V. A THRONE OF GLORY
(THE GLORY OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY)
FOR HIS FATHER’S HOUSE
Christ as a peg will become a throne of glory for His Father’s house (Isa. 22:23b). In Hebrew the word for glory here means both honor and glory. Christ is a throne of honor, a throne of glory. According to Isaiah 22:24 the glory is the children of God as the offspring and issue of God, and these children of God are the vessels of Christ, hanging upon Him as the peg. Christ being a throne of glory for His Father’s house is the issue of His people, who are vessels, hanging upon Him as the peg in order to contain Him and minister Him to others. These people, the children of God, are the glory of Christ. With the glory there is a throne, and this throne is actually Christ Himself. The throne signifies the administrative authority and the kingdom. Christ in His administrative authority is the throne governing everything within the house of God.
VI. THE ONE UPON WHOM HANGS
ALL THE GLORY OF HIS FATHER’S HOUSE
Christ is the One upon whom hangs all the glory of His Father’s house—the Father’s offspring and issue (descendants), like all the smallest vessels, from the bowls to all the jars (Isa. 22:24). Glory refers to God’s descendants, all of God’s people. Children are the parents’ glory. As the children of God, we are His offspring and issue. Offspring implies the second generation, and issue implies the later generations. Some reference books indicate that offspring is the word for shoot and issue is the word for growth. As the children of God, we are God’s shooting out and also God’s growth. The children of God as the offspring and the issue are glory in the house of God. In Isaiah 22:24 "the glory" is in apposition with "the offspring and the issue." Hence, they refer to the same thing.
Furthermore, "the offspring and the issue" is in apposition with "all the smallest vessels, from the bowls to all the jars." The glory refers to the children of God, and the children of God are the vessels. Today in God’s house, on the one hand, we are God’s children, and on the other hand, we are the vessels. The Hebrew word for bowls may also be translated cups, and the Hebrew word for jars refers to large, bulging bottles or pitchers. Some of the children of God are smaller, like cups, and others are bigger, like jars, bulging bottles, or pitchers. Whether we are small cups or bulging bottles, we are all vessels.
Cups, or bowls, are small vessels to contain water, and bulging bottles, pitchers, or jars are big vessels to contain wine. Water typifies the Spirit of Christ, and wine typifies the divine life. This signifies that in the house of God all His children are vessels to contain His Spirit as water to quench people’s thirst and His life as wine to cheer people unto rejoicing. When we were saved, we received Christ as the living water. Then that water became wine to us. Every one of us should be filled with the divine water and the divine wine.
At times we are too silent in the meetings because we are not filled with the divine life. We should be "drunk" with the divine wine, the life of God. We need to be the bulging bottles full of God’s life as the new wine. When we are "drunk" in this way, we cannot be silent. Furthermore, some of us are too depressed. When we are filled with the new wine, we will be happy and excited. We will be eager to hear the word of the ministry and to receive help from the ministry. The new wine, in a proper sense, will make us "crazy." When we are all "crazy" by being filled with the new wine, we will also enjoy the outpouring of the Spirit. We will be full of joy and rejoicing. We may even be so excited that we will jump before the Lord.
Instead of being filled with the divine wine to such an extent, we may merely be nice, polite, and regulated. To be nice, polite, and regulated in this way is to be dead. Instead of being living members of the Body of Christ, we may be "dead as a doornail." If we feel that we are dead, we need to drink the living water and drink the new wine. The living water will quench our thirst, and the new wine will cheer us unto rejoicing.
Isaiah 22:24 indicates that the vessels, which are for containing water and wine, are hanging upon Christ as the peg. This implies that in the house of God all the riches of the bountiful supply for the enjoyment of God’s children are hanging on Christ as the peg, the holder. This implies too that in the house of God all His children who hang on the all-inclusive Christ and who are the containers of the riches of God in this Christ should also be the vessels for ministering Christ to others. As the vessels we are for containing the living water and the new wine for our enjoyment, and we are also for the ministry of the riches of Christ to others.
(Life-Study of Isaiah, Chapter 42, by Witness Lee)
