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We will now look at the second line, the line of Christ. In the Bible there is no person, thing, or matter that is more important than Christ. Christ is the highest and greatest center in the Bible. Now we will see how the line of Christ runs through the entire Bible.
In the creation of all things, God did not use any materials; He used only His word. Hebrews 11:3 says that the universe was framed by the word of God. Psalm 33:9 also says, “He spoke, and it was; / He commanded, and it stood.” This speaking is the word of God, and the word of God is Christ Himself (John 1:1). Therefore, all things came into being through Christ. The first thing that Christ as the Word of God enabled was the creation of all things in the universe. The creation and the existence of all things depend upon Christ being the Word of God.
There was light on the first day of creation, and there was a greater light on the fourth day of creation. In the New Testament this light typifies and symbolizes Christ (John 1:4; 8:12). In God’s creation, first there is the word, and then there is light; only then can life come forth. Just as it is in the old creation, so it is in the new creation. When God regenerated us, the Lord Jesus came first as the Word of God, then as the light of life, and as a result, we received life inwardly.
We all know that among all things there is only one kind of life that is like God—the life of man. God created man in His own image and likeness. In Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Our refers to the Triune God. Then verse 27 says, “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” His is singular; it undoubtedly refers to the second of the Trinity—the Lord Jesus. Colossians 1:15 clearly says that the Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God. For God to create man according to His image means that He created man according to Christ. Therefore, in God’s creation, Christ is not only the Word and the light, He is also the image of God. God created man according to Christ so that Christ would be manifested in the entire universe, that is, so that the image of Christ would be seen everywhere.
In typology Adam is the head of all of God’s creation. God set Adam as the head over all things to typify the Lord Jesus as the Head over all things. However, as the head, it was not good for Adam to be alone; he needed a counterpart. At this point the church in type is mentioned.
According to the account of creation in Genesis 1, when God created everything, including man, He set man as the head over all things; however, this head over all things needed a counterpart. Adam waited until a counterpart was produced from within himself. This counterpart was not created by God apart from him; Adam’s counterpart was a part of him, taken from within him. Adam’s rib became his wife, Eve. This shows that in the universe Christ is not just the Word, the light, the image of God, and Head over all things; He is also a universal Bridegroom to gain a glorious counterpart, who is the church. The church is a part of Christ, having been taken from within Him.
After God’s creation was completed, Satan came in to damage, causing man to fall and become lost. Thus, God promised that Christ would come to redeem man.
Christ is spoken of in Genesis 3:15 as the One who would destroy the serpent (Satan). He is the seed of the woman, the One who would destroy man’s enemy, Satan.
Adam sinned and, being conscious of his own shame, he sewed leaves together to make a loincloth to cover his body. However, God made a coat of skin to clothe him (v. 21). We believe that the skin must have been taken from a lamb. Before the skin was made into a coat, the lamb must have been slaughtered, thus shedding its blood. This shows us that in God’s promise of redemption to man, the Lord Jesus came not only as the seed of the woman to deal with the enemy, Satan, who damaged man, but also as the Lamb of God to become our righteousness so that we could put Him on and become acceptable to God in Him. In the redemption promised by God, on the one hand, Christ is the seed of the woman to deal with the enemy who damaged us, and on the other hand, He is the Lamb of God to be our righteousness.
In the fellowship between man and God, Christ, as the gift man offers to God, becomes the food that God enjoys. This is typified by Abel’s offering of the fat portions of the firstlings of the flock (4:4). The firstlings of the flock and the fat portions typify the Lord Jesus as the means by which we fellowship with God. In order for fallen, sinful men to fellowship with God, we cannot be in ourselves; we must be in Christ. We cannot rely on ourselves; we must rely on Christ. A gift relates to our being accepted by God, whereas food relates to God’s satisfaction. Abel’s offering signifies that the Lord Jesus is the means by which we fellowship with God. He is our gift to God for our acceptance before Him, and He is the food that God receives from us for His satisfaction.
When God judged the people in the world and flooded the world with water, He delivered some from perdition. We also will be delivered in Christ, our ark.
As soon as Noah came out of the ark, he offered up burnt offerings. When God smelled the satisfying fragrance, He immediately accepted Noah. This shows us that Christ is not only our ark for deliverance from God’s wrath, but on the positive side He is also our burnt offering for our acceptance before God.
The receiving of the covenant of grace promised by God can be seen in the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the covenant of grace promised by God, the Lord Jesus has a particular position.
Galatians 3:16 tells us that Christ, as the true Isaac, is the unique seed of Abraham. In the book of Genesis almost everything concerning Isaac can be applied to Christ because Isaac typifies Christ. Christ is the unique One who receives the inheritance; all that the Father has is for Him and belongs to Him. His only lack is a counterpart. He needs a Rebekah to be His counterpart. This means that in the covenant of grace which God made with man, the Lord Jesus (including those who belong to Him) is God’s unique Heir, God’s unique seed, who received the inheritance. This seed received everything from the Father; everything the Father has belongs to Him. However, He needs a counterpart; He needs the church to be His Rebekah.
In the covenant of grace, God came to Abraham’s tent one day to fellowship with him. On this occasion Abraham was not seeking God, but God was seeking Abraham. He did not go into God’s presence to visit with Him, but God came to Abraham’s tent to visit him. In the fellowship Abraham set cakes and a calf before Him. Undoubtedly, the calf signifies the Lord Jesus, and the cakes also signify the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus was killed as a calf, and all that He is and all that He accomplished became a cake that man could offer to God. Later, in Exodus and Numbers God charged His people to present offerings involving animal sacrifices and meal offerings. In Genesis the calf signifies the offering of an animal sacrifice, and the cakes signify the meal offering. Both the offering of an animal sacrifice and the meal offering refer to the Lord Jesus as the enjoyment in the fellowship between man and God. God wants to carry out His covenant of grace to the point that we can fellowship with Him, and He can fellowship with us. In all of God’s fellowship with us and our fellowship with God, everything that is being enjoyed is the Lord Jesus.
In Genesis 22, when Abraham offered up Isaac, God showed Abraham a ram that had not been brought by him but had been prepared by God. Christ, as the real Lamb, solves all our problems before God, deals with all our difficulties before God, and satisfies all of God’s requirements for us. Without this Lamb the covenant of grace that God made with us would be without a center and could not be fulfilled.
Genesis 49:10 tells us that as the peace bringer, Christ is called Shiloh, and to Him will be the obedience of the peoples.
In summarizing these four points, in God’s covenant of grace, Christ is first the unique Heir, and everything that the Father has belongs to Him; His only need is a counterpart. Second, He is the enjoyment in the fellowship between God and man. Third, He is the Lamb who fulfilled God’s covenant of grace. Finally, He is Shiloh in the covenant of grace, the peace bringer, and all the people will be obedient to Him. Therefore, without the Lord Jesus, God’s covenant of grace with man would be without an Heir, there would be no enjoyment in the fellowship between God and man, the covenant of grace would not be fulfilled, and the peace of the covenant of grace could not be spread to all the people. All things are fulfilled by Him, belong to Him, and spread to all the people through Him.
Christ is the mighty Deliverer as typified by Moses. When God’s people fell into Egypt, they needed a salvation, and for this salvation they needed a mighty deliverer. Without a mighty deliverer, God’s people could not be delivered. Moses was truly a mighty deliverer. Even though Pharaoh had exceedingly great power, he could not prevail against Moses. This typifies Christ as the mighty Deliverer in God’s salvation, releasing God’s people from the authority of the devil.
The Lord Jesus became the Passover lamb to deliver us from God’s judgment so that God’s judgment might pass over us.
The Lord Jesus is not merely the Passover lamb for us outwardly so that we could be spared from the judgment of God; He also enters into us to be our supply.
Christ’s death is the separation between God’s people and the world as typified by the Red Sea. The Red Sea typifies the death of the Lord Jesus. Just as the blood of the lamb typifies the death of the Lord Jesus, the Red Sea also typifies the death of the Lord Jesus. In the shedding of the blood of the lamb, God’s wrath passed over His people. By crossing the Red Sea, God’s people came out of Egypt and severed their relationship with the world. The Red Sea typifies an aspect of the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross.
In Exodus God’s people were fully delivered. They had a mighty delivering one, the blood of the lamb was applied upon them, the flesh of the lamb, the unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs were taken into them, and the Red Sea separated them from the world. They were delivered from the judgment of God, the usurpation of the world, and the bondage of Satan, and they also had an inward supply of life. At this point they were saved.
After being saved, the people of God went on a journey. The Lord Jesus has an absolute position in this journey.
After God’s people were saved, they journeyed forward, yet no part of their journey was without hardship; everything was a trial. However, the Lord Jesus who died on a wooden cross, on a tree, is able to turn our bitter water and bitter situations sweet, like at Marah.
The daily supply in our journey is the Lord Jesus; He is our daily manna.
The Lord Jesus is also our spiritual Rock in our journey, constantly flowing out as living water to supply us and quench our thirst.
In our journey of following God, the Lord Jesus is the Intercessor and the Fighter for God’s people. In Exodus 17, as Moses was praying on the hill, Joshua was fighting in the plains. In this way they defeated Amalek, the enemy of God’s people. This tells us that as we follow God in our journey forward, the Lord Jesus is our Intercessor on the one hand, and on the other hand, He is our Fighter, who overcomes the enemies for us, especially overcoming our flesh.
In our journey of following God, we, God’s people, sin against God so frequently that we often bring ourselves into a death situation; therefore, we need a healing of deliverance. In Numbers 21 the children of Israel committed a sin worthy of death, but God caused them to receive healing and spared them from death through the bronze serpent lifted up on a pole. The bronze serpent on the pole is a type of the Lord Jesus hanging on the cross.
Putting the above five points together, we see that as we follow God on our journey after being saved, all our needs are taken care of by the Lord Jesus. As we go through trials and bitter sufferings, He causes us to sense His sweetness. In our need for daily supply, He is our manna. In our need for living water, He is our spiritual Rock. As we encounter enemies, He prays and fights for us. When we sin against God, committing a sin worthy of death, He becomes our healing. All these provisions enable us to go on in our wilderness journey.
On the one hand, we, God’s people, are on a journey; on the other hand, we are serving God. Everything in this service is also Christ Himself.
The service of the children of Israel before God mainly involved the tabernacle, the offerings, and a group of priests (the tabernacle includes the furniture, such as the bronze altar and the bronze laver in the outer court, the golden lampstand, the table of the bread of the Presence, and the incense altar in the Holy Place, and the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies—all these items are included with the tabernacle). All three categories—the tabernacle, the offerings, and the priests—refer to the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is our tabernacle; He is the place where we can appear before God and where God can meet with us. John 1:14 clearly says that in the Lord’s incarnation He tabernacled among us. Therefore, the Lord Jesus is the tabernacle for both us and God; in Him we meet God, and in Him God meets us. As for the furniture in the tabernacle, the bronze altar signifies His cross, the laver signifies the Holy Spirit who flows from Him, the table of the bread of the Presence signifies Him as our bread of life, the golden lampstand signifies Him as our light of life, the golden incense altar signifies Him as our acceptance before God in resurrection, and the Ark of the Testimony signifies Him as our testimony and everything. All these items are Christ Himself.
All the offerings refer to the Lord Jesus, including the five main offerings—the burnt offering, the meal offering, the trespass offering, the sin offering, and the peace offering—and various other offerings. On the one hand, these offerings are the gifts we offer to God; on the other hand, they are the food accepted by God. All of them refer to Christ.
Furthermore, the priests, including Aaron and his sons, typify the Lord Jesus as well.
In our service as God’s people, our tabernacle is Christ, our Priest is Christ, and our offerings are also Christ; everything in our service is Christ. When we read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy, the tabernacle, the priests, and the offerings should all be understood as referring to Christ.
Not only do we as God’s people have to follow God in our journey and serve God, we also have to fight because there are enemies throughout the journey. Even when we have reached the God-promised good land, there are enemies occupying the land. In our fighting, Christ also has a particular position, which is typified by Joshua. When the Israelites entered Canaan to receive their inheritance, Joshua led them in their fighting. Joshua is a Hebrew word, which, when translated into Greek, becomes Jesus. Therefore, Joshua in the Old Testament is Jesus in the New Testament. Joshua typifies Christ leading us to fight, destroying all our enemies so that we may gain our rightful position and receive our rightful inheritance.
Not only did Joshua fight for God’s people, he also caused God’s people to receive the inheritance. He fought for God’s people in order that they would receive the inheritance. He was able to allot the inheritance to them because he fought for God’s people and was victorious. In the same way, the Lord Jesus enables us to possess the inheritance that God has given to us.
When we lose our God-given inheritance due to desolation, Christ redeems it for us. This is typified by Boaz. As Joshua, Christ causes God’s people to receive the inheritance; as Boaz, Christ causes the lost inheritance of God’s people to be redeemed. He is the One who allots the inheritance and the One who redeems the inheritance. The allotment of the inheritance is typified by Joshua; the redemption of the inheritance is typified by Boaz. This is the position of the Lord Jesus in the inheritance of God’s people. So far we have covered the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.
God’s people were delivered from Egypt, journeyed through the wilderness, won the victory, entered Canaan, and received the inheritance. At this point God gained a kingdom among them. The Lord Jesus also has a particular position in the kingdom of God.
All the kings in this kingdom typify Christ. The Lord is the King, the Leader, in this kingdom.
The center of this kingdom was not the throne of the king but the temple of God. The temple typifies Christ Himself.
The priests who served God in the temple typify Christ.
All the offerings that were offered in the temple typify Christ. In this kingdom the King is Christ, the temple is Christ, the Priest is Christ, and the offerings are Christ. These points cover 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
The preceding section speaks of the kingdom of God. Now we need to point out that in this kingdom there were many godly, spiritual men who lived in the presence of God. In God’s presence they had experiences, and from these experiences came the expressions of their sentiments. This is the story of the five books of poetry—Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. These five books concern the sentiments of the saints in their experiences. When they expressed their sentiments, unknown to them the Holy Spirit uttered Christ through them.
When we read the sentiments of the saints, we can see how Christ was the glorious One who humbled Himself and went through all kinds of sufferings and was killed by men; even the scene of His death is clearly portrayed and expressed in their sentiments, including how He was forsaken by God, how He was sneered at by men, how men divided His garments and pierced His hands and feet, how His bones were out of joint, and how His heart melted like wax on the cross. Furthermore, we can see how He was resurrected, how He was begotten of God and manifested as the Son of God in resurrection, how He was exalted and made both Lord and Christ by God, how He received authority to rule over all things, how He is coming again in majesty, and how He will rule and reign in the coming age. If we carefully read Psalms, together with Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, we will see that the process the Lord Jesus went through—from glory to humiliation, from humiliation back to glory, and from glory to reappearance—is clearly and accurately depicted in the expressions of the sentiments of the saints.
An outstanding feature in this portrayal is the use of the married life of the saints to portray the relationship between Christ and the church, especially in the process of His going from glory to humiliation and from humiliation to glory to gain a counterpart to match Him and to be joined to Him as one entity to become the great mystery in the universe. Christ occupies a full position in the books of poetry.
The books from Isaiah through Malachi also contain many prophecies concerning Christ. Micah 5 reveals that Christ’s coming forth is from eternity; Christ is the One from ancient times, from the days of eternity (v. 2). Isaiah 7:14 tells us that Christ would become flesh by being born of a virgin. Micah 5:2 tells us that He would be born in Bethlehem. Isaiah 9:6 says that the One born in Bethlehem of a virgin is a Son and also the eternal Father; He is a child and also the mighty God. His name is called Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace. Isaiah 53 tells us that He is a man of humble origin, as a root out of dry ground, who had no attracting form nor majesty that men should look upon Him, nor beautiful appearance that men should desire Him (v. 2). He was despised and forsaken of men; He was persecuted by men and passed through all kinds of sorrows and trials (v. 3); in the end He was crucified by men and judged by God on the cross; God made Him a sin offering as our Substitute (vv. 4-6). Then He was resurrected, and His days were extended. Hosea 6:2 reveals the day of resurrection, showing us that it would be the third day. Zechariah describes how He was pierced on the cross by His people to become the fountain that washes away sins (12:10; 13:1).
If we carefully read through all the books of prophecy in the Old Testament and put all the prophecies concerning Christ together, we will see that these prophecies begin with His being in eternity past and continue with His humbling Himself as a man, passing through sufferings, dying and being raised, entering into glory, gaining the church, and coming back to the earth as the Sun of righteousness to manifest His majesty and glory. The prophecies in the prophetic books are too numerous to be adequately explained in a short time. We can only go over them briefly.
This is one of the lines in the Old Testament. From the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Malachi, the entire Old Testament is linked together by the Lord Jesus.
The four Gospels, which constitute the first section of the New Testament, show us the Lord Jesus in the flesh.
To be in the Holy Spirit is to be in resurrection. Christ in the flesh involves Christ’s incarnation as a man. Christ in the Spirit involves Christ’s death and resurrection. This is the scene at the end of the four Gospels and the beginning of the book of Acts. He was first in the flesh and later in the Spirit.
Christ is in both the believers and the church, as seen in the Epistles. The Epistles show us the matter of Christ being in the individual believers. They also show us the matter of Christ being in the church. If we want to know Him, we must know of His being in the flesh, of His being in the Spirit, of His being in the individual believers, and of His being in the church.
In the universe God’s government involves mainly His judgment; the book of Revelation shows us God’s judgment. God judges the church, the Jews, and the Gentiles; He judges the living and the dead. All these judgments are in the hand of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the One established by God as the Lord, and He is appointed by God as the One who judges the living and the dead (1 Pet. 4:5). God not only wants Him to be the Savior Lord and the Lord of all, God also wants Him to be the Lord of judgment.
Revelation is a book on judgment. In the first three chapters we see a sharp two-edged sword proceeding out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus, and His eyes are like a flame of fire for judging the churches. Later, we see the Lord Jesus coming to judge the world; both the Jews and the Gentiles will be under His judgment. One day He will judge both the living and the dead, as they stand before His great white throne. In the end He will judge Satan and death. These judgments are God’s government. The Lord Jesus has a particular position in God’s governmental judgment.
In order to know our Lord, we need to see that He was so meek, lowly, approachable, considerate, capable of performing miracles, and able to speak words of wisdom in His flesh in the Gospels. We also need to know that He died on the cross for us and in resurrection became the Spirit, surpassing all limitations of space and time, having form yet being without form, that is, as being without a form yet still having a form. He is seemingly intangible yet very tangible, that is, being seemingly tangible yet still being intangible. We also need to know that He came to be life in the individual believers, dwelling in them, and that He is the content and reality of the church. We also need to know that in God’s government He rules over all and executes judgment on the church, the Jews, the Gentiles, the living, the dead, Satan, death, and Hades.
Judgment is Christ’s clearing up of all the negative things and also His recovering. Whatever He judges, He clears up; whatever He judges, He recovers. After clearing up and recovering, His kingdom comes. At this time the entire universe will have only one authority instead of two. The authority of God Himself will be carried out freely in the universe and come to the earth, causing the whole earth to become the kingdom of God. This will be the coming of the millennial kingdom. In this kingdom our Lord Jesus will be the Leader and the King; moreover, He will be everything in the kingdom.
When the millennial kingdom is complete, eternity will come. In eternity, in the new heaven and the new earth, Christ will be the Lamb on the throne, and God will be in Him. Christ will be the lamp, and God will be the light within Him. Out from His throne the living water of life will flow, in which will grow the tree of life. Christ will be the central character in the New Jerusalem, and the living city of the New Jerusalem will be His expression. He will gain the highest glory among all peoples and nations. He will be the One glorified and expressed in the center, at the height, and on the throne.
In summary, there are six ins in the New Testament: (1) in the flesh, (2) in the Spirit, (3) in the believers and the church, (4) in God’s governmental judgment, (5) in God’s kingdom, and (6) in eternity, in the new heaven and the new earth. There are thirteen ins in the Old Testament: (1) in God’s creation, (2) in the redemption promised by God, (3) in the fellowship between man and God, (4) in God’s saving way for man, (5) in the covenant of grace promised by God, (6) in God’s salvation to man, (7) in the journey of God’s people, (8) in the service of God’s people, (9) in the fighting of God’s people, (10) in the inheritance of God’s people, (11) in the kingdom of God, (12) in the sentiments of the experiences of the saints, and (13) in the prophecies of the prophets. Together there are nineteen ins in the Old Testament and the New Testament. If we read through all nineteen ins, we will have a thorough understanding of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Christ is the line that runs from Genesis through to the end of Revelation. We see Him in eternity past, in God’s creation, in God’s redemption, and even in eternity future. He is truly a glorious One!
