(3)
In this message we come to Gen. 41, which unfolds more of the details of Joseph's life. As we have pointed out, Joseph represents the reigning aspect of a mature life. As the representative of such a life, he is an excellent type of Christ. It is rare to find in the Old Testament such a complete and full type of Christ. Therefore, on the one hand, Joseph represents the reigning aspect of the mature life and, on the other hand, typifies Christ in a full way. Throughout the record of Joseph's life there are two lines: the line of the type of Christ and the line of the secret of the reigning life. In this message we shall consider further the line of Joseph as a type of Christ, and in the next we shall consider the line of the secret of the reigning life. In previous messages we have covered eight aspects of Joseph as a type of Christ. In this message we shall cover seven more aspects.
Joseph typified Christ as the One resurrected from the prison of death (Gen. 41:14; Acts 2:24). Christ was not arrested and cast into prison. Rather, He walked willingly into prison, that is, He went into the prison of death voluntarily. Although He entered into death willingly, the gates of Hades, which is the power of death, the authority of darkness, immediately rose up and sought to keep Him there forever. But as Acts 2:24 says, it was impossible for Him to be held by death. Christ stayed in the prison of death for three days. During those days, the power of death did its best to imprison Him. But Christ could not be held by death because He is resurrection (John 11:25). Which is more powerful — death or resurrection? Resurrection is definitely more powerful than death. Thus, death could not hold Christ, who was not only life, but also resurrection. Therefore, Christ walked out of death. To Him, this walking out of death was His resurrection. As Joseph was released from the dungeon, so Christ was also released from the prison of death.
All Christians should be familiar with three things: the incarnation of Christ, the crucifixion of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ. I believe that we in the churches know these three matters.
Joseph also typified Christ as the One enthroned with authority (Gen. 41:40-44; Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:36; Rev. 3:21). On the same day Joseph was released from the dungeon, he was enthroned to be the actual ruler over the whole land of Egypt. In like manner, after Christ was resurrected, He was enthroned with authority. Acts 2:36 says that the crucified and resurrected Christ has been made both Lord and Christ. On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter seemed to be saying to the Israelites who had rejected the Lord, "The One you rejected, put on the cross, and killed, God has raised up from the dead. Not only so, God has made Him the Lord of all." This refers to Christ's enthronement. What a great matter this is!
When Christ was enthroned, He received glory (Heb. 2:9). Joseph also typifies Christ in this regard, for when he was released from the dungeon, he received glory (Gen. 41:42). Joseph's opposers not only sold him and despised him, but cast him into a dungeon. In chapter forty-one the prison is called a dungeon. The living conditions in Joseph's dungeon were far worse than the conditions of the prisons in this country today. The dungeon into which Joseph was cast was a pit. Those who put him there did so with the intention that he would be severely distressed. But God lifted him up and not only placed him on the throne, but also gave him glory. You may be wondering how we can prove that Joseph received glory. The proof is in the fact that he was clothed with beautiful garments and made to ride in the second chariot of Pharaoh (Gen. 41:42-43). His being clothed with fine linen was in contrast with his being stripped by his brothers of his coat of many colors (Gen. 37:23). When people saw him clothed with such beautiful garments and sitting in Pharaoh's chariot, they must have realized that here was a man in glory.
When Joseph was released from the dungeon and uplifted to the throne, he received gifts (Gen. 41:42). Christ also has received gifts (Acts 2:33). Many Christians know that Christ resurrected, ascended, and has been crowned with honor and glory, but not many know that after Christ's ascension, enthronement, and glorification He also received gifts. Acts 2:33 says that Christ received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, which He has poured out. What Christ received of the Father was a gift. In ancient times, many centuries before Christ, the same thing happened to Joseph. Joseph was not only glorified, but also received gifts.
In his glorification Joseph was given three things: a golden ring, some garments, and a golden chain. The ring was put on his hand, the chain was placed on his neck, and the garments covered his entire body. These three items portray in a full way the gifts that Christ received in His ascension to the heavens, the gifts that He has passed on to the church. When the prodigal son came home, he received the first two gifts, the ring on his hand and the robe on his body (Luke 15:22). At that time he did not receive the golden chain, which was to be given later.
Ephesians 1:13 says that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. This indicates that the Spirit of salvation is likened to a seal. We know that we are saved because we have been sealed. Fifty years ago I bought a gold-edged, leatherbound edition of the Bible. As soon as I got it, I put my seal in the front of it to indicate that it belonged to me. I was afraid that otherwise it might be lost and I would have no way to prove that it was mine. After my Bible was sealed, however, I could prove that it belonged to me. Likewise, before we were saved, we were among the common people. But on the day we received the Lord Jesus, we were sealed. The seal of our salvation is the Holy Spirit of God. From that time onward, we have had a seal upon us. Suppose my Bible could say, "I don't like Witness Lee. I would like to belong to someone else." But my seal in the Bible would keep it from belonging to someone else. In like manner, we may feel that we do not want to belong to the Lord and that we would like to go along with Satan. Nevertheless, one who has been saved and sealed can never get away from the Lord. Even if it were possible for you to go into hell, you would still bear this seal.
The ancient Egyptians used their ring as a seal. Whatever they sealed with their ring was something important to them. Thus, the ring, the seal, received by Joseph typifies the Holy Spirit received by Christ. At the time of Christ's ascension and enthronement, Christ received of the Father the Holy Spirit that He might use Him as a seal to put on all His believers. Whenever anyone calls on Him, He puts this seal upon him.
As a saved one, you have a living seal on you. Even if you were to go to a gambling casino in Las Vegas, you would still have this seal upon you, and it would make you feel that, because you belong to Jesus, you should not stay in such a place. As our Joseph, Christ has received the seal from the Father, and with it He has sealed us. Now this seal is within us and upon us.
The second of the gifts Joseph received was the garments. We believers need at least two garments, one for salvation and the other for victory, for reward. The prodigal son in Luke 15 received just one garment because he was simply a saved one. He had not yet become victorious. After we have been saved and have received the garment of righteousness to justify us, we need to go on to live a victorious life. If we do, then in addition to the garment of salvation we shall receive another garment.
Often I have pointed out that the queen in Psa. 45 has two garments (vv. 13-14): one corresponds to the objective righteousness for our salvation, and the other to the subjective righteousness for our victory. The New Testament reveals that we believers should have two garments. The first garment is seen in Luke 15, and the second is found in Revelation 19. The garment of salvation is good for us to be justified before the Father. But in order to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb we need another garment. Both garments are Christ. The first, the garment of salvation, is the objective Christ. It is Christ put upon us (Gal. 3:27), Christ given to us to be our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). When the prodigal son came back home, he was not qualified to sit down with his righteous father. He needed a garment of righteousness to cover him and to qualify him for this. This garment is the objective Christ as our righteousness, which justifies us before the righteous God. But after we have been justified, we need to live out Christ. When Christ is lived out of us, He becomes our subjective righteousness, not just something put upon us, but something lived out of us. This is the subjective Christ as the second garment. Christ has been given to us as these two garments.
Our Christ is the real righteousness before God. Apart from Christ, there is no righteousness in the universe. In this universe there is only One who satisfies all of God's righteous requirements, and this One is Christ. Although it may not sound logical, this righteousness has been given to Christ. You may wonder how Christ can be righteousness, yet have this righteousness given to Him. Nevertheless, this is the biblical way of speaking, and we need to learn to speak the biblical language. The unique righteousness in this universe is Christ; yet this righteousness has been given to Christ that He may put it upon His believers. Christ is the righteousness that has been put upon us objectively for our justification. This righteousness which has been given to Him by the Father has been passed on by Him to us. Furthermore, He is constantly giving Himself to us so that we may live Him out of us. This is wholly a matter of gift.
The matter of Christ being righteousness yet having righteousness given to Him involves the Trinity. If this righteousness had never been given by the Father to the Son, it would not be so legally effective. Although the unique righteousness in the universe is Christ Himself, without this righteousness being given by the Father to the Son, not even the Son would have the right to use it. Therefore, the Father gave it to the Son so that the Son might pass it on to His believers, firstly as the objective righteousness, then as the subjective righteousness.
We all have received the first garment, and there is no problem regarding our salvation. We are saved and we shall spend eternity with the Lord. This is more certain than a policy from the most trustworthy insurance company. But what about the second garment? We cannot at the present time be as certain of this as we are of the first garment, for we may not have paid the necessary premium for this second policy. We need to gain the second garment so that we may receive the reward. Praise the Lord that both the objective garment and the subjective garment are gifts! Both have been given by the Father to the Son, and the Son has given them to us. If you asked me if I have these two garments, I would answer, "I certainly have the first garment, and the second garment is within me and it is in the process of coming out." You also have received the second garment and have it within you. Now you need to pray, "Lord Jesus, process Yourself out of me. Lord Jesus, come out of me to be my second garment." We all need this garment.
Related to the second garment is the third item, the golden chain placed around Joseph's neck. In the Bible a chained neck signifies a subdued will. When the children of Israel were disobedient, the Lord referred to them as a stiff-necked people (Exo. 32:9). It would be very uncomely for a person with a stiff neck to wear a golden chain. It would be beautiful, however, to see a golden chain on a neck that is bowed. The chained neck signifies a will that has been conquered and subdued to obey God's commandment. When your neck has been conquered and subdued in this way, it is chained. Have you ever seen a woman wearing a necklace while quarreling with her husband? I have. When I saw this, I said to myself, "You should take off that necklace. Since you are being stiff-necked, you should not be wearing a necklace." Even a man's necktie is a type of chain. There is an amount of refinement related to wearing such a chain. The golden chain on the neck signifies the Spirit for obedience. Acts 5:32 says that the Spirit is given to those who obey God. Hence, the Spirit is given not only as a gift for salvation, but also for obedience.
How I admire the sequence of the things in the Bible. If I had listed the gifts given to Joseph, I would have mentioned the ring first, then the chain, and finally the garments. When I was young, I was bothered by the fact that the garments are mentioned before the golden chain. But the sequence of the three gifts in verse 42 is according to the spiritual sequence. In the spiritual sequence we firstly receive the Spirit for salvation. This is the seal. Then we receive the garment of righteousness, and we begin to live out Christ. In order to live out Christ, we need to have a chain on our neck. This means that our neck must be conquered, subdued, and chained by the Holy Spirit. Oh, the Holy Spirit will chain you! It will chain your stiff neck and cause it to be soft and subdued. Many saints in the church life have had their necks chained.
This is even true of some of the teenagers among us. When I was a teenager, I had a stiff neck. Although my mother loved me very much, my neck was still very stiff. Many of you teenagers are like this. However, when you call on the Lord Jesus, you are spontaneously chained. The Lord puts His chain on your neck, and your neck is softened and subdued. Sometimes your disposition may cause you to be unhappy with your mother. Nevertheless, because your neck has been chained, it is no longer as stiff as it used to be. When your neck was so stiff, there was no chain on it. But today you have been chained by the Holy Spirit, chained by the Spirit for obedience. Thus, others can see on your neck the beauty of the Holy Spirit for obedience expressed in your submission. You have been subdued, and you are submissive to your mother and father. Someone may say, "When I am eighteen years of age, I will have my freedom." This is not the testimony of a person chained with a golden chain. One who has a chain on his neck is submissive to his parents and to his teachers. When your neck is chained, it bears a certain type of beauty, the golden beauty of the Spirit for obedience.
These are the gifts received by our Joseph and passed on to us. I can boast that on my hand I have a ring, that around my entire being I have a robe, and that another robe is coming out from within me along with the golden chain around my neck. Hallelujah, Christ has received gifts and He has passed all these gifts on to me! Now I also have received gifts in Him. All this is typified by Joseph.
Because Christ was resurrected, enthroned, glorified, and received gifts, He is the Savior of the world. As the Savior of the world, He is also the Sustainer of life and the Revealer of secrets (Acts 5:31; John 6:50-51). Joseph typified Christ in these three aspects, for these titles are all included in the name Zaphnath-paaneah given to Joseph by Pharaoh (Gen. 41:45). This name firstly means the Savior of the world; secondly, the Sustainer of life; and thirdly, the Revealer of secrets. We all know that Christ is the Savior of the world. As the Savior of the world, He is the Sustainer of life and the Revealer of secrets. All these titles were ascribed to Joseph. Firstly, Joseph was the revealer of secrets, then the savior of the world. He became the savior because he sustained the life of the people.
Regarding Joseph's being the sustainer of life, the record of the Bible is marvelous. Pharaoh had two dreams, the first of cows and the second of ears of corn (Gen. 41:1-7). Why did Pharaoh not dream of seven turtles and seven black stones? Both the cows and the grain are good for food. Today we enjoy eating steak, which comes from cows, and bread, which comes from grain. Here we see two kinds of life — the animal life and the vegetable life. We need to enjoy both kinds of life. According to the ordination in the Bible, before the fall man ate only of the vegetable life (Gen. 1:29). After the fall, however, man was told to eat meat because of the need for the shedding of blood for redemption (Gen. 9:3). Thus, after the fall, man had to take as his supply the vegetable life and the animal life. Actually, the animal life must come first, for the fallen ones need to be redeemed before they can enjoy life. At the Lord's table we see the bread and the blood. The blood comes out of the Lord's animal life for redemption, and the bread comes from His regenerating life. In the Gospel of John the Lord is likened to a lamb. In John 1:29 John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb." This is the animal life for redemption. In John 12:24 the Lord compared Himself to a grain of wheat falling into the earth to reproduce by regeneration. This is the vegetable life for regenerating. Both kinds of life are mentioned in Genesis 41.
As we consider this, we realize again that the Bible is truly a divine book. No human being could have composed it. The more I probe into the depths of the Bible, the more I am convinced that its contents are divinely revealed. Surely it is the Word of God. Who other than God could have written such a chapter as Genesis 41? Today, the life supply we receive from the Lord Jesus as the Sustainer of life includes both the animal life for redemption and the vegetable life for production. Hallelujah, day by day we are nourished in this way! Simultaneously Christ is both the Savior of the world and the Sustainer of life.
He is also the Revealer of secrets, the One who interprets dreams. Have you ever considered how many dreams the Lord Jesus interpreted when He was on earth? By dreams I mean revelation, the secrets He has revealed to us. He interpreted at least seven dreams in Matthew 13 and a number of others in Matthew 24 and 25. Truly the Lord is the Revealer of secrets.
In Gen. 41:45 we see that Joseph took as his wife Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On. Joseph's wife was a heathen, an Egyptian. Joseph took her during the time he was rejected by his brothers. This also is a type portraying how Christ has taken the Gentiles as His wife during the time of His rejection by the Israelites. As He was staying with the Gentiles, He obtained a wife from among them.
In the book of Genesis we have seen three wives who portray the church: Eve, the wife of Adam; Rebekah, the wife of Isaac; and Asenath, the wife of Joseph. As the wife of Adam, Eve portrays how the church comes out of Christ and is a part of Christ. She typifies how the church is the same in life and nature as Christ and eventually becomes one Body with Him. Thus, Eve typifies the church being a part of Christ, coming out of Christ, returning to Christ, and being one with Christ. Rebekah portrays the church as the called and selected one, the one from the same source as Christ. Isaac came from a particular source, and Abraham's servant was sent to that source to select and call a wife for Isaac and to bring her to him. This selected one was Rebekah. Asenath portrays the church taken out of the Gentile world by Christ during His rejection by the children of Israel. During the time of this rejection, Christ came to the Gentile world, stayed there, and received the church out of the Gentile world.
Of his wife, Asenath, Joseph begot two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. The name Manasseh means, "Causing to forget." When Manasseh was born, Joseph said, "God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house" (Gen. 41:51). This indicates that with the birth of Manasseh Joseph forgot all his afflictions. When Manasseh was born, Joseph seemed to say, "Praise the Lord! He has caused me to forget my afflictions." This reveals that when the church is productive, Christ will declare that He has forgotten His afflictions. If in the gospel meetings of the church in Anaheim some fruit is produced, Christ will declare to the whole universe, "Manasseh! I have forgotten My affliction."
The name of Joseph's second son was Ephraim, which means "Fruitful" (Gen. 41:52). When Ephraim was born, Joseph said, "For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." With Joseph, instead of affliction, there was fruitfulness. When we preach the gospel and produce fruit, Christ will be happy and declare, "There is no more affliction. But look at all the fruit!"
Joseph supplied food to the famished people (Gen. 41:56-57). As such a supplier of food, he typified Christ as the One who supplies people with food (John 6:35). Today, what a Supplier of food Christ is! He supplies food to the famished people.
As we read the story of Joseph, we find that it is inexhaustible. Although we may read it again and again, we cannot exhaust its riches.
