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Scripture Reading: Deut. 8:9; 33:25; Jer. 15:12; Rev. 2:27; 1:15; Matt. 28:18; Luke 10:19; Matt. 16:18-19; 18:17-18; Eph. 6:11-17
We have seen clearly that the riches of the land are, first, in waters; second, in all kinds of vegetables and plants; third, in cattle and flocks; and fourth, in mines or minerals. Let us name them in their various categories:
We have seen how all these riches correspond with the various stages of the spiritual life. The living waters belong to the first stage of our spiritual experience. Experiencing Christ in the first stage, we feel that He is just as living water to us. Then in the second stage we have a further experience of Christ; we enjoy Christ more solidly. Christ is just as the solid food to us; He is something more than water. Water is certainly good and most necessary, but water is not so substantial. I cannot live and grow only with water. If you invite me to dinner, you must give me some solid food, some wheat or some barley, etc. It is indeed wonderful, then, that at the end of the plants and vegetables is the olive tree, representing Christ as the Son of oil, the One who is full of the Holy Spirit. Within and without He was saturated with the Holy Spirit, and we can enjoy Him as such. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit and saturated with the Holy Spirit. When we are so full of the Spirit, we are mature in the life of Christ. Christ is so dear, so sweet, so rich to us, just as milk and honey.
Immediately following such a rich experience of Christ, we come to the mines and the minerals — the stones, the mountains, the iron, and the copper. This is the order of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit put all these items in such an order to correspond with the stages of the spiritual life. When we are mature in the life of Christ, we realize something in our experience of the stone, the mountain, the iron, and the copper.
In the previous chapter we have seen much concerning the stones and the hills. We have seen that the stones represent the saved and transformed saints as the material for God’s building. We must not only be saved but also transformed into the living stones for the building of God. Originally, we are not stones; we are pieces of clay. But when we accepted Christ, He came into our spirit and has been continually working to transform us. By the renewing of the Holy Spirit, we are transformed from a piece of clay to a stone so that we may be material for the building of God.
We have also seen that the hills and the mountains represent resurrection and ascension. With resurrection and ascension there is always the authority — the kingdom and the King. Resurrection is something raised up, and ascension is something exalted, and with this exaltation is the divine authority, the divine government, the kingdom of God with the King. This is the meaning of the mountains and the hills. We have seen that the only way for the clay to be transformed to the stone is in resurrection. Only in the resurrection life is Christ able to transform us. In the natural life we are a piece of clay, but in the resurrection life we are a stone. The stones produced for the building of God with the divine authority and government are all the issue of Christ’s resurrection. The more we enjoy Christ and experience Christ, the more we will be transformed by the Holy Spirit with the elements of His life. Then the building of God and the kingdom of God will come into view.
Now we come to the last items, the iron and the copper. I believe you are familiar with the sequence in the Epistle to the Ephesians. The first chapter tells of all the blessings we have received in Christ. Then the second, the third, the fourth, and the fifth chapters are all related to the riches of Christ. This is the only book in which the term the unsearchable riches of Christ is mentioned (3:8). After the account of these riches, we come to chapter 6, the end of the book. There we see the battle, the warfare. The last item in the book of Ephesians is the spiritual warfare. By the time you reach chapter 6 of Ephesians in spiritual experience, you have had an abundant enjoyment of the riches of Christ; you have experienced the Christ of chapters 1 through 5. Because you have enjoyed Him to such an extent, and because of the need for the building of God and the divine government, you must fight the spiritual warfare. When you arrive at this point, you will be enabled to fight, you will be qualified to fight, you will be matured in the life of Christ. In the experience of the riches of Christ, you must fight and you can fight.
Immediately upon being brought to the battlefield in this chapter, we read these terms: helmet, breastplate, shield, sword, etc. Figuratively speaking, what is the helmet made of? And of what is the breastplate composed? They are certainly not constituted of any soft or fragile material. In the record of 1 Samuel 17 there is a giant warrior covered with bronze. His head, his breast, his knees, and his legs were all sheathed with bronze. And the sword with which he fought was made of iron. The last items of the riches of Christ are iron and copper or bronze, because the last stage of Christian experience is the spiritual warfare. In the battle we need both copper and iron.
What elements of Christ do iron and copper represent? We are told that Christ will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Iron, therefore, stands for the authority of Christ. Christ is the One with full authority over the entire universe. All authority in both heaven and earth has been given to Him. He has been exalted to the heavens, to the right hand of God, and has been made Head over all things. He has the iron. The rod of iron is in His hand. This is quite clear.
Then what aspect of Christ does copper or bronze typify? Bronze stands for the judgment of Christ. But we must realize that all His judging power and judging authority issue from the trials He suffered. When He was here on earth, He passed through all kinds of tests and suffered every kind of trial. His feet are like burnished bronze, refined in the furnace. What do the feet represent? The feet represent the walk, the life on earth. The walk and life of the Lord on earth have been refined, burnished, tested, and tried by God. They have even been tested by the enemy and by humanity. By all these tests, the Lord’s life and walk have been proved and come forth perfect, bright, and shining. He has been qualified by this. He has been qualified to judge others, because He has first been tested, judged, and refined. He is equipped not only with bronze but also with refined and shining bronze. He has the ground, He has the right, to judge.
How can we apply this? Sometimes when you are following the Lord, while you are serving the Lord, or perhaps while you are coming to a meeting to minister, a thought of how dirty and sinful you are enters your mind. What do you do at such an instant? Yes, you ask the Lord to cover you with His precious blood and cover your mind with Himself. But do you realize what this is? This is the helmet made of bronze. You realize that the Lord is the perfect One, the shining One, the One who has been tested and proved. Then in faith you exercise your spirit and say to the enemy, “Satan, I am dirty; I am sinful. But praise my Lord, He is the perfect One; He is the One who has been tested and proved, and He is my covering; He is the helmet for my head.” You can exercise your spirit by faith to apply this tested, proved, and perfect Christ as the helmet for your head.
Do you have such experiences? I believe you have, but you are not clear regarding them. You must learn how to apply Christ in this way with an enlightened heart.
I know the subtle working of the enemy. More than thirty years ago, when I was a young man, by His grace I loved the Lord greatly. Early every morning I went to a certain mountain to sing hymns, to read the Scriptures, and to pray, many times with tears of love and joy. The fellowship was so sweet, and the presence of the Lord was so full. But when I came down from the mountain, all kinds of thoughts entered my mind. Every morning it was the same. At first I thought something was wrong with me. I confessed to the Lord and asked Him to forgive me. But, praise the Lord, after just a few days I was clear. I said, “No. This is not something of me. I love the Lord so much, I read His Word and pray, and I have had such excellent fellowship with the Lord, how could these things be from me? They must be from the enemy.” Do you know what I did? I shook my fist at the enemy. That was my way to fight the battle.
After some time I learned that there is a helmet for my head, that one of the parts of the armor of God is a helmet. From that time I learned the lesson. Whenever these thoughts came to trouble me, I said, “Lord, cover me with Your helmet. Hallelujah! You are the Victor. Your precious blood is the victorious blood. Cover me, Lord. Praise You, Lord!” I got the victory. Later, I understood clearly that the Lord could be such an effective covering to me because He was the One tested and proved not only by God but also by the enemy and all humanity, and because He came forth perfect, bright, and shining. He is the bronze, the burnished bronze. He has the ability, the strength, the qualification, the ground to withstand all attacks. Whenever the enemy meets this perfect One, he flees. Never fight the battle by yourself — this is not your business. The battle is the Lord’s.
When I was very young, I heard a story that I can never forget. It has been exceedingly helpful. The father of a little girl had a Christian friend who one day came to see him and have some fellowship. The little girl listened to their fellowship. That gentlemen was greatly troubled. He told the father that he was continually being defeated by the enemy. At length the little girl could not refrain from speaking. She exclaimed, “Sir, I am never defeated by the enemy. You are much bigger than I, but you always lose the battle and I always win the battle!” “Oh,” said the friend, “what is this?” He turned with astonishment to look at her. “Tell me,” he said, “how do you win the battle?” “It’s easy,” the little girl answered. “When the enemy comes to me and knocks at my door, I ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He says, ‘I am Satan.’ Then I say, ‘Okay, wait. I’m going to call Jesus!’ And I do. Then the enemy says, ‘Never mind; I’m going to run away.’ And he runs away. This is my way. It’s so easy to win the battle.”
Whether this story is true or not, I do not know, but of one thing I am sure: if you attempt to fight the battle by yourself, you will surely lose. But whenever you go to the battle with Christ and exercise your faith to apply Him, you will most certainly win. Christ is the tested One, the proved One. He is your covering. The enemy can say nothing to Him and do nothing with Him. Learn to apply Him as your covering.
The Lord has been thoroughly tested. Now He is the One who has been qualified to judge others. He has the bronze; He has the covering.
What about the authority, the iron? The Lord said that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. But this is not the end of the story. The Lord also told us that He has given this authority to us. Brothers and sisters, do you know that you have the right to claim the authority of the Lord? You have something more than power; you have authority. Do you know the difference between authority and power?
Let us illustrate. You have an automobile, and with that automobile you have power. Now suppose you meet a policeman on the street, directing traffic with his whistle. He is just a little policeman, but when he stands there and raises his hand, all the cars must stop. What is this? This is authority, the authority of the government. That little policeman represents the government. You must take his orders. It does not matter what kind of car you have or how powerful it is. You must stop. Whether you have a car, a truck, or a bus, it matters not. When he says, “Stop,” you stop. The policeman’s power compared with that of all the cars, or even with one of the cars, is much inferior; in fact, it is almost nil. But he has something that you with your powerful car do not have — that is, authority. When he says, “Stop,” everyone must stop. His authority surpasses your power.
Regardless of how strong the enemy is, the most he has is power. We have the authority. We have the authority of the Head of the whole universe. That little policeman represents the city government, but we represent the King of the universe. Brothers and sisters, have you ever enjoyed this authority? I am afraid when trouble comes, you simply forget it and act like a pitiful beggar. You forget that you are representing Christ — no one other than Christ. The authority committed to Christ has been committed to you. The Lord told us that He has given us authority to overcome all the power of the enemy. What a salvation is this! May we realize it and experience it. Try to apply the authority given to you by Christ.
That little policeman standing there has the authority to stop all the traffic. But if I go there and say, “Stop,” I may very well lose my life. I do not have the ground; I do not have the uniform. Do not think that just because you are a Christian, you can exercise authority over the enemy. You have the authority, but there is a problem. Are you living in Christ? Are you living in the resurrection? That little policeman can stand there today and give all the orders: whatever he binds is bound; whatever he looses is loosed. But if the same person stands there tomorrow, but without his uniform, he can do nothing; no one will follow his directions, and his life will be in danger. When he is in uniform, the traffic must obey him, but when he is out of uniform, he is meaninglessly directing traffic and is no match for the cars. You are a Christian, but where are you standing? Where are you living? Where are you walking? Are you walking in Christ, or are you walking in your natural life? If you are in yourself, if you are in your natural life, you have lost the ground, you are out of uniform, and you have no authority.
The apostle Paul in his day cast out many evil spirits (Acts 16:18; 19:12). He addressed the evil spirits and commanded them to leave in the name of the Lord Jesus. But you remember how others, the seven sons of Sceva, attempted to do the same thing in the same name. The evil spirits, instead of leaving, leaped upon them and gave them such an assault that they fled naked and wounded (vv. 13-16). They had no ground; they had no authority. The evil spirits knew Paul and obeyed him, but not these men. The authority depends upon the man.
We must realize from where the iron comes. It comes from the stones. And where are the stones? The stones are in the mountains; the stones are in resurrection. When you are still in the position of a piece of clay, you can never claim the authority. As a natural man of clay, you have no ground, no right; you have no iron in you. But when you are a stone, living in Christ, living in the resurrection, you automatically have the authority. You need not ask for it; you may just claim it and apply it. You can say, “I am living in Christ; I have the authority of the heavens, and I am going to use it.” I tell you, it really works.
The Lord said to us, “Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). This is authority. But remember, you must be in the resurrection life; you must have the resurrection ground. This is something related to resurrection. Then you have the kingdom; you have the hills. This is how the kingdom comes into being. Because we realize the judgment and the authority of Christ, we can exercise the judgment and the authority of Christ. With us are the mountains, the kingdom, the divine government, the authority of God.
In Deuteronomy 33:25 we are told that the doorbolts of the gates are made of iron and copper. These gates are for our protection, our defense, our safeguard. If we are able to exercise the Lord’s authority and the Lord’s judgment, we will have the safety and security. Our doors will be bolted with the authority and judgment of the Lord. The most safe and the most secure are those believers who know something regarding the exercise of Christ’s authority. They have strength because they have authority, so they have safety and security and therefore rest.
The building of God is always with this kind of Christians. They are not only the material for the building, not only the stones for the house, but also the house built together. With this kind of believers is the authority of God, the divine government; therefore, with them is the kingdom of God, the mountains or the hills. We have to grow gradually, of course, from the first stage, through the second, to the third, and to the fourth. We have to learn how to apply Christ to enjoy Him in the first stage as the living water. We must also learn to apply Him in the second stage as the solid food. We must learn to enjoy Christ to such an extent that He will be as sweet and rich to us as milk and honey all the day. Then we will be mature. We will come to the point where we have the ground to claim the authority and the judgment of the Lord.
When we have the authority, there is no need for us to deal with so many things. Even to pray about many matters is not necessary. We have the right to exercise authority over these things. When traffic approaches the policeman, does he need to call the mayor and ask that he do something to stop it? This is ridiculous. The policeman is authorized to do this. In exactly the same manner, there is no need for us to call to God for help. We may and we must simply take our ground and exercise our authority.
But, let me repeat, we cannot do this without some degree of spiritual maturity. The apostle Paul undoubtedly had the ground to claim the authority. When a certain problem arose regarding a brother in the church at Corinth and the apostle could not tolerate it, he told them that he judged and delivered that person into the hand of Satan in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 5:3-5). He exercised his right; he assumed the authority. If we would do likewise, we, like Paul, must have the maturity of life.
Brothers and sisters, we must look to the Lord that we may learn day by day how to apply such an all-inclusive Christ with His unsearchable riches. We must experience Him from the living water all the way to the iron and the copper.
There are many more items of the riches of Christ. I have merely given you some hints in these chapters. We have read the passage in Ezekiel 34:29: “I will raise up for them a planting place of renown.” Christ is a plant of renown — we do not know its name. Christ is another special kind of plant. Christ is exceedingly rich. We can never exhaust Him. There are also other kinds of plants in the Scriptures representing Christ. The second chapter of Song of Songs speaks of the apple tree (v. 3). This, however, is not an accurate translation. A more accurate translation indicates that it is a kind of orange tree. Christ is an orange tree. There are so many plants representing Christ and revealing various aspects of His riches for us to experience. Exodus 30 names the plants from which the anointing oil and the incense were composed: myrrh, fragrant cinnamon, fragrant calamus, and cassia (vv. 23-24), as well as stacte, onycha, galbanum — all fragrant spices — with pure frankincense (v. 34). These plants are very meaningful and exceedingly fragrant. Oh, the riches! Oh, the inexhaustible riches!
This land is indeed a good land, an exceedingly good land. It is especially good in its unsearchable riches. How rich this piece of land is! It is the type of the all-inclusive Christ. Let us endeavor to experience, to enjoy, and to apply such a glorious, all-inclusive One. May He be gracious to us.
