And so, we see that the dividing line between the earthly (or natural man), the unconsecrated believer, and that of the spiritual (the New Creature), the fully consecrated is the “First Vail” or “Vail of Consecration” the “door” to the Tabernacle proper. This distinction between the natural and the spiritual being pictured in the tabernacle by the use of “copper” as used in the courtyard and “gold” in the tabernacle itself.

All of the various golden items used to depict the spirit nature, more specifically the divine nature were kept hidden from the sight to those without both by means of the tabernacle’s coverings and by means of the door to the tabernacle, this included not only the various furnishings, but likewise the very walls themselves as well as the gold covered pillars upon which the two vails were hung.

As was in regards to the posts of the courtyard so too with regards to the pillars of the tabernacle, both represent a distinction between one condition of being and that of another condition of being, those on one side of the curtain wall and those on the other side.

The Courtyard Pillars (at the present time) represent the faith justified, (believers) standing inside the wall of faith, The bare wood represents their corruptible nature nevertheless their being set in copper sockets represents justification and thus their standing as that of perfect human beings. These individuals reside within the courtyard or tentatively justified condition.

The “Door” posts (or Pillars) represent the spirit begotten, “new creatures in Christ Jesus” residing within the “Holy” behind the First Vail, the vail of consecration and the death of the human will. These pillars were covered in gold symbolic of the divine nature. Their being set in sockets of copper represented how “we have this treasure [the divine nature] in earthen vessels” (2 Cor 4:7); i.e., our new nature is still based upon, and rests in, our justified humanity (the copper sockets).

We will elaborate further on the Pillars of the “Most Holy” when we reach that segment of our study.

As stated our new nature (spirit nature, presently merely the new mind) depicted in the gold covered pillars is hidden from the outside world, “hidden in Christ”, behind the “Vail of Consecration” it is not something that can be seen nor appreciated by the “natural man”, regardless of whether he be a believer (in the courtyard condition) or not, it is a mystery which has been hidden in God from the beginning of the ages (Eph 3:9)

We died (figuratively) when through consecration we passed beneath the first vail, not only as individuals, being joined to the “one body”, the one Head, apart from which we have no life, but likewise we died as human beings, as natural men, from hence forth our life has been “hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3, 4), we are risen beyond the first vail new creatures in Christ Jesus, spirit beings, although still only in our embryotic condition, still residing in these earthen vessels.

In our next post we will discuss just what it means by entering the first chamber of the Tabernacle, the “Holy”.