and more Thy pleasant fruit; / Purge me, prune me, self abase; / Only let me grow in grace. (Hymns #394 stanza 4)
– He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, / He sendeth more strength when the labors increase, / To added affliction He addeth His mercy, / To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. / When we have exhausted our store of endurance, / When our strength has failed ere the day is half-done, / When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, / Our Father’s full giving is only begun. (Hymns #723 stanzas 1-2)
– Christ has made me more than conqu’ror, / By His mighty victory, / Now His resurrection power / From my spirit strengthens me! (Hymns #540, chorus)
About aGodMan
The church is the same as the resurrected Lord not only in nature but also in power… Just as God broke through all barriers in the Lord, He is breaking through all barriers in the church. Therefore, the church should be the same as the resurrected Lord. It should be as powerful, as free, and as unfettered by any limitation as the Lord is… The might of God’s strength not only operated in Christ, but it continually operates in the church as well. Today the church is the depository and storehouse of the power of resurrection. Today the same resurrection power is operating within us. When this power operated in Christ, it made Him the Head. When this power operates in us, it makes us the Body. Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 59, p. 94
In Hosea 14:4-8 we have a picture of Israel in the restoration (Matt. 19:28), as revealed in Hosea 2:15-23; 3:5; 6:1-3; 10:12…
He will be like the dew to Israel. Israel will bud like the lily (signifying a pure life trusting in God) and will send forth his roots like the trees of Lebanon (signifying standing steadily in the uplifted humanity).
His shoots will go forth (signifying flourishing and spreading); his splendor will be like that of the olive tree (signifying glory in fruitfulness); and his fragrance will be like that of the trees of Lebanon (signifying the sweet odor of a life in the uplifted humanity).
Those who sit under his shade (signifying being overshadowed by the sufficient grace enjoyed by them — 2 Cor. 12:9) will return.
They will revive like grain (signifying being full of life for producing the satisfying food) and will bud like the vine (signifying blossoming for producing the cheering drink).
Israel’s renown will be like the wine of Lebanon (signifying a good name spreading like tasteful wine).
I hope that this will be the situation with all the local churches in the Lord’s recovery. Then…we will be like lilies, trees of Lebanon, olive trees, and budding vines.
Life-study of Hosea, p. 61, by Witness Lee
We need to send our roots downward into Christ so that we may grow in life, bear fruit upward, and minister grace to others.
May we enjoy and experience the resurrected Christ in our daily living, realising that that the church is the storehouse and depository of the power of resurrection.
amen brother may we be those have the victory and glory of christ being carved into us and may we be those who have our being rooted in Christ so that the might of his power operate in us that was given to the Church and may our issue be bearing fruit
Oh amen Lord! I enjoyed reading about Hezekiah, Lord give us roots in your today! Save us from living a superficial outward Christian life!
Amen brother, I was also touched that we need to send forth our roots like the trees of Lebanon, to experience the resurrected Christ to become Cedar, first our experience of Christ must be downward, hidden, deepened and strengthened!
The church today is the storehouse and repository of the power of resurrection.
As Christ is, so the church be unfettered and unlimited having the same resurrection power.
In addition, all the local churches should be characterised by the life of trusting in the Lord, standing steadily in the uplifted humanity of Christ, glorying in fruitfulness, flourishing and spreading, having the sweet odor of life, having grace, having life to provide satisfying food, and having a good name.
Amen brother!
On all the wooden wainscoting, cherubim and palm trees were carved (41:18-20).
The cherubim…signify the glory of the Lord manifested upon the creatures.
Among the cherubim are palm trees, signifying the victory of Christ and the everlasting and ever-existing power of Christ.
Hallelujah!
Yes brother. We need to have the everlasting power, freshness and evergreen life of Christ carved into our being.
Then, Christ’s good name will spread like tasteful wine through us, and the local churches will be like lilies, trees of Lebanon, olive trees and budding vines.
The church should be the same as the resurrected Christ not only in nature but also in power.
God can break through all barriers in the church.
When resurrection power operated in Christ, it made Him the Head.
Now, the same resurrection power is operating in us, making us the Body.
Amen Brother.
The same Resurrection power which raised Christ from the dead operates in us to make us His Body.