[In Ezekiel forty-three] in
verses thirteen to twenty-seven, we have the great altar
and its service. We will not read the whole section, but
just the first verses of that section: "And
these are the measures of the altar by cubits (the
cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be
a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the
edge round about one span; and this shall be the height
of the base of the altar." Then we are given more
particulars about the measurement and the ministry. We
all understand that the altar in the Old Testament is
always a type of the Cross. This altar is the place of
the WHOLE burnt offering, and this corresponds to
Hebrews, chapter ten, where the Lord Jesus is likened to
the WHOLE burnt offering. So we are going this morning to
think about the centrality and the universality of the
Cross.
Now we have seen that
the whole area of the temple was square. If we draw
diagonal lines from each corner, those lines meet at the
place where the great altar was. The central place in the
whole area was the altar. You will recognize that this is
different from the tabernacle in the wilderness. The
court of the tabernacle was not square, and the altar of
burnt offering was right at the gate; but in this temple,
the altar is right in the center of a square. It is
important to realize that. All the lines meet in the
altar, and all the lines go out from the altar. The
central place of everything is the altar. This represents the temple and I would like you to know this is not drawn to scale. Probably, my temple is bigger than the actual temple was. [Laughter] I only put it there to show you the position. The actual temple was there. This is the whole temple area, and the central place of all is the altar.
The altar governed
everything. It governed everything as to the house; that
is, all that was actually in the temple was governed by
the altar. It governed all that was immediately around
the house. If you had a plan of this whole house, with
the different course and the whole area, you would see
that all the chambers of the priests were round about;
and the places where the offerings were prepared were all
around. Everything was gathered round the house, but
everything in the house and in the whole area was
governed by the altar.
And then, all the
ministry of the house was governed by the altar. We could
say that there was no ministry that was not related to
the altar; and then beyond the house, and beyond the
immediate area, right out to the whole land, everything
was governed by the altar. We shall see that when
we see that the river, which came down through the whole
land, came by way of the altar; but we turn inside the
house first.
Here we have a very
important and vital truth. When the Cross is in its place
with its full measure, everything else will be in order,
and everything else will be given its meaning, and its
value. I feel that I cannot say this too strongly. We are
so often concerned about the outside things, about the
order of the House of the Lord, about the ministry of the
House of the Lord, about the people who are related to
the House of the Lord. We are always beginning on the
outside. We are trying to set up an order of the House of
God. We are trying to put the people of the House right.
We are very much concerned about the ministers, and the
ministries. But if the Cross was really in its place with
its full dimensions, all those things would see to
themselves. The people would be right if the Cross was in
its place. The ministries would be living if the Cross
was in its place. The order of the House would be right
if the Cross was in its place. It just does work that
way. IF THE CROSS IS RIGHT AT THE CENTER, in full
measure, and note that it is a large altar, THEN
EVERYTHING ELSE WILL COME INTO ITS RIGHT PLACE, AND INTO
A LIVING RELATIONSHIP.
Although it is not said
so here, I think we are right in concluding that this
altar was of brass. The altar in the tabernacle was of
brass, the altar in Solomon's temple was of brass, and I
think that we can assume that this altar was of brass. We
have already met brass. We have met brass in the Man in
the gate, and we have said that with His reed He measured
everything according to what He was. Brass is the type of
the righteous judgments of God. This great altar
represents the fullness of the righteous judgments of
God. This altar of brass is measured by the Man of brass,
so that this altar represents God's thoughts in judgment.
In this altar of whole
burnt offering, the one unrighteous man is completely
removed. That altar of brass sees one man brought to
ashes. The ashes were taken from this altar and emptied
onto the ground at the side of the altar. That is a
picture of God's Mind about the unrighteous man, or the
natural man. He is consumed in the fire of God's
judgment, he is reduced to ashes, and he is poured out on
the ground. THAT IS GOD'S MIND ABOUT THE NATURAL MAN. On
the other side, it is only THE RIGHTEOUS MAN that can
stand here in the presence of this altar. Of course,
those are the two sides of THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE
LORD JESUS. On the one side HE was made sin for us, and
in that capacity He was wholly consumed and brought to
ashes. When He cried, "My God, My God,
why hast Thou forsaken Me" - it was the cry of
the ashes! He had been brought to ashes, and poured out
on the ground.
But then there was the
other side of the Cross - "He knew no sin." In
Himself, there was no unrighteousness, and, therefore, He
can go through the altar, He can live after the fire! "Thou
wilt not suffer Thy Holy One to see
corruption." Because in Himself there was no
sin, He could not be holden of death. His own nature
could overcome all the righteous judgments of God! This
is the meaning of the great altar: one man is brought to
an end, and Another Man stands in his place. Everything
has been judged at the altar. Everything IS judged in the
Cross.
We have been judged in
the Cross of the Lord Jesus, and in our own selves we
have been brought to an end. Everything of the natural
has been judged and brought to an end in the Cross of the
Lord Jesus. It is a very important thing to recognize
that. You see, that makes anything possible. That is why
I have said that if the Cross is in its place, everything
else would be right. The House will be right; that is,
the Church will be right. The ministry will be right. The
order will be right. You will not have to go to work to
try and bring about a right order. It spontaneously comes
out of the work of the Cross.
I do hope that you are
writing that in your minds. You may meet disorders in the
House of God. You may meet the natural man in the House
of God. You may meet conditions which are all wrong in
the House of God. How are you going to deal with them?
You can only deal with them by the principle of the
Cross. You cannot deal with the people themselves, you
cannot deal with the things themselves; but if only you
can bring the Cross into that situation, you have solved
the whole problem.
I remember many years ago, I was speaking in America, and I was asked to go and speak to the teachers of a great Sunday School. You may know that in America, Sunday school does not mean little children, Sunday School means adults just as much as little children. And this was one of the biggest Sunday Schools in America. It was in one of the most famous churches in America. They had everything that you could think of. Right in the center of the great Sunday school building there was a pond and a fountain and goldfish. Up at the back of the great building was a wonderful pipe organ. And then there was an echo organ. There was a chime of bells attached to the organ, and I could go on describing this wonderful Sunday School. The superintendent of that Sunday School asked me to go out to lunch with him. This was before I was to speak to all the teachers.
At the lunch table, he told me a very terrible story. He said, "Mr Sparks I want your help. I have a great problem in this Sunday School. I cannot get my teachers to study the Bible and teach the Bible. They bring anything along to the Sunday School and read it to the classes. Any book that has anything of religion in it they bring that and read that as their lesson to the class. They are worldly people. They will not come to a prayer meeting, and I cannot do anything with them. I dare not say anything or they would resign. What am I to do? Will you please give me the solution to my problem?"
I said, "Yes, I think I've got the solution." So I took my Bible and I opened it at Romans 6. Now everybody here knows Romans 6. And I went through Romans 6 with him and I said, "What you need to do is to speak to these teachers about their identification with Christ in death and burial and resurrection. In other words, you must make them see the meaning of the Cross." And I spoke to him about the meaning of union with Christ. That is the real meaning of the Cross. And as I spoke to him about that, I saw the look coming into his face. He said, "Mr Sparks you have solved my problem. You have put your finger on the key to the whole situation. I, myself, have never seen that before. Therefore in my teacher training classes I have never said anything like that. I believe if I go back to my teacher training class with that message it may solve my problem."
Well I went to the teachers that afternoon. You can be sure that I felt the Lord had given me my message, and I spoke to them about the Cross. I was very surprised to see how attentive they were. They all opened their eyes and followed every word that I said. They had never seen it before. I do not know what permanent effect it had upon them. I never heard of what happened afterward. I had to go away. But there is no doubt about it that the Cross made an impression that day, and at least one man saw that it would solve all the problems if only they realized it. If only the Cross had its place all the other problems would be solved. It is like that. We do not start from
the outside. We do not start with the people, we do not
start with the order of the Lord's House, we do not start
with the ministry - WE START WITH THE CROSS. And if only
people see the Cross, everything else would put itself
right. Everything is judged by the Cross.
Now I am going to indicate something to you that I shall not be able to follow through. If Brother Wei would just put his fingers in his ears for a minute, and a few other people, I would tell you that I think this is what the Lord is saying to me for Hong Kong next week. So if you want to hear it all, you must all have to come to Hong Kong next week. But I just give you the outline. The Letter to the Romans
is the message of the Cross in its full measure. In that
letter to the Romans, you see the great measurement of
the Cross. There the Cross comprehends all things. It
brings the whole race in Adam to an end, and it begins an
entirely new race in Christ risen! It is very impressive
that the first of these letters should put
the Cross there in its full measurement. You all know
that the Letter to the Romans was not the first letter
written by Paul, but the Holy Spirit has put it first in
the arrangement. I think the Holy Spirit had something to
do with the arrangement of the books in the New
Testament, and in His sovereign arrangement of this book,
He has put the altar in its fullness right at the
beginning. Well, of course, you have to recall all that
you know about the Letter to the Romans to see that.
In the First Letter to
the Corinthians, the Cross is applied to the natural and
the carnal man inside the Church. The natural and the
carnal man has come in where he has no right to be. This
unrighteous man has slipped in through the gate, and so
the apostle BRINGS CHRIST CRUCIFIED OVER AGAINST THE
NATURAL AND THE CARNAL MAN. The Cross in I Corinthians
had to do with that man, not outside the Church as in
Romans, but inside the Church.
The Second Letter to the
Corinthians sets the Cross in relation to ministry. That
letter shows us that ministry flows out of a broken and
humbled vessel. I can only say these things and leave the
full explanation.
In the Letter to the
Galatians, in that letter the Cross is brought down upon making
Christianity into another legal system, and bringing
Christians into bondage. How strong the apostle is in
that letter, but see how he uses the Cross. He uses the
Cross tremendously against that effort to make
Christianity into a legal system, and to bring believers
into bondage again.
In the Letter to the
Ephesians, the work of the Cross is to put the Church on
heavenly ground. The Cross in Ephesians completely cuts
the Church off from all earthly ground. It puts the
Church outside of time. It puts the Church outside of the
world.
The Letter to the
Philippians, the Cross in Philippians is applied to that which is
spoiling the harmony of the Lord's people. There is a
painful dislocation inside the Church. There is a spot
where things are unhappy, and that is because of personal
interest and pride. Some people will not let go their
personal interest. Some people will not let go their
pride. They have been offended, and they are not going to
forgive. So the apostle brings the Cross in there over
against this discord, and dislocation; and he points out
that if only the Cross were in those lives, everything
would be put right.
The Letter to the
Colossians - this letter shows that the Cross delivers
from all false spirituality. The Cross sets aside all
that is mere mysticism, and everything that would make
Christ less than He is.
Then the Letters
to the Thessalonians. Here the Cross is the strength for
suffering - an inspiration unto the coming of the Lord.
There may not be much said about the Cross actually, but
the principle of these letters is the principle of the
Cross. The people were suffering for Christ's sake. They
were suffering the loss of all things, and they had
thought that the Lord would have come to deliver them,
and the Lord is delaying His coming. So the
apostle tells them that their sufferings will issue in
the coming of the Lord and glory. These sufferings are
sufferings with Christ. They are suffering for Christ's
sake: it is fellowship in the Cross, but the sufferings
issued in the glory. The Lord is coming, and then it will
be all right. The Cross has a very real message for
suffering believers. And then we just conclude this with the
Letter to the Hebrews.
In the Letter to the
Hebrews, the Cross shows how everything is brought to
fullness and to finality. Now all of this relates to the
House on its inside. It touches conduct. It touches
character. It touches order. It touches ministry. If the
Cross is in its place, everything will be effective.
Now I have not just
given you some Bible teaching, I know that this is true. I could tell you a story out of personal experience. I have seen all these problems solved just by preaching the Cross. l have seen a revolution in a church just by preaching the Cross. I have seen the Lord producing His new order just by preaching the Cross. The Cross is the key to
everything. Then what is true on the inside is also true
on the outside. It is the Cross which effects the whole
range of the Church's influence. The river comes by way
of the Cross, that is, the influence that goes out from
the sanctuary to the whole land. It is the Cross which
gives effectiveness to the ministry to the whole world.
So the apostles preached everywhere Christ crucified.
And then we note another
thing, the altar was the great defensive against the
enemy. If you look in the Book of Ezra in chapter three,
and verse three, you have this: "so they set
the altar in its place for fear of the peoples of the land was upon them." Because
fear of the peoples of the lands was upon them, they put
the altar in its place. The Cross is a great defensive -
the Cross defends us from the world. The world is the
great enemy of the Church. The spirit of the world has
always been the Church's great enemy. Satan has always
tried to get the world into the Church and so wreck the
Church and its ministry, to destroy the influence of the
Church in the world. It is a very clever and subtle move
of the enemy to destroy the influence of the Church in
the world by bringing the world into the Church. For Paul
said, "God forbid that I should glory,
save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal
6:14).
A truly crucified people
are never in danger of the world. It is only when the
Cross has not done its work that the world has a place.
The world has no place with a crucified man or woman, or
a crucified company of believers. The Cross is a great
defensive against the world. IF YOU WANT TO KEEP THE
WORLD OUT, PUT THE CROSS IN ITS PLACE. If the Cross is
truly in its place in fullness, then everything else will
come into order. THE CROSS is the great defensive against
the world. THE CROSS is the great defensive against evil
powers. THE CROSS makes everything safe; it makes
everything safe for the Lord.
You see, the Lord wants
to commit Himself. He wants to trust Himself to His
people, but if the Cross is not there at work, the Lord
cannot trust Himself to them. The Lord says, "It is
not safe for Me to give Myself there, or I should be
involved in their un-crucified condition." The Cross
makes everything safe for the Lord, and the Cross makes
everything safe for the Church. If the Cross is really at
work in all of us, we can trust one another. It is quite
safe to trust yourself to a crucified man or woman.
Now I close this morning
by emphasizing that the Cross is not a doctrine to be
taught. It is not a subject to be preached. Of course, it
will be taught, and it will be preached. But in the first
place, it is not a subject to be taught. It is not just a
doctrine. The Cross is power. The Cross is an experience.
The Cross is an event in our lives. The Cross is a
crisis. The Cross is a revolution. The Cross is an
earthquake. There was an earthquake when Jesus was
crucified. If the Cross comes into our life, there will
be an earthquake. Everything will be shaken, everything
will be overturned. The Cross is an earthquake. It is
something tremendous. The Cross is not just a theory, not
just a doctrine: THE CROSS GOVERNS EVERYTHING. Well, that
is our message about the centrality and universality of
the Cross.
The Lord grant that
we shall all be crucified men and women. The assemblies
to which we belong - may they be crucified assemblies.
The Lord grant that His whole Church may see and view the
meaning of the Cross.
(Transcribed from an audio message given in Taiwan in January 1957)