The Tabernacle - Standing At The Gate

Q: What does the Bible say about the significance of the tabernacle?

The tabernacle is a powerful type of Christ and His salvation, serving as the only way for God's people to worship Him. The tabernacle represents God's ordained means of communion with His people, symbolizing Christ as the only way to know and worship God. As described in Exodus, the tabernacle was meticulously designed by God to serve His purposes, highlighting the exclusivity of salvation through Christ. In John 14:6, Jesus affirms this by stating, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' Thus, the tabernacle illustrates not only the method of worship but also the centrality of Christ in God's plan of redemption.

Q: How do we know that Jesus is the only way to God?

The Bible declares that Jesus is the sole mediator between God and man, as stated in 1 Timothy 2:5. The exclusivity of Christ as the only way to God is firmly rooted in Scripture. Jesus Himself proclaimed that He is the only way to the Father, making it clear that none can approach God except through Him. This is further supported in 1 Timothy 2:5, which states, 'For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.' The entirety of the Gospel emphasizes that salvation and communion with God come uniquely through Christ, who fulfilled the requirements of the law and paid the penalty for sin. Therefore, any claim of multiple paths to God contradicts the essence of the biblical message.

Q: Why is understanding God's choice in salvation important for Christians?

Recognizing God's sovereignty in salvation fosters humility and gratitude in believers. Understanding God's choice in salvation is foundational to the Reformed faith, emphasizing His sovereign grace and mercy. The doctrine of election reveals that salvation is not based on human merit or decision but is a result of God's sovereign will as depicted in Ephesians 1:4-5. This assurance that salvation is a work of God invites believers to respond in faith and worship, acknowledging that they were chosen not for anything they did but solely due to God's grace. It teaches that our faith is a response to God's prior work in our hearts, providing deep comfort and assurance of our standing before Him.

Q: What is the connection between the tabernacle and Jesus Christ?

The tabernacle is a direct representation of Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of God's dwelling among His people. The tabernacle serves as a foreshadowing of Christ, highlighting the profound truth that God desires to dwell among His people. Just as the tabernacle was the center of worship for the Israelites, Christ is the ultimate embodiment of God's presence with humanity. In John 1:14, we read, 'And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,' revealing that Christ is the fulfillment of the tabernacle's purpose. His incarnation, life, and sacrificial death opened the way for believers to enter the Holy of Holies, symbolizing our restored relationship with God. Therefore, understanding the tabernacle is essential for grasping the significance of Christ's work in reconciliation.

Q: Why is faith important in connection to the tabernacle?

Faith is the evidence of God's choice and the only means by which we enter into communion with Him, as demonstrated at the tabernacle. Faith holds a critical place in the believer's life, particularly in relation to the tabernacle's significance. The act of entering the tabernacle reflects the necessity of faith in approaching God. Hebrews 11:6 states, 'But without faith it is impossible to please him.' It is through faith—demonstrating a real, abiding interest in Christ and His gospel—that one gains access to God. The tabernacle exemplified that only those chosen by God were allowed to worship and commune with Him, emphasizing that true communion is rooted in faith responding to God’s initiative of grace.

The more I study this tabernacle,
the more amazed I am at the wisdom of God in this thing. And what
a beautiful, a beautiful, I started to say perfect picture, but nothing
can perfectly picture the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is a very,
very clear type of Christ and his salvation. Now, last week, Last week, in trying to introduce
the study of the ark, what I wanted to first do was to, spiritually
speaking, take off our shoes before we approach this thing.
I almost always give an introduction when we do a study of something
special. I think we ought to sit up and
calmly consider what it is we're doing. Just like we should prepare
ourselves to worship before we come in here. We ought to stop
and think about what we're doing instead of rushing in, sit down,
and try to start worshiping. It can't be done. We need to
prepare and approach something of this magnitude with such deep
meaning. What I kind of wanted us to do
last week was to take off our spiritual shoes before we approach
this thing and not dive right into it. I wanted us to kind
of, I tried to, What I want to do is kind of
give us a picture, a real picture, as if we were there, as if we
were actually looking at the ark itself. And I wanted us at
the first, at the outset, to look at this tabernacle from
without the camp, as if we were outsiders, to sort of examine
ourselves. And to ask ourselves if we really
knew anything about this, just stand back and take a look at
the whole thing. And like the gospel of Christ, the tabernacle
was only for God's chosen people, only the Jews. Only the Jews
had the tabernacle. And I say to you, I said it last
week, if you have an interest into looking into this gospel,
if you really have a deep, abiding, sincere interest in this gospel,
not mere curiosity, but a real abiding interest in it, and you
really want to know about it and have a part in it, then you
have been singled out by God Almighty to take part in this
most glorious thing known to man. It's a blessing. Blessed are your eyes. Blessed
are your ears. Blessed is your person if you
have an interest in this gospel. I don't know the state of everyone's
soul in here. I wouldn't pretend to. Some that profess to be believers
are probably not. Some that we may not think are
may be. I don't know. But it could be.
Probably is that there's somebody in this room tonight who is,
as it were, standing outside the gate. There's never been
any There's a difference in knowing about the gospel, knowing about
Christ, and actually coming to Christ, entering within the veil.
There's a difference. It could be somebody in here
tonight is standing outside the gate but about to go in. That'd
be wonderful. That'd be wonderful. Can anybody
go in? Could anybody go in there? Well,
anybody got to choose. Yeah, God chose who would be
the priest and the high priest and so forth. God chose him.
He chose. Anybody can go in, God chooses.
Not anybody that chooses out of himself, but anybody God chooses
can and have the permission to go in. And this is proof. This is proof of God's choice
in you, what I'm trying to say here. proof or evidence of a
true saving work of grace by God Almighty is this, faith,
faith, faith. Christ said, if thou believest
with all thine heart, thou mayest. Well, Paul said that. If thou
believest with all thine heart. Philip said that. The Ethiopian
Union. If you believe with all your heart. Now, like I said
last week, there's no fooling around here. No fooling around. Nobody dared fool around with
that tabernacle. God strike them dead right then
and there. Well, the scripture says because judgment or sentence
against an evil work is not speedily executed, therefore the sons
of men, their hearts are fully set to do evil. Just because
God doesn't strike men dead right now for fooling around with religion
doesn't mean he won't. He will. He has. He does. He will. And you and I will be,
too, if we're fooling around with this thing of the gospel.
If we're mere hypocrites, if we're just milling around and
hypocrites about this thing, God will judge us accordingly.
That's how serious it is. Now, like I said, last week we
looked at it from a distance. Now, I entitled this, Standing
Outside the Gate. Last week was a distant view.
We brought it down here a little bit closer, and we're standing
outside the gate. Some things need to be considered first about
the whole thing. I've entitled this, Standing
Without the Gate. Right now, it's kind of like we're down
a little closer look. For a little closer look, we've
got a real abiding interest. Come down off that, yeah, I'm
interested. I really want to know. I really want to know.
And we're standing outside the gate. And the revelation of the
gospel is kind of like this. It's like somebody standing outside
the gate of that tabernacle. And really interested in what's
going on. They see the smoke and see the
fire and or they see the smoke anyway and they hear things going
on. They hear the bells on the garment and they really want
it. You mean this is the only way to go? Yeah. Oh, I'd like
to know something about it. And I'm. That's that's where
I am right now. I'm standing outside. I want
to know something about it. It's kind of like it's as if
a high priest or one of the priests kind of opened the gate and walked
out and said, Are you a stranger around here? Yeah, I am. Yeah, I am. Are you interested
in what's going on in here? Yeah, I really am. Well, there's
some things you need to know before you go in there. And that's
kind of what this is. That's kind of what it's like.
Are you a stranger in the camp? Yes. And I hear that this is
the only way to God. It's the only way to know and
worship God. And I want to look inside. Now, a true seeker, that's
the first place we've got to come to in this thing of knowing
God and worshiping God and coming to Christ. A true seeker, not
a mere bystander or a curiosity seeker, but a true seeker. I
want in. Open the gate. Somebody tell me. Would somebody
please tell me? And a priest comes out, and this
is the way the gospel comes out. OK. I've got four points to this
message. First of all, I'm going to show
us how that this is the only way to God, the only way to God
Almighty, the only way. Secondly, I'm going to show you
who came up with this thing, the master architect of the whole
thing. And thirdly, I'm going to give
you a general overview or description of the whole thing. And then
lastly, we're just going to stand outside the gate ready to go
in. OK, this tabernacle. This is the only way to worship
God Almighty. The only way. The tabernacle
is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only way to
know God Almighty and dwell with God Almighty. In Christ. Knowing
Christ. Being found inside of Christ. You can't know God, you can't
come to God, you can't worship. Christ said this, He said, No
man comes unto the Father but by Me. That's pretty dogmatic
and pretty narrow. Nobody gets to God Almighty,
but by me, Christ said. He said to that woman at the
well, you remember what he said? He said, You don't know what
you worship. She said, I thought I was worshiping
the mountain. You say in Jerusalem. He said, You don't know what
you worship. He said, Salvations of the Jews. In other words, what he was saying
was salvation is in the tabernacle. There is no salvation outside
of the tabernacle. Only the Jews had the way to
God. The tabernacle. Everybody else
was condemned. Do you believe that? That's what
God's Word says. Only the Jews had the tabernacle
and the way to God. Now, if you don't believe that,
you don't place any significance on this whatsoever. In other
words, there's Gentiles out there just worshiping, just trying
to find their way to God. Any old way. What's the use of this?
Why did God institute it? You only worship God in the tabernacle,
later on in a temple, now in a more perfect tabernacle. OK? And if you look at Solomon's
prayer concerning the temple over there and other places,
you'll see how that if there were Gentiles somewhere who wanted
to worship God, they were supposed to look toward the temple. They
couldn't just worship God any other way. They had to be looking
toward the temple. OK, they had to be looking toward the temple.
All right. Do you believe that the only
salvation is only of the Jews? The Jews were the only ones that
had salvation. Do you believe that? The Jews
did. The Jews did. Why? Why did they believe that? Why did they believe that? Because
God told them so. That's why. Let me, look with
me real quickly at Amos chapter 3. I didn't plan on you turning
to this, but Terry and I were looking at this in the study.
Amos chapter 3, if you don't find it, I'm going to go ahead
and read it anyway. Amos chapter 3, verse 1, he says,
Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you. This
is against them and to them. Hear the word which the Lord
has spoken against you, O children of Israel. against the whole
family which I brought up from the land of Egypt. And now I
say this, you only have I known of all the families of the earth."
And then he goes on to say, I'm going to punish you for your
iniquities, like a father chasing his children. Can two walk together
except they be aggrieved? And let me turn over here real
fast. Psalm 147. We, Terry and I, were looking
at this, too, a glorious verse of Scripture. Psalm 147, verse
19, he says, he shows his word, his word. God reveals his word
to Jacob, his statutes, his gospel, his judgments, his truth unto
Israel. Nobody else. Israel. He hath not dealt so with any
nation. And as for his judgments, these
other nations haven't known them. And then David says, praise the
Lord. So be it. It's God's decision.
It's his prerogative. OK? The reason the Jews believed
that was because God told them, you only have I chosen. I didn't
choose you because you were a moral number, because you were better
people than anybody else. No, no, no. You're just like everybody
else. But I chose you because I simply
chose to choose you. And that's the way God's people
are. That's the way he chooses whom he'll reveal the gospel
to. Why do we believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God? Why do we believe that? Because
God says so. Look over at 1 Corinthians chapter
2. It says so in this book, that's
why. Everything we believe, we base
upon this right here, this firm foundation. How firm a foundation,
ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in this excellent
Word. And I ask anybody else who disputes this, said, no,
there's bound to be other ways to God Almighty than Jesus Christ.
I don't believe that. I say, tell me where you get
your information. Tell me. I don't, I just don't
believe, I think, well, now wait a minute. Your thoughts are up. You're so changing and vacillating.
You've got to base what you believe on something rock steady, proven,
tried and true. That's this right here. That's
it. Look at 1 Corinthians 2. This gospel, like the tabernacle,
is a mystery to most people. Like this tabernacle here, the
gospel is a mystery to most people, and most people don't even have
any interest in it at all. They're playing around with religion.
Now, some people may come in here, and they may be interested,
oh, this is a very interesting study, and so forth. Like that woman
said to Mindy about Naomi, Kinsman and Redeemer, Naomi and Ruth.
She said, well, that's a good devotional study. You know, that may be
all it is to most people. But when God chooses somebody,
he not only sparks an interest, he creates deep, abiding heart
and faith. and eventually brings them inside
and behold the glories of this beautiful place. Eye has not
seen, ear has heard. And you know, salvation, listen
to this statement, salvation comes before you believe. The world has got this thing
backwards, they say you believe in God of choosing, you believe
and then you say no, no, no, no. We're chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. This thing of salvation took
place a long time before we were even born. This transaction,
that was around a long time before we were even born, and Christ
was a lamb slain before the foundation of the world. But salvation comes
before faith to God, that is, before God. Faith is merely the
realization of it later, like a child being born and opening
its eyes and saying, hey, I'm alive. That's what faith says. Hey, Christ, God. sinner, Christ, God. That's what
faith is. A dead man can't believe. See,
that's what this world, that's the way they've got it all backwards. They're trying to convince dead
people to do things they can't do. A dead man can't believe,
and only chosen people. This is what I'm saying at the
outset. If you have a real abiding interest
in faith in Christ, it's because God has chosen you. Look at 1
Corinthians 2, verse 7. He says, we speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery. What's the wisdom of God? Look
at verse 24 in the previous chapter. Then what you're called, Jews
and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Right? He says, we speak the wisdom
of God, that is, Christ in a mystery. All right, we're looking at a
real mystery right here. We're speaking, preaching, teaching
the wisdom of God, Christ himself, in a real mystery, a type, a
symbol. not just a devotional, but a
mystery, a mysterious picture of Christ. Even the hidden wisdomâ€”it's
hidden, it's covered, right? You can't see. We're standing
outside, and this was a seven-and-a-half-foot fence. You couldn't see in if
you wanted to, seven-and-a-half feet tall. It's a mystery, which
God hath ordained before the world under our glory. God's
the one that architected this, and none of the princes of the
world knew it. Had they known it, they wouldn't have crucified
the Lord of glory. And as it is written, Isaiah 64, I have
not seen, this is talking about the natural man, I have not seen
nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of men. Why? Because
they're blind, they're deaf, they're dumb, they're dead. Hadn't
entered into the heart of man the things which God prepares
for those he chooses and those he loves. But God revealed, look
at verse 10, but God, but God. Do you know how many times it
says, but God? Salvation is in those two words,
but God. You were fornicators and idolaters
and covetous and this and that and the other and drunkards and
thieves, such were some of you, but God. You who were dead and
trespassed, but God. But God. See, we were blind,
deaf, dumb, dead to these things, but God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit. The Spirit hath sanctified or
set us apart. have the mass of humanity to
reveal this mystery to us. Dare we take it lightly. I hope. And the Spirit, look at this,
the Holy Spirit searches all things. Yeah, the deep things.
These are deep things. The Spirit searches out and reveals
to their understanding the deep things of God. No man knows the
things of a man, even, except the man tells him. What about
the things of God? No man's going to know the things
of God except God the Spirit reveal it. Verse 14, the natural
man doesn't receive these things, that foolishness unto any can't
know them. They're spiritually discerned,
but he that is spiritual, spiritual. So what I'm saying is, this thing
is a revelation, and when God Almighty chooses to reveal Himself
to somebody, when He sets His work, His heart, His affection
upon them, I'm confident of this. Paul said, I'm confident of this,
that he that hath begun this work in you, will perform it,
will finish it until that day. Now, whoever God sets his sights
on to create a spark of interest in the gospel, to hear the word,
to see themselves, to see God, this will be comforting to you,
to see your need of Christ, you're going to come to Christ. Yes,
you are. That's hearing his voice. And
my sheep shall hear my voice, and they'll follow me. They'll
follow me. This is the reason, because this
whole thing is of God, this is what differentiates what we do
and what the world is doing, all their tricks and gimmicks
and underhanded tactics and so forth. We don't resort to these
things. And this is the reason I don't
get too excited about somebody coming in here for the first
time. You notice I don't rush back to the back to greet somebody. Hey, good to have you all. We'd
like to recognize so-and-so being here. It's good to have all you
visitors here today to thank you for coming. No. Goodness gracious
me, I ought to be thanking God for the privilege of coming in
here, right? I don't thank men for coming to worship God. And
the reason I don't get too excited about somebody coming for the
first time, about nominally curious people, and I don't call them
up and visit them, what's wrong? Why don't you come back? Is something,
are you upset with somebody? If God sets his on somebody,
they're going to come back. The gospel I just preached, that
that person heard, that came to hear it, if that ain't going
to draw them, I sure ain't going to draw them back. Right? I'm
going to drive them away. When this little guy goes up
and tries to woo them back, they're not going to be drawn. The gospel
is the drawing power, and it's in the hands of God the Holy
Spirit anyway. If God Almighty sets his sights on somebody,
they're going to come back. And when somebody keeps coming
and asks questions, then I start thinking. They keep coming. Start
exhibiting an interest. Start listening. Maybe even ask
them questions. Then I say, maybe, maybe God's
working on them. And so the first sign of, or
evidence of, of this election, this choice of God's people,
I got to hurry, is Like Paul said to Thessalonians, our gospel
came to you not in word only, not just a sermon anymore, but
it came in power in the Holy Spirit. He said we're bound to
give thanks to you, to God for you, beloved of the Lord, because
God has from the beginning chosen you, chosen you to salvation
through sanctification or setting apart of the Spirit and to believe
this truth. Why did the Jews believe that
this was the only way? Because God said so. He told
them. He told them through the hands of a mediator. And why
do we believe? Because God tells us, and we
believe. Why do we believe? Why? The only way any human being
is going to know God and be with God, like those Jews of old,
was for God to choose them, reveal himself to them, and call them
out. Noah. Noah. Abraham. Come out, Moses. Come on out, sinner. It's the only way. God is God.
I am the Lord, that's my name. The only way we're going to know
is if he himself reveals himself to us. And that Christ is the
only way, the only way to God. Do you believe that? Do you now
really see? It's awful big of you. It's awful
narrow. This gospel we say with Paul. That if any man preach
any other gospel than what we preach, what you receive, let
him be accursed when the Lord comes. This is the only, Christ
is the only, the Moslems, the Hindus, the Buddhists, all peoples
on the face of the earth who do not have the Lord Jesus Christ
are damned. You believe that? That's the
way it is. Now, we're not gloating in the
fact that we're saved and they're not. This is the reason we thank
God. This is the reason we rejoice
in Him, give Him praise, because He chose me. He chose me out
of all the people. Now, no matter how plain and
how simple and secluded and exclusive this tabernacle appeared to be,
it was the only way to know and worship God. We start right there. This is the only way and the
only place God would speak to man and man would speak to God
is right there in that little bitty building. Oh, come on,
preacher. God's in it. No. How do you know
that? He said so. Right in there. Only way. And the only way God
speaks and the only way God hears anybody is through that man that
walked this earth, Jesus Christ. Oh, come on. Surely, if a man's
sincere about getting to God, he'll get to God. If he sincerely
seeks Him in Christ, he will. Only in Christ. All right. This
was the only way to worship God. The only way. Do you believe
that? Blessed are you. Blessed are
you. God revealed this to you. Okay.
Who came up with this thing? Let's look at this. God was the
master architect of this whole thing, the tabernacle. This whole
thing was God's plan. God planned it. You see, God
decided, He up and one day decided to commune with man. God Almighty
up and decided, I'm going to go down and I'm going to dwell
with man. He never had before. Oh, He came
in different appearances. But he was going to come down
and dwell, actually live among them and travel wherever they
went. Pillar, cloud and fire and so forth in the tabernacle.
God was actually going to come down and dwell with them, be
with them throughout their journeys. This is a picture of Christ,
the Holy Spirit too. And for God to dwell on this
earth, listen, for God to dwell on this earth, there had to be
a suitable place. a suitable place for him to dwell
in. Now, I know God doesn't dwell
in temples, buildings made with hands. Nevertheless, he'll dwell
somewhere he makes. Now, he's not going to dwell
in a place that you come up with. This is the way I think it ought
to be. I'll just make this concoct me a little place. We've got
a little idol. You know, God's going to come in. No, no, no. He'll come
down and dwell in it, but only in the way that he chooses. He'll
come down, and only God knew what was needed and how to build
it. Now listen with me. I put a lot of time in it. The
gospel was God's plan of salvation. He's the one that planned it.
He decided to save the people. He didn't have to. Much like
God of old didn't have to come down to those rebellious Jews.
What do you want with those old Jews? They weren't any different
than the Egyptians. They weren't any different than
anybody else on the face of the earth. They weren't that. But God just
chose to. And what about it? Why? Show
my glory. Show my glory to them." And the
gospel was God's plan, God's decision. He decided to save
a people. He didn't have to, but he did.
Thank God. And it was his decision to save.
Whom to save and how to save them, and when to save them. His decision. And nobody's going
to back that. Anybody realizes that God didn't
have to do it in the first place, they'll thank God for it. So
God in mercy and wisdom saw the only way to save us was to come
down and dwell among us as a man, to tabernacle among us, to come
down and actually dwell with us, to live with us as a man,
to be fulfilled by men. This was the wisdom of God, the
honor and the holiness of God. The law had to be fulfilled by
a man in order for this holy God to receive him. The justice
of God had to be satisfied. In other words, sin had to be
paid for. Sin had to be punished, a just recompense for every sin
of man that God was going to choose. Sin had to be paid for,
and only God knew all this. We didn't know this. We didn't
know this by nature. Only God knew this, and only
God knew what was needed, what it would take. A tabernacle.
You mean a building? No. Not made with hands. A body. A more perfect tabernacle. A
man. What a tabernacle. It looked
pretty plain, much like this one did, but all on the inside. A suitable, it had to be a suitable
place for God to dwell. Not just any old man. God couldn't
just choose any old man and enter into a man. It had to be a suitable
place. It had to be a man of God's own
choosing, a man of God's own design, a man after God's own
heart. a man from the bosom of God himself,
from the thought, the mind, the plan, the purpose, the will,
the wisdom, the power. Where is such a man? Emmanuel,
the God-man. There is no man like that. God
had to become a man through the wisdom of God. So God planned
it, purposed it, ordained it, and ordered it, and it's called
the gospel of Jesus Christ, how that God came down to tabernacle
among us. to dwell here with us all the
days of our life. See us through this time. God
with us, his name is called. The tabernacle of God. And just
as, in a sense, men's hands, and we're going to go into it
here later on. Men's hands. God told the men
all the things to bring and how to build it and so forth. Men's
hands made the first tabernacle. Christ came born of a woman.
He was flesh and blood, common materials. The dwelling of God
Almighty was in the hands of a man, not men. Christ is the
one mediator between God and men, the man. Not God and man. God and men, the man is only
one mediator. The dwelling of God was in the
hands of a man, yes. Not men, a man, a fit man. Nevertheless, it was in the hands
of a man. Now, listen to this. Turn over to Exodus chapter 25
with me. Exodus chapter 25. This is where the whole thing
starts. Moses, Moses was the overseer
of this building. Moses was the job superintendent.
He was the foreman. He was the labor foreman, the
pipe fitter foreman, the carpenters, boilermakers, machinists. He
was the foreman. The tool and die maker, he was
the foreman. Moses was overseer. He oversaw everything. He walked
around. I bet he was particular, because
the one he answered to was mighty particular. It's got to be right,
Moses. It's got to be right. See that
you do it just exactly like I told you to. Now, Moses was the overseer of
the building, and so the Holy Spirit leads, guides, and directs
the work and the worship and salvation of God's people in
Christ. God is the architect. God is
the one that plans. The Holy Spirit is the overseer. He's Moses overseeing this whole
thing, making sure it's done right, carried out, and so forth.
Now, this thing was exacting standards. Look at verse 9 with
me, 25 verse 9. And God said to Moses, and he
said, Now, according to all that I show you, after the pattern
of the tabernacle, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and
the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall you make
it. Exactly. Now, listen. Some of
you came over and helped me, helped us out on our house. And
some of you might have been, I remember, The barriers were
helping paint the windows and all, and I'd come up, look around,
and Jeanette froze immediately when I'd come up, you know. I
know I'm not doing it just right, you know, but you can go. So it may have been very uneasy
in helping me out. Well, who cares? Good enough
to consider who's at fault, right? But it's my house, and I want
it done right. Salvation is of the Lord. This is God's glory. This is God's Son. It says in
Psalm 68, 20, He that is our God is the God of salvation.
He architected this thing. He planned it. He purposed it.
And unto God the Lord belong the issues. You'll answer to
him in this time. And he said to Moses, you make
sure you do it just like I said it. Since God is God, holy, righteous,
perfect, just, unchanging, then everything pertaining to God,
everything God does, has got to be perfect. Right? Got to
be holy. It shall be. Leviticus 22, 21,
it shall be perfect to be accepted. I've been quoting that wrong.
I've been quoting that it must be perfect to be accepted. No,
it says it shall be. Not only is it a requirement,
but it will be. If it's going to be accepted,
it shall be perfect. It shall be. Now, if God's earth
was perfect, listen to this. God's earth was perfect. He stood
back after he made the earth and said, good. That means perfect. God doesn't pronounce good on
anything, but nothing good but God. God's perfect. He made that
earth and he said, that's good. He made man out of it. Good. Perfect. And man was perfect.
The first man was perfect. He made his law perfect. Perfect law of God. Because God
is holy, God is just, God is perfect. Okay? Okay, here's a
question. Why did man fall? Man, I've got
to hurry. Y'all got anywhere to go tonight? You were off Sunday night. I
walked the floor all Sunday evening, I tell you. Why did man fall,
then, if he was perfect? Huh? You want a drink? I'll wake
you. Why did man fall? if he was perfect. If he was perfect, why did he
fall then? Well, it requires a perfect answer. I don't have
it. But it could be. Like a jeweler,
like a jeweler, and we've talked about his crowns, or jewels,
and his crown. A jeweler displays his prosperous
gems on a black background, doesn't he? Makes them appear all that
much more glorious. And God, in order to show his
infinite perfection, His character, his ways, his attributes, had
to some way create a dark background. See, I'm going to really show
you my glory, Moses. Goodness, mercy, grace, never been seen
before, right? Like night time, when God made
the day, he also made the night. Why did he make night time? What's
the need for night time? To show how glorious the day
was, the sunshine, right? And God's mercy, love, and grace
are his other attributes, and they had to be seen. They were
his glory, and they were only seen by the fire of the black
background of man's sin. Man, in all his utter depravity
and corruption as a worm, the glory of God was only seen in
the face of Christ Jesus by putting him up beside us. And see what
man is, or meant to be, the perfection of man in Christ. You see? That's
how we know our sinfulness, by seeing Christ. You see, the earth,
the law, and man were perfect. I mean, they were perfect, but
they weren't God. Adam wasn't God. It says Adam
was created in the image of God. Not the express image. He wasn't
God. No. He was created from the dust
of the ground, okay? He wasn't God. Only God is God. Am I confusing you here? Listen
to this. Let me give you an illustration.
I used to work for an old carpenter. I used to work construction.
This old carpenter, after he'd do something, put a piece of
casing on a window or whatever, after he'd get it all up there,
he'd say, hey, he'd say, that's a hair better than perfect. Now,
wait a minute. He can't get better than perfect.
Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Christ is better
than perfect. He's better than Adam. You know,
the new earth will be infinitely better than the old. How can
you get better than the old earth, the one that God first created?
I don't know, but he said it's going to be. Isn't it? The gospel
is infinitely better than the law. Well, the law is a manifestation
of the character and ways, but not all of the character of God.
We see the love, the love, the mercy, mercy and truth that love
each other, righteousness and peace and so forth, only in the
gospel. Christ is infinitely better than
Adam. He's the express image of exact likeness. Why? He's
of his very seed, of his very seed. See, the first Adam was
of the earth earthy. The second Adam was the Lord
from glory. The first tabernacle was of the
earth earthy. The second tabernacle the living
Son of God himself, who was perfect according to God's standards
and his law, holy, righteous, just, pure, love, mercy, grace,
all these things. All the perfections of God were
seen in Christ, all of them, all of them. Though they were
made of common materials, yet they were glorious within and
a dwelling place of God Almighty. All right. And you know, even
these materials, when God He instituted this tabernacle, the
materials in it, because it was of the earth. The materials were
earthly materials, wood, gold, silver, jewels, skin, so
forth, earthly materials. But where did those come from?
Those came from God. All right? All right. Now, that's
who made this thing. That's the master architect of
this whole thing, God. It's all of the Lord. Now, here's
a general and a brief description of this thing, just to impasse
you about what's going to go on next. This building was architected
by God Almighty, and it was perfect in its form and its function,
and everything in it had perfect and eternal significance. Every
single thing, down to every post and pin and cord, Everything
in that, every yard, every measurement, every weight, everything in that
had perfect and eternal significance. Why? God came up with it. That's why. God was the architect.
And the reason, now listen to this, the reason this thing was
perfect after God planned it, after He ordained it, after it
was built and established and everything, nothing was ever
changed about it. Never. They weren't to lay a
hand on it. Somebody going to say, I don't
like this. This is what they did. Don't touch it. It's just
the way God planned. It was never to be altered. No
more work was to be done upon it. And as long as those children
of Israel were in that wilderness, that thing held up. It was perfect. It never needed repair because
of the materials in it. It never needed repair. And we'll
see that as we go on. Christ is the perfect Son of
God. He was and He is perfect in everything. Everything about Him, His thoughts,
His words, everything He said, everything He did, every move
He made, every step He took, every gesture, every word was
of divine origin, the divinely planned and of eternal significance. And after Christ performed that
work upon this earth, after the tabernacle or salvation was completed,
hanging there on that cross, what did He say? Nothing to be added. Nothing
to be added. It's not to be helped out a little
bit. Not to be repaired a little bit.
Or altered in any way. It's finished! And it'll hold
you all the way through the wilderness. It's held up men from the beginning.
It'll hold us up to the end. It's finished. Nothing left to
be done. Nothing left to be added. Okay? And all of this was typified
in this building. Like these materials in it. Gold. I mean, you can throw this
ring in the ground and it'll be there thousands of years from
now. Silver, precious stones, diamonds,
even the wood was impervious to weather and disease and rot
and so forth. Okay? Now, here's a general description
of this whole thing. If you want to, you can take
notes. This book in the back here, just for future reference,
if you wanted to, you could jot down some measurements if you
want to. You don't have to. It's not that important. It'll
just kind of spark your interest in this thing. This tabernacle
consisted of three, the outer court, this area here, court,
and then there's two rooms inside of it. The outer court, the inner
court, which is called the holy place, and then the holy of holies. where the Ark of the Covenant
was. Three cores. Now, this is typical
of so many things. It's God the Father, God the
Son, God the Holy Spirit. It's typical of our body, soul,
and spirit. So many types here, and we'll
get into those. Now, listen to the plot of ground.
The size of this thing, the grounds itself, everything about the
tabernacle, within the fence, was 75 feet wide by 150 feet
long. Now, this building, from front to back about 75 feet
long. So it was this wide and twice
that long. 75 by 150 feet long. And it was enclosed by this linen
fence which was 7 feet 6 inches tall. Nobody could look over
it. Nobody could get in or over it. There's a purpose in that. 7 feet 6 inches tall on three
sides. And there was a gate right here. This gate was the only way in
there. And it was 30 feet wide, 30. Holy Christ, when he began his
ministry, 30 years old. There are many significant points
here. But the building, now that's the tabernacle, the building.
The building itself was 15 feet wide, 15 feet high. This ceiling is about 14 feet
high. It was 15 feet high, 15 feet
wide. That's right here, exactly half
of this room, 15 feet wide, 15 feet high, and 45 feet long,
45 feet long, about the length of this building, about half
of this building exactly. That was what the inside of it,
half of it. All right? The inner room, the
first place, the first place inside when you walk in there
was 30 long and 15 by 15, and then you go back into the Holy
of Holies where the Ark was. It was a perfect cube. Perfect
square. 15 by 15 by 15. Perfect. Perfect. This fence, all the
way around it, this fence, was 150 feet long on two sides, 75
feet across the back, and 75 across the front, including the
gate. Okay? Every one of these posts
were made of solid brass. You're talking about expensive.
You couldn't even calculate today how much everything in this thing
would cost. Every one of those posts were
solid brass. Solid brass set in sockets of
silver. Silver castings, or sockets,
or like buckets that they buried down in the sand to put these
brass posts in. And it was covered up, silver
was covered up. Oh, it's so much here. So many types of Christ
things that people don't see, the silver. and the foundation
and so forth. All right. And the building itself
was made of boards. The building itself was made
of boards of what you call acacia wood. Acacia wood. A-C-A-C-I-A
wood. Now, you know what that's akin
to in our day? This was a wood in Egypt. Acacia wood is a thorny wood.
It's akin to what we commonly call thorny locusts. What do
you build your fence posts out of? What's the most durable wood
that we know of? Locusts, right? God in his wisdom
made this building out of locusts, it wasn't rocks. It was impervious
to disease and decay and weatherproof and so forth. Okay, the building
itself was made out of these boards and these boards, now
listen to this, these boards were 15 feet high, 15 feet long,
Two feet, three inches wide and four inches thick. Finely planed
and hand sanded. Finely made. Finely. Set and they had big, like, tenons
on the bottom of brick. Mortise and tenon, you know.
Had big tenons on the bottom of it. Stuck down in solid silver. A solid silver foundation. And
then it had solid gold. Connecting all these were solid
gold rings stuck in these boards with these bars, five bars on
each side, connecting it all together. This thing was an elaborate
piece of construction. Beautifully, finely done. Finely done. Solid gold. So the
reason that being, these boards were covered with gold too, gold
plated. And the reason being, when you're
on the inside, all you saw was solid gold on the inside. Okay? There were four coverings on
this building. And I'll quit here in just a
minute. There were four coverings. The first one on the inside was
with white linen. The second one was goat's hair.
The third one was ram skin. The fourth one was this badger
skin, a real gray looking. There were several pieces of
furniture. You have these in your book here. There was an
altar. There was the labor of water. the table of showbread,
the candlestick, the incense altar, the ark, the mercy seat, and every single piece, every
measurement, every weight, every material, every type of work
done on it, the way it was built, where it was to be replaced,
the strategic positioning of it, the ordinances that pertain
to it, divine eternal significance. As you see what I'm talking about,
like this ark, who is sufficient for these things? And every one
of these things, every single thing in some way, shape, form,
or fashion points to Christ. God had to do this, didn't He?
God had to do it. Like every move that Christ made,
all the pictures of Christ. And like I said, that's just
a general description of the whole thing. But this won't begin. A general description won't begin
to tell you what's on the inside. It won't begin to tell. It's like the high priest coming
out today, and he's praying. He's walking out there, and he
walks outside, and he starts telling him all that's on the
inside. Now, that fellow may be interested. All right? He may be interested. It sounds
good. I'd like to know more. The half has never been told. I can sit up there and talk about
Christ and give you all the particulars and general descriptions, and
this and that, and there's the gospel, and how He had to come down and
establish righteousness and pay for our sin and go back to the
Father and be our mediator. You've got to go inside, my faith. You've got to see it for yourself.
You've got to partake of it. You've got to taste it. You've
got to taste that bread. I bet you that bread on that
table was. Oh boy, you think your cooking
is good. I bet that bullet prepared on
that halter was mighty tasty fixings. And to look on the inside,
one look within, one look within, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard. A natural man doesn't see any
beauty in Christ, just like a general description won't suffice. You've
got to see Him for yourself. You've got to walk it. You've
got to go in that veil. You've got to go in. And even then, just on the inside,
you've got to go all the way into the Holy of Holies. And
we're going to see later on how God said, Come on in. Rip that
big veil. Come on in. Look at this ark.
I mean, take the top off and look down there. Oh, I mean,
yeah. Come right on in. It was unheard
of back then. It's unheard of now. God in love
and mercy and grace allows sinners who want to know Him, who want
to look on the inside, a look at His glorious Son, to behold
Him. A look. That's what we're standing
on now. You want to go in? You want to
go on in? I do. Nobody else does. I'm going
in. Take a look. We're going to walk in that gate
next Wednesday night. See what's in there. Okay, stand with me. you

The Tabernacle - Standing At The Gate

What does the Bible say about the significance of the tabernacle?

How do we know that Jesus is the only way to God?

Why is understanding God's choice in salvation important for Christians?

What is the connection between the tabernacle and Jesus Christ?

Why is faith important in connection to the tabernacle?

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The Tabernacle - Standing At The Gate

What does the Bible say about the significance of the tabernacle?

How do we know that Jesus is the only way to God?

Why is understanding God's choice in salvation important for Christians?

What is the connection between the tabernacle and Jesus Christ?

Why is faith important in connection to the tabernacle?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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