Subject 11 : The Tabernacle
[11-33] The Materials Used for the Garments of The High Priest (Exodus 28:1-14)
(Exodus 28:1-14)
“Now
take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children
of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron’s
sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And you shall make holy
garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you shall
speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit
of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that
he may minister to Me as priest. And these are the garments which they
shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a
turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your
brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest. They shall
take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, and
they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread,
and fine woven linen, artistically worked. It shall have two shoulder
straps joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together. And
the intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the
same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and
fine woven linen. Then you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on
them the names of the sons of Israel: six of their names on one stone
and six names on the other stone, in order of their birth. With the work
of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall
engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall
set them in settings of gold. And you shall put the two stones on the
shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So
Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders as a
memorial. You shall also make settings of gold, and you shall make two
chains of pure gold like braided cords, and fasten the braided chains to
the settings.”
Let
us now turn our attention to the materials used for the garments of the
High Priest. Ephod was a unique item among the garments worn by the
High Priest. This ephod was woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet
thread and fine woven linen. This holy garment of the High Priest was
made by a craftsman who artistically embroidering these five threads.
The
golden thread mentioned here in the Bible speaks of the true faith. The
blue thread used for the garments of the High Priest refers to the
baptism that Jesus Christ had to receive from John the Baptist in order
to take upon the sins of mankind (Matthew 3:15). The purple thread
speaks of the King of kings, and the scarlet thread speaks of the
sacrifice that Jesus Christ made when He bore the condemnation of the
sins of mankind. The white linen used for the garments of the High
priest manifests the righteousness of God that has blotted out
everyone’s sins with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
Among
the duties of the High Priests, the most important one was the duty of
giving offerings to God. By fulfilling this duty of offering sacrifices
to God in accordance with the sacrificial system, the High Priest not
only served God, but this also meant that he helped the people of Israel
to be delivered from their sins. We must remember that the first and
foremost of all the duties of the High Priest was to give offerings to
serve and worship God.
To
prove this point, let me refer you to an incident as told in Exodus 32.
When Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, the
people of Israel, seeing that he was delayed in coming down from the
mountain, said to Aaron, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us;
for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of
Egypt, we do not know what has become of him "(Exodus 32:1). Aaron then
took the Israelites’ gold bracelets, earrings, and rings, and made a
molded calf out of them. The people of Israel then said, “This is your
god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" (Exodus
32:4). Seeing this, Aaron built an altar before the calf and proclaimed
the next day to be a feast to Jehovah God.
When
the next day came, the people of Israel offered burnt offerings and
brought peace offering; they then sat down to eat and drink, and rose up
to play. This became a great sin before God, making the people of
Israel suffer His fierce judgment. We must keep this event in mind. The
High Priest Aaron also had a weak side to him, of course, but despite
this he still had to obey the will of God, not forgetting that for him
to serve God was his most important duty as the High Priest. But Aaron
had failed to be faithful to his duties as the High Priest. To carry out
the duties of the High Priest, he had to give burnt offerings and bring
peace offerings in accordance with the sacrificial system which was
established by God, no matter whether his people followed him or not.
In
short, Aaron the High Priest should have only served God. Like this,
pastors these days all too often work only for people, and not for God.
It saddens me deeply to think that many of today’s modern priests are
espousing such misguided thoughts. But I am not so terribly worried yet,
for the right priests could still be found among them. In order to
atone for people’s sins, the priests must fulfill their responsibility
to give offerings to God properly according to the sacrificial system.
We
should pay special attention to this passage where God says to Moses,
“Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the
children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest” (Exodus 28:1).
God clothed Aaron with the garments of the High Priest which was made
especially for him in order for him to serve God first and foremost.
Every priest ministering today should not forget this: The garments of
the High Priest were made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread and
fine woven linen.
To Fulfill the Duties of the High Priest
On
the Day of Atonement, and in order to remit the Israelites’ sins once a
year, the High Priest had to pass all their sins onto the sacrificial
offering by laying his hands on its head, draw its blood, and then put
it on the altar of burnt offering and sprinkle it on and before the
mercy seat. Likewise, Jesus, our true High Priest of Heaven, came to
this earth, received the baptism through which He took upon the sins of
mankind, shed His blood and died on the Cross, rose from the dead again,
and has thereby brought the victory of salvation to those who believe.
While
serving God as the High Priest, Aaron had to wear a peculiar garment
called the “ephod,” which was made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet
thread and fine woven linen. With this garment of the High Priest, God
is teaching us how we must give our offerings in order to receive the
remission of sin. To realize the profound meaning that is held in the
gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen used for
the garments of the High Priest, we must know the remission of sins
which was fulfilled by God’s righteousness and His love.
Through
the five threads used for the garments of the High Priest, God has
shown us that He established the everlasting remission of sin in Jesus
Christ even before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Hence,
for us to carry out our duties of priests well, we must first understand
the mystery of the washing away of sin held in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit and believe in it. This is the predestined providence of
salvation that God the Father has established for us in Jesus Christ.
For
the High Priest to fulfill his priestly duties well he had to give
offerings to God properly—that is, for the remission of his people’s
sins, he had to lay his hands on the head of the sacrificial offering
and pass their sins onto it properly according to the sacrificial
system. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest laid his hands on the
head of the sacrificial offering and cut its throat to draw its blood.
By this laying on of hands, all the yearly sins of the Israelites were
passed onto the sacrificial offering. And by the shedding of its blood,
all their sins were atoned for. He then sprinkled its blood and burnt
its flesh for the completion of this sacrifice. He thus offered this
sacrifice for the remission of sins of his people.
Here
we have to pay great attention to this point: The High Priest had to
teach his people that their sins were already passed onto the
sacrificial offering before being burnt by fire, and that the remission
of their sins was fulfilled through the laying on of hands and the
shedding of blood of the offering. This was the greatest duty of every
High Priest. The High Priest was someone who had to defend the Truth. In
other words, he had to be a faithful guardian of the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. Although the High Priest was also a weak human
being like the common people of Israel, by believing in the Truth
manifested in the sacrificial system and giving offerings to God for
them, he nonetheless enabled his people to receive their remission of
sins. In the same manner, although we are insufficient beings, by
believing in what Jesus Christ the High Priest of Heaven has done for us
and receiving our remission of sins, we are able to walk with God.
This
sacrificial system which is revealed in the Tabernacle system is the
wisdom of salvation that has come from God. The wisdom of God that has
saved us from sin is held in the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread
and the fine woven linen used for the garments of the High Priest. For
the High Priest to successfully fulfill his duties, he must teach that
the only capable way of making mankind sinless is reached by the
sacrificial system which was set by God. We, as today’s royal priests (1
Peter 2:9), also must always bear witness to the fact that Jesus came
to this earth, took upon the sins of the world once for all by being
baptized, shed His blood and died in our place, was buried, and rose
from the dead for us.
Can
human beings blot out their own sins? Can the religions of this world
make the sins of mankind disappear? The disappearance of our sins is
made possible only by the Truth of salvation constituted by Jesus’
baptism and His blood that the High Priest teaches us. It is only
through the gospel of salvation which was established by God that we can
receive the remission of all our sins. Remitting the sins of mankind is
something that can be done only by Jesus Christ, the eternal High
Priest of Heaven. In other words, because Jesus Christ who is God
Himself came to this earth in the flesh of a man and took upon all our
sins by being baptized by John the Baptist, He could shed His blood on
the Cross to wash away all the iniquities of us the sinners. It is
because the Lord shouldered all our sins with His baptism that He bore
the condemnation of all our sins by being crucified, shedding His blood,
and dying on the Cross. And He has completed the salvation of mankind
from sin through this righteous act (Romans 5:18). Were it not for what
Jesus had accomplished for us, we could never have been saved. This High
Priest of Heaven who made us the children of the Holy God by completely
blotting out all our sins with the gospel Truth of the water and the
Spirit is none other than Jesus Christ.
The
spiritual High Priest of Heaven knew all about the Father’s plan of
salvation which was predestined for our remission of sins. That is why
the Lord said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last” (Revelation 22:13). With His perfect knowledge
of the beginning and the end, the Lord fulfilled our salvation according
to His promises shown in the sacrificial system. He has made it
possible for us to never be condemned and be destroyed for our sins and
weaknesses. What the High Priest of Heaven has done for us—that is,
taking upon the sins of mankind by being baptized and blotting them out
by shedding His blood, He has thus completed the perfect salvation for
us. The wisdom of God provides salvation of all human beings from their
sins. It was fulfilled with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the
fine woven linen. In Jesus Christ, God the Father planned the
everlasting remission of sins with the Truth hidden in the blue, purple,
and scarlet thread, and to all believers in this Truth, He has
permitted this perfect salvation.
Band of the Ephod for the High Priest
Among
the garments of the High Priest was a band for the ephod. This band, a
waistband worn by the High Priest for his ephod, also was made of gold,
blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven linen. A band usually
denotes “strength.” It tells us, in other words, that the faith that
believes in the salvation having come by the blue, purple, and scarlet
thread and the fine woven linen has the power to save us from all our
sins. Only this genuine gospel of the water and the Spirit has the power
of God that saves everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). And so, it is a
futile exercise to believe in any other pseudo-gospels apart from what
is manifested here in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine
woven linen.
Those
who have many shortcomings can also be washed from all their sins
perfectly by believing in this Lord-given gospel of the water and the
Spirit, for the sins of the world were all passed onto Jesus Christ by
this Truth of the remission of sins which was fulfilled by God (Matthew
3:15-17; Leviticus 16:1-22). Therefore, those who believe that these
righteous works of Jesus which is manifested in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread has saved them can be reassured even if the willpower of
their flesh is very weak. When we dwell in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit that Jesus Christ the High Priest of Heaven has given us,
what could possibly cut us off from the love of God? Our faith in God’s
salvation has been completed by our faith that believes in the Truth
revealed in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven
linen.
For
the priests to carry out their priestly duties, they could not tolerate
any false gospels that did not obey the sacrificial system which was
clearly shown in the Tabernacle. Those who preach such pseudo-gospels,
no matter how articulate they deliver their sermons, cannot offer any
help to anyone because they are not bearing witness to God’s genuine
gospel of the water and the Spirit which is manifested in the
Tabernacle. Therefore, they are merely swindlers and wage-earners. When
it comes to believing in Jesus Christ the High Priest of Heaven as our
Savior, we cannot fail to acknowledge the sacrificial system of the
laying on of hands and the shedding of blood which was manifested in the
Tabernacle system. We must realize that there are many pseudo-gospels
in this world. Also, no matter who the preacher is, if the preacher is
preaching the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, we must then
hear and accept all his or her teachings.
The
five materials used for the ephod and its band denote our true
salvation. They were the materials which manifested the sacrificial
offering which brought the remission of sin to sinners when it was
offered exactly according to the God-given sacrificial system in the Old
Testament, and this mainly consisted of the laying on of hands and the
shedding of blood. These materials eventually manifested itself in the
New Testament, by the baptism of Jesus and the shedding of His blood;
Jesus has thus brought the salvation of the remission of sins to those
who believe. Whoever believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
wholeheartedly receives the remission of sins and eternal life. This
Truth was spoken into all the truly born-again who have been entrusted
with the duties of today’s High Priest.
The
earthly High Priest passed the sins of his people by laying his hands
on the head of the sacrificial offering; he then cut its throat and drew
its blood, sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat, and thereby fulfilled
his priestly duties of defending the genuine gospel before God. But the
High Priest of Heaven is the One who was baptized to take the sins of
the world upon His own body; He has wholly blotted out all the sins of
His people by giving up His body, shedding His blood on the Cross, and
rising from the dead again. By doing so, He has enabled His people to be
remitted of their sins and brought the providence of God to its
fulfillment. Today, it is when the disciples of Jesus spread this gospel
that Jesus Christ has eradicated all the sins of mankind and that they
are successfully carrying out their priestly duties.
One
of the reasons why Christianity today has so many problems is because
there are many spiritual swindlers in its communities who claim to be
fulfilling their priestly duties well even as they do not know the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. The way to become the true priests
before God is to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Only
those who have this faith can give proper sin offerings to God and
truly love other people. For what do you think God’s Church exists? I
can say to you that God’s Church exists to spread the gospel of the
water and the Spirit to sinners. And this is how to serve God and love
all souls which were created in His image.
Everyone in the World Must Know the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit
Today’s
Christianity throughout the whole world must know the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. Our Lord said, “You are the salt of the earth….
You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13-14). We who believe in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit are the true light and the spiritual
salt of the world. Those who know and believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit are the spiritual priests who bring benefits to
people and enable them to receive the remission of their sins. But, on
the other hand, those pastors who claim to be fulfilling their priestly
duties even as they do not know this gospel of the water and the Spirit
are no more than mere wage earners. Those who carry out their priestly
duties only as wage earners may be able to make people nominal
Christians, but they are unable to wash away the sins that are found in
all their followers.
The
true priests are those whose sins have been atoned for, those who stand
sinless before God by believing in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. It is by giving them their priestly duties and making them give
the lawful sacrificial offering that cleanses away all the sins of His
people that God enables everyone to be washed from all their sins. It is
through such priests that God has enabled mankind to know His works of
salvation, believe in them, and thereby return to Him and lead righteous
lives. The priests are the ones who have the responsibility and the
duty to make everyone realize the mystery of the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread, and to spread this Truth. Therefore, the spiritual
priesthood is as critically important as the gospel of the water and the
Spirit itself.
God
has given us the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit so that we may
fulfill our spiritual priesthood powerfully. We must thank Him for
giving us this faith (gold thread) that believes in the genuine gospel
which is manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine
woven linen. When we study the garments worn by the High Priest, we can
discover how mankind’s remission of sin has been fulfilled. Upon a
closer examination of the garments of the High Priest, the gospel of the
water and the Spirit becomes crystal-clear. It is not through the
pseudo-gospels which are propagated by liars that God has saved mankind
from the sins of the world. But rather, God has planned our salvation
from sin in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, and He has
fulfilled this plan exactly through the baptism and the bloodshed of
Jesus Christ.
Among
the garments of the High Priests, there were also a skillfully woven
tunic and linen trousers. We also wear undergarments, but these garments
of the High Priest were different from the undergarments that we wear.
The tunic of the High Priest was a long garment extending all the way
down to the knee. Because it was woven of fine linen thread, air could
circulate freely. When the priests gave burnt offerings, they had to
bring the pieces of the offerings to the altar of burnt offering to burn
them on it. This altar was set relatively high, and therefore the lower
part of the High Priest’s body could be exposed when they come near the
altar of burnt offering. So, God ordered Moses to make a tunic and
linen trousers to cover the lower part of the High Priest’s body
thoroughly lest he might incur iniquity and die.
How
splendid are the garments of the High Priest? The breastplate placed on
his chest glittered with twelve precious stones which were placed on
it, and the shoulder straps also had precious stones. The breastplate
was fastened to the shoulder straps with the two chains of pure gold
made like braided cords, and it was bound to the band of the ephod so
that it would not come loose from the ephod. So when the High Priest
walked, these braided cords of pure gold swung back and forth and
glittered. Moreover, the twelve precious stones on the breastplate of
judgment also dazzled, the large precious stones placed on the two
shoulder straps also glimmered, and the forehead also glittered in gold
with the gold plate which hung on the turban made of fine linen.
Just
how much gold was in the Tabernacle? All its boards were overlaid with
gold, and the mercy seat, the lampstand, the table of showbread, and
many such utensils of the Holy Place were all made of gold. The
Tabernacle was simply magnificent. Likewise, when we enter into the
dominion of Jesus Christ, we can realize just how splendid this realm
is. When looking from the outside, the Tabernacle may not seem that
impressive, but anyone who knows about the amount of gold used for it
knows that the combined weight of this gold amounted to over one ton.
The total gold used for the Tabernacle was twenty-nine talents and seven
hundred and thirty shekels (Exodus 38:24) and when we calculate this
into today’s measurement it will be over one ton or thereabouts, because
a talent or kikkar (= 3000 shekels) weighed 42 kilograms.
Have
you prepared the garments of faith made of gold, blue, purple, and
scarlet thread, and fine woven linen yet? The gold thread here refers to
faith; the blue thread refers to the baptism that Jesus received; the
purple thread refers to the Divinity of Jesus as God Himself; the
scarlet thread tells us that because Jesus Christ took upon all our sins
with His baptism He had to shed His precious blood on the Cross; and
the fine woven linen speaks of the Word of God that reveals the
righteousness of God. Like this, the blue, purple, and scarlet thread
used for the door of the Tabernacle and the garments of the High Priest
tell us that God has blotted out all our sins.
When We Come before God with the Faith in This Truth, We Can Receive the Remission of All Our Sins
When
we come before God, we must have the faith that believes in the Truth
of salvation held in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine
woven linen manifested in the garments of the High Priest as well as in
the Tabernacle’s door. When the High Priest gave the sacrifice of the
Day of Atonement, he had to lay his hands on the head of the sacrificial
offering and then cut its throat to draw its blood. By this laying on
of hands, the sins of all his people were passed onto that sacrificial
animal and by this shedding of blood, all those sins were remitted.
Anyone who does not have this faith cannot go to God. Trying to give
offerings to God without this faith is completely absurd. The
sacrificial system and the materials of the Tabernacle are all related
to the faith that believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It
was by his faith in the Word spoken by God that the High Priest could
come before God and fulfill his priestly duties for his people by giving
the sacrifices that blotted out all their sins.
How,
then, is our faith? In this present age, you and I who know and believe
in this Truth and live before God by faith are also the royal priests
of Him (1 Peter 2:9). Is your faith the same as the faith that believes
in the sacrificial system revealed in the Old Testament? The true faith
must be the faith that believes in the genuine gospel spoken of by the
Old and the New Testament. The external forms of faith can differ from
time to time, but the content of true faith must be the same. The High
Priests who are approved by God are the ones who give their offerings
according to the sacrificial system.
When
the Bible says that the ephod was “artistically worked,” it means that
it was elaborately embroidered in fine detail. The High Priest had to
wear the ephod that was wholly woven, with no thread of the five
specified threads missing from it. Like this, it is by the faith that
truly believes in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine
woven linen that those who have become priests can first be clothed in
holiness, and then only come before God, and give the offering of the
remission of sins for others.
How
is your faith then? Do you know and believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit correctly? The faith of the priests of the Old Testament
that believed in the Truth which manifested itself in the blue, purple,
and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen is the same as the faith
that believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in the age of
the New Testament. This faith is the absolute Truth of salvation that no
one can alter. Without this faith, no one can come before God, nor
spread His holy gospel. Ultimately, this means that those who have not
received the remission of their sins by this genuine gospel cannot
fulfill their priestly duties for others.
Through
our homepage, we hear news from many other countries. We hear from all
around the world, from Peru to China and from Uganda to Holland, that
people are receiving the remission of sin through our Free Christian
Books. Through these books that hold the gospel of the water and the
Spirit, people whom we have not even met yet are receiving the remission
of their sins. If people in each country receive the remission of sins
and they in turn spread the gospel as our co-workers, just how much
great works would be accomplished? If our Free Christian Books can only
make their way into every country, it will not be too difficult for many
people throughout the world to be truly born again. Countless souls
throughout the whole world are now receiving the remission of sins by
reading our books. We must therefore continue to be faithful to our
priestly duties and spread this Truth of salvation which is manifested
in the Tabernacle system by faith.
Dear
fellow believers, it is only when you become sinless and holy that you
can spread the true gospel to the people of the entire world, and not
before. For us to become priests, we must have and spread the faith that
believes in the four truths which are manifested in the Tabernacle. Our
Lord, who is the true God Himself, has remitted all our sins with the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread. By coming to this earth, being
baptized, and shedding His blood, our Lord has washed away all our sins,
and by vicariously bearing the condemnation for all these sins in our
place, He has saved those who believe from all their sins. Anyone who
believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that makes us
righteous and sinless can wear these holy garments. When we wear these
garments, come before God, pray to Him, ask for His help, and serve Him,
we can then fulfill our priestly duties by spreading this gospel.
Have
you received the remission of your sins yet by believing in this gospel
of the water and the Spirit? Is faith like this gold thread found in
your hearts? It is not enough for us to just know this gospel Truth for
ourselves, but we must also believe in it wholeheartedly. We must not
leave out any one of these truths found in the four threads used for the
garments of the High Priest and the Tabernacle’s door; every single one
of them must be found in our faith. Who are pseudo-believers today?
When something looks similar but on closer examination its content is
very different, we then call this an imitation. Is this not what
pseudo-gospels are about? Those who do not believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit but instead believe in some other fake gospels are
all just people having a bogus faith.
Defend Your Faith and Fight Your Battle as Spiritual Soldiers
For
a while, there used be many quasi-reporters pretending to be true
journalists and defrauding people of money. These bogus journalists
carried forged credentials and were quite good at pretending to be real
journalists, many people were conned by them. Today, there are in fact
many people who are spreading some other pseudo-gospels that may
resemble the genuine gospel, but the truth is, they are in fact
different from the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, before
believing in any gospel, we should examine it closely by paying
particular attention to see whether or not it contains each single
thread of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen,
and whether or not anyone of these has been left out. God ordered Moses
to make the garments of the High Priest by weaving all of them
artistically without leaving out any one thread; this means that today’s
priests should not leave out any element from the gospel of the water
and the Spirit when it comes to their faith. If we do not believe that
God has fulfilled our salvation with these four threads—the blue,
purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen—we then cannot be
approved by God.
How
can we discern whether or not someone’s faith is spurious? When we look
at the colors of the garments worn by the High Priest, we can realize
that today, only the faith of those who believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit is whole. If someone believes in the true gospel
like these people, then you can consider this person as someone who has
been wholly remitted of their sins. There are many people who think that
their faith is whole, even as they do not believe in the truth of the
blue thread, the baptism of Jesus, and only believe in the blood of the
Cross. Such people are not the ones who believe in the perfect gospel.
Because these people do not know the true gospel before God, they cannot
preach about the spiritual remission of sins.
Dear
fellow believers, you must be able to discern the faith of those who
believe in the pseudo-gospels from that of those who believe in the true
gospel. There are many pastors on this earth who believe in such
pseudo-gospels. In the Old Testament, the garments of the High Priest
were made with five materials, and it is by having this faith that we
have received the remission of sins. This is why we are waging our
spiritual battle against Satan.
The
Apostle Paul addresses this issue in the Book of Ephesians. Let us turn
to Ephesians 6:10-18: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and
in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may
be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor
of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having
done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with
truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod
your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking
the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with
all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
The
Apostle Paul is telling us to “be strong in the Lord and in the power
of His might,” and to “put on the whole armor of God” so that we “may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” What is this whole armor
of God? It is the Word of God. Paul is telling us, in other words, to
fight against these pseudo faiths by believing in the Word of God, by
wearing it and by holding on it. This is why he says, “For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” He is admonishing
us to fight against the rulers of this age, against those who are on
the side of this world, and against the evil spirits of the Devil.
Paul
is telling us, “Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand
therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the
preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of
faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God.” Paul tells us this so that we, having
done all these things, may stand before God. Because we believe in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit before God, we receive the remission
of sins and stand before God to enjoy everlasting life with Him.
We
are all weak in our flesh. We must therefore put on the girdle of
faith. By telling us to put on the breastplate of righteousness, Paul is
telling us that we must believe in this gospel with all our hearts. As
the High Priest wore twelve precious stones on the breastplate above his
chest and the name of each tribe of the twelve tribes of Israel was
engraved on each stone, he is saying that we should embrace all people
in our hearts and lead them to Christ. That the High Priest wore these
twelve precious stones which were mounted on the breastplate and carried
it on his chest means that he bore all the people of Israel in his
heart.
As
the Apostle Paul said here, “having girded your waist with truth,” we
must definitely and definitively have the faith that believes in the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. When we do
not fear our weaknesses but hold onto our faith in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread in our hearts, our hearts are then strengthened. It is
by this faith that we can stand firmly on our unwavering faith.
Therefore, we must put on the breastplate of righteousness and believe
in it in our minds and also in our hearts. It is not enough for us to
just know this true gospel in our heads, but we must also believe in it
in our hearts.
We
must then wear the shoes of the spreading of the gospel with the
preparation of the gospel of peace. With the gospel of the water and the
Spirit, God has given us peace. God has told us to believe in this
gospel of the water and the Spirit that has brought us peace and to lead
our lives by serving the gospel.
God
has also told us to take “the shield of faith” and “to quench all the
fiery darts of the wicked one.” In ancient times, fiery darts were often
the first weapon of choice to be deployed in a battle. Paul is telling
us that this is how Satan attacks us. The Devil pinpoints and directs
his attack on our weaknesses and insufficiencies, saying, “Just who do
you think you are? Your thoughts and acts that creep up from inside your
hearts are all filthy, and yet you espouse to spread the gospel? What
kind of nonsense is this? Don’t you think you are too conceited? Why
don’t you straighten yourself out first?” If you are struck by these
fiery darts and then capitulate because of it, saying, “You are right,”
then you should be asking yourself, “What kind of priest am I really
when I am not able to even manage myself properly?” If this happens then
your souls will die and you will be dead spiritually. This is why the
Apostle Paul told us, Above all, take the shield of faith. What protects
us from these fleshly thoughts that Satan tries to implant in our
hearts making us fall into our weaknesses? It is the unwavering faith
that believes in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven
linen. This is the shield of faith.
When
the fiery darts rain on us indiscriminately, our Lord has told us to
ward them off with this faith: “The Lord has made me righteous with the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread. I believe in this wholeheartedly.” It
is by such faith that we can repel these fiery darts and all the schemes
and attacks plotted by Satan.
Are
you insufficient? Your flesh is surely insufficient. Given this, you
must deal with all things with the faith that believes in the providence
of God and the gospel of the water and the Spirit. After receiving the
remission of sins, at first you may be able to deal with small issues by
faith, but later on, many other hardships that truly cannot be dealt by
any other means but only by faith will come knocking at your door. At
the beginning, your weaknesses might show only a little, but in time,
such weaknesses will continue to be revealed in an even greater degree
and far more bluntly. Eventually, you will be flooded by so many
weaknesses that they will make you recoil from yourself.
It
is in times like this, when you begin to have doubts about whether you
have actually received the remission of your sins or not, that Satan
launches his severe attacks against you. With your faith, therefore, you
must be able to take care of your weaknesses also. In other words, you
must prevent yourselves from having such kind of fleshly thoughts that
leads you to your own self-destruction because of your weaknesses. With
the shield of faith, you must repel Satan’s attacks and shout, “Get
behind me, Satan! As Romans 1:17 says, ‘The just shall live by faith,’ I
am still righteous by my faith in the righteousness of God even though I
have many shortcomings.” The righteous must live by faith.
Is
there anything we have that can boast of yourselves in this world? We
have nothing to boast of in a worldly term, but we can still talk
confidently before the people of this world. The people of the world
might say to you, “If you are righteous, then I am also righteous. Then
you should answer them, ‘Listen, if you are righteous, then I am the
mother of all the righteous.” There are many people who have no
understanding and attack us by dragging out our shortcomings. “You are
not a good student. You can’t do this, and you can’t do that either.”
Even if they attack us like this, there is absolutely no reason for us
to be concerned. You can reply, “You are right. I am not so good at
that. But nevertheless, I believe in this genuine gospel. Do you know
what this gospel is? Do you know what the blue thread is? What the
purple thread is? What the scarlet thread is? What the fine woven linen
is? Look into the original texts. It will most probably take you at
least a month of Sundays before you can find their meanings. No,
actually, you would be lucky if you could decipher its mystery even
after a year. It would probably take you 500 generations before you even
begin to realize them. Do you know what the gold thread is? Well,
unlike you, I know and believe in all these things.” Like this, you must
ward off all the attacks of Satan boldly with your faith. You must have
strong faith, and with this faith you must repel him.
“Though
I am insufficient, I still serve the gospel of God. Serving the gospel
of the water and the Spirit is serving God. Even though I am lacking, I
am still a king in the Kingdom of God. I am a royal priest who is like a
king. If I don’t spread the gospel, you will then all end up in hell.”
Brother and sisters, you must all have such a bold faith. This faith is
not something that you can attain by force, but it is something that God
has given to us, and therefore all that you have to do is just take it
by believing. Have you received this faith by believing?
In
Ephesians 6:17 the Apostle Paul admonishes us to “take the helmet of
salvation.” You know what a helmet is, right? Remember the knights of
the Medieval Age? They wore helmets made of metal and dueled against
each other on horseback with long lances. When they wore these helmets
which covered their faces, their wounds were rarely bad enough to kill
them unless they got pierced through the eyes. What warded off such
lance attacks and protected them were these specially made helmets.
Likewise, the helmet of salvation plays such a role.
Like
this, in our heads also, our knowledge of the Truth must be perfect.
The gospel Truth must be well-organized intellectually in our knowledge
as well. “Is this true or not? Is this right or wrong?”—instead of
dithering about in our uncertainty like this, we must have our
understanding clearly sorted out in our heads: “The Lord has made me
perfectly righteous with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. I believe
in this.” Only when we do this would there be no crack through which
Satan can attempt to get in. This is to equip ourselves with the helmet
of salvation. We must believe with the exact knowledge of the Truth.
And
Paul also told us to have the sword of the Spirit. This sword of the
Spirit is the Word of God, and so when we learn, know, and believe in
the Word, it is like having a great weapon. Satan attacks shrewdly
through other people, through money, through the opposite sex, and
through your weaknesses as well, but we can repel them all with our
faith in the Word of God.
In
Ephesians, using this analogy from the garments of the High Priest, the
Apostle Paul explains to us what true faith is in this way: “Put on the
breastplate of righteousness.” He is telling us, in other words, to put
on the breastplate of the Truth that God has made us righteous. Paul
also told us to “take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the
Spirit.” By using this example, he is telling us to fight against Satan,
to strike and defeat him by having the complete knowledge of the Truth
and believing in the Word of God. He is telling us kill off without any
hesitation all the evil obstacles that hassle our faith. Those who have
pseudo-gospels are the ones who claim to have washed away all their sins
even as they only believe in one part, that is, Jesus’ blood of the
Cross and His divine attributes as the Son of God. What we must reject
and cast aside is precisely this bogus faith.
The
faith that believes in Jesus without His ministry of the blue thread is
like the High Priest wearing fake garments. Yet in this world, there
are so many phony Christians who leave out the blue thread from their
faith that we cannot even count them all. However, we put the gospel of
the water and the Spirit in our books and bear witness to this gospel
that has come by the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven
linen, the gospel in which we believe. Regardless of whether people
believe it or not, it is to give them at least an opportunity to read,
know, and believe in the Truth that we make our books holding to the
exact Word of God. Those who only believe that Jesus is God and that He
has washed away their sins by shedding His blood on the Cross are prone
to place the basis of their faith on their emotions by deceiving others
and even themselves. But we who believe in the Truth know, believe, and
preach that it is by being baptized and bleeding to death on the Cross
that Jesus, who is God Himself, has saved us perfectly.
Do
you now believe that the garments of the High Priest were made of gold,
blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen? Those who have
been wholly clothed in holiness are the ones who are wearing these
garments made of these five threads. Those who in their hearts believe
in the remission of sin that has come by the gold, blue, purple, and
scarlet thread and the fine woven linen are the true people of faith and
spiritual priests who believe that they have truly been saved from all
their sins.
There
is something that those who have now become spiritual priests can never
forget. It is the implication of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread
and the fine woven linen, the shadow of the true gospel. It is with
these five faiths that we make the holy garments of the remission of
sin, wear them by faith, and come before God. This speaks of our true
faith. For our faith that believes in this Truth, God has made our
hearts holy, just as He had done so for the High Priest of the Old
Testament. By believing in this Truth, we have all become priests before
God. We are the royal priests who serve God.
Brothers
and sisters, I ask you to have the faith that believes in This Truth,
and with this faith fight against Satan and fulfill your priestly
duties. And by doing so, I hope and pray that you would all carry out
your priestly duties faithfully forever. I say this because if you cease
to believe in the gospel of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and
the fine woven linen, your priesthood will be taken away from you. I
pray that all of you would become even more faithful priests who please
God with your unwavering faith in the genuine gospel. It is my hope that
you would all believe in the true gospel until the end, so that you may
not lose the gospel of eternal life, defend your faith, and perform
your priestly duties forever.
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