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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 8)
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: (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 8)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 8)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 8)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 8)
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: (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 8)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 8)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 8)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 8)
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: (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 12)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 12)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 12)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 12)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 12)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 12)
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. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 7)
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: (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 8)
A. The type of Asenath, however, centers on the church being gained by Christ in the world—Gen. 41:45. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 8)
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. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 8)
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. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 8)
V. 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. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 8)
VI. Ruth—typifying the church being redeemed; the entire book of Ruth can be considered a story of redemption—Ruth 1-4: (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 8)
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. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 8)
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. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 9)
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. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 9)
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: (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 8)
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. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg.9)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 13)
1. Abigail’s marriage to David typifies the church enlisted as an army for warfare—Eph. 6:10-20. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 13)
2. Abigail typifies the warring church, fighting for God’s kingdom in the midst of sufferings—Rev. 1:9; 11:15; 12:10. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 13)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 13)
D. The type of Abigail portrays the church’s participation with the Lord Jesus in spiritual warfare—Eph. 6:10-20. (2010 SFTTA, msg. 13)
VIII. Solomon typifies the resurrected and glorified Christ; the Shulammite typifies the church in resurrection and glorification—S. S. 6:13: (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 9)
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: (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
B. The focus of the Shulammite as a type is the church in resurrection—4:6: (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (2010 FTTA-S, msg. 15)
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. (Three Aspects of the Church: Book 1, The Meaning of the Church, msg. 9)