EXPERIENCING CHRIST
Now we come to the second main thing in the living of God’s people in the good land, and that is Christ. When you come as an Israelite to worship God, you have to bring the produce of the land of Canaan. We know that the different sorts of produce are types of the different aspects of Christ. You have to bring Christ to the worship of God. This is also a governing principle.
Whenever we come together, we have to bring Christ. Do not bring anything else. What you need to bring to the meeting must be Christ or some aspects of Christ. Do not bring your doctrines, your opinions, or your interpretations. Rather, bring something of Christ. Suppose a brother brings the debate about predestination to the meeting. Is that something of Christ? You and I have to learn the lesson strictly. Whenever we come to the meeting, what we bring must be Christ Himself. Look at the picture in ancient times. When the people of Israel came together to worship God, they just brought the produce of the good land of Canaan to offer to God. What they offered to God would be the food to God for His satisfaction and enjoyment. Also, they shared with one another all that they had offered to God. We are clear today that all the offerings, all the things offered to God, are types of Christ.
Concerning the offerings, let me give you a summary. All the offerings are classified into two main categories. One is the offerings of the animal life, and the other is the offerings of the vegetable life. The Israelites offered something of the herd and of the flocks, which are things of the animal life. They also offered corn, wheat, wine, and oil, which are things of the vegetable life.
There are also two aspects of the life of Christ. The first aspect is that His life is likened to the animal life, which typifies the redeeming life. Whenever you offer something of the herd or of the flock, that will be slain and the blood will be shed. With the shedding of the blood, there is the redeeming (Heb. 9:22, 12). With Christ the Lord, His life in the first aspect is a redeeming life, which is typified by the animal life. The other aspect of the Lord’s life is the generating life, which is typified by the vegetable life. A grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, and when it grows up it produces many grains (John 12:24). This means it generates. This is why I say the vegetable life is a generating life.
The life of Christ, on the one hand, is the redeeming life to redeem us, and on the other hand, is the generating life to generate much fruit. Our experiences of Christ can be classified into these two categories. Christ as the redeeming life recovers, heals, cures, and restores us. Then there are many other times when we experience Christ as the generating life that generates us, resurrects us, gives life to us, energizes us, strengthens us, and empowers us. The life of Christ is a powerful life that strengthens and energizes us that through us something may be produced. Therefore, in our experience of Christ we should have many flocks and herds and also much wine, oil, corn, and wheat.
All the saints bring all these experiences of Christ to the meeting and offer them to God. In a certain sense, these experiences may be considered as a burnt offering. The burnt offering is something offered to God for God’s satisfaction. There were five main offerings in the Old Testament—the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. Christ as the burnt offering is for the satisfaction of God.
Also, what we bring to God may be considered as a heave offering. To heave means to lift up. Therefore, the heave offering typifies the ascended Christ. Christ, who has accomplished everything, is the ascended One, the lifted-up One. On the one hand, as the burnt offering, Christ is the very satisfaction to God. On the other hand, as the heave offering, Christ is the ascended One who has accomplished everything. Whenever we come to the meeting, we have to bring these kinds of experiences of Christ.
(The Life and Way for the Practice of the Church Life, Chapter 15, by Witness Lee)
