THE SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE OF CHRIST
If we would participate in God’s expression or be God’s expression, we must have the full and adequate experience of Christ. At the altar our experience of Christ is mostly objective. There are some subjective aspects because at the altar we could eat part of the meal offering and part of the peace offering. But when we enter into the tabernacle and come to the table, we can experience Christ altogether subjectively. At the altar the experience is partially without and partially within. But when we enter into the tabernacle and go to the table, we enjoy Christ altogether inwardly, taking Him as our food and life supply.
From the table we go to the lampstand where there is not the outward shining, but the inward shining. It is the shining of Christ from within us. Then we go to the ark. You can see that we are progressing more and more inward. We are entering not only within the tabernacle but also within the veil. We enter even into the ark itself until eventually we have the inmost experience. Here we experience Christ in the deepest sense. We do not only have some light but also the inner law of life regulating us inwardly. We get the supply in our inner life from the manna within the golden pot. The manna is not only within the tabernacle but also within the veil, within the golden ark and even within the golden pot. So it has four layers of covering. In order to enjoy this hidden manna you have to enter into that very spot. The enjoyment of Christ as the hidden manna was promised by the Lord to the overcomers (Rev. 2:17). We must be such lovers and seekers of the Lord that we could be overcomers to enjoy His riches in such an inward way, that we may bud with life to exercise His authority.
At this point we will then be one with Him at the interceding altar to intercede for God’s move on the earth. We will intercede for the move of the tabernacle as it travels through the wilderness and enters into the good land to the very spot God intends it to be. The real experience of Christ is the way for us to enter into God’s expression. This is what God wants to recover today. This is the very thing that has been lost through all the centuries. God has no intention to merely pick up small things, certain doctrines, or certain practices. God wants to recover the unique item in His recovery—to express Himself within His people to the fullest.
(Concerning the Lord's Recovery, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)
