The expression "Body of Christ" means Body of the Anointed One, the One anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is sent down from Heaven in order to work the works of the Kingdom of God.

Christ possesses the Spirit of God without measure. The same anointing will one day rest on the Body of Christ (Isaiah, Chapter 60). But for now we have been given gifts by the Holy Spirit so we may do the work of the Spirit in building the Body of Christ, the Body of the Anointed One.

We Christians are to be coming each day into increased subjection to the Spirit of God. For nearly two thousand years the majority of the Christian churches have spoken of Christ and have attempted to do the works of Christ. In many instances the Holy Spirit has not been allowed to supervise and empower their efforts.

The work of the Kingdom has been performed by the wisdom and strength of human beings. As a result, there has not been the supernatural wisdom and power that always must accompany the Body of the Anointed One. The results of such fleshly endeavor have been disappointing. The world has not seen Jesus to the extent we desire, and is not seeing Jesus today to the extent we desire.

Now it is time for the Church of Christ to give back to the Holy Spirit the responsibility that is His—that of perfecting and empowering the testimony of Christ in the earth. The Spirit of God is God! He is able to perform all the operations and tasks of the Kingdom of God. Our job is to bring ourselves into subjection to the Spirit of God. Will we do this?

One of the main concerns of the Holy Spirit is the holiness of the members of the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit always is guiding us toward increased holiness and obedience to God. Holiness is of utmost importance in the Kingdom of God. It is the Holy Spirit and only the Holy Spirit who has the wisdom and power to create holiness in the members of the Body of Christ. Our city is the holy city.

The Lampstand was solid gold, signifying that the testimony of Christ is Divine in Substance. We humans can tell others about the testimony, but the testimony itself cannot be brought into being by human wisdom or energy. Gold represents Divinity.

The Table of Showbread and the Altar of Incense—even the Ark of the Covenant itself—contained wood, the symbol of humanity.

But the Lampstand, the testimony of God to the earth, was pure gold. Only the wicks resting in the seven lamps were not gold. The wicks symbolize people—the channels through which the oil of the Holy Spirit flows.

It is the Holy Spirit in us who bears witness of the crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come on you: and ye shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

As we mentioned before, the Lampstand of the Tabernacle of the Congregation corresponds to the Levitical feast of Pentecost. Each is item number four in a series of seven elements. The seven elements represent, among other things, the development of Christ in the believer. They teach us that Pentecost, for all of its glory and power, is not the fullness of the development of Christ in the believer. There is more for us to press into, as Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:14.

To be continued.