The Boards Standing Up: Members of the Body of Christ

The three walls of the Tabernacle building were constructed from wide acacia-wood boards standing upright, possessing two tenons on the bottom of each board. The tenons were inserted in heavy silver sockets placed on the ground. The boards were overlaid with gold.

You may recall that the eastern side of the Tabernacle building was not a wall but a hanging of ornate linen cloth called the door of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle building was fifteen feet wide (ten cubits), fifteen feet high, and forty-five feet long (thirty cubits). The floor was the bare ground of wherever the Tabernacle was erected at the time.

The boards standing upright symbolize the members of the Body of Christ. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit with the members of the Body of Christ that the second death and resurrection—the part of redemption we are referring to as "sanctification"—takes place.

And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of Shittim wood standing up. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board. Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle. (Exodus 26:15-17)

It seems the boards were four and one-half inches thick. Each silver socket is thought to have been one hundred twenty-five pounds in weight. You have, then, forty-eight boards, four and one-half inches thick, twenty-seven inches wide, fifteen feet in length, anchored in more than six tons of silver.

The Tabernacle building was surrounded by a white linen fence, seven and one-half feet high, supported by cords staked to the ground on each side. The white fence symbolizes the righteousness of God given us through Christ. The fence bore the first brunt of the desert winds.

Also, there were four heavy layers of material thrown over the upright boards of the walls, forming the ceiling and roof of the Tabernacle building and covering the boards on the outside. The enormous strength of this structure symbolizes the solidity of the Church of Christ. The fiercest blasts of Hell cannot shake the Church when the Church has been constructed on Christ in the manner that God has ordained.

What a picture the Tabernacle building is of the Body of Christ! Each member stands upright in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each member is of the same height. None of the brothers is exalted above the others.

Christ is our Lord and Master and He alone is exalted. Each member is anchored in the redemption of Christ—redemption being typified by the silver sockets. The gold with which the wooden boards were covered typifies the Divinity of Christ that covers each member of the Body of Christ.

There is no clearer symbolic portrayal of the Body of Christ in the Scriptures than the forty-eight upright boards that formed the three walls of the Tabernacle building.

Forty-eight is four times twelve. Four is the number of the Holy Spirit. Twelve is the number of the family of God. Forty-eight symbolizes the anointed family, or house of God.

Many ministries and gifts have been given to the members of the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit of God. There are varied callings and services mentioned in Romans, Chapter 12. There are the nine "gifts" described in I Corinthians, Chapter 12 and the four ascension ministries set forth in Ephesians, Chapter Four.

We must understand that no matter how spectacular the gifts of healing may be, or how loving and wise the pastor-teacher, or how grand the apostleship, the fact remains that the members are all equal in standing before God, from the least to the greatest.

The boards "standing up" are all the same height. The moment we begin to lose sight of Christ because of the effectiveness of a certain ministry, at that moment the jealousy of the Holy Spirit is aroused and He sets about to remedy the problem of our giving worship to a person other than the Lord Jesus.

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4:10)

It is God's intention that there be unity in the one Body of Christ (every true Christian in Heaven and on the earth), and that every gift and ministry flowing from the ascended Christ work to promote that unity. There is only one Body, only one Spirit, only one hope, only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God Almighty.

The ministries and gifts are given that the Body may be one and that Christ may "fill all things." When some person or enterprise begins to fill all things, the Holy Spirit abandons the enterprise. Death enters and the fruit begins to wither, although the enterprise may continue to operate with seeming success.

The words of men apart from the Holy Spirit continually increase in self-seeking and divisiveness. The fruit of morality ceases to grow in the members of the organization and the power of the testimony disappears. The Lampstand is removed from its place. The sanctifying operation of the Holy Spirit in the group ceases to function.

The ascended Christ led captivity captive and gave gifts to men—gifts that are the expressions of Christ's own Glory sent forth to unify and mature His Body.

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (Ephesians 4:11)

The apostles are sent forth from Christ Himself for the purpose of establishing the believers on the true foundation, which is Christ. The prophets keep the believers aware of the current burden of the Spirit.

The evangelists travel everywhere announcing the good news of the salvation that is in Christ. The shepherd-teachers work with the believers helping each to make a success of the Christian discipleship. These four ministries serve to unify and perfect the one Body of Christ.

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (Ephesians 4:12)

The gifts and ministries of the Body of Christ provide all aspects of service and ministry of the Church as it ministers to its own needs and to the needs of the world that surrounds the Church. The various ministries promote the maturity of each individual believer and the maturity of the collective Body of Christ.

The service of the Church to the needs of the world that surrounds the Church is on a limited basis now but will increase greatly in scope during the ages to come.

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Ephesians 4:13)

The above verse describes our attainment of the full image of Christ.

The "unity of the faith" is speaking of the development in all disciples of a common bond of faith in Christ that enables us to be one Body in Christ in the Father.

The "knowledge of the Son of God" is referring to the creation in us of the true understanding and perception of Christ Himself so that we do not give any of our attention to idols.

The "measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" is speaking of our arrival at the fullness of righteous, holy, and obedient personality and conduct. The fullness of Christ is complete trust in Christ, complete understanding and perception of His Person, and complete development in us of His Substance and Nature, including love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, good will, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Such is the nature of complete sanctification, and the working of the Holy Spirit in each member of the Body of Christ brings each of us to complete sanctification of spirit, soul, and, body.

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)

Here are the boards "standing up" of the Tabernacle building. Arm in arm, all the same height (not all having the same attainment in Christ but all regarded as brothers by the Lord), each supporting the other and contributing strength to the other. If one is wounded, all are wounded. If one is blessed and strengthened, all are blessed and strengthened.

Each member supplies a vital need, and through the contribution of each member all the other members are able to obtain full sanctification. The end of the many-membered effort will be the Bride of the Lamb, the living Temple of God, and the powerful and compassionate Servant of the Lord who will bring judgment, deliverance, and the knowledge of God and of His way to the peoples of the earth.

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