THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church
Message Two—The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ—Typified By
Human beings, Animals, Plants, Minerals, Offerings, and Food in the Old Testament
Scripture Reading: John 7:37-39; 14:16-20; Acts 16:7b; Rom. 8:9b; Phil. 1:19; 2 Cor. 3:17; Rom. 8:16; Rev. 2:7; 3:22; 14:13; 22:17; John 6:63b
I. The Bible covers thousands of items and deals with a great number of doctrines, but it has only one center—Christ Himself; this Christ who is full of attractiveness and rich in magnetism is the essence of the Bible—cf. Matt. 1:1, footnote 1.
II. There are six major categories of types in the Old Testament; the first category is human beings; the second, animals; the third, plants; the fourth, minerals; the fifth, offerings; and the sixth, foods; all these six major categories contain types of Christ—Gen. 12-25; Heb. 5:10; Matt 12:40; Gen. 49:9-10; Heb. 4:15; Luke 1:42; 1 John 2:2; Rev. 2:7:
A. To understand all the portrayals of Christ in the aspect of human beings, we have to study Adam, Abraham, David, Solomon, Melchisedec, Aaron, Isaiah, Jonah, and others—Gen. 12-25; Heb. 5:10; Matt. 12:40:
1. Adam, typifying Christ as the head of the human race; Isaac, typifying Christ as the seed of Abraham; and Solomon, the son of David, typifying Christ as the seed of David—Matt. 1:1.
2. Christ is not only the head of the human race but also the seed of man and the seed of woman—Gen. 3:15.
3. He is the King, the Priest, and the Prophet; as the King, He is typified by Judah and David; as the Priest, He is typified by Melchisedec and Aaron; and as the Prophet, He is typified by Isaiah and Jonah—49:9-10; Matt. 12:40.
B. We come to the category of animals; this is even more mysterious:
1. Christ is a lamb, an ox, a lion, an eagle, a dove, and a turtledove—John 1:29:
a. As a lamb, He became an offering to deal with our sins for our redemption.
b. As an ox, He was not only made an offering but also became lowly to bear our burdens as a slave of God for us—Mark 10:45; Phil. 2:5-11.
c. As a lion, He is the victorious One overcoming Satan on our behalf—Gen. 49:9-10.
d. As an eagle, He is the transcendent and heavenly One who carries us that we may rise above everything—Exo. 19:4.
e. As a dove, He is beautiful and guileless—cf. S. S. 5:12.
f. As a turtledove, He is lowly and poor—cf. S. S. 2:12.
2. Furthermore, these types have their sequences; first there is the dove and then the eagle; first there is the Lamb which was slain and then the overcoming Lion of the tribe of Judah.
3. Christ is not only the cattle and the fowl, but He is even the bronze serpent which had the form of the serpent but was without the serpent’s poison; He had the likeness of the flesh of sin but was without the reality of sin—Rom. 8:3; Heb. 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21.
C. Among the plants, there are even more types concerning Christ:
1. The Lord said that He is the true vine; there is only one vine in the universe that is true, and this true vine is Christ—John 15:1.
2. Song of Songs 2:3 says that He is the apple tree.
3. Moreover, the Old Testament tells us that the different parts of a tree are also types of Christ: Christ is the root, the stem, and the stump; He is also the branch and the fruit—Luke 1:42.
4. The most mysterious thing is that Christ is the tree itself—John 15:1:
a. He is the unique tree of life in the universe.
b. He is also the acacia wood, which signifies that His humanity is noble and strong in quality and lofty and superior in standard—cf. Mark 1:1, footnote 1.
D. Now we come to the types seen in the minerals; Christ is the pure gold, silver, brass, and iron; He is different kinds of stone: the living stone, the rock, the cornerstone, the topstone, and the foundation stone—1 Pet. 2:4-5; 1 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 2:20; Zec. 4:7.
E. Furthermore, there are the types seen in the offerings; there are five main offerings: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; in addition, there are the wave offering, the heave offering, the voluntary offering, and the drink offering; these are all types of Christ—1 John 2:2; 4:10.
F. There are also the foods that are types of Christ:
1. As food, Christ is the bread of life, the manna descended from heaven, and the hidden manna—John 6:35, 51; Rev. 2:17.
2. He is also various kinds of choice fruits—grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives—Deut. 8:8.
3. He is the fruit of the tree of life, as well as wheat, barley, milk, and honey, to be man’s supply and nourishment—Rev. 2:7.
III. “To know Christ, we need to earnestly study the six major categories of types in the Old Testament—human beings, animals, plants, minerals, offerings, and foods. These types are very rich.” (The Crucial Elements of the Bible-The Church, Christ, the Spirit, and Life, msg. 4)
Ministry Excerpts:
THE CENTER OF THE BIBLE BEING CHRIST
In order for us to love a certain thing, that thing must be lovable. Actually, we love something not because we are capable of loving; rather, it is because a certain thing is lovable and we are drawn to love it. We are very reluctant to love something that is not lovable, but it is difficult for us to refrain from loving something that is lovable. Likewise, we love the Lord because we are attracted by His loveliness. He is very attractive. In the past two thousand years, innumerable people have been attracted and charmed by Him, and we are among them. Sometimes our relatives and friends rebuke us, saying, “Why do you believe in Jesus so blindly?” We do not know why and we cannot explain it, but we are simply charmed by the Lord Jesus because He is truly full of attractiveness.
This Christ who is full of attractiveness and rich in magnetism is the essence of the Bible. The Bible covers thousands of items and deals with a great number of doctrines, but it has only one center—Christ Himself. Let us use the human body as an illustration. We can see skin and hair on the surface, touch the flesh and bones within, and examine the internal organs through dissection or by an x-ray. However, the center, the essence, of man, which is man’s life, is neither visible nor touchable, yet it is real and crucial. Likewise, the Bible has its “skeleton” and “skin.” If we touch or see only these things in our reading of the Bible, we are not different from the unbelievers in their reading of the Bible. We must realize that the Bible also has its life, its essence. The life, the essence, of the Bible is Jesus Christ.
The Bible consists of two sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament speaks of Christ with a great part in types and a considerable part in prophecies but nearly with no plain words. This may be compared to the teaching material in kindergartens that consists of very few plain words but many pictures. The teaching material in graduate schools, however, contains very few pictures; instead, it contains many classical writings. Although the Old Testament, like the teaching material in kindergartens, consists mostly of pictures with very few plain words, it is not simple to understand the meaning of the pictures. Therefore, concerning the types in the Old Testament, we need to understand their significance.
THE TYPES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
There are six major categories of types in the Old Testament. The first category is human beings; the second, animals; the third, plants; the fourth, minerals; the fifth, offerings; and the sixth, foods. All these six major categories contain types of Christ.
Human Beings
Some examples from the category of human beings are Adam, typifying Christ as the head of the human race; Isaac, typifying Christ as the seed of Abraham; and Solomon, the son of David, typifying Christ as the seed of David. Christ is not only the head of the human race but also the seed of man and the seed of woman. He is the King, the Priest, and the Prophet. As the King, He is typified by Judah and David; as the Priest, He is typified by Melchisedec and Aaron; and as the Prophet, He is typified by Isaiah and Jonah. Hence, to understand all the portrayals of Christ in the aspect of human beings, we have to study Adam, Abraham, David, Solomon, Melchisedec, Aaron, Isaiah, Jonah, and others.
Animals
Now we come to the category of animals. This is even more mysterious. Christ is a lamb, an ox, a lion, an eagle, a dove, and a turtledove. As a lamb, He became an offering to deal with our sins for our redemption. As an ox, He was not only made an offering but also became lowly to bear our burdens as a slave of God for us. As a lion, He is the victorious One overcoming Satan on our behalf. As an eagle, He is the transcendent and heavenly One who carries us that we may rise above everything. As a dove, He is beautiful and guileless, and as a turtledove, He is lowly and poor. Furthermore, these types have their sequences. First there is the dove and then the eagle; first there is the Lamb which was slain and then the overcoming Lion of the tribe of Judah. Christ is not only the cattle and the fowl, but He is even the bronze serpent. He told Nicodemus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). This means that when He was crucified on the cross, He was the bronze serpent, which had the form of the serpent but was without the serpent’s poison. He had the likeness of the flesh of sin (Rom. 8:3) but was without the reality of sin (Heb. 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21). Christ is One who is truly rich.
Plants
Among the plants, there are even more types concerning Christ. The Lord said that He is the true vine (John 15:1). There is only one vine in the universe that is true, and this true vine is Christ. Song of Songs 2:3 says that He is the apple tree. Moreover, the Old Testament tells us that the different parts of a tree are also types of Christ: Christ is the root (Isa. 11:10; Rev. 5:5), the stem, and the stump; He is also the branch (Isa. 11:1) and the fruit (4:2; Rev. 22:2). Furthermore, the New Testament tells us that He is the fruit of Mary’s womb (Luke 1:42). The most mysterious thing is that Christ is the tree itself. He is the unique tree of life in the universe. He is also the acacia wood, which signifies that His humanity is noble and strong in quality and lofty and superior in standard. He is truly marvelous!
Minerals
Now we come to the types seen in the minerals. Christ is the pure gold, silver, brass, and iron (Deut. 8:13, 9). He is different kinds of stone: the living stone (1 Pet. 2:4), the rock (1 Cor. 10:4; 1 Pet. 2:8), the cornerstone (v. 7; Matt. 21:42), the topstone (Zech. 4:7), and the foundation stone (1 Cor. 3:11). If we study the gold, silver, precious stones, and different kinds of stone that are mentioned in the Old Testament, we can see that Christ is not simple.
Offerings
Furthermore, there are the types seen in the offerings, which are even more difficult to explain. We have covered these to a great extent in the life-studies of the Pentateuch. In the Old Testament, Exodus is an introduction to the offerings, Leviticus is the text, and Numbers and Deuteronomy are the supplements. There are five main offerings: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. In addition, there are the wave offering, the heave offering, the voluntary offering, and the drink offering. These are all types of Christ.
Foods
There are also the foods that are types of Christ. As food, Christ is the bread of life (John 6:35), the manna descended from heaven (v. 51), and the hidden manna (Rev. 2:17). He is also various kinds of choice fruits—grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives (Deut. 8:8). He is the fruit of the tree of life (Rev. 2:7), as well as wheat, barley, milk, and honey (Deut. 8:8; 6:3), to be man’s supply and nourishment.
These six major categories in the Old Testament are all types of Christ. Even if you have read through the entire Old Testament, you do not understand it unless you know these six categories. If we thoroughly study these matters, the Old Testament will be transparent and open to us. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)