The fact that the Christ we eat is the Christ we preserve indicates that whatever we eat of Christ will become a memorial in generations to come. Only the Christ we have eaten and experienced is worthy of remembrance. The Christ whom we enjoy will be an eternal memorial, because the Christ we experience and enjoy becomes our very constitution. He actually becomes the reconstituting element for God’s people, that element which causes them to be reconstituted. Nothing of what we are, what we have, or what we can do is worthy of remembrance. Only the Christ who has become our constitution is worthy to be an eternal memorial. What we remember in eternity will be nothing other than Christ. For generation after generation, Christ will be our memorial.
When some Christians are in eternity, they may not have very much of Christ to remember. Because they are not eating much of Christ today, they will not have much of Him to recall in eternity. However, if we are right with the Lord day by day and eat Him consistently, we shall have much to say about Him in eternity. We shall recall the wonderful times we had in the church life eating Christ and enjoying Him. Whatever we enjoy of Christ in the church today will become an eternal memorial. This memorial will be preserved in the presence of God, even in His very being.
According to the Bible, this memorial of manna indicates that as the real manna Christ is the source of supply for God’s dwelling place. Christ is the heavenly supply to God’s people for God’s dwelling place on earth. In a later message we shall see that with manna as their supply the children of Israel built the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a symbol of the children of Israel, who were the real dwelling place of God by being supplied with manna and reconstituted with it. In this sense, the supply of manna even became the tabernacle.
What we shall recall concerning Christ in eternity will have two aspects: the aspect of the enjoyment of Christ as our reconstituting element and the aspect of Christ as the supply to make us God’s dwelling place in the universe. These two aspects are clearly related to our experience in the Lord’s recovery today. By taking Christ as our life supply, meeting after meeting we are enjoying Christ as our constituent, and we are building up God’s dwelling place. These aspects of our experience of Christ will become a memorial in eternity. Do not think that when we are in eternity we shall not remember our experience today. On the contrary, we shall remember how we enjoyed Christ and how we took Him as our supply to become God’s dwelling place. This is manna preserved as a memorial before God.
Let us come now to the matter of the hidden manna. The memorial is the hidden manna. In Revelation 2:17 the Lord Jesus says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna.” Manna is a type of Christ as heavenly food enabling God’s people to go His way. A portion of that manna was preserved in a golden pot concealed in the ark. The open manna was for the enjoyment of the Lord’s people in a public way; the hidden manna, signifying the hidden Christ, is a special portion reserved for the overcoming believers.
In the past we pointed out that the open manna was the manna gathered by the children of Israel every morning, the manna that was public. But the omer of manna placed in the pot and kept within the ark in the Holy of Holies was hidden. This manna was not for the congregation in a public way. However, from the viewpoint of our experience it is also possible to say that open manna is manna which we have not eaten, whereas hidden manna refers to manna which we have eaten, digested, and assimilated. Whenever we eat manna, this manna spontaneously becomes hidden manna.
We need to remember that we are identical to the tabernacle in the Old Testament. Our spirit deep within is the Holy of Holies. In our spirit we have Christ as the ark of God. The manna not eaten by us remains open, under the sky. But the manna we eat becomes hidden within us. Many Christians know only the open manna. Because they do not eat Christ as their manna, they do not have the hidden manna. But to those of us who are daily eating of the manna, the open manna is becoming the hidden manna.
We have pointed out that the manna kept as a memorial was an omer in measure. In 16:36 we are told, “Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.” If you read Numbers 18:26-30, you will see that the tenth part denotes a special portion that was reserved for the priesthood. This indicates that the hidden manna was not for the congregation in general, but for the serving priests in particular. If as children of God we do not eat manna, we shall have only open manna, not hidden manna. Without the hidden manna, we shall not be able to function as priests. On the contrary, we shall simply be among the general public, part of the congregation. But if we eat manna, digest it, and assimilate it, we shall have hidden manna. Spontaneously the manna we eat causes a transformation that transfers us from the general congregation to the priesthood.
When the saints do not function in the church life, they are not living as priests. Because they have not been eating manna, they are merely part of the congregation. However, if you eat the open manna, this manna will become the hidden manna which enables you to function in the church life. Thus, the more you eat of Christ, the more function you will exercise. In this way you will become a priest in reality and practicality. Formerly you were simply part of the congregation in general; now you are a functioning priest. Once you were outside the tabernacle; now you are living in the Holy of Holies. Eating manna really makes a difference. Manna constitutes us into a different kind of people. If we do not eat manna, we shall simply be among the congregation. But if we eat manna, we shall be transformed into priests with the hidden manna as our specific portion. The Christ we enjoy and experience spontaneously becomes our specific portion. He is the manna hidden within us.
In this message I have been speaking according to experience, not according to doctrine. It is rather easy to talk about open manna. However, it is difficult to understand what is meant by hidden manna. But if we consider the hidden manna from the standpoint of our experience, we shall gain a proper understanding of it. Whenever we eat Christ as the open manna, this manna becomes hidden within us. This causes us to become a different kind of people. Once we were part of the general congregation, but now we are in the priesthood. As functioning priests, we serve God by enjoying Christ as our specific portion.
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