![King Solomon made himself a palanquin / Of the wood of Lebanon. Its posts he made of silver; / Its bottom, of gold; / Its seat, of purple; / Its midst was inlaid [with] love / From the daughters of Jerusalem. Song of Songs 3:9-10](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/King-Solomon-made-himself-a-palanquin-Of-the-wood-of-Lebanon-1024x576.jpg?resize=800%2C450&ssl=1 "King Solomon made himself a palanquin / Of the wood of Lebanon. Its posts he made of silver; / Its bottom, of gold; / Its seat, of purple; / Its midst was inlaid [with] love / From the daughters of Jerusalem. Song of Songs 3:9-10")
As lovers of Christ pursuing the Lord in love, we are called by Him to live in ascension as the new creation in resurrection by living in our spirit and loving the Lord so that we may become mature in the riches of the life of Christ, be the carriage bearing Him in His move on earth, and become a garden for His private enjoyment.
Our pursuit of the Lord in love is seen in type in the book of Song of Songs, where we start by loving the Lord Jesus and asking Him to kiss us, love us, and infuse us with what He is.
We are developing our personal and intimate relationship with the Lord in our daily life by practicing telling the Lord we love Him early in the morning and maintaining our love for Him throughout the day.
We believers in Christ live in a divine romance; the Lord Jesus as the most wonderful One has attracted us, drawing us to Himself, and we have an intimate, spiritual, affectionate, and private relationship with Him.
We are daily learning to contact Him and grow in love for Him. As we love the Lord and pursue after Him in love, we are called by the Lord to be delivered from the self.
It is easy for the self to creep in, and we may focus on our inward situation and outward condition more than we focus on the Lord.
When introspection comes, when we look into ourselves without the Lord’s light shining on us, there is a barrier between us and the Lord.
So the Lord shows us who He is and what He is doing, and we realize that nothing is too high or too great to stop this resurrected One.
When we turn to our spirit and enjoy the hill-skipping and mountain-leaping Christ, we will simply get out of ourselves and focus on Him.
He strengthens us with the power of His resurrection and supplies and encourages us with the flourishing resurrection life so that we may be delivered from the self.
We all yearn for this, to be delivered from the self with all its misery.
But we can’t deliver ourselves nor can we do something in ourselves or by ourselves to be released from the self.
What we can do is exercise our spirit, for in our spirit we are mingled with the Lord, and only by contacting Him in spirit are we enabled to be one with the cross to be delivered from the self.
When the self is removed, when we pay attention more to the Lord Himself than to ourselves, we are transformed into a new man in God’s new creation, and we participate in the fulfilment of God’s economy in the building up of the organic Body of Christ.
May we all advance with the Lord in our romantic, intimate, affectionate, spiritual relationship with Him until He gains what He is after, the bride that He will return to rapture!
We are Called to Live in Ascension as the New Creation in Resurrection by Living Continually in our Spirit
In the third stage of Song of Songs, from 3:6 to 5:1, we see that the lover of Christ is called to live in ascension as the new creation in resurrection.
The Lord calls us to Himself, where He is, to be one with Him; He is calling us to live in ascension by discerning our spirit from our soul.
1 Thes. 5:23 says that the God of peace sanctifies us wholly, and our spirit and our soul and body will be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we do not know how to discern our spirit from our soul, we will not be able to live in ascension to be the new creation in resurrection.
For us to live in ascension is for us to live continually in our spirit; when we are in our spirit and live in our spirit, we are joined to the ascended Christ in the heavens (Eph. 2:22; Gen. 28:12-17; John 1:51; Rev. 4:1-2; Heb. 4:12, 16 and footnote 1, Recovery Version Bible).
We are joined to the Lord as one spirit, and Christ as the heavenly ladder is set up in our spirit to join us to God Himself.
We can simply come forward to the throne of grace in our spirit and live continually in the spirit to live in ascension and be a new creation in resurrection.
Since in spirit we are joined to the Lord, we need to live continually in our spirit.
We need to live and walk in our spirit.
When we live in our spirit, we live in ascension and are joined to the ascended Christ in the heavens.
Through our oneness with the cross of Christ, the self has been broken, and by the power of the resurrection of Christ and by the riches of His resurrection, we are strengthened and become a spiritual person who matches God and is qualified to move with God. Amen!
Although we believers in Christ live on the earth and we still have the flesh, we need to live not in our natural life or by the flesh but in spirit and by the spirit.
We need to live in ascension by continually living in our spirit.
As we do this and that, as we take care of so many necessary things outwardly, our focus is not things or persons but Christ Himself, the One to whom we are intimately joined and who is everything to us.
As we live our daily life on earth, we realize that we are joined to the ascended Christ in the heavens, and we live, act, move, and do everything in our spirit (Rom. 8:4).
This requires that we discern our spirit from our soul.
How can we live in our spirit if we do not know what’s the difference between the spirit and the soul?
May we come to the word of God with the exercise of our spirit so that the word would become living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit (Heb. 4:12).
When we pray and read the word of God, the word becomes living and pierces and penetrates to divide our spirit from our soul.
When we discern our spirit, we will realize that the Holy of Holies in the heavens, where the Lord Jesus dwells, is connected to our spirit, even is in our spirit!
The very Christ who is in heaven is now also in our spirit, and He as the heavenly ladder joins our spirit to heaven and brings heaven into our spirit.
Whenever we turn to our spirit, we’re in ascension with the Lord, and we can live in ascension as a new creation in resurrection.
Lord Jesus, we want to live in ascension as the new creation in resurrection by living continually in our spirit. Hallelujah, in our spirit we are joined to the Lord as one spirit, and the heavens are joined to us! Amen, Lord, we want to live, act, move, and do everything in our spirit. We come to You in Your word so that Your word would pierce and divide our spirit from our soul. Save us from living in the soul, in the self, or in the flesh. May we see our spirit, know our spirit, live in our spirit, and do all things in our spirit so that we may live in ascension as the new creation in resurrection. Amen, Lord Jesus, we love our spirit! We want to live and walk in our spirit! Strengthen us and encourage us with the power and riches of Your resurrection and keep us in our spirit today! We want to be one with You in our daily living by living continually in our spirit today!
Being Transformed and Rebuilt with the Divine Trinity to be a Palanquin for Christ, Mature in the Riches of the Life of Christ
![Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me more than these?... John 21:15](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Then-when-they-had-eaten-breakfast-Jesus-said-to-Simon-Peter-Simon-son-of-John-do-you-love-Me-more-than-these-1-1024x1024.jpg?resize=750%2C750&ssl=1 "Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me more than these?... John 21:15")
As the Spirit works in us to transform us, we become a moving vessel of Christ, a carriage for Christ, even a “car” for Him, so that He may move in us and through us in and for the Body of Christ (S. S. 3:9-10; cf. 2 Cor. 2:12-17).
As lovers of Christ, we are becoming a palanquin for Christ, made of the wood of Lebanon with posts made of silver, the bottom of gold, the seat of purple, and the midst is inlaid with our love for Him.
By the Spirit’s transforming work in us, we become a palanquin for Christ, the “car” of Christ for the move of Christ in the Body and for the Body.
Christ Himself works to build this palanquin, and He uses not our humanity but the resurrected, uplifted, and noble humanity of Christ (typified by the wood of Lebanon), God’s nature (typified by gold) as its base, Christ’s redemption (typified by silver) as its supports, and Christ’s kingship (purple) as its seat.
The inside of the palanquin for Christ is inlaid with the love of Christ’s seekers (the daughters of Jerusalem), which shows that we as lovers of Christ are one with all the seekers of Christ in love in the principle of the Body of Christ.
Day by day we are being rebuilt with the Divine Trinity so that our external structure is the resurrected and ascended humanity of Jesus and our interior decoration is our love for the Lord.
The palanquin has an exterior and an interior; the exterior is wood of Lebanon, posts of silver, and a base of gold, signifying the uplifted humanity of Christ, the redemption of Christ, and the divine nature of God.
What others see in us is the Triune God being expressed in humanity.
The interior is inlaid with love; we love the Lord and give Him our love, and He is our Beloved. Amen!
Christ makes us from a mare, which is wild and natural by birth, into a palanquin, which is something built up.
The substantial material used for this building is the humanity of Jesus in resurrection and ascension.
We are being transformed and rebuilt with the Divine Trinity to be a palanquin for Christ.
We are becoming a moving vessel of Christ built with the resurrected and ascended humanity of Christ.
We need to learn to take the Lord’s resurrected and ascended humanity as our basic structure so that we may be built into the moving vessel that contains and expresses Him. Amen!
We need to enjoy Christ’s resurrection and live by the divine nature of the Father so that we may be transformed and rebuilt with the Divine Trinity and be a palanquin for Christ for His move on earth.
Though all these sound quite mysterious, we need to bring them to the Lord in prayer so that He can bring us into the reality of all these matters in our Christian life.
He Himself is working on us and in us, taking the full responsibility to make us a palanquin for Christ.
Throughout the years the Lord has been working on us with the intention to make us a palanquin for Himself.
He doesn’t use our natural makeup or natural abilities; He uses Himself as the material – the humanity of Christ, the redemption of Christ, and the divinity of God.
What should we do on our side? We simply need to be open to Him. We simply need to love Him.
Just love the Lord, this is the best and shortest way to cooperate with Him.
The interior decoration of the palanquin was inlaid with love from the daughters of Jerusalem.
We must offer our love to the Lord; what He wants is nothing else but our love.
This is why He asked Peter, even after his greatest failure, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? (John 21:15)
The Lord is always seeking our love. Our love affords something for the interior decoration of the palanquin.
![A garden enclosed is my sister, [my] bride, / A spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates / With choicest fruit; / Henna with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; / Calamus and cinnamon, / With all the trees of frankincense; / Myrrh and aloes, / With all the chief spices. A fountain in gardens, / A well of living water, / And streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind; / And come, O south wind! / Blow upon my garden: / Let its spices flow forth; / Let my beloved come into his garden / And eat his choicest fruit. Song of Songs 4:12-16](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/A-garden-enclosed-is-my-sister-my-bride-A-spring-shut-up-a-fountain-sealed-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "A garden enclosed is my sister, [my] bride, / A spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates / With choicest fruit; / Henna with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; / Calamus and cinnamon, / With all the trees of frankincense; / Myrrh and aloes, / With all the chief spices. A fountain in gardens, / A well of living water, / And streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind; / And come, O south wind! / Blow upon my garden: / Let its spices flow forth; / Let my beloved come into his garden / And eat his choicest fruit. Song of Songs 4:12-16")
He does the work, we love Him, and He transforms and rebuilds us with the Divine Trinity as we give Him our love.
The more we love the Lord, the more we will lose our personality and our character, and the more we will lose our will; at the same time, we become suitable for the Lord to move in us and through us, and there will be a wonderful interior decoration.
As we live in Christ’s ascension as the new creation in resurrection, we as lovers of Christ become mature in the riches of the life of Christ so that we can become a garden to Christ for His private enjoyment (Song of Songs 4:12-15).
We will be prepared to give forth Christ’s fragrance in any circumstance or environment (v. 16).
We become a private garden for Christ’s personal enjoyment and satisfaction.
We become an enclosed garden, available not for others to enjoy but only for our Bridegroom.
No matter what wind comes, the north or south wind, we spread the fragrance of Christ.
We will not have a problem with any outward circumstance but rather, we seek to be inwardly constituted with Christ so that, whatever the environment will be, the fragrance of Christ will be spread.
We learn the lesson of being empowered to do all things in Christ, the One who empowers us (Phil. 4:13).
Lord Jesus, transform us and rebuild us with Yourself so that we may be a palanquin for Christ, a carriage for Him to have a way to move on earth for the Body. Keep us in our spirit today, loving You and opening to You. We love You, Lord Jesus, and we give You the permission to rebuild us with the Divine Trinity so that our external structure may be the resurrected and ascended humanity of Jesus and our interior decoration is our love for the Lord. Oh Lord Jesus, gain us fully for Your purpose so that Your heart’s desire may be fulfilled in us! We just love You and open to You. We want to live in Christ’s ascension as the new creation in resurrection so that we may become mature in the riches of the life of Christ. We are here for You, Lord, to be an enclosed garden for Your private enjoyment. Go on in us, Lord, and work Yourself into us today. Keep us living continually in our spirit so that we may live in Christ’s ascension and be for Your satisfaction and enjoyment! May the fragrance of Christ come out of us as we live one spirit with You today!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, vol. 1, “Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs,” chs. 1-13, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Fighting the Good Fight, Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith, and Loving the Lord’s Appearing in Order to Receive the Reward of Christ as the Crown of Righteousness (2024 ICSC), week 4, Loving the Lord’s Appearing by Maintaining Our Love for Him according to the Intrinsic Significance of Song of Songs.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– Dealing with the matter of resurrection (4), a portion from, Life-Study of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 68.
– Called to Live in Ascension as the New Creation in Resurrection, a video message by Brother Lee.
– Loving the Lord and being subdued by Him for our transformation, outline via, Church in Sacramento.
– God’s Building Work with Man (6), via, New Jerusalem blog.
– The moving vessel of Christ, a portion from, Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee.
– The Indwelling Christ and His Wonderful Indwelling, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
– Song of Songs—the Progressive Experience of an Individual Believer’s Loving Fellowship with Christ for the Preparation of the Bride of Christ, outline via, New Zealand Training Centre.
– Loving the Lord and loving one another for the organic building up of the church as the Body of Christ, week 2, via, Church in Regina.
– Song of Songs—the Progressive Experience of an Individual Believer’s Loving Fellowship with Christ for the Preparation of the Bride of Christ, via, Church in New York City.
– Crucial Points regarding the Lord’s Ascension, via, Living to Him. - Hymns on this topic:
– A vessel to contain the King! / (This type is full of worth.) / A palanquin He’s made Himself / For His move on the earth! / Of wood this vessel is composed: / Christ’s ris’n humanity. / Its silver pillars for support / And floor of gold we see! / The seat of purple signifies / Christ is of kings the King. / To Him, as fittings for within, / Their love His dear ones bring! (Hymns #1241 stanzas 8-10)
– Christ will make His seeking lover / Pillar, couch, and palanquin, / E’en a crown, His boast and glory; / He will do it all! Amen! / His beloved—how He loves her, / So attractive, His delight. / He is captivated wholly; / She is comely in His sight. / But there still remains a shadow; / Christ is still not satisfied. / He must have a growing garden / To become His loving Bride! (Hymns #1161 stanzas 1-2 and chorus)
– Now a palanquin You’re making— / Nothing natural You’ll allow. / For Your move and Your expression / Start this work within us now! / You supply the wood and pillars / For the structure and support, / Bottom gold and seat of purple / For our King of royal court. / Only this, O Lord, we offer / For Thy palanquin so fine: / Just our love, so pure and fitted, / The interior design. (Hymns #1155 stanzas 8-10)
About aGodMan
![...Well [done,] good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master. Matt. 25:21](https://i0.wp.com/agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Well-done-good-and-faithful-slave.jpg?fit=178%2C100&ssl=1)
Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, vol. 1, “Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs,” pp. 270-271
Song of Songs 3:9, footnote 1, Recovery Version Bible
We are called by the Lord to live in ascension as the new creation in resurrection by living continually in our spirit.
When we live in our spirit, we’re joined to the ascended Christ in the heavens and we are built with God’s nature and the resurrected and uplifted humanity of Christ to be His palanquin, his moving vessel, the “car” of Christ, for the move of Christ in and for the Body of Christ.
May we continue to love the Lord today and may we live in Christ’s ascension as the new creation in resurrection!
Amen! Thank the Lord for the resurrected and ascended Christ.
May we take this One as our base in all things!
Aaaaameeen!
To live in ascension is to live continually in our spirit om earth, joined to the ascended Christ in the heavens!
He only asks that we love him!
Yes, to live in ascension requires that we do everything in our spirit.
We need the Lord’s resurrected and ascended humanity as our structure, Christ’s redemption to support us, and the divine nature as our base.
Praise the Lord! 😃🙌🙋🏼
https://youtu.be/w_cb-EibYNA?si=wuAFHAlKKi0GEO5T
Yes, brother, we are called to live an ascension life, in which humanity is lifted up with divinity. The interior part of the palanquin needs to be decorated with our love.
What a mysterious life it is.
We are here on this earth, but still living in heaven not with but in Him.
God doesn’t want vessels made of our natural birth. He wishes to make us those who are built with the resurrected & ascended humanity of Jesus.
We must learn to exercise our mingled spirit and live, move & act continually in our spirit to afford the Lord a way to build us up with the humanity of Jesus, the redemption of Christ and the divinity of God.
Our part in this building work is just to love God and to allow Him to eradicate our character & personality so that Christ may live, and we would be His beautifully decorated carriage.
07/10/24 Loving the Lord’s Appearing by Maintaining Our Love for Him according to the Intrinsic Significance of Song of Songs (Week 4, Day 3)
The first subject in the third stage of the believer’s loving fellowship with Christ is a revelation of the experience of complete union with the Lord. This subject is covered in 3:6-11. In verse 6 the Lord says of the lover, “Who is she who comes up from the wilderness / Like pillars of smoke, / Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, / With all the fragrant powders of the merchant?”
At this point in her seeking, the lover has made much progress. She is coming up from the wilderness, meaning that she has come out of the world and out of her wandering experiences. She has also become a pillar. This reveals that she is now able to stand firm and is stable. She is a strong pillar, but this pillar is made of smoke. This signifies that although she is firm, she is also flexible.
The pillar of smoke corresponds to the pillar of cloud that led the children of Israel in the wilderness (Exo. 13:21-22) and is a type of the Spirit. For the seeker to be a pillar of smoke means that she is absolutely in the spirit. Often when we meet a genuinely spiritual person, we sense that there is something about him that is like smoke.
The genuinely spiritual person has a quality about him that is not physical or material but spiritual. At the same time, we realize that this person is standing firm like a pillar. Smoke is also something that is always ascending. Thus, to become a pillar of smoke is to become one who is always ascending. This is the kind of person the seeker has become.
Song of Songs 3:9 continues, “King Solomon made himself a palanquin.” In ancient times in the East, rich people and royalty never traveled by mule cart; instead, they used a palanquin. The palanquin rested on poles, and the rich person or a member of the royal family sat inside the palanquin and was carried along in splendid style. At this point in her spiritual progress, the seeker of the Lord has become not only the bed for the Lord’s rest but also the vessel for His move.
A palanquin carried a member of the royal family, but that is not all that it did. It also displayed the wealth of the royal person. As the royal person traveled through the land, his palanquin expressed him. Thus, for the Lord’s seeker to become His palanquin means that she has become His expression. Being the palanquin, she carries Christ, as her Rider, and manifests Christ so that wherever she is, Christ is, and wherever she goes, Christ goes. This is a picture of complete union with the Lord.
With the palanquin, there are two aspects: the exterior structure and the interior decoration. Solomon built a palanquin of the wood of Lebanon. This is the substantial structure. Wood signifies humanity, and Lebanon signifies resurrection and ascension. The humanity of the resurrected and ascended Christ is the wood of Lebanon.
The substantial material used for the building of the palanquin is the humanity of Jesus in resurrection and ascension. The moving vessel of Christ is not of natural birth, but something built with the resurrected and ascended humanity of Christ. The more we love the Lord, the more we will lose our character, personality, and will, and our interior will be decorated with our love for the Lord.
The seeking one is now a vessel to contain Christ, carrying Him about in His move for His Body. A palanquin is a stately, royal car. As a vessel, it contains the person it carries. She is now the moving vessel, a vehicle, of Christ. Christ moves by being contained in her. While she is containing Him, He moves in her and with her. Hallelujah! This is the palanquin of Christ.
Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs,” chs. 1-13
S.S. 3:9-10
King Solomon made himself a palanquin of the wood of Lebanon. Its posts he made of silver; its bottom, of gold; its seat, of purple; its midst was inlaid with love from the daughters of Jerusalem.
–
HWMRW4D3
“𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥’𝘴 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴”
Our responsibility is simply to offer our love to Him. The interior decoration of the palanquin was inlaid with love from the daughters of Jerusalem. We must offer our love to the Lord. He does not want anything from us other than our love. “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” (John 21:15). He is always seeking our love, and only our love affords something for the interior decoration of the palanquin. The Lord Jesus made it, but it is decorated with our love. The basic structure is of wood, silver, and gold, but our love is the only thing with which the interior is decorated. The more we love Him, the more we will lose our character and personality. The more we love Him, the more we will lose our will, but the interior of the palanquin will be fully decorated.
(CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs,” pp. 270-271)
Amen Lord for the living in our mingled spirit today!
Listen to the audio version of this article via,
youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IhKSE3hqQE
rumble
https://rumble.com/v56bv7y-called-to-live-in-ascension-as-the-new-creation-in-resurrection.html
What a wonderful picture of the Lord building a beautiful palanquin in our spirit. And also that we become a garden for His pleasure solely. Thank you brother.
Once again we see that the work is His. All we do is love Him. But what does that mean.?
We know from our human experience, that loving someone is more than words. We show love through actions, through helpfulness, through listening and understanding, through kindness and forgiveness.
So how does this translate to loving our Lord. What is it He truly desires from us? How do we offer Him something with which to decorate His palanquin?
I don’t know. But the more time we spend in prayer, in scripture, in fellowship, in demonstrating our love for Him through I care for each other, the stronger our relationship and the deeper our love. We don’t have to prove our love. He is more aware of its qualities than we are. What we need to do is live by our love…every word, every action, every thought.
One glorious day our palanquins, then obsolete as the journey will be over, will arrive at the New Jerusalem to be refashioned into the Lord’s glorious city and adoring bride. What a wonderful Hope we have!