In this message we come to the record of one of the most interesting people in the book of Genesis — Jacob. Genesis gives us the record of nine great persons. The first five — Adam, Abel, Enosh, Enoch, and Noah — are considered as five separate people. Although there was some spiritual relationship between them, strictly speaking, Adam, Abel, Enosh, Enoch, and Noah have nothing to do with each other. However, when we come to the last four — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph — we see that, as far as the experience of life is concerned, they should not be considered as four separate individuals. As we have pointed out, with Abraham we do not have the matter of selection. The first item in Abraham's record is calling. But according to the New Testament revelation, the experience of God does not begin with God's calling but with His selection. Firstly, God selected us; secondly, He predestinated us; and thirdly, He called us. After God's calling, we have forgiveness, redemption, justification, regeneration, and God's full salvation. In this we can see that with Abraham we do not have the beginning of the experience of God. The beginning is with Jacob, for in him we see God's selection. In Jacob's record, however, we do not find God's calling. Therefore, we say once again that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob plus Joseph are not four separate persons; they are four aspects of one complete experience in life. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Joseph each represent an aspect of the experience of life. As we shall see, Jacob stands for the transformed life and Joseph represents the ruling aspect, the kingly aspect, of this transformed life.
According to the New Testament revelation, the believers were firstly chosen by God in eternity past before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). Secondly, the believers were predestinated according to God's selection. This also took place in eternity past. Then, in time, God called us. In God's calling, which follows His predestination, we receive forgiveness, redemption, justification, regeneration, and full salvation. In addition to all this, we must be transformed. Day by day we are under the process of God's transformation to be brought not only into the full sonship but also into the kingship. We were born sons of God, the royal sons, and we are undergoing the process of God's transformation that in the future we might be kings.
We do not see the kingship with either Abraham or Isaac. The kingship is with Joseph, who was a part of Jacob. When Jacob was welcomed in Egypt, apparently Pharaoh was the king over the world. Actually, the true reigning one was Joseph, not Pharaoh. But Joseph did not stand for himself; he stood for his father. Thus, at that time, the world was ruled by Jacob through Joseph.
All the saints are under the process of transformation in order to become kings. Hence, the proper, adequate, and complete experience of God goes from God's selection to our kingship. Selection was accomplished in eternity past, and the kingship will be for eternity future. Kingship is our destiny. In eternity past, God selected and predestinated us to be kings in eternity future. With Abraham we see neither the selection in eternity past nor the kingship in eternity future. In other words, Abraham's record has neither the beginning nor the ending of the experience of God, both of which are with Jacob. In Jacob's record, we have a very good beginning and also an adequate ending. Jacob, the heel-holder, the supplanter, was transformed into a prince of God. Eventually, he became Israel and was no longer Jacob. If we read the New Testament carefully, we shall see that the name of Israel ultimately appears in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:12). Although Israel is in the New Jerusalem, the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not found there.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Joseph are a complete unit in the experience of life. We should not consider them as four separate individuals, but as four different aspects of one's complete experience. Now we come to the third aspect — the aspect of Jacob. In Abraham, we have God's calling, justification by faith, living by faith in God, and living in fellowship with God. In Isaac, we have the inheriting of grace and the resting and enjoying. In Isaac we do not see justification by faith, for that is covered in Abraham's experience. But with Isaac we have the inheriting and enjoying of grace, which we do not see in Abraham's record. In this we see the different aspects of the experience of life. In Jacob, we see God's selection and God's dealings. Although we all love to inherit and enjoy grace, we do not like the dealings. In Jacob, we do not see the aspect of enjoyment; rather, we see the aspect of God's dealings. Because Jacob supplanted so much, God's hand was always upon him. Jacob's supplanting brought in God's dealings. God might have said, "Jacob, you are able to supplant, but I am able to deal with you. In every step of your supplanting, My dealings will come in." This was not God's punishment; it was God's dealings for the purpose of Jacob's transformation.
As I was considering this message in the presence of the Lord, I laughed when I noticed that Jacob began to fight even before he was born. Rebekah had conceived and "the children struggled together within her" (Gen. 25:22). This fighting was probably started by Jacob, not by Esau. Esau's fighting must have been defensive. Jacob might have said, "Esau, you shouldn't go ahead of me. I must be first." Then Esau might have said, "No, I'm in front of you. I must get out first." The two children were fighting, and the mother, being unable to tolerate it, inquired of the Lord concerning it (Gen. 25:22). Under the sovereignty of God, Esau came out first, but Jacob did not stop striving. After he came out, he still took hold of Esau's heel (Gen. 25:26). Because of this, he was given the name of Jacob, which means heel-holder. Since Jacob was such a heel-holder, God had to deal with him. The issue of God's dealing was transformation. At a mature age, Jacob was no longer Jacob — he was Israel, a prince of God. Eventually, God put the whole world, including Pharaoh, under him.
I say again that these four persons constitute a complete unit of the experience of God. We are all Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Joseph. At present, we are still under the process of God's transformation. But one day we shall all become Israels, the princes of God, ruling with our "Joseph" over all the world.
In Jacob, we see God's selection, the matter of Jacob's being chosen (Gen. 25:21-26; 1 Pet. 2:9). Do you believe that you have been chosen? How do you know this? Although we may stand on the Word of God and say, "I know that I have been chosen because the Bible tells me so," I would still ask this question: how do we know from our experience that we have been chosen by God? We know it by the fact that we cannot get away from Him. During the past fifty years of my Christian life, I have tried many times to get away from the Lord. I have even said to Him, "Lord, I am tired of the Christian life. I am running away." Although I tried to run away, I could not do it. While some Christian workers are afraid of your staying away from the Lord, I have the boldness to encourage you to stay away from Him. Try your best to do it, telling Him, "Lord, I don't love You anymore. I'm through with being a Christian." You may say this to the Lord, but He will reply, "Are you through with Me? It's not up to you. You may be through, but I am not. Where shall you go — to Egypt? If you go there, I'll go there to wait for you. When you get there, you will find that I'm already there." We all have been trapped, and there is no escape. This is strong proof that we have been chosen by God.
Jacob was chosen before his birth, even before the foundation of the world (Gen. 25:22-23; Rom. 9:11; Eph. 1:4). We, like Jacob, were also chosen before we were born. In eternity past, before God began to create anything, He chose us. Although we may think that we are quite small, we are big enough for God to pay attention to us. Even before the foundation of the world, God paid attention to us by selecting us in eternity past.
In my early ministry I was very bothered by the fact that a number of my friends who were very close to becoming Christians did not get saved. But many who were far off from the Lord and who I thought would never be saved did get saved. Some of them were saved after coming to just one gospel meeting. It seems that they were saved for no reason. Actually, they were saved because God had chosen them. Jacob, the naughty one, the heel-holder, the supplanter, was chosen by God. This was what determined his future. God's selection was the origination, the initiation, of Jacob's life. Do not think that you were saved by accident. No, our being saved was a fulfillment of God's selection.
Our being chosen by God was according to His foreknowledge (1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8:29). I like the word foreknowledge. Before we were born, God foreknew us. In eternity past, God chose us and predestinated us according to His foreknowledge.
Jacob was not chosen by God of his own strife (Gen. 25:22-23, 26). Likewise, our being chosen is not according to our struggling. Jacob was somewhat foolish. Of course, he did not have the knowledge that we have. If he had known that he had been chosen, he would have had no need to struggle and could have told Esau, "Esau, you may go out first. No matter who gets out first, I have been chosen. It does not matter how fast you are or how slow I am. The birthright is mine because I have been chosen." But because Jacob did not have this revelation, he struggled.
Romans 9:11, referring to Jacob and Esau, says, "The children not yet being born, nor having done anything good or bad, (that the purpose of God according to selection might remain, not of works, but of Him who calls)." In this verse we see that Jacob's being chosen was not of his own works. Before the children had done neither good nor bad, God had told Rebekah, the mother, that the "greater shall serve the less" (Rom. 9:12). This proves that God's selection does not depend upon our works. Whether we are good or bad means nothing.
Romans 9:13 says, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." When I read the record of Jacob and Esau as a youth, I felt sorry for Esau, saying, "Esau was much better than Jacob. Why did God say that he hated Esau and loved Jacob?" Do not say that God is not fair. He is God. He is the Maker, the Creator. His selection does not depend on us; it is absolutely up to Him. It is not of our struggle or works, "but of Him who calls." We are not the Creator — He is. In Romans 9, Paul, replying to the opposers, seemed to be saying, "Don't you realize that you are just a piece of clay and that God is the Potter? Doesn't the Potter have the right to make anything He wants out of the lump?" By this we see that our being chosen is absolutely of God who calls.
God's selection is also of God's mercy (Rom. 9:14-16). God said to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion" (Rom. 9:15). We all are the objects of God's mercy. How we thank Him that He has had mercy on us! "It is not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs, but of God, the One who shows mercy" (Rom. 9:16).
God's selection is also of His grace (Rom. 11:5). It is somewhat difficult to understand mercy and grace as they are related to God's selection. Although we were selected and foreknown by God in eternity past, when God came to call us, we were in a pitiful situation, a situation which required God's mercy. The enemy, the Devil, might have said to God, "Look at this one who is Your selection. How pitiful he is!" Then God might have said to Satan, "Satan, don't you realize that this is a very good opportunity for Me to show My mercy? Without such a pitiful person, how could I show My mercy? If everyone were perfect and up to your standard, I would have no one on whom to show mercy. Satan, this chosen one is the right one to be the object of My mercy." What about grace? As we have seen, grace is something of God wrought into our being. Although we were so pitiful, God did not reject us. Rather, regardless of Satan's accusations, He had mercy on us. God might have said to Satan, "Satan, I shall not only show mercy to My chosen ones, but I shall work Myself into them." When God is wrought into our being, that is grace. We are not only the objects of God's mercy; we are also the objects of His grace. We are under God's mercy, and His grace is within us.
I can testify that I am under the divine mercy and that in me there is the divine grace. This is all due to God's selection. Is this not your experience as well? We all can testify that though we were most pitiful and miserable, God came in and granted us His mercy and we repented. At that very time, something divine — God's grace — was wrought into us. Now we are not only under God's mercy; we also have His grace, the living person of Christ as the Spirit, within us. This is God's selection. In the record of Jacob's life, we see something which can be designated as mercy and something which can be designated as grace.
God's selection in eternity past was followed by His predestination (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:5). It is difficult to explain the meaning of the word predestination. According to the Greek, it means to be pre-marked. God has marked us out beforehand. Before we were born, God foresaw and foreknew us. We not only were chosen by God in eternity past; we were also pre-marked, and His mark is now upon us. Even the angels know that we have been pre-marked. Hence, predestination means that God has marked us out beforehand for a certain destiny — to be His sons. He has chosen and predestinated us unto sonship (Eph. 1:4-5).
God's selection is followed by His calling (Rom. 8:28). God selected us in eternity past and called us in time. We cannot experience God's selection or predestination, but we have all experienced His calling. We all have been "hooked." I can testify strongly that one day, as a very ambitious young student, I was "hooked" by the Lord. Although I tried my best to get off the hook, I never succeeded. Every Christian has had the same experience. We were going our way and then one day the Lord "hooked" us. What can we do? We have no choice. The more we try to get off the hook, the bigger it becomes. This hook is large enough to cover the whole universe. Wherever we go, the hook is there. If you escape to a Las Vegas casino, you will find that the hook is there. This is what it means to be called. Many parents have rebuked their God-hooked children, saying, "Why are you so stupid? Why must you go to meetings every night? Don't you know that you have a future?" We go to meetings because we have been caught by the divine hook. Who can resist this hook? No one. When this divine hook comes to visit you, there can be no resistance. This is the Lord's calling, His gracious visitation.
We have been selected and called for God's purpose (Rom. 9:11). Not many Christians know what this purpose is. When I was young, I heard message after message and read book after book about Abraham. Those messages and books spoke of justification by faith and of Abraham's being the father of faith, but none of them ever said that God called Abraham with a purpose. In Abraham, we cannot see this purpose, because he had no maturity in life. We do not see the beginning of the experience of God in Abraham; neither do we see the adequate ending of the proper life in his experience. Suddenly, as Abraham was living in Chaldea, God shined upon him and he was "hooked." God called Abraham, and he was caught. But the genuine beginning did not start in Chaldea; it started with God's selection before the foundation of the world. This beginning is found in Jacob, not in Abraham. We have seen that Abraham's life ended with a second marriage. After he had become so old, he married again and brought forth six sons. This certainly is not the maturity in life. We do not see that Abraham was transformed into a prince of God. If we would see the beginning and ending of the experience of God, we must come to Jacob. Jacob's experience of God began in eternity past and will last until eternity future.
What is the purpose of God's calling? It is to transform His called ones into kings. We can see this purpose in Jacob, but not in Abraham or Isaac. Isaac only knew to eat "savory meat." If you were to ask Isaac about his purpose in life, he might have said, "My purpose in life is to enjoy." Isaac did not know anything else. In like manner, most Christians today do not know what the purpose of their life is. They may say, "We have been saved to live a happy life, to have peace and joy today, and to go to heaven in the future." But the New Testament clearly reveals that the purpose of God's selection, predestination, and calling is sonship (Eph. 1:4-5). We have been predestinated unto sonship. We are not common sons; we are royal sons, sons of the royal family who are destined to be kings. Romans 8:29 says, "Whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son." This is God's purpose. God's purpose in selecting, predestinating, and calling us is to make pitiful sinners into royal sons so that, after the process of transformation has been completed, we may reign as kings.
Genю 1:26 reveals that God's purpose in His creation of man was that man might express Him in His image and represent Him with His dominion. The New Testament also says that we have been made priests and kings (Rev. 1:6; 20:6). As priests, we bear the image of God to express Him, and as kings, we have the dominion of God to represent Him. During the millennial kingdom, we shall express Him in His image as His priests and we shall exercise His dominion with His authority to rule over the earth as kings. Now, we are daily undergoing the process of transformation that we might bear the full image of God and exercise His authority.
If we look at ourselves, we shall say, "The more I look at myself, the less I look like a son of God, much less like a king. How pitiful I am! Although I have been saved for many years, I'm still so poor." Praise the Lord that we realize that we are so poor. Do not be disappointed or discouraged. This is why we are under the process of God's transformation.
Of the fifty chapters in the book of Genesis, twenty-five and a half are devoted to the record of Jacob with Joseph. In these chapters we see that Jacob was under God's dealings and discipline. Everyone who was involved with or related to Jacob became a means whereby God dealt with him. God used his father, mother, brother, uncle, wives, and children. But when Jacob finally came out of the oven, he became a prince of God.
What was the purpose of Jacob's experience? Was it for him to have peace, joy, and a happy life? If we say this, Jacob would reply, "I don't agree with you. In my whole life I have not had much peace, not even when I was in my mother's womb. God did not put me first; I had to fight for it. And when I lost the fight, I had no peace. I cheated my brother, and he wanted to kill me. Then my mother helped me to flee to my uncle Laban. Laban was much more skillful than I in cheating. Don't talk to me about peace. I haven't had much peace or joy, but I've had many dealings." God's purpose for Jacob was not to give him peace, joy, and a happy life and then to take him to heaven. God's purpose was to deal with this pitiful supplanter until he was transformed into a prince of God bearing His image to express Him and exercising His dominion to represent Him. This is God's goal. When we come to the end of Genesis, we see that Israel was exactly this type of person. When he saw Pharaoh, he did not say a word. He simply stretched forth his hands and blessed him (Gen. 47:7, 10). Jacob bore the image of God, expressing Him in a full way. Furthermore, through Joseph, he was the one who had dominion over the whole earth, representing God on the earth. Thus, at the end of Genesis we see God's goal, the goal of His selection. Today we are on the way of Jacob. We have all been called, justified, and are enjoying God's grace. At the same time, we are under God's dealings. Not only is God's little finger upon us, but also His thumb. This is God's dealing and God's transformation. This will make us not only a son of God, but also an Israel, a prince of God.
