Scripture Reading: Heb. 5:11-14; 3:6-19; 6:1; 1 Cor. 3:1-3, 6-7; 2:14
In this message we shall see from Hebrews and 1 Corinthians that we need to grow into the full possession and enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ.
Paul applies the history of the children of Israel to the New Testament church life. In Hebrews and 1 Corinthians he points out clearly that what happened to the children of Israel is a type of us. The entire history of Israel is a story of the church. As we have seen, in 10:6 Paul, referring to the children of Israel, says, “Now these things occurred as types of us.”
The situations of the believers addressed in Hebrews and 1 Corinthians were different. The Hebrew believers were infants in doctrines concerning Christ, and they were frustrated from entering into the full rest of the promised land because of their shortage of faith (Heb. 5:11-14; 3:6-19; 6:1). Thus, they needed the growth in faith. They were short of adequate faith in the proper knowledge of the truth. Paul refers to this deeper truth as the word of righteousness, as solid food (Heb. 5:12-14).
The Corinthian believers were infants in the experience of Christ and were frustrated from entering into the full enjoyment of Christ because they were soulish and fleshly. Thus, they needed the growth in life (1 Cor. 3:1-3, 6-7; 2:14). With the Hebrews there was a shortage of faith, and with the Corinthians there was a shortage of the growth in life. In both Hebrews and 1 Corinthians Paul encourages the believers to go on, to progress. The one group, the Hebrew believers, needed to progress, to increase, in the proper faith in the deeper truths; the second group, the Corinthian believers, needed to progress in the growth in life.
The Corinthian believers had Christ as their portion (1:2), for they had been called into the fellowship of Christ (1:9). God had made Christ to them power and wisdom: righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1:30). Furthermore, the Corinthian believers had experienced and enjoyed Christ as their Passover (5:7), their holiness for sanctification (6:11), their righteousness for justification (6:11), the unleavened bread for their Christian life as a feast (5:8), their spiritual food (10:3), their spiritual drink (10:4a), and their spiritual rock (10:4b). Their experiences of Christ were all by their regenerated spirit mingled with the Spirit, who is the resurrected Christ (2:14; 6:17; 15:45b). In the future, they will enjoy Christ as their glory for glorification (2:7-8). That will be the redemption of their body (1:30). They were in the participation in Christ’s blood and Christ’s body (10:16). Nevertheless, they were admonished not to fall in the Christian race, as most of the children of Israel did in the wilderness, but rather to grow into the full possession and enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ, God’s promised land.
The history of Israel can be divided into three sections. We may call the first of these sections the section of salvation. According to the book of Exodus, the children of Israel, although they were God’s chosen people, were in a fallen condition and were under the tyranny of the Egyptians. But they were saved out of that fallen situation and brought to the mountain of God and to the dwelling place of God. They also received the divine provisions to supply their need. When they needed food, the heavenly manna came. When they needed drink, the living water flowed to them out of the cleft rock. All their needs were met by God. Thus, they had the divine provisions which enabled them to enter into the good land. After coming into the land, they enjoyed the riches of the land. In Deuteronomy 8:7-9 we have an excellent view of the riches of the good land. Every aspect of these riches typifies an aspect of the riches of Christ.
In the previous message we gave a word of warning. In that message not much encouragement was given. Now in this message we shall consider something very encouraging. Actually the history, or the type, of Israel is not disappointing. Yes, it is true that only two who came out of Egypt entered into the good land. Of the more than two million who came out of Egypt only Joshua and Caleb, along with the body of Joseph, entered into the good land. However, along with them, all those of the new generation came into the good land. On the human side we see failure, but from God’s side we see victory. We must take note of the fact that eventually God’s chosen people entered into the good land; conquered, subdued, and drove out the usurpers; gained the land; and enjoyed all the riches in the land. They established the kingdom, and within the kingdom a temple was built. Therefore, among His people in the good land with the kingdom and the temple, God had His expression. This marks the end of the section of the history of Israel called the section of salvation.
In the Bible God’s full and complete salvation includes the Passover, the exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, the journey in the wilderness, the supply of the divine provisions, fellowship with God at His mountain, receiving divine revelation, and the building up of God’s dwelling place.
As we consider the scope of this full and complete salvation, we must realize that God can never be defeated. We may think that it is impossible for God to gain one hundred forty-four thousand overcomers (Rev. 14:1). To us this may seem impossible. But what is impossible with man is altogether possible with God. Our God is a victorious God. He cannot be defeated, and His purpose, His plan, cannot be defeated either. God is great, and His view is vast. He had a way to bring His people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the good land.
Were the children of Israel defeated, or did they gain the victory? The correct answer to this question is that they were defeated temporarily, but ultimately they were victorious. They gained the good land and received God’s full salvation.
It is common for Christians, under the influence of traditional theology, to ask others if they have been saved. To give a proper answer to this question, we need to consider the scope of God’s complete salvation and to realize that it includes the entire experience of the children of Israel from the Passover to the building of the temple in the good land. The enjoyment of the Passover certainly was an aspect of God’s salvation. However, it was simply the beginning of full salvation; it was not the completion of this salvation. Only after the children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea, journeyed through the wilderness, gained possession of the good land, and built the temple, which was filled with the glory of God, did they have the completion of God’s full salvation.
The next time someone asks you if you have been saved, you should answer in a wise way. You need to inquire what is meant by God’s salvation and what this salvation includes. You may reply, “You ask me if I have been saved. Before I answer, I would like you to tell me what is the span, the scope, of God’s salvation.” Yes, the children of Israel experienced salvation at the time of the Passover. A member of the tribe of Benjamin, for example, could have testified confidently that because he had enjoyed the Passover, he had been saved. God’s salvation, however, includes much more than the Passover. As we have pointed out, it includes God’s habitation, His dwelling place. Not only is salvation for God’s habitation; it even includes this habitation. If we have not yet experienced God’s dwelling place, our salvation is not complete. To be saved in a full and complete way means to enjoy the Passover, to experience the exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea, to be supplied with the divine provisions, to gain possession of the good land, and to be built up as a temple of God, His habitation on earth. God’s glory will then fill this temple. This is full salvation. The entire history of the children of Israel from the Passover to 1 Kings 8 is a type of the church. However, many Christian teachers take only particular aspects as types, not the complete history.
In this message we are not concerned with the second and third sections of the history of Israel. Thus, it is sufficient simply to say that the second section includes everything from the degradation that followed after the building of the temple until the recovery of Jerusalem in 1967. The third section, the millennium, will not begin until after the Lord’s coming back. The first and second sections of Israel’s history are a type of the church. In the sight of God, Israel and the church are on a parallel course.
I wish to emphasize the fact that in gaining the good land the children of Israel were not defeated. They entered the land, they conquered the land, they fully possessed the land, and they had the enjoyment of the rich produce of the land. My burden in this message is to apply this section of the history of Israel to us. For this reason the message is entitled, “Growing into the Full Possession and Enjoyment of Christ.”
In the first section of the history of Israel every positive thing is a type of Christ or of something related to Christ. The Passover with the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs typifies Christ. The Red Sea is a type of the death of Christ, and the cloud is a type of the Spirit of Christ. Likewise, the manna, the smitten rock, the living water, and the tabernacle with its utensils and furnishings are all types. But the ultimate type of Christ, the greatest and all-inclusive type, is the good land. The children of Israel entered the good land, possessed it, and enjoyed it. We need to apply this part of their history to our experience today.
As we consider this portion of their history, we shall see that the children of Israel were not defeated. On the contrary, they were victorious: they gained the land, entered it, possessed it, and enjoyed it. This should encourage us not to be disappointed by the situation among Christians today. We must believe that our God is still the God of victory and that He has a way to carry out His purpose. Furthermore, we also believe that the recovery is needed for God to fulfill what is typified by that portion of the history of Israel concerned with entering the land, possessing it, and enjoying it.
With the children of Israel from the Passover to the entering of the good land, there were two generations. The first generation was made up of those who came out of Egypt, and the second, of those who entered the good land. This indicates that we believers have two generations. We were saved with the first generation, but we shall enter the good land with the second generation. The first generation is our old man, and the second generation is our new man.
With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, who had another spirit, the first generation died out. Joshua and Caleb belonged to the new generation, not to the old generation. That is why they experienced a double baptism, the first baptism when they passed through the Red Sea and the second when they crossed the Jordan River. The old generation passed through the Red Sea, but it was the new generation that crossed the Jordan.
When the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea, I doubt that they realized that they were experiencing a baptism. But although they may have lacked understanding, in the sight of God they were in fact baptized at that time. However, after their baptism they were still in a very poor situation. In principle, the same may be true of believers today. After we are baptized, our church life may still be in confusion. Therefore, we need to pass through the Jordan River. The first baptism did not actually terminate the children of Israel. Rather, it buried Pharaoh and the Egyptian army. It was the baptism in the Jordan River that buried the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, represented by twelve stones placed in the bottom of the river (Josh. 4:9).
Between the first baptism at the Red Sea and the second baptism at the Jordan River, the children of Israel were experiencing transformation. If you could have visited them after they had passed through the Red Sea, you may have wondered how they could be God’s people. Perhaps you would have thought that Moses was mistaken in helping them to enjoy the Passover. They were fighting, murmuring, and criticizing. But during the forty years between passing through the Red Sea and crossing the Jordan River, there were many dealings related to transformation. This means that, spiritually speaking, during this time the children of Israel were transformed. Yes, the old generation was strewn in the wilderness, and this is a warning to us. But a new generation came forth. This is transformation. After they crossed the Jordan, they became a mighty army.
If we consider the history of the children of Israel, we shall not be disappointed with ourselves. Instead, we shall realize that we can be compared to caterpillars in a cocoon undergoing the process of transformation. Do not be disappointed, but worship the Lord from within your “cocoon.” We all are “caterpillars” experiencing the divine work of transformation. The more this work progresses, the more we emerge from our cocoon. Some of the young ones may have only a small part free from the cocoon, whereas other saints have a greater percentage of their being outside the cocoon. Praise the Lord that the caterpillars are being transformed and that the cocoons are gradually disappearing! This is the real situation in the church life in the Lord’s recovery.
Because we are partly in the cocoon and partly out of it, sometimes we are discouraged and at other times we are encouraged. When we are mindful of the cocoon or of the caterpillar in the cocoon, we become disappointed. But when we see the butterfly emerging from the cocoon, we are encouraged and happy. In the Lord’s recovery we are gradually coming out of our cocoons. Many of us can testify that, by contrast, when we were in organized religion, we did not know anything about transformation, nor did we have any concept of caterpillars in cocoons being changed into beautiful butterflies. The Lord’s recovery certainly is necessary to bring the saints into the real experience of transformation.
If we are faithful to the Lord, the recovery will become more and more prevailing. Recently I gave a number of messages on the world situation. If we have the proper insight into the world situation, we shall see that the time is right for the Lord’s recovery to spread throughout the earth. Even all the modern means of transportation and communication can be used of the Lord for His recovery. Therefore, the time is ripe for us, especially the younger ones, to spread the Lord’s recovery. Where can Christians today hear both the Lord’s word of grace and His word of righteousness? In so many places the people practice idolatry; they eat, drink, and rise up to play. But in the recovery God is speaking. I believe that in the coming years the recovery, the Lord’s ultimate move on earth, will be very prevailing. The Lord desires to gather those who love Him and who seek Him and make them His living testimony.
We in the Lord’s recovery need to grow in life. To grow is to come out of the cocoon. To grow in life is also to eliminate the old generation and to be renewed in our mind, emotion, and will. This involves transformation. Transformation is a matter of eliminating the old generation, the old man, and putting on the new generation, the new man. This is to fully come out of the cocoon and be released as a butterfly.
Today we are enjoying Christ, but we have not yet possessed Him as the all-inclusive land. If we would possess Christ in this way, our old man must die out, and the new man must come forth. Praise the Lord that the old man is dying out day by day! Many of us can testify that since we have come into the Lord’s recovery, a change has taken place within us. This change is the dying out of the old man and the growing up of the new man. This is transformation, the growth in life.
Paul’s intention in writing this Epistle to the Corinthians was to help them to experience the dying out of the old man and the growing up of the new man. He uses the word grow in chapter three, saying that he planted, Apollos watered, and God gives the growth.
When some saints hear of the growth of life, they may say, “I have been in the Lord’s recovery for many years, but I haven’t noticed any growth in me.” If this is your feeling, I would encourage you to compare the way you are today with what you were several years ago. If you make this comparison, I believe that you will worship the Lord and thank Him for what He has been doing in you. You will praise Him for the fact that the butterfly, your new being, has been gradually emerging from its cocoon. Praise the Lord that we are growing! By growth and transformation we are putting off the old man and putting on the new man.
We must be careful, however, not to try to pull off the cocoon ourselves. To do this is to cause damage. The cocoon protects us while the growth in life is taking place. Never try to pull off your cocoon without the adequate growth in life. The principle here is illustrated by a word in Exodus 23:27-30 concerning occupying the good land and driving out the Canaanites. God told the children of Israel that He would not drive out the Canaanites all at once. Otherwise, wild beasts would come in to destroy. God would even use the Canaanites as a protection to the children of Israel. This indicates that we should not try to deal with our old man apart from the growth in life. I repeat, do not try to remove your cocoon. Instead, simply live a normal church life in the Lord’s recovery. If you do this, you can be assured that you are steadily growing in life.
