FINALITY REACHED IN CHRIST
FINALITY REACHED IN CHRIST
EuR Perhaps you would say a little as to what is before you in suggesting this passage?
JT We see in Solomon typically a certain finality. The ends of the staves of the ark were drawn out, showing that a definite or final end had been reached — that is, the ark was at rest. And then there is divine satisfaction in what had been reached, which is seen in the glory coming in and filling the house; and then the mediatorial office of Christ is seen in Solomon, in blessing and in prayer. All that follows is either to keep the people of God in relation to that, or to bring them to it. Christianity is not a development; it begins with the mind of God fully reached in Christ; hence John presents that which was “from the beginning”, 1 John 1:1. All that is going on is to bring others to that.
EuR Would Christ as Son over God’s house link on with that?
JT The idea of ‘Son’ enters into it. Solomon is the counterpart of David, bringing in the idea of a son dominating the house. In 1 Chronicles, Solomon is made king with David; before we have the introduction of the division into twenty-four courses, Solomon is made king. It says in 1 Chronicles 23, “So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel”. 1 Chronicles 23:1. Then follows the wonderful service set up under the twenty-four course order. Hence it is Christ as Son.
REF What have you in mind in relation to the bringing up of the ark and setting it in the temple?
JT It is Christ in His place, according to Paul’s [p. 341] ministry. The sonship of Christ is brought in. It is there always, of course, but he says, “God ... .. was pleased to reveal his Son in me, that I may announce him as glad tidings”. Galatians 1:16. So in Corinth, “the Son of God, Jesus Christ”, 2 Corinthians 1:19 was preached by Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus, and thus the converts would be brought into direct relationship with Him as Son.
AEF Do you suggest that what we have here would be what will be brought about by Christ, but that we have the gain of it now?
JT Perhaps that would be more in keeping with 2 Chronicles; 1 Kings is christianity more, and opens up the vast system of things under Solomon; 2 Chronicles is more limited; 1 Kings is the view that we may have of Christ now in connection with the great faith system.
PJB Do you mean that this vast system of things was set up at the outset?
JT Yes; it was all there in Christ. Finality is reached; what is emphasised among other things is that the work is finished. In the last verse of the previous chapter we read: “All the work was finished that king Solomon made for the house of Jehovah”, 1 Kings 7:51.
Then the ark is in its place, the position of the staves indicating that it is never to be carried again. The staves were drawn out, as the Authorised Version reads, pointing to the thought that the end was reached. They were seen in the holy place — that is, by the priests. From God’s side, at least, the end is reached in Christ sitting in heaven. It is a question of bringing all to that, and that is what ministry is for — “until we all arrive ... .. at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ”, Ephesians 4:13. It is not a development, but that the end is reached in Christ, and then God’s satisfaction in it, and finally believers being brought to it. It says: “It came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Jehovah”.
God says, as it were, “I want every bit of it”. He gives place to service, but that is to bring others into it. He has reached complete satisfaction in Christ.
HEF At least from the divine side. Do you imply that eventually we shall all reach it?
JT I thought that is what is indicated in Solomon — the mediatorial service; Solomon blesses the people and he blesses God, as it says in verse 14: “And the king turned His face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel; and the whole congregation of Israel stood. And he said, Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel”. He blesses the people, and then all stood — for he had their attention. God has reached the point of complete satisfaction; His glory fills every part of the house, and now the people are ready to listen.
EM How is the blessing applicable?
JT It is the result of what God has reached in Christ; He has reached that which completely satisfies Him, and then you have the mediatorial service of Christ in blessing. He turns His face, and what does He find? What does He find today in christendom? They are not all standing; they are turning their ears to others. It is a great thing if we are standing ready for what there is, in attention, and in apprehension of the blessing of God; all the congregation here stood.
EuR We are not to turn away from Him who speaks from heaven?
JT That is the thought. The epistle to the Hebrews is to get our attention; it begins with the greatness of the Son, so that our attention should be directed to Him, that we should all listen.
PW Do I understand you to mean that 1 Kings prefigures christianity more, and Chronicles is more Christ [p. 343] glorified?
JT Chronicles, I think looks towards the millennium. The veil is mentioned, but it is omitted in 1 Kings.
AEF What would be the significance of Solomon being put on the throne before the death of his father?
JT It is the combination of sonship with the experience of David. David was old, it is said, and full of days. The ‘days’ would point to the experience he had. First Chronicles brings out the wonderful wisdom of David in the ordering of the courses. It will be seen that the priests were serving in their courses when the ark was brought in. The wisdom of David entered into the services, and the priests served in the order of their courses, but all was dominated by sonship. God had emphasised that He desired that the house should be built by the Son. “It was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. But Jehovah said to David my father ... . thou didst well that it was in thy heart; nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son ... he shall build the house unto my name ...”.
EuR Would the transference from David to Solomon involve that we need to take account of the Lord Jesus in quite a new way?
JT That is what comes out in Paul’s ministry. Heaven had announced it, and it was declared in resurrection, but it remained for Paul to bring it out — to show the bearing of it in Christ and as it applies to the saints.
HEF It says the ark was brought out from the city of David, which is Zion, into this new position of which you are speaking. Does that imply that all the things that were delightful to God were brought into a new position?
JT The city of David has its own significance as referring to the prowess of David. He “took the stronghold of Zion ... and called it the city of David”. 1 Chronicles 11:5,7.
[p. 344] It refers to what Christ effects in His great activities and services. He secures our hearts. The capture of Zion refers to the place He acquires in our affections. In 2 Samuel Joab is left out of the taking of Zion, whereas in Chronicles he has a place, meaning, I understand, that it looks on to the millennium. In the former it is a question of what Christ Himself has done in taking possession of the hearts of His people. Taking Zion is that He has a place there; He calls it the city of David. But there is something beyond that: by Solomon the ark is taken up and set in its final position. Christ takes our hearts and regulates them in relation to heaven; it is a new position. Thus in Ephesians it is Christ dwelling in the heart by faith. It is Christ as in the domain of divine purpose.
EP Do you mean that the supreme place Christ has in our hearts gives Him the opportunity of acting mediatorially?
JT You allow Him a free hand; He has acquired an undisputed place in your heart, and thus you are prepared for Paul’s ministry; that is, it is Christ acting from heaven, acting as the Son. What the temple represents, I think, comes in in that way in Paul’s ministry.
Ques What is the link between, “This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell”, Psalm 132:14 and Zion?
JT The link is here; this is a consummation of the thought. David is really the counterpart of Moses, and Solomon is the counterpart of David; the fulness of the thing is in the Son. Neither Moses nor David answered to that. Christ is known as Son in heaven; He is supreme. There is a vast system of things typified in 1 Kings.
EuR Do you mean that the Son requires the undisputed place in the hearts of His people if He is [p. 345] to be free to bring about what is for the divine pleasure and satisfaction?
JT Yes; He would have all our hearts available for His own use, and would bring them into accord with heaven.
PW In the Psalms it speaks of praising the Lord on an instrument of ten strings. We are not great enough to take in the thought of God’s assembly.
JT It is the Son, and hence the great value of the epistle to the Hebrews. That epistle presents the Son to us; the apprehension of Him draws us out of this world: we are His ‘companions’.
EuR So that the kingdom in Colossians takes on quite a new character — “the kingdom of the Son of his love”. Colossians 1:13 The position is, Solomon blessing God and blessing the people.
JT Solomon blesses first, and then he prays, so that you have the priesthood in two ways. He blesses the people, then he blesses God, and then he prays. The prayer is most important; it shows the great need of prayer in relation to the truth found in this section. It is a very long prayer; it shows how Solomon understood the need that they should be kept in relation to all that had been established. God has reached His end in Christ, and the point is now that we should enter into it, and be maintained in it; so Solomon says in verse 12, “The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood)”.
EuR I was going to remark that Solomon makes much of “this house”.
JT It is all to bring believers into relation to it, and then to maintain us in it.
EuR Does “this house” suggest the assembly?
JT I think so, but it is what is brought about in Christ in relation to the purpose of God; the assembly is essential to it. In this sense there is glory to God “in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages”. Ephesians 3:21.
PW In Zechariah 6 we read that the Lord “shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both”. Zechariah 6:13. We get both offices here in Solomon; he is certainly a king, and he is also a priest.
JT His name signifies peace. It is very beautiful to see the king turning his face. Think what that face points to typically! Paul says, “The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”. 2 Corinthians 4:6. He turns that face towards us in the full sense of the divine end having been reached. God is entirely pleased with it, and He gives us a part in it. He is fully satisfied with the end reached in Christ. The cloud filled the house; the glory of the Lord filled the whole place, and then the king turns his face; that is christianity. It is the attitude of the face of Christ, what God is in Christ towards us.
HSH Does the blessing hang upon the turning of His face in that way?
JT The ministry of the new covenant sets you free to behold that face; He would bring that about in the hearts of His people today. You will observe the Spirit says, “The king turned his face”.
FP The standing of the people would be the response to that.
JT Yes; “the whole congregation of Israel stood”.
Ques Are you referring to the ministry that we get in the epistle to the Ephesians?
JT Yes; we are being brought to that; it is to be apprehended now. I have no doubt that 1 Kings bears on christianity. Everything is available to the [p. 347] Son; David gives over all to Solomon, and he sits on the throne. Solomon is king with his father. “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand”, John 3:35.
JnoT There is nothing lost of what David brought in.
JT It is all carried forward in Solomon. It is well to dismiss from our minds the type, and to occupy ourselves with the antitype. Christianity is no development, it is perfection at the outset; all that God is doing is bringing us to that. I think that some little headway has been made in the way the saints are turning to the Lord and looking for His coming, and seeking to answer to the assembly in a little way now.
HMS We might think that finality will be reached when the Lord Jesus comes in glory.
JT That is detail. God has already reached His thought in Christ, and that is what is meant here. Ephesians treats of the “eternal purpose” Ephesians 3:11 of God in this way.
HMS In Ephesians 2, where the building is referred to, it “increases to a holy temple in the Lord”. Ephesians 2:21.
JT That is the building, but the divine thought is in Christ. That is, all that is put into the assembly comes out of Christ. The assembly is essential to the divine scheme; Christ is given to be Head over all things to it, “the fulness of him that filleth all in all”. Ephesians 1:23.
JnoT Do you mean that during the whole of the present period God is really working out in detail, seeking to bring the saints to what He really had at the beginning?
JT Yes. It is all there in an abstract sense; we are brought into it in detail. God begins in principle with what He intends to reach in a concrete way.
EM Is verse 14 a direct contrast with verse [p. 348] 12?
JT Jehovah said that He would dwell in thick darkness; God is now in the light. The whole thing is brought out, and Ephesians contemplates not only Christ, but the assembly. He raised us up together and made us sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ. The working out is another thing, but the end was reached in Christ.
GY Is that the meaning of Ephesians 6, “having done all, to stand” Ephesians 6:13.
JT The end has been reached and we have to stand in relation to that, only Ephesians also contemplates that each of us is to be brought to the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ.
EuR The word in connection with Solomon was, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son”. 2 Samuel 7:14. Does that suggest complete satisfaction in that blessed Person, and God is simply working from that standpoint?
JT The end is there to start with. You may say it is abstract, and it is in a way; but Ephesians contemplates what there is in heaven, and so do Hebrews and Galatians; it is the Jerusalem which is above always. God is working up to it, and I think Solomon turning his face has that in view. The people are blest, then God is blest and then he prays a long prayer.
Ques Is that why Solomon calls attention to what was in the heart of David?
JT Yes; I suppose to bring out the heart of Christ. David represents the Lord here as suffering and dying, and Solomon represents Christ in heaven.
HEF Why does it say there was nothing in the ark but the two tables of stone?
JT That is finality. It is not the wilderness any longer; Aaron’s rod that budded and the manna have disappeared; it is the mind or purpose of God we are dealing [p. 349] with here.
HEF And you imply that that is a privilege to which the saints can be brought now?
JT ‘And see, the Spirit’s power
Has ope’d the heavenly door;
Has brought me to that favoured hour
When toil shall all be o’er’. (74:5)
That is in Christ. So that Solomon having turned his face and the congregation are standing, he says, “Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth unto David my father”. Then it goes on: “I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel ... . And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart; nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. And Jehovah has performed his word which he spoke; and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and I have built the house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt”. I have done it, he says; it all points on to what Christ has effected. “God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love wherewith he loved us ... has quickened us with the Christ”. Ephesians 2:4,5. You see what is taken up and completed, and we begin with that; the detail is another matter.
HSH Does. Paul’s ministry bring us to that?
JT Paul’s ministry opens up all this to us, and the ministry of the Spirit brings us to it.
PJB What does the name of the God of Israel mean? It is emphasised many [p. 350] times.
JT For us it would be “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. What God is to Christ, and what He is as known in Christ. “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ”. Ephesians 1:3. He is His Father and our Father, His God and our God.
Rem You see how infinitely superior it all is to anything here.
JT So that it is what is above that matters.
JH Is that involved in the man-child being caught up in Revelation 12?
JT Yes.
WP What is the significance of the feast in verse 2?
JT It is what we are brought into in enjoyment. The seventh month would indicate the end of the course of exercise and the work of God that had all this in view. A year is a period in which things are accomplished.
WP Is it the feast of tabernacles?
JT That feast was in this month — the fifteenth day of it.
JS Would Moses building according to pattern be what you have in mind? Moses saw the thing perfect to begin with, and everything moved on from that apprehension..
JT That is right. He had the pattern in his own mind; the specification would hardly have sufficed.
JS You are pressing what God had in His mind to begin with, are you not?
JT Yes. It is very important. As to the assembly, Paul’s way of putting it is “the heavenlies”, Ephesians 2:6 and “Jerusalem above”, Galatians 4:26 and John’s way is “the holy city, the new Jerusalem”. Revelation 21:2. The holy city coming down — the completion of the mind of God. John shows it in the future; Paul speaks of it in an abstract [p. 351] way as something already reached. God began in Exodus by building houses for the midwives, showing what He would do for those who serve. It does not appear that they had any word from Him, but they understood His mind, so God built them houses. There can be no doubt that Israel had in their minds to build Jehovah a house, but He says, ‘If you do, it is to be according to My pattern’. He does not leave it with us; it is all to be according to pattern.
Rem The house is to be for Jehovah, and not for man.
JT Yes. So that David had the pattern by the Spirit; 1 Chronicles 28:11,12; 1 Chronicles 28:19. Moses was shown the pattern of the tabernacle on the mount.
Rem Should it not he a matter of great encouragement and joy to us that God has reached perfection?
JT Indeed it should. It steadies one. Am I moving in that relation? If I am in the Anglican Church, I am not doing so. Jerusalem above is our mother, and surely I want to get in touch with my mother. A national church cannot be this. Before sin came into the world, it was in the divine mind that there should be the man and the woman — Christ and the assembly — and that thought ran right through.
HEF Do you think that the effect of Christ’s service for us on high at the present time is seen in the ministry that we are receiving below?
JT It is all through Him, but immediately by the Holy Spirit.
Ques Did the apostle Paul have that in view when he speaks in Colossians 1 about being given to fulfil the word of God, and then he sought to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus?
JT Yes. The completion of the word of God is the truth of the assembly — the mystery.
Ques How [p. 352] is the ark typical of Christ?
JT The ark is typical of Christ as containing the testimony. It was the strength and glory of God; Psalm 78:61. It is marked by suffering — going through death. It is comparatively very small, but it has very peculiar measurements, always an added half in each dimension. In Numbers the ark had a place in the centre of the camp; but when Israel began to move, instead of keeping that place, it went before them to seek out a resting-place, which sets forth Christ in His love; in His solitariness here, carrying the testimony of God which was in His heart right through. The ark is the centre of everything. What Christ is as become Man and dying here must be the centre of everything for us, and what He is as Son over all is in relation to that.
HSH Would the ark connect in any way with John’s gospel, “If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way”? John 18:8.
JT Yes it; it was the ark going before, making a way for the people. When the priests’ feet that bore the ark touched the waters, they were completely cut off. What Christ is in heaven is typified in what is seen in Canaan, but the ark is in view throughout the wilderness; it leads us into the land through death.
Ques What is meant by the staves being drawn out, so that the ends of the staves were seen in the holy place?
JT It means that the ark would never be carried again. It would never have to go through the wilderness again; Christ will not have to pass that way again, and your heart accedes to that; you love to think of Him at rest. The ark was placed in the oracle of the house, and the staves were seen in the holy place; the priests coming in there could see the staves, thus there was a testimony that the ark would never again have to be carried.
EuR Will you say a little about the Lord Jesus on our side in this mediatorial service of [p. 353] prayer?
JT Solomon spread forth his hands towards heaven, and said: “Jehovah, God of Israel! there is no God like thee, in the heavens above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart”. We ought to notice this. The Mediator brings out the greatness of God; it is because our thoughts of God are so very small that we try to bring Him down to fit in with our apprehension of Him. Solomon reminds us of what God is. Paul says He “dwelleth in light unapproachable”. 1 Timothy 6:16. The Mediator reminds us of that, so that we should have a right thought of God, and think more of the love that has brought Him within our range.
EuR Were you suggesting that in the Mediator we have One who is on our side to take us in to God?
JT The Mediator brings God out to us, and He is on our side to bring us in, so that we are in the presence of God.
HEF Would you say that as that service is carried on in us, our eyes will be opened to the glory of God? We would see what a wonderful Person He is.
JT There is hardly anything that touches one more than the thought of the ark, the smallness of it and what it went through, and what it maintained — the full mind of God, and nothing lost.
Ques Why does Solomon spread forth his hands towards heaven?
JT To show the relation of heaven to earth. Heaven always takes precedence of earth. As to the greatness of God, there is a challenge given in Isaiah as to how Israel should regard Him (Isaiah 40:18 - 26). Although we may not liken Him to “a graven image”, we are in grave danger of forming a conception of Him which limits Him to our natural finite minds.
Ques Are we in any danger of being too familiar in our address to [p. 354] Him?
JT No doubt; but the great mischief is in fitting Him into our natural conception. He has been declared by the Son in things beyond our comprehension; but faith sees God in them; He is apprehended in the Son; there is light as to Him, but we cannot compass Him.
HMS It was the thought of the greatness of God that made the apostle often stop in writing the epistles and add those wonderful doxologies.