Scripture Reading: John 3:9-16, 22-36
It is according to the Scriptures to speak of the serpent and the bride. We may say that, considered as a whole, the Bible unveils to us the matter of the serpent and the bride. Some Christians may say that they have never heard that the Bible tells us about the serpent and the bride. They know that the Bible reveals God the Creator, and it also reveals Christ, our Redeemer, Savior, and Lord. It is, of course, correct to say that the Bible reveals God and Christ. However, this may be a rather superficial understanding of the Bible. It is superficial to see merely that Jesus Christ is our Savior. If we have a deeper understanding of the Word, we will see that Christ was also a bronze serpent (John 3:14), a serpent in form but without the poisonous nature of a serpent. Actually, it is because Christ became a bronze serpent that He could be our Savior. If He had not become such a bronze serpent, He could not have been our Savior.
John 1:29 speaks of Christ as the Lamb of God. But if we go deeper into the Word, we will see that the Lamb of God in 1:29 is the bronze serpent in 3:14. The Lamb satisfies the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory, for the Lamb is pure, perfect, and without blemish. The bronze serpent represents us, for we are serpentine people, not lambs. As the Lord was speaking to Nicodemus, He indicated to him that He Himself would be lifted up as the bronze serpent to be Nicodemus’s Substitute. Therefore, the Lamb of God satisfies God’s requirements, and the bronze serpent represents us. Because we are serpentine and are not lambs, we need Christ as the bronze serpent to be our Substitute. This bronze serpent is the real sin offering.
The story of the Bible is a story of the serpent and the bride. In Genesis 2 we have the bride, and in Genesis 3 we have the serpent. The serpent did not come to contact the man, but he contacted the woman, the bride in Genesis 2. God had indicated that it was not good for Adam to live alone. If Adam had remained alone, nothing could have been produced for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. God needs a people. Without a wife, Adam could not have produced this people. Therefore, God increased Adam with a wife.
We know that Eve was not a separate creation, having nothing to do with Adam. Rather, Eve was made from a part of Adam’s being, from his rib. At first Adam was alone. Then God used Adam’s rib to bring forth the increase of Adam. The result was a couple to produce a people for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Eve, therefore, is vital and crucial in fulfilling God’s purpose.
The sisters are very important in the church life. In a sense, the sisters are more vital and necessary for the fulfillment of God’s purpose than the brothers are. This is the reason the old serpent often comes to visit the sisters. They are his special food.
In Genesis 3 the serpent visited the bride and succeeded in capturing her. Then through the woman he also gained the man. But God is greater, higher, and wiser than the serpent. In His judgment upon the serpent, God indicated that the woman would bring forth a seed to bruise the serpent’s head: “I will put enmity / Between you and the woman / And between your seed and her seed; / He will bruise you on the head, / But you will bruise him on the heel” (v. 15). Furthermore, there is an indication in Genesis 3:21 that the seed of the woman would not only bruise the head of the serpent but also become righteousness to the very ones who were poisoned by him: “Jehovah God made coats of skin for Adam and for his wife and clothed them.” These coats of skin typify Christ as righteousness for fallen man.
In the early chapters of Genesis we see the serpent and the bride. If we read through the Bible in this light, we will be able to see the story of the serpent and the bride in both the Old Testament and in the New. In Matthew 23:33 the Lord Jesus called the Pharisees “Serpents! Brood of vipers!” In John 3 the Lord Jesus indicated to Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, that he also was serpentine. When the Lord likened Himself to the bronze serpent lifted up on a pole, He seemed to be saying to Nicodemus, “In Genesis 3 you all were bitten by the old serpent. Then do you remember when the children of Israel were bitten by serpents in the wilderness, and they cried out to Moses? Jehovah told Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. Nicodemus, everyone, including you, has been bitten by the serpent. But as the bronze serpent was lifted up on a pole, I will be lifted up on the cross as your Substitute so that eternal life may be imparted into you. This eternal life will regenerate you and make you a new person to become part of the bride as My increase. In this way serpentine people can become My increase.”
In Adam, the old serpent gained us for himself by biting us. Do you know what it means for the serpent to bite us? It means that he imparts the poison of his nature into us to make us his increase. Through the fall, the entire human race has become the increase of Satan. Do you know what you were before you were saved? You were a part of Satan’s increase. No matter what kind of person we were before we were saved, we were all part of the increase of that evil one. When the serpent bit Adam in the garden of Eden, he gained the entire human race, and all mankind became his increase. No doubt, after he had bitten man in Genesis 3, Satan, the old serpent, was happy. He may have laughed and said to himself, “I have gained man for myself. The man created by God has now become my increase.”
But the Lord Jesus came to be the bronze serpent. This means that He became sin for us. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf.” Sin came from Satan, entered into man (Rom. 5:12), and made man not only a sinner but sin itself under God’s judgment. Hence, when Christ became a man in flesh (John 1:14), He was made sin (not sinful) on our behalf to be judged by God (Rom. 8:3).
For years I have taught according to the Bible that the sin that dwells in our flesh is the nature of Satan. However, some claim that it is heretical to teach this. But this certainly is not heretical, for the New Testament reveals that the sin in our flesh is the nature of Satan, the serpent.
In order to understand this, we need to put together 2, John 3:14 Corinthians 5:21, and Romans 8:3. Romans 8:3 says that God sent His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin. Just as the bronze serpent had the form of a real serpent but not the poisonous nature of a serpent, so Christ was in the likeness of the flesh of sin. God sent His Son in the form, the likeness, of the flesh of sin. The bronze serpent had the form of a serpent, and Christ had the likeness of the flesh of sin.
Actually, the very sin that dwells in our flesh is the serpent, the devil. It is not only the nature of the devil; it is the devil himself. Therefore, as fallen people, we all were part of Satan, his increase. Praise the Lord that He came in the likeness of the flesh of sin and was nailed to the cross in the form of a serpent! According to Hebrews 2:14, through His death on the cross, Christ destroyed the devil, the one who had the might of death. This evil one is the serpent.
When we put all these verses together, we can realize that when the Lord Jesus was lifted up on the cross, He was the bronze serpent. As a result, the old serpent, the devil, Satan, was destroyed through the death of Christ on the cross.
Christ’s death on the cross opened the way for us sinners to believe into Him and receive Him. Now we can receive His life. It was through His redemption that He imparted Himself into us to make us His increase. In this way we who were once the increase of Satan have become the increase of Christ. In the past we were part of Satan’s increase, but we praise the Lord that we have become part of the increase of Christ.
Today there is much talk about independence. It seems that in the twentieth century everybody wants to be independent. Actually, no one is independent. We are either a dependent of Satan or a dependent of Christ. We can never be independent. If we are independent of Christ, we are then dependent on Satan. Hallelujah, through regeneration we have become dependents of Christ! Now we are all part of Christ’s increase.
We see the story of the serpent and the bride not only in the Gospels but also in Paul’s Epistles. Second Corinthians 11:2 and 3 say, “I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your thoughts would be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity toward Christ.” Paul was concerned that the serpent who had come to bite Eve would come to bite the believers at Corinth. Once again, this is the story of the serpent and the bride.
This story continues until we come to the end of the Bible. In the book of Revelation we have the final word concerning the serpent and the bride. In chapter 19 we see that the bride is ready for the marriage of the Lamb (v. 7). Immediately after the marriage dinner, this universal couple will fight against Satan and his followers, the beast and the false prophet. Then Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss, where he will be imprisoned for a thousand years. Following that, Satan will rebel once more and ultimately will be cast into the lake of fire. Then the universe will be thoroughly cleared up, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. For eternity there will be a universal couple: Christ as the Husband and the church as His bride.
According to the book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem, the wife of the Lamb, is also the tabernacle (21:2-3). The subject of this book is the fulfillment of the tabernacle and the offerings in the writings of John. Actually, I am not speaking in this chapter about the serpent and the bride. Instead, I am speaking about the fulfillment of the tabernacle and the offerings in John’s writings. What is the way to enter into the tabernacle? The way is by taking Christ as the bronze serpent. This is the sin offering, and the sin offering is the basic offering for us to be equipped and qualified to enter into the tabernacle.
We have pointed out in a foregoing chapter that we enter the tabernacle by becoming the tabernacle. This means that we ourselves actually are the tabernacle that we are entering. If we do not become the tabernacle, we will not be able to enter into the tabernacle. But how can we become the tabernacle? We become the tabernacle by taking Christ as the bronze serpent. This is to take Christ as the offerings and to enjoy Him as the offerings.
We have seen that the Lamb of God in John 1:29 is the totality of all the offerings. We have also seen that the bronze serpent in 3:14 is the Lamb of God. Therefore, the bronze serpent also is the totality of the offerings. When we take this bronze serpent, we take all the offerings in order that we may become the tabernacle. Then by becoming the tabernacle we are in the tabernacle.
We should not think that the apostles will enter into the New Jerusalem. No, they will all be parts of the New Jerusalem. This is proved by the fact that the twelve apostles will be the twelve foundations of the city of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:14). This indicates that the apostles are parts of the New Jerusalem. In like manner, we all will be parts of the New Jerusalem, God’s tabernacle.
Do you know how we may enter the church today? We enter the church by becoming the church. If you are not a part of the church, you cannot enter the church. Now we all are in the church. Suppose we could all be taken away somewhere. Then there would not be a church into which some others might enter. The vital point here is that we enter the church by being the church. Likewise, we enter the tabernacle by being the tabernacle.
In our actual daily living we may not be a newborn person. We may still be an old person, even perhaps a good, moral, ethical, religious, God-fearing “Nicodemus.” I say this because we may not live, walk, behave, and have our being in the Spirit. Instead of living by the Spirit, we may live by ethics or religion.
Before you were saved, you may have done things that were sinful, perhaps even immoral. Now that you are saved, you would never do those things. You have become a person who is religious, ethical, and moral. Furthermore, you fear the Lord and you seek Him. Nevertheless, all this may be something of yourself. It may not be the living of a reborn person. This does not mean, however, that you have not been reborn. You have been reborn, and you have received another life, the divine life. But the problem is that you do not live by this life.
Let me give you an illustration to point out how a newborn person can live by the old life. Many years ago in my hometown, most of the houses did not have electric lights. In our home we used kerosene lamps. From the time I was a child, I learned to take care of these lamps. I learned to clean the chimney, trim the wick, and supply oil. I was accustomed to doing this every day. Then in 1939 we had electric lights installed in our home. All we had to do from that time onward was switch on the lights. However, I was still in the habit of using an oil lamp. Often, out of habit, I would come home late in the evening, go to the oil lamp, and pick up a match to light it. Then my children would laugh at me. Realizing what I was doing, I would throw the match away and go to the light switch. Even though electricity had been installed in our home, I was still in the habit of using an oil lamp. Likewise, even though we have been reborn and have the divine life, we are not in the habit of living by it.
According to our natural birth, all of us automatically live by our serpentine being. This is to live according to good and evil. With the tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden there was not only the knowledge of evil but also the knowledge of good. But with the tree of life there is nothing but life. We should not think that morality is a matter of life. Morality is good, but it is not life. Confucius taught many things concerning morality and ethics, but he had nothing to say about the divine life. When I turned to Christ, I turned to Him for life. I realized that I had learned things that were good, but I did not have life. After I was saved, the main subject in my preaching of the gospel to the Chinese people was the matter of eternal life. I told the people, “Confucius may teach you to be good, but he cannot give you life. Christ is life, and you must come to Him in order to receive life. Whether you are good or bad, you still need life.”
No matter what kind of person we may be, in our natural life we all are serpentine. One person may be very refined and another quite crude, but both are serpentine. Certain snakes may be colorful, and others may be ugly. But regardless of their color, they all are snakes. In the same principle, whether we are good or bad by nature, we are still serpentine. Before we were saved, we lived by our serpentine life. Then after we were saved and became genuine Christians, we became religious, and we tried to live a religious, ethical, moral, and good life. This may be your situation right up until the present.
When I consider the situation among Christians today, I often weep inwardly. I may mourn before the Lord and say to Him, “Lord, I have been ministering to Your saints for years concerning Christ as life. But, Lord, I cannot see many that daily live and have their being in You.”
In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” Here Paul is saying that he has been terminated and that now Christ lives in him. If Christ were not the living Spirit, how could He live in us? This would be impossible. Some say that Christ is on the throne and that He is represented in us by the Holy Spirit. However, this is not what the Bible says. In Galatians 2:20 Paul says definitely, “Christ...lives in me.” In Galatians 4:19 Paul says that Christ is being formed in us.
I am burdened that we would see that our Creator became our Redeemer to die on the cross for us, and now He is not only our Savior but also our life. As our life, He is now living within us. This should not be only a doctrine or theory to us. We must be able to testify that, in a way that is actual and practical, we have been terminated, crucified, and that now Christ is living in us. We should be able to say, “It is no longer I who live — Christ lives in me. My living is His living, for I live Him. The Lord is the Spirit, the life-giving Spirit, and now I live by this Spirit. I walk according to the Spirit, not according to religion or ethics. I do not walk according to my knowledge of what is good; I walk according to Christ, a living person who dwells in me. I have my being in this One. I talk to others not by my old man but by the living Christ. I live by Christ twenty-four hours a day, not only when I pray or when I come to the church meetings. In a real and practical way, Christ is my life, my person. I live Him, and I am now one spirit with Him. I abide in Him, and He abides in me. Therefore, He and I have one life and one living.”
This is the serpent becoming the bride. It is by this kind of life that the church can be built up. Do you know what the built-up church is? The built-up church is the bride. When we live Christ and walk according to the living Spirit, we become the bride and spontaneously we are built up.
I have been in the church life more than fifty years. During all my years in the church, I have been observing the situation of the saints. I have noticed that when the saints come together, they usually talk about good things. However, when most of the saints speak, they speak by the old man, not by their regenerated person, by their new being. This is a strong indication that the majority of the saints do not live, walk, and have their being in the Spirit. I know from experience that if we would live Christ and practice being one spirit with the Lord and having our being absolutely in the spirit, our talk would be very limited. When we come together, we would not talk in a natural way. Rather, it would be easy for us to pray, praise the Lord, or testify of what we have experienced of the Lord during the day. However, because we do not live and have our being in the spirit, there is still too much gossip among us. Even when we talk about the Bible, we may not speak in the spirit. This proves that our conversation about the Scriptures may also be in the old man. We need to ask ourselves if we are living Christ or living the old serpent. Are we living a life that causes us to be transformed from the serpent into the bride?
Concerning everything we do, we need to ask if we are in the spirit. Suppose you are listening to a message. You need to inquire of yourself, “Am I listening to this message in my spirit? Am I taking the riches of this message into my spirit, or am I merely receiving the word as some kind of mental stimulation?” We need to ask the same kind of question about our study of the Bible. Do you study the Bible by the old man or by the Christ who is living within you? There is a great difference between the two ways of reading the Word. We also need to check with ourselves about the way we write letters. Do you write letters in the spirit or in your natural man? It is very possible that much of our correspondence is done in the natural man, not in our regenerated being. There may be nothing wrong in a letter you write. Nevertheless, it may be written by the natural man, not by the spirit. The same may be true concerning our talk on the telephone. Much of the saints’ talking on the telephone is done by their natural being, not by their reborn being.
It is important for us to realize that as believers in Christ not only do we have two natures — the old nature and the new nature — but we also have two beings, two persons. Although we have been regenerated and thereby have a new person, most of us continue to live by the old person, even in doing so-called spiritual things. We may even endeavor to live the church life by the old man. This is a serious problem.
On other occasions I have told you that in recent years my confession to the Lord has mainly been related to my failure to live Him. Often I have said, “Lord, forgive me for not living You adequately today. In my family life and in my fellowship with the brothers, I am short of what You require.” I have seen that I may be religious, ethical, moral, and scriptural — all without Christ. Because the Bible commands us not to steal, we would obey this commandment. However, this may not be the living of Christ. Rather, we may be the one obeying the commandment not to steal. But we all need to be able to say with Paul that we have been crucified and that Christ now lives in us. We should be able to declare this with assurance, not as a doctrine but as our experience day by day. When we have this kind of living, then in reality we are serpentine beings in the process of transformation into the bride of Christ. This is the transformation revealed in the New Testament. As we are transformed from serpentine beings into Christ’s being, we become His increase, His bride. The consummation of this bride will be the New Jerusalem as the tabernacle of God and the wife of the Lamb.
I urge you to bring this matter to the Lord in a serious way and pray, “Lord, show me by what person I am living. Am I living by my old person or by my new person? Am I living by the old nature or by the new nature? Lord, am I living You? Am I practicing being one spirit with You?” We all need to pray to the Lord like this. May the Lord have mercy on us that we may learn to live by our regenerated being.
