Message 11
Moses is a type of God’s called ones today. Do not think, as many do, that Moses is vastly superior to us. Most Christians regard Moses as the highest servant of God in the Old Testament and Paul as the highest in the New Testament. Comparing themselves with Moses and Paul, they have a very low estimate of themselves. This attitude is mistaken. God’s calling of us is the same in principle as His calling of Moses and Paul. What Moses experienced in type, Paul experienced in reality. Today both the type and the reality should be our experience also.
In the Life-study of Ephesians we pointed out that all the saints can be perfected to do the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. Just as a mathematics teacher perfects his students to do what he can do, so the leading ones perfect the saints to do the very things that they themselves do. Paul was a representative of the members of the Body of Christ. No matter how great Paul was, he was still just one member of the Body. In principle, what he was able to do, all the other members should be able to do also. This indicates that all the members should be called as Paul was called. For this reason, we all must know the purpose of God’s calling.
The purpose of God’s calling is firstly to deliver His chosen people out of the usurpation and tyranny of Pharaoh and Egypt (Exo. 3:8, 17). Pharaoh was a type of Satan, and Egypt was a type of the world. Just as Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt, so Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31). God is still seeking to deliver His chosen people out of the usurping hand of Satan and out of the tyranny of the world. As God’s called ones, we need a clear view of what the world is. The world is not a source of enjoyment; it is a place of tyranny. In the world Satan is keeping God’s chosen people, those destined for the fulfillment of God’s purpose, under his usurping hand.
Every aspect of the world is a form of tyranny. In Exodus Pharaoh kept the children of Israel under tyranny by forcing them to do hard labor. The same principle operates today. As people work, they suffer under various forms of tyranny. Even making a long drive to work on a crowded freeway is one kind of tyranny. Likewise, the competition for promotion and the insecurity about losing a job are also kinds of tyranny. Nevertheless, anyone who does not labor for Pharaoh in the world will not receive the supply of the Nile. In order to earn a living in the world, God’s chosen people must serve under the tyranny of Pharaoh.
Shopping is another form of the world’s tyranny. Many young women are held in tyranny in a subtle way through shopping for the latest fashions.
Recently some saints told me that they do not have the time to pray or read the Bible. I pointed out that they have plenty of time to make telephone calls or to read the newspaper. This indicates that even the telephone or the newspaper may be a means of tyranny.
It is easy to preach to people, but it is very difficult to bring them out of the usurpation and tyranny of Satan and the world. As we shall see, Moses did not preach to the children of Israel, but he was able to rescue them from Pharaoh. Today we also need to have the authority to bring God’s people out of the usurping hand of Satan. One aspect of God’s purpose in His calling is to use us to bring others out of the usurpation and tyranny of Satan and the world.
Another aspect of God’s calling is to bring His chosen people into the wilderness by a journey of three days (3:18). Elsewhere in the Bible the term wilderness is not a positive term. But in 3:18 it is used in a positive sense, for here the wilderness is opposed to the world. It is the place of separation from the world. As soon as one is saved, he should be brought out of the world into the wilderness where there is no Egyptian element. When the children of Israel entered into the wilderness, they were set free from Egypt. In the same principle, if we would get out of the world, we must get into the wilderness. However, not many Christians have been brought into the wilderness. This means that some have been saved, but have not been delivered from the world and separated from it.
As a young man who was altogether in the world, I was full of ambition regarding my future. But when I was saved, I was saved not only from the lake of fire, but also saved from the world. On the day I was saved, all the worldly elements fell away from me, and I was brought into the wilderness. We need to pray that the Lord will grant us the ability to bring His children out of the world and into the wilderness.
According to 3:18, Moses and the elders of Israel were to say to the king of Egypt, “The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.” In the Bible three days signifies resurrection. A complete and perfect salvation must involve a three days’ journey, that is, a journey in resurrection. In our preaching of the gospel, there must be the power of resurrection. However, our gospel preaching today is short of impact. People can listen to our preaching and even repent and receive the Lord, but still remain in their tombs in Egypt. We need to have the power of resurrection in our preaching so that others are raised out of their tombs and brought into the wilderness by a journey of three days. Such a journey is signified by baptism. Every believer in Christ must be baptized to bear witness to the fact that he is leaving the world and is entering into another realm in resurrection.
We must pray that our ministry of the Word will have impact. We do not want to give mere knowledge to people. Rather, we desire that something in our preaching will touch their hearts and cause them to leave the world and journey into the wilderness in resurrection.
In 3:12 the Lord told Moses, “When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.” This indicates that the purpose of God’s calling is also to bring His chosen people to the mountain, where they may serve Him and sacrifice to Him (3:18; 19:1-2, 11; 24:16-18). Many Christians have never entered into the wilderness, much less come to the mountain. They are truly saved, because they believe in the Lord Jesus and they have been washed in His blood. However, they are still in Egypt. Others have come out of Egypt into the wilderness, but they have not come to the mountain. The divine revelation concerning God’s purpose was given to Moses on the mountain. The law was given to Moses there. It was also on the mountain that he received the revelation concerning the design of the tabernacle. Although most of the children of Israel did not actually ascend to the top of the mountain, they were nonetheless camped close to the mountain. Moses, Aaron, and more than seventy others went up to the mountain to meet with God (24:1, 9).
The mountain in 3:12 refers to an elevation in the wilderness. Not only do we need to be separated from the world, but in this realm of separation we need to ascend to an elevated place. Only when we are on such a high level can we receive the revelation regarding God’s eternal purpose.
Although certain preachers may be eloquent and knowledgeable, their preaching has no impact on us. After listening to their messages, we are still in the same realm and atmosphere as before. The only difference is that we have acquired some new information. However, the preaching of a called one is different. After hearing such a one preach God’s word, we cannot remain the same. His speaking delivers us from Egypt; it rescues us from the usurping hand of Satan and from the tyranny of the world. Furthermore, it brings us into the wilderness and even to the mountain. Here on the mountain, where the sky is clear (Exo. 24:10), we see the vision of God’s economy. Here we come to know what is on God’s heart, and we see what God desires to have on earth today. We realize that He desires to have a people who walk according to His statutes and who build Him a tabernacle that He may dwell among them.
The purpose of God’s calling is also to build a tabernacle to be God’s dwelling place on earth (25:8-9, 40). The vision and the building of the tabernacle occupy nearly half of this book. Moses received the vision on the mountain, and there the tabernacle was built. This was for the further journey of the children of Israel toward the final goal, which was to enter the good land and to build the temple there.
If we could bring people out of the tyranny of the world into the wilderness and take them to the mountain where they see the revelation of God’s economy and eventually build a tabernacle for God, we would surely be satisfied. However, with the tabernacle we do not yet have the solid building, which is signified by the temple in the land of Canaan. Hence, if we would reach the ultimate goal of God’s calling, we must journey onward and enter into the good land.
When the children of Israel reached Mount Sinai, they were still quite far from Canaan. The distance from Egypt to Mount Sinai is approximately one-fourth of the distance from Egypt to the land of Canaan. Therefore, from Mount Sinai God’s chosen people had to journey onward until they came into Canaan, a good land flowing with milk and honey (3:8, 17).
We have pointed out that in Exodus there are many types of the spiritual realities found in the New Testament. Some of the more familiar types are the Passover, the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna, and the water from the cleft rock. Many interpret the type of the crossing of the Jordan River in an inaccurate way; they apply it to physical death and going to a heavenly mansion. Crossing the Jordan, however, is not related to physical death. When the children of Israel entered the land of Canaan, they found that it was filled with enemies. If Canaan typified heaven with the heavenly mansions, then this would mean that the heaven where God dwells is filled with enemies. How ridiculous!
The whole history of the children of Israel is a type. This history includes the Passover, the exodus, the journey through the wilderness, the enjoyment of the manna and the living water, the building of the tabernacle, the entering into the good land, the defeating of the enemies, and the enjoyment of the rich produce of the land. By defeating their enemies, the children of Israel gained the ground for the establishment of God’s kingdom. Eventually, after the kingdom had been established and had become prevailing, the temple was built. Then God had a solid dwelling place on earth in the center of His kingdom.
Most Christians pay attention to such types as the Passover and the manna, but do not pay attention to such types as entering into the good land, enjoying the rich produce of the land, defeating the enemies in the land, establishing the kingdom, and building God’s dwelling place. Many of us have heard messages on the Passover, the manna, and even on the tabernacle, but have not heard any on the good land as a type of the all-inclusive Christ. By the types we see that in order to be on the mountain to receive God’s revelation and in order to build the tabernacle as God’s temporary dwelling place, all we need to do is enjoy Christ as the lamb, the unleavened bread, the manna, and the living water. But after the tabernacle was built, the children of Israel had to journey on. For their journey, they needed Christ as typified by manna. But when they entered into the good land, the manna ceased, and they enjoyed the produce of the land (Josh. 5:12). This indicates that the produce of the land was the continuation of the manna, that the enjoyment of Christ had reached another stage. The first stage was that of the Passover lamb in Egypt; the second, that of the manna and the living water in the wilderness; and the third, that of the produce of the good land.
There is hardly any comparison between the land and the lamb. The lamb is small, but the land is spacious and rich. Furthermore, what comparison is there between the land and the manna? No doubt it is difficult to deliver God’s chosen people out of the usurping hand of Satan and the tyranny of the world and to bring them into the separation of the wilderness. No doubt it is also difficult to bring them to the mountain to receive the revelation of God’s economy. However, it is much more difficult to bring them into the good land to enjoy the riches of the all-inclusive Christ.
In Deuteronomy 8 we have a picture of the riches of the good land. This picture portrays various aspects of these riches: fountains, springs, wheat, barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, olive oil, honey, iron, and brass (vv. 7-9). Iron is for warfare, power, authority, protection, and, ultimately, for the building up of the kingdom and the temple. The riches of Christ as typified by the produce of the land of Canaan are covered in detail in the book The All-Inclusive Christ.
Recently, as I was praying, the Lord rebuked me concerning how little I live by Christ. He pointed out that although the churches are on the right track and although the saints are getting into the Word and praying, there is a great lack in the matter of living by Christ. For years I have seen that Christ lives in me, and I have given many messages on this. It is easy to say, “No longer I...but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20) and, “To me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). But our practice is very short. As the Lord was rebuking me, I repented and confessed my failure. From that time onward, I have had the sense that the greatest need in the Lord’s recovery today is for us all to live by Christ in a practical way.
How much do you live by Christ during the day? It may be that the only time you live by Him is in your time of prayer. When you are praying, you are in the good land. But as soon as your time of prayer is over, you are out of the land.
We regret such failures as losing our temper, but we may have no regrets about our failure to live by Christ. How many times have you repented to the Lord for not living out Christ? Even if our behavior is excellent, we still need to confess to the Lord our shortage in not living by Him. Very few pray to the Lord in this way. We have the concept of good behavior, but we do not have the concept of taking Christ as our life and of living by Him.
In 1970 a number of messages were released about taking Christ as our person. But now, almost nine years later, who among us actually takes Christ as his person? Most of us still have ourselves as our person. Although we have heard messages about this, we must confess that, in a practical way, we do not live out Christ very much. We can sing, “There’s a Man in the glory whose life is for me,” or maybe change the words to, “There’s a Man in my spirit whose life is for me.” But after we sing this hymn, whose life do we live by — by the life of Christ or by our natural life? In the meetings we proclaim that Christ’s life is for us, but in our daily living His life is not for us. In practice, what we pay attention to is good behavior, not living by Christ.
In John 16:9 the Lord Jesus said that the Spirit would convict the world concerning sin “because they do not believe in Me.” This indicates that not believing in the Lord is the unique sin. God commands us to believe in His Son. Any sinner who refuses to do this violates God’s commandment. Thus, there is no need to break the Ten Commandments in order to be lost. Simply refusing to obey God’s commandment to believe in Christ will cause a person to perish. In addition to this commandment concerning believing, God commands us, the believers in Christ, to live by Christ. For a sinner not to believe in Christ is to commit sin. For a Christian not to live by Christ is also to commit sin.
In His economy God desires that Christ be our life and our everything so that He may have the church life. But instead of caring for Christ, we may care for other things, such as good behavior. This is disobedience, even rebellion. God wants Christ, but we seek good behavior. For this reason, the church life in the Lord’s recovery is still not so rich or practical. In order for the church life to be rich and practical, Christ must be lived out of us.
When some hear about the need to live Christ, they may ask how to live by Him. I admit that it is very difficult to live by Christ. One reason for the difficulty is that instead of seeking Christ Himself, we seek holiness, victory, or spirituality. Thus, even our spiritual seeking is a hindrance to the living out of Christ. We want to be holy or victorious over our besetting sin or over some negative element in our environment. Furthermore, we desire to be spiritual. However, although we desire holiness, victory, and spirituality, we do not desire to live Christ. God’s intention is that Christ be constituted into us. But our intention is to develop our own holiness or spirituality. This is rebellion against God’s economy. Even if we are successful in being holy or spiritual, such holiness or spirituality is still rebellion.
When I was a young Christian, I sought for ways to be spiritual, victorious, holy, and filled with the Spirit. I read books that told me how to be this way, and I put all the suggestions into practice. However, I was disappointed because none of the suggestions worked. Later I learned that Christ Himself is the way to be holy, victorious, and spiritual. If we have Christ, we have holiness, victory, and true spirituality. If we try in ourselves to deal with our temper, we shall be defeated. But if we live Christ, our temper will not be a problem to us.
Although we have heard so much about living by Christ, in our daily living we do not practice what we have heard. Instead, we try to improve our behavior. If we are stirred up, we should be stirred up to live by Christ. God’s desire is that we enter into the good land. We need to be stirred up so that we may go forward to enter into the land, to labor on the land, and to enjoy the rich produce of the land. God only wants Christ; He does not want our zeal, behavior, or ethics.
We have pointed out that the land of Canaan is a type of Christ. However, this type has not yet been fulfilled in the experience of the saints. The types of the Passover and the manna have been fulfilled in the experience of thousands of Christians. But although many enjoy Christ as manna, very few enjoy Christ as their good land. We need to ask ourselves whether or not we in the local churches are truly enjoying Christ as the good land. Do we know the hills and valleys in Christ? Do we experience the wheat and barley in Christ, and the minerals as well? All these aspects of Christ need to be fulfilled in a practical way. If we consider the good land and all its riches as being a full type of Christ, we shall realize that we are lacking in the experience of Christ.
The difference between the church and a social organization is that the church is an entity constituted of Christ. If we have Christ, then we have the reality of the church. But if we do not have Christ, then we are, in actual practice, a social organization. Because we are short of the experience of Christ, apparently we may be practicing the church life, but actually we are enjoying a natural social life.
I wish to point out once again that the purpose of God’s calling is not only to bring His people out of Egypt, into the wilderness, and to the mountain. Neither is it only to have the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness. His purpose is to bring His people into Christ as the good land. As God’s called ones, we need to see that the purpose of God’s calling is not just to save people out of the world. That is only the negative aspect. Ultimately, the purpose of His calling is to bring His people into the good land so that they may enjoy Christ in His all-inclusiveness. Then God will be able to establish His kingdom (19:6; 2 Sam. 5:12; 7:12, 16; Rom. 14:17). Furthermore, by bringing His chosen people into the good land, God will be able to have a dwelling place built up on the earth (2 Sam. 7:13; Eph. 2:20-22; 4:12). We need to help others experience Christ in all His unsearchable riches so that God may be able to establish His kingdom and have His dwelling place on earth today.
This very point is covered by Paul in Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. These four books unveil Christ not merely as the lamb, but as the all-inclusive One, that is, as the all-inclusive land. Colossians 3:11 even says that “Christ is all and in all.” This word no doubt speaks of the all-inclusiveness of Christ. In 1 Corinthians we see the Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea, but in Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians we see the all-inclusive land.
Ephesians and Colossians mention the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. In these books it is in the heavenly places that we enjoy Christ as the good land. It is also there that the evil principalities and powers, typified by the wicked peoples in the land of Canaan, are to be defeated. Today, these evil powers are in the air. We, the called ones, must deliver people out of the world and bring them into the heavenly places to deal with the principalities and powers. When the children of Israel were eating the Passover lamb, the Egyptians were dealt with. But after the Israelites entered into the good land, they did not fight against the Egyptians, but fought against the nations in the land. In typology, these nations are not the people of the world; they are the evil powers of darkness, the wicked rulers, principalities, and authorities in the air. These powers that occupy the heavenly places seek to frustrate us from the enjoyment of the riches of the all-inclusive Christ. Therefore, in order to enjoy Christ in His all-inclusiveness, we must defeat the principalities, rulers, powers, and authorities in the heavenly places.
God has called us with a purpose. This purpose is to use us to bring people out of the tyranny of today’s world into the wilderness, a place of separation. It is also to bring them to the mountain where they may see the revelation concerning God’s economy and the design of the tabernacle, so that the tabernacle may be built. Furthermore, it is to bring them into the rich and all-inclusive good land to defeat God’s enemy and to enjoy the riches of Christ. Then God will be able to establish His kingdom in which He will have His dwelling place on earth. All these points are fully developed in Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, four books which are the heart of the Bible.
Both Moses and Paul were called for this purpose, and we are called for this purpose also. We need to bring people all the way from the world into the all-inclusive Christ for God’s kingdom and God’s building. Oh, may our apprehension of God’s Word be uplifted in these days! What God desires is not merely the tabernacle with the initial enjoyment of Christ as the lamb, the manna, and the living water, but the temple with the rich enjoyment of Christ as the all-inclusive land. Day by day we need to experience Christ in a practical way as our life and as our person. He should be not only manna to us, but also all the riches of the good land. What we need today for the accomplishment of God’s purpose is the genuine experience of Christ as the good land of Canaan.
