Genesis, Message 18: The Allegory of the Two Women

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 18

The Allegory of the Two Women

There are so many allegories in the Old Testament. The stories were purposefully recorded for us to be able to understand the spiritual truth much better. However, we cannot understand them by our own wisdom. They are too mysterious. To understand an allegory, the best way is to consult the Scripture, as the Scripture itself is the best and the most reliable commentary. Only in the light of God's revelation in the New Testament revelation can we see them clearly and correctly.
For example, Christ used 2 allegories - Jonah and Solomon - to explain about his mission for man (Matthew 12:38-42). With regard to the sign of Jonah, he had to be crucified for the redemption of our sins, buried in a tomb, and raised from the dead on the Easter day. Then like Solomon who built God's physical temple in Jerusalem, He would build up the glorious temple upon Himself after His resurrection, which is the Church.
In this message, we are going to consider another allegory in the bible. It is the allegory of the two wives of Abraham, Hagar and Sarah.

Abram begets Ishmael through Hagar

¹ Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
² So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
³ Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. (Genesis 16:1-3 NKJV)

In Genesis 12, God appeared to Abraham when he was 75 years old, and gave him the promise that He would give him a seed for the fulfillment of His purpose. Through this seed, all the nations would be blessed. With faith, Abram and his wife Sarai waited year after year, with no any sign that the seed would come. Eleven years later, when Abram was 86 years old, this couple started to be impatient. They could not wait for the promised seed anymore. Sarai then came up with a creative idea. Given that God did not really specify that the seed would come through her, Hagar could do her job, helping God produce the seed.
Abram obediently followed Sarai's plan. The produce of this scheme employing Abram's own effort was Ishmael, who was going to cause a lot of troubles to this family, particularly Sarai and her future son Isaac. Hagar and Ishmael were eventually driven out from the family, and God approved this.

¹⁰ Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac."
¹¹ And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son.
¹² But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.
¹³ Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed." (Genesis 21:10-13)

Abraham begets Isaac through Sarah

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
² And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." (Genesis 17:1-2 NKJV)
¹⁰ This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
¹¹ and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. (Genesis 17:10-11 NKJV)
Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him." (Genesis 17:19 NKJV)

After this accomplishing the scheme of producing the seed by his own effort, there is no record of God's appearing to Abram until he was 99 years old.
One may have questioned, why God allowed them to wait for a long long time? Was not 11 years long enough? Definitely not!
Even at the age of 86 years, Abram was yet too strong. After the birth of Ishmael, Abram was still too strong for God to fulfill His purpose in and through his life. Abram needed to wait for about 13 years until he reached a point where he realised he was as good as dead (Romans 4:19) and could do nothing to fulfil God's purpose. He then realised that all he could do was rely upon the Lord. All he needed was God's grace. And that happened to be one of the cleverest decisions he had ever made in his life.
After the 13 years of silence, God appeared to Abram again, and revealed Himself as "El Shaddai," the Almighty God, which also means the All-Sufficient God. God could do nothing to fulfil His purpose in producing the seed until Abram saw Him as the All-Sufficient One. Only God, without man's effort, could accomplish that. Abram's life had been transformed, and he was given a new name, "Abraham."
Furthermore, God confirmed Abraham with a sign of the covenant. It was circumcision. This ceremony was so crucial to him. It had nothing to do with sin. It dealt with flesh or natural strength. To receive grace needed for the fulfilment of God's purpose, Abram had to have his own natural strength completely terminated so that God could work Himself into his life.
Hallelujah! By God's grace, Isaac, the seed, was eventually given to him through Sarah (Genesis 21:1-5).

Hagar and Sarah represent two covenants

²¹ Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?
²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.
²³ But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,
²⁴ which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar ---
²⁵ for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children ---
²⁶ but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
²⁷ For it is written: " Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband."
²⁸ Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
²⁹ But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.
³⁰ Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman."
³¹ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. (Galatians 4:21-31 NKJV)

With regard to this allegory, the apostle Paul explained that Hagar, the bondservant, represents the covenant of law. The produce of this covenant is nothing but fleshly endeavour, putting believers into hopeless slavery. This is not the covenant whereby we can get saved and have God's purpose fulfilled in us and through us. The best we can get by this means is Ishmael who was rejected by God.
On the contrary, the proper wife, Sarah, represents the covenant of promise, which is Grace. Only through Sarah can the seed be acceptable to God. Praise the Lord that through faith in Christ, Grace has come to us and into us. To allow God to work Christ into us, we first must see Him as the All-Sufficient One and go through the process of circumcision, terminating our own natural strength. Then God will be able to fully work in us and through is for the fulfilment of His purpose.

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2:11 NKJV)
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3 NKJV)

Brothers and sisters, is your mother Hagar or Sarah? Are you serving the Lord with your own strength or relying upon the All-Sufficient One to work through you? If you are using your own effort, perhaps what God wants to tell you today may not be that you have done too little, but that you have done too much. Using your own effort, you may have produced too much Ishmael, which is not only useless to Him, but may also cause more troubles, as Ishmael did to Abraham's family. Please stop right now. Realise that God is the All-Sufficient One, who is everything you need. Allow Him to terminate your own natural strength, go through the process of spiritual circumcision, and live under the covenant of promise. Let Grace work in you and through you. Only by grace without human's effort can we become totally useful to God.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 18.

• Life Study of Genesis, messages 46 and 47.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Genesis, message 17: Enjoying Christ in His Heavenly Ministry by Fighting for the Brother

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 17

Enjoying Christ in His Heavenly Ministry by Fighting for the Brother

Abraham learns a life lesson through his failure.

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
¹¹ And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.
¹² Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
¹³ Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." (Genesis 12:10-13 NKJV)

Very soon after Abram got out of his own country, he easily got into the land of Canaan. He had a wonderful experience with God there. God kept appearing and speaking to him, confirming what He had promised to him. Abram called upon the name of the LORD and had a very intimate relationship with Him. This probably was a high peak of his spiritual pilgrimage.
But one day, he was struck by a severe famine. Sadly, instead of trusting in God, he decided to leave the land and went down to Egypt, which represents the world, without consulting God. There is no record of His praying to God for this matter. Even worse, to save his own life, he decided to risk the life of Sarai his wife by asking her to tell the king of Egypt that she was his sister, which was halfly true. He quickly fell down from his high peak.
Nevertheless, regardless of Abram's faithlessness, God was always faithful to him and to the promises he has given to him. God demonstrated His love and mercy for him. God preserved his life and his family, and brought them back to the land of Canaan.
Brothers and sisters, it might be not so difficult for us to reach a high peak of our Christian walks, but it could be much more challenging to remain there. If you are there right now, try your best to remain there or even rise up to a higher peak. Be vigilant and keep enjoying sweet relationship with God by reading the Word, talking with Him, and calling upon His name. Don't take this lightly, as our enemies - the world, the flesh and the devils - are trying hard to pull us down from the peak.
But if one day a temptation comes and strikes you, and you fall down. Instead of trusting God as your only Source, you start to trust in something else, such as the world, other people, or even evil schemes. Please don't let your failure keep you away from God. Just repent, and turn back to Him immediately. Call upon His name and trust Him. Remember that He does not show His faithfulness according to our faithfulness, or His love for us according to our love for Him. He is always faithful regardless of our faithlessness. He loves us even when we abandon Him. Our God is the God of a second chance. Come back to Him quickly!

¹ Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South.
² Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. (Genesis 13:1-2 NKJV)
⁷ And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
⁸ So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left." (Genesis 13:7-9 NKJV)

By God's mercy, He brought Abram and his family back to the land of Canaan safely, and blessed him so much that he became very rich (perhaps too rich). And there came another problem for him to solve. The possessions of Abram and Lot became too great. As a result, there was strife between their herdsmen. Abram and Lot therefore agreed to separate from each other.
And here came a good evidence that Abram's life had changed a lot. Instead of living by sight as he previously did, he allowed God to make the decision for him. He told Lot to choose where he would like to go, and he would go to the other direction. He did not rely upon his wisdom anymore. He fully trusted in God.
The experience of God in Egypt must have been a great life-changing experience of Abram's. Because of this experience, Abram's life had been transformed, and his faith had been dramatically increased. Abram who used to fall down from the peak now had risen up. He was not the same Abram who trusted in this world and his evil schemes as recorded in Genesis 12. He was now the new transformed Abram who totally trusted in the Lord. He became the one who walked by faith, not by sight.
Brothers and sisters, when you fall down, never think that you are wasting a lot of time in vain because of your failure or because of a bad choice you have made. In Christ, no experience can ever be in vain. All things will work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Take this opportunity to grow in life, rising up to even a higher peak of your Christian walk. As Abram experienced, your life will be transformed, and your faith will be dramatically increased after experiencing God's unconditional love and great faithfulness.

Abraham fights for Lot and gains great victory

¹⁰ And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
¹¹ Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
¹² Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
¹³ But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD. (Genesis 13:10-13 NKJV)
¹ And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations,
² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). (Genesis 14:1-2 NKJV)
¹¹ Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.
¹² They also took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. (Genesis 14:11-12 NKJV)

To see the victory of Abram clearly, I would like to show the absolute failure of Lot, his nephew, first.
After being asked by Abram to choose where to go, he looked out and decided to go to the plain of Jordan, because it looked so good. He then moved towards Sodom, and eventually moved into the city. The bible revealed that the men in that city were exceedingly wicked and sinful. Therefore this city became the symbol of wickedness. And one day there were kings who came and took the city. Lot was captured by them. Lot became absolutely defeated.
What was the cause of Lot's failure? His defeat did not start when he was captured by the kings. His defeat started when he departed from Abram. He knew exactly that Abram was the called of God. When Abram asked him to leave, instead of trying to solve the problem he had with Abram and continue staying with him, he left Abram and chose to live by sight, not by faith.
We learn from the New Testament that Lot was a righteous man. I think he knew God. But he might have thought that only the vertical fellowship with God was enough for his spiritual walk. He did not realise the importance of living with God's people. He ignored the horizontal fellowship with others. As a result, he gradually moved away from God towards and into the wicked city. Eventually, he was captured by the kings.
Brothers and sisters, many times living with other saints in the church seems to be difficult. One may be tempted to leave the church, thinking he will be okay to live alone without fellowshipping with others. He thinks he can keep walking a healthy spiritual life only by having a good vertical relationship with God. That is a big trap from Satan who has been trying to keep us away from fellowshipping with other saints in the Body. As we see from the story of Lot, the prognosis of that person is not very good, is it?

¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram.
¹⁴ Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
¹⁶ So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
¹⁷ And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. (Genesis 14:13-17 NKJV)

Now let's consider the great victory of our hero of faith. Praise the Lord that inspite of Lot's failure, He still showed His mercy on him. He allowed one to told this breaking news to Abram. Without hesitation, Abram decided to go with his 380 men to bring his nephew back from captivity. And God gave him an absolute victory over the kings.
Where did the victory of Abram start from? It started from the point when he decided to put his life into God's hand, and fully trust in Him. He did not walk by sight, but by faith. And here we see how wonderful he was. Even though he was not a trained soldier, he did not fear at all. He went with his only few hundreds men to fight against the kings who should have had more than a thousand well-trained soldiers with them. Abram saw the importance of fighting for his brother. Abram's confidence was from the Lord.
I'm really impressed by the reaction of Abram here. He had a good reason not to help Lot. Lot departed from him and he deserved what he got. The mission was too difficult and dangerous. But he did not let these excuses to prevent him from doing it.
I recall what brother Watchman Nee used to explain about the levels of our reactions towards common situations. May I correlate that with Abram's reaction here.
If Abram was in the level of reasoning, he had the right to get angry with Lot, because Lot had offended him by leaving him and allowing his herdsmen to fight with Abram's herdsmen. He therefore could just be happy that Lot was captured, because he deserved punishment.
If Abram was in the level of good deeds, he would be able to forgive Lot, and feel sorry that he was taken into captivity. But I don't think he would risk his life to fight with the kings and bring Lot back.
Praise the Lord that Abram had gone beyond these levels. His reaction was in the level of the life of the holy God. He had not only forgiven Lot, but also loved him and risked his life for him.
Brothers and sisters, let's follow the example of Abram. Let's walk by faith, not by sight. Let's be ever ready to fight for (not fight with) brothers and sisters. Take those who have gone astray from the Way or fallen down into sin or temptation back to the Lord and to the fellowship with saints. Even though we may not be so strong, trust in the Lord. With Him, we can. Fight for them for God's glory. And you will experience an absolute victory as Abram did.
Moreover, let's learn from the reaction of Abram. Let's live in the level of the life of the holy God. Let's always ready to go the extra mile for others. Let's imitate Christ. Regardless of our sinfulness, Christ loved us so much that He came to die for us, even when we were His enemies. Christ came to defeat the enemies for us, so that we could come back to Him. Likewise, even though the one who is falling down used to offend us, let's forgive him, love him, fight for him, and take him back to the church life. Never leave anyone behind!

Abraham encounters Melchizedek the kingly high priest

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
¹⁹ And he blessed him and said: " Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
²⁰ And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all. (Genesis 14:18-20 NKJV)

After the great victory, Melchizedek king of Salem came to Abram. Interestingly, he was indicated to be "the priest of God Most High." Even though the bible does not say explicitly, we can assume that as a priest of God, this kingly high priest had been praying for Abram. His intercession had helped Abram win the battle and gain his brother back. And we know that this high priestly king is the type of Christ.

The LORD has sworn And will not relent, " You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4 NKJV)

Brothers and sisters, we always have the great High Priest who is both the King of Righteousness (the meaning of the name Melchizedek) and the King of Peace (the meaning of Salem) intercede for us. When it comes to fighting for brothers and sisters, take heart and do not fear. Christ is always ministering to us by interceding for us.

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25 NKJV)

Let's fight for our brothers and sisters, defeat the enemies and experience Christ as our kingly High Priest today!

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 17.

• Life Study of Genesis, messages 42 and 43.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Genesis, message 16: The Land for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 16

The Land for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose

Christ is our good Land

Genesis chapter 15 is a big transition of Abraham's story. Before this chapter, God had blessed him outwardly in material things. Abraham had gained wealth and power. All the things God had given to Abraham before this chapter were for him to exist. But starting from this chapter, God was going to bless him inwardly. God was going to give him 2 crucial things: the seed and the land. Abraham needed both the seed and the land for God to fulfill His marvelous purpose in him and through him. Praise the Lord for the seed and the good land. God was going to give the seed into him, and the land in which he would live.
We have learned about the seed in the last lesson. Now let's learn the meaning of the land.
What was the land for? The good land was not only for Abraham live in and live on, but also for him to defeat all his enemies so that God could establish His kingdom on earth and have a habilitation for His expression. The good land was not for his existence. It was definitely for the fulfillment of God's purpose.
God gave Abraham both the seed and the good land so that He would be represented and expressed. Just as God created Adam to express God and to exercise His authority on the earth, God provided the seed and the land for Abraham, so that He would have His people (Abraham's descendents) and His nation (Israel) express and represent Him on earth. This was the start point of God's recovery work, bringing man back to His eternal purpose.
What does this land mean to us? Does it symbolise the heaven? It is commonly told to be so, but it is not likely. The land is not really the shadow of the heaven, but Christ. Both the seed and the good land represent Christ. Christ is both the Seed who dwells within us and the Land in which we dwell. He is our Centre and our everything. He is the Centrality and the Universality of God's move on earth. To participate in God's move, it is crucial for us to have Christ dwell in us, and to live in Him.
Brothers and sisters, both outward and inward blessings are important to us, but they are for different purposes. The outward blessings are for our existence. Without outward blessings, we cannot live or survive. We need a good job, a nice home, some warm clothes, healthy and probably delicious food, and so on. These are for us to exist. As we are God's children, God is going to take care of us and surely supply all our needs. Jesus has promised us that only if we first seek His kingdom and His righteousness, all of these outward blessings will automatically follow. We will not only have just enough to live, but we will also have much more than we need so that we can give the surpluses to others. God will generously add these things to us. Therefore we need not and must not care too much for the outward blessings. Seek Him first, and these things will be provided by our Lord.

³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:32-34 NKJV)

On the contrary, we do need the seed and the good land, which are the inward blessings, not for our existence, but for fulfulling God's purpose. And interestingly, the New Testament reveals that for us, the New Testament believers, this kind of blessings is "Grace." Grace is much more important than outward or material blessings. The apostles rarely mentioned about outward blessings in their letters, but almost always started and ended their writings with the word "grace." And the very last verse in the bible is the prayer that grace (not blessing) of God be with us all!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Revelations 22:21 NKJV)

Provided that our Christ, the Word that became flesh, is full of grace (John 1:14), grace is nothing short of Christ Himself as the Seed and the good Land for our enjoyment and for the fulfilment of God's purpose. All we need is Christ, our Grace. Only in Christ can we express Him. Only in Christ can we exercise His authority over all the creation, including God's enemies. Only in Christ can we live in and have rest. In Christ alone!
Would you like to participate in God's move on earth, fulfilling His economy for man? The only way to do that is to have Christ as our Seed and our good Land. Apart from Him, we cannot do anything that really counts. But if we have Christ in us and if we live in Him, we will be fruitful and God's purpose will be fulfilled.

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 NKJV)

Christ is our all-inclusive Offering

In Genesis 15, God made a covenant with Abram after God revealed that Abram would inherit the good land. An interesting point about this covenant is that particular offerings were requested by God.

⁸ And he said, "Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?"
⁹ So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
¹⁰ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. (Genesis 15:8-10 NKJV)

There were 5 items that needed to be offered: a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove and a pigeon. Interestingly, only the first 3 were killed, whereas the other two were not.
What do these animals represent? Like the Levitical offerings, these offerings symbolise Christ, our all-inclusive Offering. The first 3 animals represent Christ as our burnt offering, peace offering and sin offering. They signify Christ in His humanity who died for us. We were identified with Him at the Cross when He was condemned on behalf of us. He suffered and died for us, offering His own life to God, so that we can now have true peace and have all our sins forgiven.
Furthermore, the offered birds that were left alive also represent the divine resurrected Christ who has been risen and who lives today. We were not only identified with Christ in his death, but also in His resurrection. And because of His resurrection, we can now live His resurrection life.
Would you like to enjoy Christ as the good Land for fulfilling God's purpose? If so, let's make this covenant with God, by being put to death on the Cross with Christ, so that we can have peace with God, with all our sins pardoned; and also by living the resurrection life of Christ, so that we may claim that, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20 NKJV)

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 16.

• Life Study of Genesis, messages 44 and 45.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Genesis, Message 15: The Seed for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 15

The Seed for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose

Last week, we had a journey with Abraham, starting from Ur of Chaldea, crossing the river (thus the name Hebrew), and entering the promised land, Canaan. Most importantly, we could see that God kept appearing and speaking to Abraham again and again regardless of Abraham’s failure to fully obey His commands. What a patient and gracious God have we! 
Before leaving his hometown, God gave him a threefold promise: giving him a land, making him a great nation, and blessing all the nations through his seed. The first and the second ones seemed not too difficult. He was soon given the land and had so many people with him. But what about the last one? He was 75 years old when God appeared to him and called him out of Haran. He waited year after year, and there was no any clue that the seed from his own body would become real. It was not until when he was about 100 years old that he was given the seed.
What can we learn from Abraham's experience of choosing the heir? What does this seed really represent? Let's start the investigation together.

Isaac - the promised son of Abraham

Before Isaac was born, Abraham had been tempted to consider some other people to be his heir. Throughout his life, there were 4 potential candidates for the heir: Lot, Eliezer, Ishmael and Isaac. Given that through this seed God would fulfil His purpose of blessing the world, choosing the right seed was really important. Let's consider each of them and see why Isaac was chosen as the son promised by God.

- Lot

It is so easy to exclude this man from the list. Even though he was his relative and used to be his companion, it was obvious that he was so worldly minded.

- Eliezer of Damascus

After entering the promised land, Abraham's life was not perfectly smooth. Despite of being one of the heroes of faith, he was just a human being and had the time of fear too. In Genesis 14, Abraham had a great victory over many kings. However, very soon after the great victory, Abraham fell into a great fear. He had offended the 4 kings by saving his relative, Lot, and offended the king of Sodom by declining his goods. It was possible that the kings would take revenge on him for those offenses. Graciously, God appeared to him again, and gave him a great comfort.

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." (Genesis 15:1 NKJV)

Why should he not be afraid? Simply because God Himself was his shield and his exceedingly great reward. What a blessed assurance! What else would he need if he already had the Lord with him?
Then Abraham proposed Eliezer as a potential candidate.

But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" (Genesis 15:2 NKJV)

I wonder if Abraham's question sounds a bit sarcastic, politely blaming God that He had not given him the seed so far. At this point, we see how patient and merciful God was. Even though Abraham's question sounds somewhat sarcastic, God kept appearing, speaking and promising to him. So we don't need to be anxious that what we say to God may offend Him. As long as we keep coming to Him and talking with Him, God always wants to hear from you and talk with you.
Reasonably, as until then God still had not given Abraham a son, Eliezer chould be the seed. Moreover, this servant was a good man and had been so helpful to Abraham.
However, God answered him clearly that Eliezer was not the one who would fulfil God purpose. The seed that would come from his own body was yet to come.

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." (Genesis 15:4 NKJV)

Eliezer represents what we have. As Eliezer was not the means whereby God fulfilled His purpose in Abraham, our possessions are not essential for God to fulfill His purpose in us. One may think that he has to become very rich so that he can use his money to fulfil God's purpose. He has got a great misunderstanding. Money is not what God needs the most. Only the right seed can He uses to accomplish His plan on the earth. 

- Ishmael

Ten years after God's promise was given to him, when he was 85, he still had no son. With his strong desire to help God fulfil his purpose by producing the seed for Him, he obediently followed Sarai his wife to take Hagar her maid to be his wife.

Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. (Genesis 16:3 NKJV)

The mission was so successful. He eventually had a son who came from his own body. The thing he did seemed to be right, good and according to God's will. As God wanted a seed that would come out of his own body, Ishmael may have been the promised seed. 

¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"
¹⁹ Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him." (Genesis 17:18-19 NKJV)

Abraham proudly presented his own achievement. He had already produced the seed for God. And God answered him plainly that Ishmael could not be the one. The seed must be born of Sarah.
Ishmael represent what we can do. One may think that if what he is doing is fulfiling the criteria of "good," "right," and "according to God's will," they are the things God wants him to do. However, the big question is not only whether what we are doing is good, right, and according to God's will or not, but also what the source is. Yes, it is great to do the things that are good, right, and according to God's will. But if the source is not God, He cannot accept it. 
Watchman Nee explains more about Ishmael, saying "What then is Ishmael? Ishmael is anything born prematurely. It is doing things by oneself. We can say that Ishmael includes two characteristics: the first is a wrong source, and the second is a premature timing."
Following the Lord is not easy, is it? We may need to wait for His perfect timing, which is not usually as fast as we want. Moreover, most people love to do and achieve things by their own. Like a boy scout, they want to earn badges from God when they do good, hoping that one day they will have enough merit badges on their uniforms to make God happy. But that is not what God wants. God wants us to totally rely upon Him. Let Him do His job through us at His perfect timing. He is the only Source. Without Him as the source, all things we do in our flesh are worthless, and God can never use them to fulfill His purpose in us.

 -Isaac

Now there is only one choice left - Isaac. God gave him a covenant to Abraham that Sarah would bear him the real promised son, through whom God would fulfil His purpose, and all the nations would be blessed.

But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year. (Genesis 17:21 NKJV)
And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Genesis 18:10 NKJV)
And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. (Genesis 21:1-2 NKJV)

Isaac represents what we can receive by God's grace - the promise of God. Before the time God gave Isaac to him, He led Abraham to the point that he was completely desperate. God waited until Abraham realised that he could do nothing to help God fulfil His purpose, and only God could do in His timing. It was not what he had or what he could do, but what he could only have by receiving. It was all about God's grace. The principle of Isaac is that God's goal has to be achieved only according to God's time and through God's power.
 May I conclude this first session with the words from Watchman Nee.

May God bring us to the point where we can say to the Lord, "I want to do Your will! You are within me and You must enable me to do Your will. I am not here to do Your will by myself! It must be You, not I!"
We will not please God if we sin, and neither will we please God if we try to do good by our flesh. Whether or not we please God depends on whether the cross has done its work in dealing with our flesh and the natural life. Are we saying, "God, I cannot do anything, and I am not qualified to do anything; I can only look to You"? A person who truly believes in God is one who does not act according to his flesh. God is the Master of the work. The thing that offends God the most is usurping His place in the work. This is often where our mistake lies. We cannot believe, we cannot trust, and we cannot wait. We cannot commit everything to God. This is the root of our offense against God.

Jesus - the real promised Seed of Abraham

Without the light of the New Testament, we can never see how this seed relates to us. In typology, Isaac represents Christ. And allegorically, the apostle Paul demonstrates to us that this singular seed actually is the Seed, Christ Jesus.

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16 NKJV)

It was not Isaac who fulfilled God's purpose that all the nations would be blessed. No one can be blessed apart from the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross. He was not only cursed in our place, but He also became the curse for us, so that Abraham's blessing would come upon us who receive the promise of Spirit through faith.

¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),
¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV)

Hallelujah for the Seed! He has fulfilled God's promise to Abraham for all the believers. In Him as the Seed, the blessing of Abraham has come upon us!

The Church - the corporate seed of Abraham

The apostle Paul explains that not only Christ, but also all the believers are the seed and heirs according to the promise.

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29 NKJV)

In God's part, Christ as the Seed has fulfilled the promise. In our part, the Church as the corporate seed is only to enjoy the promise and the inheritance, which is Christ Himself.
Let's come back to Abraham's story. Through Abraham's faith in the Seed, all the Gentiles could become the descendants of Abraham, which were revealed to be as many as the stars in the heaven. All these were not the work of Abraham, but of God who worked in him and through him. All he had to do was function as the vessel through which the Seed was being brought forth. All he had to do was put his faith in the Lord, and by this faith, God accounted him for righteousness.

⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
⁶ And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6 NKJV)

What kind of faith did Abraham have? It was by no means the faith that God would provide for him the outward blessing, or the prosperity. For Abraham, it was the faith that God was able to work something into him to bring forth the seed. Interestingly, the righteousness that was accounted to him was not directly associated with sin, as God did not mention about sin at all in the context. On the one hand, the justification is needed for salvation, as it is an essential process of it. On the other hand, this particular justification for Abraham was for fulfilling God's purpose of bringing forth the seed for the blessing to all the nations.
We need to have the faith like Abraham. It is not the faith that God can provide good health, wealth, good family, success and all other worldly blessings. Yes, God can do all of them. But that is not the kind of faith God is after. We are to have the faith that God can work Himself into us to bring forth Christ. Through this faith, God justifies us, thereby bringing us to salvation and enabling us to fulfill God's purpose of creating the church to express Him and exercise His dominion on the earth.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 15.

• Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 35: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, chapter 4.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Genesis, Message 14: Living by Faith - Being Today's River Crossers to Live the Life of the Altar and the Tent

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 14

Living by Faith - Being Today's River Crossers to Live the Life of the Altar and the Tent

In the last week's message, we learned about the experiences of the Triune God - the Father, the Son and the Spirit - in the life of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The experience of only one or two of them is not enough for us to be God's people. We need the experiences of all the 3, realising that God is the Source of everything, we are the receivers of God's grace, and we are to have our natural life dealt with.
And now we are coming to the life of Abraham, the father of all the believers. No one who has read the book of Genesis can ever forget the name of this man of faith. He is one of the most important persons in the bible. God called Him out from his home to the promised land, Canaan. Even though he lived long time ago, we can by no means say that we have nothing to do with him. All the believers have received God's grace and blessing through his Seed, Jesus Christ, and by corporately becoming his sons, the Hebrews.

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. (Romans 4:16 NKJV)
... just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. (Galatians 3:6-7 NKJV)

Let's learn some spiritual lessons from Abraham's life together. Firstly, I'm going to discuss about God's appearing to him. Then I will detail the 3 key places in Canaan in which an altar was built, and conclude with the principles of the altar and the tent.

God's appearing to Abraham

God's purpose of calling Abraham

¹ Now the Lord had said to Abram:
"Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
² I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV)

In Haran, God appeared to Abraham, and and called him. He clearly told him what the purpose, the plan, the promise and the predestination of his calling were. The threefold promises to Abraham shown in these 3 verses: the land, the nation and the blessing to all the families of the earth. And in these three promises, we also see the threefold goal of his calling.

1. To show him the land of Canaan

God called Abraham to leave his home, his country and his kindred, to cross the river, and to enter the land of Canaan.
Why did Abraham have to leave his home and his relatives? His home was in Ur of Chaldea, which was referred to in Joshua 24:2 as a land that served other gods. Moreover, his father was an idol-worshipper. God therefore called him out of the land so that his life would be fully consecrated to God, being set apart for Him, to fulfil His purpose in the promised land. The first goal of his calling was that he and his descendents would possess the land, carry out His authority, and express His glory to the land.
To enter the land, he needed to cross the river. This may be the reason he was later called "Abram the Hebrew," since the word Hebrew means "to pass over." In the context of his life, the Hebrew probably means the river crosser. Symbolically, Chaldea and Babylon signify the ruined and corrupted man filled with idolatry. In order to fulfil God's purpose, Abraham had to cross the river and become a new man, as symbolised by Canaan.
Like Abraham, we are also called to cross the river. We are to be consecrated people, being in the world but not of this world. Every believer is to be the river crosser, by going through the process of baptism, according to its spiritual meaning, and coming out of the water, thereby becoming a new man who belongs to God and lives for God. By this means, we can be used by God to express Him and participate with Him in bringing His authority and His will to the earth.

2. To make him a great nation that would become God's people

God called him out alone, but He would eventually make him a nation. His desire was to gain a group of people who would become His people. And this people would be His vessel of mercy that contained Him and become His testimony on the earth.
Brothers and sisters, one-man show or individualism is not the means whereby God carries out His plan on the earth. We all are called by Him individually, and we are also to experience Him subjectively and individually, but we cannot live alone and grow alone. We are to be with His people. Only when we all are His corporate vessel can we become an effective testimony on the earth, bringing many people to His kingdom. We are not made a great man, but His great nation.

3. To bless all the families of the earth through him.

Even though God selected Abraham to be his testimony and to be made a great nation of His people, God's grace was by no means limited to this nation. God's ultimate aim was that all the nations will also be blessed through Abraham and His nation. Not only did God call him to receive grace, but he also called him to transmit this grace to all the families of the earth.
Likewise, through our faith in Christ, we have become "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people." (1 Peter 2:9) This is by grace alone. However, we are not only called to receive grace, but we are also called to transmit this amazing grace to other people. We are blessed to be blessing. We are given grace so that we can give this grace to others. We are to be the nation through which God blesses all the nations.

The callings of Abraham

If we read Abraham's story superficially, we may think that Abraham must have been a super human being with giant faith. It seems that he obediently followed God's calling without any delay or reluctance, thereby being recorded in the hall of fame in Hebrews 11. And it is also tempting to think that because we have too little faith, we cannot do a great thing for God as Abraham did.
However, if we carefully investigate his story, we will see that God appeared to Abraham more than once, and Abraham refused to fully obey what God told him to do. As he was a human, he was not without flaw. God had appeared to him at least twice until he successfully entered the land.

The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, "Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you." (Acts 7:2-3 NKJV)

God first appeared to him while he was living in Mesopotamia, and called him out of the land. The instruction indicated that he had to leave his relatives as well. But according to Genesis 11:31-32, we know that he failed to completely follow God's command. He left the land, but for some unknown reason, he stopped in Haran and did not go further to the promised land. Moreover, instead of being the leader who came out of the land, he was a follower being led by his Father. Instead of leaving his relatives, all members in his family came out with him.

³¹ And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.
³² So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:31-32 NKJV)

Not until his father died did God appear to Abraham again in Haran (Genesis 12), and told him to continue his journey to the promised land. Even though he eventually got into the land this time, he took Lot with him. And the story afterwards tells us that bringing Lot with him was a big mistake. Abraham had to go through difficult situations because of Lot, and Lot's descendants were becoming enemies of Israel.
However, regardless of Abraham's failure to follow God's command, God kept appearing and speaking to him. God never gave up on Him. God was the One who initiated the plan, and God was also the One who accomplished it. Doesn't this show God's loving-kindness and grace?
Furthermore, God did not only speak to Abraham, but He also appeared to him. In the previous chapters, we see that since the fall of Adam, God had spoken to quite a few people, such as Noah, but He had never appeared to anyone. He started to appear to man again here. This implies that Abraham's calling was so special. God was about to start His redemptive plan, delivering man from sin, with Abraham. Therefore Abraham's calling was not a little thing. It was a part of God's greatest plan to redeem the people He loved. Hallelujah that God did not appear to a perfect one. God appeared to Abraham, an ordinary man, and accomplished His redemptive plan through him.
Brothers and sisters, we are not different from Abraham. Perhaps we are just ordinary people among numerous people in this world. But you must know that the same God will never give up on us. He keeps speaking and appearing to us. The rest is our part to pay attention at His speaking, behold His appearing, and voluntarily respond to His calling.

The land of Canaan

In the land of Canaan, God appeared to Abraham quite a few times, and he built an altar in the places that God appeared to him. There are 3 key places in which the altars were built: Shechem, Bethel, and Hebron. These three places represent the whole land of Canaan, which symbolised a new man in Christ. The meanings of these names tell us what the land is like.

1. Shechem (Shoulder)—the Place of Strength

Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. (Genesis 2:6 NKJV)

The word "Shechem" means "shoulder," which is a strong part of body. Therefore the first characteristic of Canaan is the strength. It is not our own strength, but God's. And it not only represents God's miraculous strength, but it also signifies His power of love that brings us to eternal life!
In this place, there was also the oak of Moreh, which means "teaching." The oak was in Shechem. Therefore this teaches us that without the power of life, the doctrine and knowledge are but nothing. We need to abide in this power of life so that we can comprehend the spiritual truth and can teach it to others.

2. Bethel (the House of God)—the Body of Christ

And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 2:8 NKJV)

Bethel means the House of God. The second characteristic of the land is the house of God, which is the Body of Christ.
It is very important that we see the principle of the Body, the Church. God needs to build a house for Himself, and this house is not a material one. It is an organism composed of His people who are fulfilling His purpose. And to create this house, He needs to deliver us from individualism, and blend His people together. This is not only a principle; it is life. We not only need the power of life, but we also need to live in the Body and avoid doing anything independently.

3. Hebron (Fellowship)—the Principle of Fellowship

Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord. (Genesis 13:18 NKJV)

Hebron means fellowship. And in this place, there is another oak named Memre, meaning "fatness" or "strength."
When we clearly see the meaning and the significance of the principle of the Body, we will automatically see how important the fellowship is. Consequently, we will treasure the fellowship with other brothers and sisters, and spontaneously do it. We will not feel that spending time with saints is a burden, but a joy. We will treasure this fellowship without the feeling that it is a burden to us. And it is by this fellowship that we will gain all the fatness, riches, and strength from the Lord.
May God open our eyes so that we see how important it is to experience the power of life, to live in the Body and to fellowship with His children.

The Principles of the Altar and the Tent

The principle of the altar

Wherever Abraham encountered God, he could not help but build an altar. And the altar was for burnt offering.
Likewise, whenever we encounter God, we can't help but build an altar. And the burnt offering that we are going to offer to God is our bodies as a living sacrifice. We are to offer all that we are, so that He can live the resurrection life in us. We are to realise that we are not our own, but we are already crucified with Christ, and the life we now live is Christ. This is the principle of the altar.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV)
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

The principle of the tent

Abraham not only built an altar when God appeared to him, but he also built a tent. Interestingly, Abraham did not build a big palace or castle, even though he seemed to be rich enough to build one. He decisively built a tent, which was temporary. Therefore the principle of the tent is that all that we have are just temporary. This world is not our permanent home. We are just strangers and pilgrims on the earth. We have to see this principle. If we do, we will be able to praise the Lord even when we experience losses or face troubles. We will confess that there is nothing else on the earth that we will desire but God. And when we fix our eyes upon the Lord, we will have the mind like this automatically, as we will see the things on earth grow strangely dim in the light of Christ's glory and grace!

"Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21 NKJV)
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:24-25 NKJV)
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
(Helen Howarth Lemmel, hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus")

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 14.

• Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 35: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, chapters 2 and 3.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Genesis, Message 13: God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 13

Knowing and Experiencing the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob to Become the Israel of God

Principle of God's work in the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT) is the same. And God in the OT is the same God that we have today. Therefore the experiences of our forefathers as recorded in the OT are such a pattern for us to follow and helpful for us to know God better.
In the OT, one of the titles that God used to identify Himself is "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God introduced Himself to Moses using this title.

I am the God of your father --- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. (Exodus 3:6 NKJV)

The title was also quoted by Jesus in the NT (Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Furthermore, Jesus mentioned the names of these 3 gentlemen in one of His promising prophecies that, through faith in the Lord, many the people all around the world throughout the history will come to enjoy the feasting with them in the heavenly kingdom.

And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11 NKJV)

Why are these people so important that the Lord exclusively mentioned their names in these particular teachings? Because they are the group of people chosen by God to be under His name and to be His people. According to their experiences, God revealed Himself to them and dealt with them in 3 different ways. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, these experiences have been purposefully recorded in the book of Genesis so that we can learn more about their God, and gain the total experiences of the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The 3 experiences are different yet interrelated, and to become an Israel of God, we need to have all the spiritual experiences of the God as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did.

God of Abraham: God the Father

Until he was given the name Abraham (father of multitude; Genesis 17:5), he had been called Abram (exalted father). Both names come from the same root word, Abra, which means father. And the experience of God in his life describes the experience of God as the Father.
God called him out from the other side of the Euphrates River (Genesis 12:1-5) to a promised place he did not know (Hebrew 11:8). God was the One who first came to him and called him out. God was the Initiator in His marvelous plan for him.
Later in his life, he had another experience of God. At his old age, he still did not have a child with his beloved wife Sarah, because she was barren. God came to visit him, foretelling that he was going to miraculously have a child with Sarah, and this child was obviously a gift from God, since both of them were too told to have a child. They did not initiate this plan. God the Initiator did.
Altogether, the experience of Abraham teaches us that to know God as the Father is to acknowledge Him as the great Creator and Initiator from whom everything originates, and have faith in Him. He is the Source of everything.

God of Isaac: God the Son

Isaac was the promised son of Abraham and Sarah (Galatians 4:23). His life seemed quite ordinary, having relatively short record when compared to Abraham and Jacob. Unlike Abraham his father and Jacob his son, he did not face so many challenges and did not have to struggle much. His experience was mainly about enjoying his father's inheritance, giving us the picture of God the Son, who is full of grace. It portrays God as the great Giver, and us as the great receivers.
Therefore to experience God of Isaac, we need to acknowledge that our God is the God of grace. All the spiritual blessings, including salvation, victory, justification, sanctification, forgiveness, freedom and peace, are not what we can earn. They all are received by God's grace through the faith in Jesus Christ. To have these blessings, all we need to do is receive from Him. The experience of Isaac shows us the principle of receiving.

God of Jacob: God the Spirit

Jacob was a cleaver ambitious deceiver. He tried to achieve everything he wanted, including the birthright and the blessings from his father, using his own schemes. He seemed to live a toilsome and hard life. However, we can clearly see that his life was gradually transformed after each encounter with God. And the greatest encounter, which was probably the best night of his life, was when he wrestled with God. After then, his life could never be the same. The life of Jacob clearly demonstrates the discipline of the Holy Spirit, leading to life transformation.
God of Jacob is the God who transforms us from inside out. He loves us too much to let us be the same. To perfect us, He needs to deal with our natural life by breaking it apart. As a result, we will know how lame and weak we are, and come to realisation that we can do nothing apart from God. The experience of Jacob informs us that we need to have our natural life dealt with, by allowing the Holy Spirit to work within our life.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 13.

• Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 35: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, chapter 1.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 6

My Great Delight in God's Word

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 6

Eight Aspects of the Church as the Testimony of Christ

In the book of Revelation, the Church as the testimony of Christ is gradually revealed in 8 aspects, starting from the lampstands (revelation 1), and ending with the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22), which is the consummate expression and testimony of Christ.
This week's message is too complicated for me to cover every point. First, I'm going to give you an overview of all the 8 aspects. Then I will go deeper into detail about what I have learned from the first aspect, the lampstands.

Eight aspects of the testimony of Jesus

1. The seven golden lampstands (Revelation 1:12, 20)

The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:20 NKJV)

In Revelation 1, Jesus revealed Himself as the Son of Man who was in the midst of the lampstands, which were also hold in His right hand and explicitly revealed to represent the seven local churches. This is the first obvious aspect of the church as the testimony of Christ, and will be further discussed in the next section.

2. The great multitude serving God in the temple (Revelation 7)

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands (Revelation 7:9 NKJV)
So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14 NKJV)

Next, the testimony of Jesus is the great multitude from all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues. The multitude consists of those who have victoriously come out of the tribulations, sufferings, persecutions, and afflictions throughout the ages.
How wonderful it is that this multitude as the testimony of Jesus is not limited to Jews only! By the grace of Christ, our great Cornerstone, the Jews and the Gentile are united, and this great opportunity is widely open to all the people in the world. Everyone who trusts in the Lord who has already overcome the world will also overcome all the tribulations. Not only can he enjoy Christ and all of His spiritual blessings in this life, but one day he will also be raptured to the heavens to enjoy His presence forever.

3. The universally great bright woman with her man-child (Revelation 12)

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1 NKJV)

This heavenly woman represents the Church, and her man-child represents the stronger part, which is the overcomers. Here we can see that the Church is not of the world. It is heavenly in nature. As the story continues, we also see that only the overcomers (the man-child) will be raptured to God's throne to rule with Him, whereas the rest of the believers (the woman) will have to go through the great tribulation before being reaped at the end of the great tribulation.
After being raptured, the overcomers will defeat the great dragon, which represents the Devil and Satan. They will cast him and his angels down to the earth. Interestingly, they do not fight using any high-tech military weapons. They overcome the great dragon by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony!
Why will God rapture the overcomers? Because He needs the overcomers who will fight against His enemy for Him and cast him down from the heavens. Even though He can easily defeat Satan, He chooses not to do it by Himself. He wants the overcomers to execute Christ's victory over Satan. Would you like to be this man-child who will surely accomplish this job for Him?

4. The firstfruits and the harvest (Revelation 14)

These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. (Revelation 14:4 NKJV)
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” (Revelation 14:15 NKJ)

Revelation 14 shows a parallel imagery to the vision of the great women with her man-child. The firstfruits, signifying the overcomers who have received the Lord as the seed of life into their heart and wholly dedicate themselves to the Lord, will ripe and be reaped (raptured) first, while the other believers will be reaped at the end after the great tribulation.

5. The victorious ones standing on the glassy sea (Revelation 15)

And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. (Revelation 15:2 NKJV)

These victorious ones are the late overcomers who will pass through the great tribulation. The sea of glass signifies the process of baptism. Therefore these victorious ones are those who completely separate themselves from the world by daily experience of baptism, meaning a burial, so that they can come out of the world through the water with their new resurrection lives.

6. The bride of Christ (Revelation 19)

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. (Revelation 19:7 NKJV)

Ultimately, the overcomers who have made themselves ready for the marriage will not only be the invited guests of the wedding. The wedding is theirs. They will become the bride of Christ, and will reign with Him during the millennium.

7. The bridal army (Revelation 19)

And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. (Revelation 19:19)

Then the overcomers who has cast Satan and his angels down from heavens will also a part of the Christ's army coming down to fight against Satan on the earth. Eventually, the Antichrist will be completely defeated.

8. The New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22)

9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. (Revelation 21:9-11)

This passage is so perplexing. The angels said they would show the bride, the Lamb's wife, to the apostle John. But then what they showed him was not a lady, but a great city! They showed him the New Jerusalem, which was descending out of heaven from God! Why? Because the New Jerusalem is not only the place where we will dwell; it actually is the church as the Bride and the consummate testimony of Jesus. It is the mutual abode of the Triune God and all of His people. We will abide is Christ and He in us for eternity!

The seven golden lampstands

In the bible, the lampstands are demonstrated in 3 stages: the lampstand in the tabernacle (exodus 25:31-40), the lampstand in the vision in Zechariah, the lampstands in Revelation 1:12 and 20. More information can be found here.
Exodus 25 describes the appearance of the lampstand like this, with the picture from agodman.com blog (credited to Inspiration Unlimited Facebook page) shown below.

³¹ You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece.
³² And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side.
³³ Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches that come out of the lampstand. (Exodus 25:31-33 NKJV)

According to the revelation of the lampstands, there are some implications concerning the church that are so crucial for the mending ministry of John.

1. The lampstands are divine in nature

The lampstands are made of gold, which signifies God. Therefore the vision reveals that the churches are divine in nature.
According to the bible, a church never refers to a building. It is not an organisation created by man, but an organism built up by God with Christ as its centre and its everything. It is a household of God consisting of all the genuine believers in Christ in whom the triune God dwells. It is not only a group of people gathering together; it is a household of God-men being built up together.
As members of this household, our job is to let Him express Himself through us, so that everyone who see us will see God who lives in us.

2. The lampstands are living and growing

According to Exodus 25, the lampstand has some remarkable characteristics. It is described to have branches, bowls like almond blossoms, knobs and flowers, all of which are components of a living tree. Therefore this lampstand is not only a material thing. It is a living tree that grows, buds and blossoms.
Likewise, as our God is living, the true church of God is also living. God has given Himself into us to be the tree of life within us, and the church basically is the outcome of the tree of life growing within us. All we need to do is let this tree grow up and grow out of us, so that the issues of life will be clearly evident in us.

3. The lampstands are shining in darkness

From the picture above, inasmuch as the lampstand is a branching tree, its blossom is at the flame of light. Therefore it can be said that the blossom of life is light. When a church is full of life, it blossoms and expresses the issues of life. This is the means whereby the church shines.
According to the lampstand in the book of Zechariah, this lampstand is fuelled by the golden oil, representing God the Spirit. Likewise, the church is not burning itself as the fuel, but having God as its divine fuel. This truth teaches us that the shining of the church is not by our own power, but by the Spirit. Consequently, we will never be burned out and stop serving the Lord. If that is the case, it can be implied that we are using a wrong type of fuel. On the contrary, if we serve the Lord using the power of the Spirit, the divine oil, as fuel, we will never retire from serving Him.
Additionally, this shining is not for our own glory. This shining aims to show Christ who is in the midst of the lampstands, so that people will clearly see Him, come to Him and receive Him as their life.

4. The lampstands are identical with one another

Even though the lampstands are seven, they are identical with one another, having the same nature and shape. Likewise, even though there are so many local churches throughout the world, they have the same God, the same Christ and the same Spirit. Substantially, all the local churches are but one.
On the one hand, the local churches are to shine in different localities. On the other hand, they all are collectively shining by universally bearing the same thing, the testimony of Jesus.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: The Mending Ministry of John, week 6.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)