Not Usurping God but Praying and Being According to God’s Heart and for His Economy

The Lord within us all is aspiring to take us on from the tabernacle church life in the wilderness of the soul to the temple church life with Christ as the reality of the good land in our spirit!

There’s a hunger and a thirst in us from something higher in the church life that we have yet experienced, and there’s a dissatisfaction in us with our current situation and condition: we want to go forward, higher, and deeper with the Lord until He gains something solid, the reality of the Body of Christ in all the local churches.

The tabernacle church life is good, but we want to get into our spirit, deeper with the Lord, aspiring to have the temple church life in the good land of our mingled spirit.

How can we go on with the Lord to enter into the temple church life in our spirit? It is by means of the Ark and the tabernacle, and today we want to see the history of the Ark and the tabernacle so that we may be brought further into the good land of our spirit and enter into a higher level where the temple can be built up.

Oh, may we all have this aspiration in us to go on and enter into the good land to possess it, and may we all enter into the experience of Christ that will bring us into the temple church life, the reality of the Body of Christ today.

The Ark typifies Christ as the Presence of the Triune God with His People for His Economy and Kingdom

If we read the Old Testament we see that the Ark is the center of the tabernacle, and where the ark was, God was with His people for them to accomplish God’s purpose and for God’s kingdom to be brought on the earth.

When the people of Israel were about to enter the good land, the Ark went into the Jordan river first, and it stayed there until all the people crossed (Josh. 3:14-17); whenever the ark was among God’s people, they had the victory, God accomplished His purpose, and the kingdom of God was established.

In our Christian experience, the Ark typifies Christ as the presence of the Triune God with us, His people, for the carrying out of His economy to establish His kingdom on earth (Matt. 1:23). In the first stage of its history, the Ark was the center and content of the tabernacle – this signifies that Christ is the center and the content of the church (see Exo. 25:10; 40:21; Col. 1:17-18).

When God gave Moses the vision of the tabernacle, the Ark was spoken of first; this indicates that Christ (the reality of the Ark, the embodiment and testimony of God) occupies the place of preeminence in the church. Our growth in the divine life is into Christ, and our functioning in life is out from Christ (Eph. 4:15-16); Christ is the center and the circumference, and Christ is the preeminent One in the church – He’s the center of the church.

However, in Israel’s history, we see that they became degraded, and in the time of Eli, the people of Israel took the Ark out on the battlefield to “give them the victory” against the Philistines. But God had no intention to go with them and give them the victory because they were not living in the reality of God’s economy, but they wanted God to go with them for their own peace, prosperity, peace, and victory, having no thought for God’s interest on earth.

Even though the Ark was with God’s people on the battlefield, it was captured by the enemy, and Eli and his sons died; the wife of Phineas (one of Eli’s sons) gave birth to a son and called him, Ichabod, meaning, No Glory. When we don’t have Christ as our center and content, we have no glory.

Due to Israel’s degradation, the ark was captured by the Philistines and was separated from the tabernacle, leaving the tabernacle an empty vessel with no reality (see 1 Sam. 4:3, 11-6:1). Oh Lord Jesus!

May we be those who enjoy and grow in this Christ who is the testimony of God, and may we be warned not to use God for our interest and peace without having any thought for God’s economy!

Lord Jesus, thank You for being the embodiment of God to be God’s presence with us for the carrying out of Your economy to establish Your kingdom on earth. Lord, You are our center and our content: we take You as our Head, our center, and our everything, and we give You the preeminence in all things. You are the center of the church, and You occupy the place of preeminence in the church and in our being! We want to grow in life into You and function in life out from You for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ!

Not Usurping God but Praying and Being Persons According to God’s Heart and for His Economy

In the history of the Ark with the tabernacle in the Old Testament, we see that it was captured by the Philistines, since in their degradation the people of Israel were foolish to trust not in God directly but in the systems ordained by God (see Rom. 2:28-29).

There were some past victories that Israel won because of the Ark (Num. 10:35; Josh. 6), but this time their situation and condition were not right; they should have repented and turned to God, trusting in Him for victory; instead, they offended God to the uttermost, God left them, and the Ark itself was captured (instead of saving Israel).

In their situation, Israel should have repented, made a thorough confession, and return to God from their idols, and they should have inquired of God as to what He wanted them to do; instead of doing this, the people of Israel had no heart for God’s desire or for His eternal economy, and so they exercised their superstition to trust in the Ark, based on the past victories they had experienced through the move of the Ark.

We need to always remember that past victories can never be our present strength; we shouldn’t be superstitious in trusting that past victories will save us today – when we have no heart for God’s economy. In Israel’s case, God did not intend to move, but the people of Israel “forced God” to move with them for their interest.

The children of Israel had no thought of or concern for God’s economy, and their bringing out the Ark indicated that they were usurping God, even forcing Him to go out with them for their safety, peace, rest, and profit; in principle, we do the same thing whenever we pray for our prosperity without any consideration of God’s economy; instead of usurping God, we should pray, live, and be persons according to God’s heart and for His economy; whenever man’s need replaces God’s testimony, there is degradation (1 Kings 8:48). Witness Lee

This should be a warning to us. Of course, we have needs, and we come to the Lord to meet our needs, but we are NOT here on earth primarily for our need but for God’s need. We are here for the temple church life, for God to gain His testimony and expression, and for Him to gain a bride so that Christ may return.

For example, when we are sick, we should not merely ask God for healing but first be related to God’s economy and tell the Lord,

Lord, I’m not here on earth for my health, prosperity, my children, or my work – I am here for Your economy. I have seen Your economy, and I have seen that You desire the Nazarites, those voluntarily consecrated ones. Lord, I desire to be a Nazarite for You. As one who has been born of God and has the life and nature of God, I ask You, What is in Your heart concerning me?

If we ask the Lord in this way when we are sick, He will carry out His economy in us and with us. When God’s economy is being carried out among God’s people, they are blessed. Our welfare and prosperity as God’s people is related to the carrying out of God’s economy.

We shouldn’t seek to have prosperity apart from God’s economy. We shouldn’t expect to have prosperity for ourselves but we should pray that through us God would do as much as possible to accomplish His economy – and then we will be blessed.

We need to be those who do not usurp God by asking Him for healing, prosperity, or material things; we should pray, live, and be persons according to God’s heart and for His economy.

In 1 Kings 8:48 we see the principle of prayer: whenever we pray for any thing, matter, situation, or person, we should pray toward the all-inclusive Christ (the reality of the holy land), the church as the kingdom of God (the reality of the holy city), and the church as the house of God (the reality of the holy temple).

When we pray for any thing or any one, our whole being should be aimed at God’s eternal economy for that person or that thing. We should not be those who continue the pitiful history of degradation in today’s Christianity by offending God and usurping Him through our prayers, but we should be those who pray, are men of prayer before God, and live as persons according to God’s heart and for His economy.

If we usurp God, He is offended and we will be a Christless Christian (just as the people of Israel was “Arkless”), having no glory or reality of God with us.

Lord Jesus, save us from usurping You through our prayers for things or people without having a heart for Your economy. We have seen Your economy, and we realize that You desire to have the church as the house of God and the city of God. Lord, we want to be persons according to God’s heart and for Your economy, those who pray for others, for ourselves, and for things having Your economy in view. Amen, Lord, may our whole being be aimed at God’s economy as we pray, so that You may gain Your testimony and bring in Your kingdom!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, Ed Marks sharing in the message for this week, and Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msgs. 2-4, 22 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Church as the Temple of God – The Goal of God’s Eternal Economy (2015 Thanksgiving Conference), week 1 / msg. 1, Going On with the Lord from the Tabernacle Church Life to the Temple Church Life.
• All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Others have considerations, / When serving You, Lord, is the highest profession. / No longer good for the world with all its glory, / We’re for Christ and the church, ’tis now our testimony. / See the vision of Christ and the church; / Count the cost; reckon all things as loss; / Pay the price. The prize to gain Christ, / Burn the bridges; leave the world behind; / On God’s economy your heart be set / To live a life… (Song on gaining Christ at any cost)
  # I will choose to be a living overcomer, / Be a person not ashamed to be a Jesus lover, / One who eats the tree of life, / And drinks the living water. / I will give myself to be an overcomer, / To see a heav’nly vision, / Keep my flaming spirit burning! / I give myself to You, to turn this age. (Song on choosing to be an overcomer)
  # If we do not have the heart to take care of God’s house for His satisfaction, / No matter how much we eat or drink or how well we dress, / There will be no satisfaction; if we neglect the church— / Thus says Jehovah, Consider your ways. / Go up to the mountain and bring wood, / And build My house, and I’ll take pleasure in it, / And will be glorified. (Song on considering our ways)