THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Church
Message Two—The Church Typified by the Seven Women
in the Old Testament

Scripture Reading: Gen. 2:18-24; 24; Eph. 5:23-32; John 3:29; Rev. 22:17; Ruth 1:16-17; 2:2, 11-12; 4:9-13; 1 Sam. 25:2-42; S.S. 1:1-4; 3:9-10; 4:12-16; 6:13

I. In typology certain women in the Old Testament reveal that the church is the counterpart of Christ—Gen. 24:67; 41:45; Ruth 4:13; 1 Sam. 25:40-42.

II. Adam in Genesis 2 is a type of Christ; the church as the counterpart of Christ is typified by Eve as the counterpart of Adam—Gen. 2:21-24; Eph. 5:23-32:

A. Eve was built by God with a rib taken out of Adam; her coming out of Adam in this way typifies that the church is produced by the life which flows out of Christ—Gen. 2:21-22.

B. In having the same life, nature, and character as Adam, Eve is a type of the church, which has the same life, nature, and character as Christ—Col. 3:4, 11.

C. Eve came out of Adam and was joined to Adam to become one flesh with Adam; this is a type of the church coming out of Christ and being joined to Him to become one spirit with Him—Gen. 2:22-24; 1 Cor. 6:17.

D. Eve was a part of Adam’s body as Adam’s counterpart, typifying that the church is Christ’s Body as Christ’s counterpart; the church as the Body of Christ is the counterpart of Christ to match and complement Him completely—Eph. 1:22-23; 5:30, 32:

1. Eve was Adam’s reproduction, Adam’s duplication, signifying that the church is Christ’s reproduction, Christ’s duplication—John 3:6; 12:24.

2. As Eve was Adam’s multiplication, increase, fullness, and expression, the church as the counterpart of Christ is Christ’s multiplication, increase, fullness, and expression—v. 24; 3:3-6, 15-16, 29-30; Eph. 1:23; 3:21.

E. Ultimately, Eve as the counterpart of Adam typifies the New Jerusalem, the universal bride, constituted with the saints throughout the generations, who have been chosen, redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified by God, to be the bride of Christ in the millennium and the wife of the Lamb for His satisfaction and rest in love for eternity—Rev. 21:2, 9-10.

III. Genesis 24 also presents a rich type of the marriage of Christ, typified by Isaac, and the church, typified by Rebekah; Rebekah is a type of the church being chosen from the world—vv. 2-7, 15-16, 61-67:

A. In this account of the marriage of Isaac, Abraham typifies God the Father, the servant typifies God the Spirit, Isaac typifies God the Son, and Rebekah typifies the chosen people of God, who will marry the Son and become His counterpart—Matt. 28:19; 16:18; 22:2; Rev. 19:7-9.

B. The entire New Testament is a record of the Triune God working together to gain a part of the human race to be the bride, the counterpart, of the Son—John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9-10.

C. In eternity past God the Father had an eternal purpose and made an eternal plan to gain the church as the bride for His Son out of the human race; then, in time, God the Father commissioned God the Spirit to carry out His plan by going to contact the chosen bride and bring her to God the Son as His counterpart, His bride—Eph. 3:9-11.

D. In typology, the fact that Isaac’s bride was taken from Abraham’s relatives indicates that the counterpart of Christ must come from Christ’s race; since Christ was incarnated to be a man, humanity has become His race—Gen. 24:3-4; Heb. 2:14; S. S. 3:11.

E. The birthplace of Rebekah was a world of idols under the authority of demons; likewise, the birthplace of the church is also a world of idols—Gen. 25:20; Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13; 4:16.

F. This picture of Rebekah being a type of the church depicts how the church was chosen out of the world and brought all the way into the heavenly tabernacle to enjoy Christ’s love and to satisfy Him—Gen. 24:65; Rev. 19:7; 21:2.

IV. Joseph is a type of Christ, and his wife, Asenath, is a type of the church; Asenath typifies the church being personally gained by Christ out of the world—Gen. 37:3, 18, 11, 28; Matt. 28:6; Gen. 41:45:

A. The type of Asenath, however, centers on the church being gained by Christ in the world—Gen. 41:45.

B. Joseph went down to Egypt and took Asenath as his wife; he then stayed in Egypt; Asenath never left Egypt; this typifies that Christ came into the world and was received by men as the Savior; He gained the church in the world.

C. Even though Asenath continued to live in Egypt, she no longer belonged to Egypt because of her marriage to Joseph; in the same way, even though the church is in the world, she does not belong to the world because of her union with Christ.

D. Since Moses is a type of Christ, his wife Zipporah typifies the church; Zipporah is the wife whom Moses married when he was persecuted and wandering in the wilderness; thus, Zipporah typifies the aspect of the church in the wilderness, being gained by Christ when He was forsaken and wandering in the wilderness—Exo. 2:21.

VI. Ruth—typifying the church being redeemed; the entire book of Ruth can be considered a story of redemption—Ruth 1-4:

A. Boaz was a lawful heir of the inheritance of God; Ruth was a Moabitess, the Moabites were the shameful descendants of Lot; originally, Ruth had nothing to do with God’s blessing, was not able to enter the congregation of Jehovah, even to the tenth generation, and was forsaken and separated from God’s holy people—Ruth 1:4; 2:1.

B. As seen in the type of Ruth, the church is able to receive Christ’s redemption and enjoy God’s lawful blessing because her former husband, the old man, has died; Ruth’s story speaks of redemption in detail—Ruth 1:3; 4:9-10.

C. We were of the old man and were fallen, but because of the death of the old man, we have been delivered from our fallen position and are joined as one with Christ to inherit God’s lawful blessing and to be fully redeemed.

VII. David typifies the warring Christ in the midst of sufferings; thus, his wife Abigail typifies the warring church in the midst of sufferings—Matt. 12:3; 1 Sam. 25:42:

A. In the type of Abigail, the church is composed of a group of people who by nature were those who forsook and opposed Christ; but one day old nature was struck and died., then united with Christ, passed through sufferings with Christ and became Christ’s counterpart in warfare.

B. From 1 Samuel 25 onward, Abigail was always at the side of David the warrior and followed him in his wars—vv. 40-42.

1. Abigail’s marriage to David typifies the church enlisted as an army for warfare—Eph. 6:10-20.

2. Abigail typifies the warring church, fighting for God’s kingdom in the midst of sufferings—Rev. 1:9; 11:15; 12:10.

C. The type of Abigail portrays our need to be one with Christ in His sufferings—Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; Rev. 1:9.

D. The type of Abigail portrays the church’s participation with the Lord Jesus in spiritual warfare—Eph. 6:10-20.

VIII. Solomon typifies the resurrected and glorified Christ; the Shulammite typifies the church in resurrection and glorification—S. S. 6:13:

A. The entire book of Song of Songs portrays how the Shulammite experienced and enjoyed Solomon, typifying the church’s experience and enjoyment of the resurrected Christ—2:8-10:

1. The Christ in Song of Songs is the resurrected Christ who has passed through death, come out of death, and entered into resurrection—vv. 11-13.

2. The Christ in us is the resurrected Christ; the Christ whom we experience is the One who passed through sufferings and death and is now in resurrection—Rom. 8:10-11; Col. 1:18, 27.

3. The Christ whom we contact and with whom we fellowship—the Christ in Song of Songs is the resurrected Christ—3:6, 9-10.

B. The focus of the Shulammite as a type is the church in resurrection—4:6:

1. The Shulammite, as a type of the church, centers on the church in resurrection and on the way that the church enjoys and experiences the resurrected Christ—1:14, 17.

2. Resurrection is not merely life but a life that cannot be held by anything, not even death; the meaning of resurrection is that life breaks through all bondage, oppression, and imprisonment and cannot be held by them—Acts 2:24.

3. If we live in resurrection, we live as part of the church in resurrection—the counterpart of Christ as typified by the Shulammite—Rom. 8:11; 2 Cor. 1:9.

C. The Shulammite is the building of God, through her living in Christ’s ascension in resurrection, the lover of Christ becomes mature in the riches of the life of Christ so that she becomes the building of God, the sanctuary of God and its safeguard—S. S. 6:4a.

D. When the overcoming lover of Christ becomes one with God to be God’s dwelling place, in the eyes of God she is as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem—v. 4a.

E. Ultimately, this building up of the organic Body of Christ, which is also Christ’s wife (5:25-32), will consummate the New Jerusalem, the holy city as the consummation of the Holy of Holies, the mutual dwelling of God and His redeemed in eternity—Rev. 21:2-3, 16, 22.

XI. These seven women are seven types of the church; they depict the church in a clear way: as coming out of Christ, being called out from the world, ministering together with Christ the bread of life in the world, wandering in the wilderness with Christ, receiving the redemption of Christ, warring by following Christ to fight for God’s kingdom, and eventually becoming Christ’s counterpart and reigning with Him in glory—Gen. 2:18-24; 24; 37; Exo. 2:21; 1 Sam. 25:42.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

TYPES OF THE CHURCH

In the Old Testament the types of the church fall into two general categories: first, women, revealing that the church is a counterpart, which focuses on the church’s life and position; second, the city, the tabernacle, or the temple, revealing that the church is a dwelling place, which focuses on the church’s function.

According to type, the position of the church before God is that of a counterpart. God’s counterpart has the position of a woman who matches a man. In the entire Bible God likens Himself to a man, and He likens the totality of His created and redeemed people to a woman as His counterpart. The purpose of God’s work throughout the ages, whether in creation or redemption, is to produce a corporate woman. At the end of the Bible, at the completion of God’s work, a bride is produced—the holy city New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is the corporate woman whom God desires. It is composed of God’s created and redeemed people as the consummation and aggregate of the church.

EVE—TYPIFYING THE PRODUCING OF THE CHURCH AND
THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH

Eve is a type of the producing of the church and the nature of the church (Gen. 2:18-24; Eph. 5:31-32). Every woman in the Old Testament who typifies the church has her own particular characteristics. Eve typifies the church with an emphasis on the producing of the church and the nature of the church, illustrating how the church is produced, what the origin of the church is, and how the church comes into being. Without Eve as a type of the church, it would be difficult to see clearly how the church is produced. The picture of Eve enables us to have an accurate understanding of the producing of the church. If we read the explanation in the New Testament and compare it to the picture in the Old Testament, we will have a clear view and an accurate conclusion regarding the producing of the church, and it will be easy to know the nature of the church.

THE BACKGROUND

It Not Being Good for Adam to Be Alone—
Implying that It Was Not Good for God to Be Alone in the Universe

The background related to the producing of Eve reveals the background related to the producing of the church. Before God created Eve for Adam, He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18), meaning that it was not good for Adam to be alone. In its spiritual significance, this word reflects the feeling of God toward Himself. The man, Adam, symbolizes the God of the universe. For God to say that it was not good for Adam to be alone indicates that God felt that it was not good for Himself to be alone; thus, He needed to create a counterpart for Himself.

Adam Being Unable to Find a Counterpart— Implying that God Was Unable to Find Someone in the Universe to Match Him

Before God created a counterpart for Adam, He brought all kinds of living animals before Adam. Adam named them one by one, but he was not able to find a counterpart to match him (vv. 19-20). Adam could not find his counterpart out of all the living animals. This signifies that God could not find anything to match Him out of all the created things. The word match means that the two parties must be similar. Among so many living animals, Adam was unable to find one who matched him. This implies that among all the created things, God was not able to find anyone who could match Him and be His counterpart.

THE PRODUCING OF THE CHURCH

Incarnation

Adam could not find his counterpart among all the things. Then God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him. When he was asleep, God opened his side and took one of his ribs (v. 21). Adam signifies the incarnated Son of Man, God who became man. Romans 5:14 speaks of Adam as “a type of Him who was to come.” Adam is a picture of the One who was to come—Christ. Adam not only is a type of Christ as the Head over all things but also as God who became man.

The producing of the church began with incarnation. Without God becoming man, the church could not have been produced. God became a man in order to produce the church. Adam had to be created first, and then Eve could be produced. Although Christ existed before the creation of the world, in eternity past He had not yet become a man. In order to produce the church, it was necessary that Christ come to be Adam, a man; that is, it was necessary for the Creator to become a creature in order to produce the church. The church possesses a dual nature—both divinity and humanity; thus, divinity alone cannot produce the church. To produce the church, it was necessary for God to become a man.

Passing through Death

God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam (Gen. 2:21), which typifies Christ’s passing through death on the cross. When Christ was dying on the cross, His side was opened, and out came blood and water (John 19:34). When Adam fell into a deep sleep, God took one of Adam’s ribs from his side. In the Bible bone signifies a life of strength. The water that flowed out from the Lord Jesus’ side while He was on the cross also signifies life. This life is the Spirit of life, the pneumatic life, which is also typified by the living water flowing out of the smitten rock in the Old Testament (Exo. 17:6).

Passing through Resurrection

If we take a rib out of the human body, the rib will surely die. Thus, when God took a rib from Adam’s side, the rib must have passed through resurrection in order to become a living woman. After resurrection the dead bone became a living woman. Eve was produced in resurrection. First Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” On the day Christ was resurrected, we also were resurrected. On the day of His resurrection, He caused the grain of wheat to become many grains and the only begotten Son of God to become the Firstborn among God’s many sons. On the morning of the Lord’s resurrection, He told Mary, “Go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17). On the day of the Lord’s resurrection, His disciples became His brothers, and all those who believed into Him received His life. The producing of Eve was through the rib that God took from Adam’s side, typifying that the church is produced through the three steps that Christ passed through—incarnation, death, and resurrection.

THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH—CHRIST

Just as the nature of Eve is Adam, so also the nature of the church is Christ. Eve was built from a part taken out of Adam’s body. As a result, her nature was not only the same as that of Adam; she was Adam. Eve was not only the same as Adam; she was Adam. Before Adam fell into a deep sleep, he was alone, but when he woke up, Eve was there. When he awoke, Eve was alive. Both of them passed through resurrection. The word woman in Hebrew is ishshah, and the word for man is ish. In Hosea 2:16 God’s people called Him Ish. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus is called Christ, and the believers are called Christians. The two, Christ and the Christians, are not only similar; they are one and are out of the same source. Eve was Adam, and the church is Christ. Christ is the nature of the church, and the church is Christ Himself. Anything short of Christ is not the church. Whatever is not Christ is not the church. First Corinthians 12:12 says, “For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ.” In this verse the body refers to the church, but the following words, so also is the Christ, show that the church is Christ.

THE ISSUE—BEING JOINED TO CHRIST AND RETURNING TO CHRIST

The issue of the church being produced is that the church is joined to Christ and will return to Christ. This is typified by Eve and Adam becoming one. Eve came out of Adam and returned to Adam. After Eve came out of Adam, she and Adam did not become two. In Genesis 2:23, regarding Eve, Adam said, “This time this is bone of my bones / And flesh of my flesh.” In verse 24 the two became one flesh. Eve came out of Adam, and she returned to Adam and became one with him. Ephesians 5:32 says, “This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ and the church.” We are bone of Christ’s bone and flesh of His flesh. We came out of Him and are joined to Him. We are not only the same as He; we are one with Him and will return to Him in the future.

REBEKAH—TYPIFYING THE CHURCH BEING
CHOSEN FROM THE WORLD

Rebekah typifies the church being chosen from the world (Gen. 24). After Eve, Rebekah is the second Old Testament type regarding the church. Sarah does not typify the church because Abraham is not a type of Christ. In his person, Abraham typifies God the Father, and in reference to doctrine, Abraham typifies justification by faith. Hence, Sarah typifies grace. In reference to Sarah as a type of grace, Galatians 4:26 says, “The Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother.” The principal reason that Rebekah typifies the church is that her husband, Isaac, typifies Christ. In regard to person, Isaac typifies God the Son (the Son of God), and in regard to doctrine, Isaac typifies the inheritance in Christ.

Rebekah as a type of the church has an altogether different focus than Eve. As a type of the church, Eve depicts the producing of the church and the nature of the church. As a type of the church, Rebekah depicts the church being chosen out of the world. This type includes the choosing of the Father and the calling and leading of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit led Rebekah step by step through a long journey to Isaac. Hence, this picture of Rebekah being a type of the church depicts how the church was chosen out of the world and brought all the way into the heavenly tabernacle to enjoy Christ’s love and to satisfy Him.（Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, ch.7）

ASENATH—TYPIFYING THE CHURCH BEING
GAINED FROM THE WORLD

Asenath typifies the church being personally gained by Christ out of the world (Gen. 41:45). This is in contrast to the experience of Rebekah as a type of the church. Rebekah typifies the Holy Spirit’s choosing and calling of the church out from the world. According to the type of Rebekah, Isaac remained in the land of Canaan and did not go down to Paddan-aram to search for Rebekah. This implies that Christ had not yet come to the world but was still in His heavenly tent. It was the Holy Spirit who came to Paddan-aram, called out the church, and led her to go forward unto Christ. When it was close to evening, Isaac came out of his tent and met Rebekah. This shows that the type of Rebekah centers on Christ being in the heavens and the Holy Spirit calling the church out from the world.

The type of Asenath, however, centers on the church being gained by Christ in the world. Joseph went down to Egypt and took Asenath as his wife. He then stayed in Egypt. Asenath never left Egypt. This typifies that Christ came into the world and was received by men as the Savior; He gained the church in the world. Even though Asenath continued to live in Egypt, she no longer belonged to Egypt because of her marriage to Joseph. In the same way, even though the church is in the world, she does not belong to the world because of her union with Christ.

ZIPPORAH—TYPIFYING THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS

Moses typifies Christ in four aspects. First, Moses was persecuted soon after he was born because the Egyptians were seeking to kill every son born of the Hebrew women; consequently, many sons were killed (Exo. 1:16, 22). This type was realized when Christ was born. King Herod sought to kill Him, and as a result, many sons were killed (Matt. 2:16). Second, Moses was born of his parents in the flesh, but he was raised by another woman—Pharaoh’s daughter (Exo. 2:10). In the same way, the Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit but was raised by a woman—Mary (Matt. 1:23). Third, in order to flee Pharaoh’s persecution, Moses fled to the wilderness of Midian (Exo. 2:15). The Lord Jesus also fled to Egypt to escape Herod’s persecution (Matt. 2:13-15). Fourth, Moses was sent by God to save God’s people from the ill treatment of Pharaoh in Egypt (Exo. 3:7-10). This typifies Christ being sent by God to the earth to save God’s people from the bondage of Satan. Hence, Hebrews 3 points out that Moses is a type of Christ as the Apostle.

Since Moses is a type of Christ, his wife Zipporah typifies the church. Zipporah is the wife whom Moses married when he was persecuted and wandering in the wilderness (Exo. 2:21). Thus, Zipporah typifies the aspect of the church in the wilderness, being gained by Christ when He was forsaken and wandering in the wilderness.

RUTH—TYPIFYING THE CHURCH BEING REDEEMED

The church is a group of people who were originally created by God and related to Adam. However, because of the fall, they acquired the element of Moab. Then they were delivered from their fallen position and the element of Moab when their old husband, their created part, died. This provided an opportunity for Christ to come in to join Himself to this people and become one with them. They became the counterpart of Christ to inherit the lawful blessing of God with Christ.

We must bear in mind these five points: (1) the created aspect, the aspect of the husband; (2) the fallen aspect, the aspect of Moab; (3) the need to be delivered from the position of a Moabitess; (4) our husband, our created aspect, needing to die; and (5) Boaz—Christ—needing to be added into us. Christ must replace our old husband and become our new Husband. Through the experience of these points, the church is redeemed to be the counterpart of Christ and to be one with Christ to inherit the lawful blessing of God, the blessing given by God to Abraham. This blessing is to reign with Christ in the future and to rule over the earth.

ABIGAIL—TYPIFYING THE WARRING CHURCH
IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERINGS

Both Ruth and Abigail had a previous husband. Ruth’s previous husband shows that our old man is of the same family as Christ, and Abigail’s previous husband shows how evil our old man is in forsaking Christ. Abigail’s previous husband was Nabal, which means “fool” (25:25). Nabal despised, rejected, and opposed David at the time of his destitution (vv. 10-11). This typifies that our nature rejects Christ, despises Christ, and opposes Christ. One day, however, Nabal was struck down, and he died. This provided Abigail the opportunity to become David’s wife. This indicates that when our corrupted nature, which forsook Christ, rejected Christ, and despised Christ, was struck down, we became Christ’s counterpart who follows Him in the midst of sufferings, fighting for the kingdom of God. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, ch. 8)

THE SHULAMMITE—TYPIFYING THE CHURCH’S EXPERIENCE OF THE
RESURRECTED CHRIST AND HER ENJOYMENT OF REST WITH HIM

The Shulammite Typifying the Church in Resurrection

Christ is typified by Solomon, whom the Shulammite enjoyed and experienced. The Shulammite, as a type of the church, centers on the church in resurrection and the way that the church enjoys and experiences the resurrected Christ. For the church to be in resurrection means that the church is experiencing and enjoying the resurrected Christ. Without resurrection, the church could not exist. In other words, there is no church apart from resurrection. The Body of Christ is not natural or of the old creation; rather, the Body of Christ is in resurrection and of the new creation.

The Christ whom we have received is the resurrected Christ. We met Him as the Spirit. In John 7:38 the Lord said, “He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” Then verse 39 continues, “But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” This indicates that as the Spirit, Christ is in resurrection and glory. The Christ whom we have received and whom we contact daily is the resurrected Christ. The reason that we can experience Christ is that He is in resurrection. If He were not in resurrection, we would have no way to contact and experience Him.

Three Crucial Points

We must pay attention to three crucial points. First, the names Shulammite and Solomon have the same root, just as Christian and Christ have the same root. Solomon is the masculine form of the word, and Shulammite is the feminine form. The meaning of the root is peace. This means that in resurrection the church has the peace of Christ and is peace.

Second, Psalm 45 shows that Solomon is the experience and beauty of the Shulammite. The experience and beauty of the Shulammite are Solomon himself. Likewise, the experience and the beauty of the church are Christ. All that the church has passed through over the past two thousand years and the beauty of the church are of the Christ of resurrection, typified by the gold covering the Shulammite, her garment of woven work inwrought with gold, and her embroidered clothing (vv. 13-14).

Third, there is a complete union and full satisfaction between the Shulammite and Solomon, and in this satisfaction there is rest. Although the type of Eve shows her union and satisfaction with Adam and although the type of Rebekah shows her union with Isaac and Isaac’s being comforted, these are not the main points of these two types. In the type of the Shulammite, however, the main point is the union and satisfaction between her and Solomon. At the end of Song of Songs, the Shulammite and Solomon have reached complete harmony with full satisfaction and endless rest without any distraction or interruption; this typifies the New Jerusalem.

The union and satisfaction between the Shulammite and Solomon typify the complete union and full satisfaction that exist between Christ and the church. In this satisfaction, Christ and the church are living a life of satisfaction and peace in endless rest. Rest and satisfaction are characteristics of the New Jerusalem. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, ch. 9)