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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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: (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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: (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
B. We come to the category of animals; this is even more mysterious: (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
1. Christ is a lamb, an ox, a lion, an eagle, a dove, and a turtledove—John 1:29: (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
a. As a lamb, He became an offering to deal with our sins for our redemption. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
c. As a lion, He is the victorious One overcoming Satan on our behalf—Gen. 49:9-10. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
d. As an eagle, He is the transcendent and heavenly One who carries us that we may rise above everything—Exo. 19:4. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
e. As a dove, He is beautiful and guileless—cf. S. S. 5:12. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
f. As a turtledove, He is lowly and poor—cf. S. S. 2:12. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
C. Among the plants, there are even more types concerning Christ: (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
2. Song of Songs 2:3 says that He is the apple tree. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
4. The most mysterious thing is that Christ is the tree itself—John 15:1: (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
a. He is the unique tree of life in the universe. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
F. There are also the foods that are types of Christ: (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
2. He is also various kinds of choice fruits—grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives—Deut. 8:8. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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. (The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)
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 Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, msg. 4)