Five events stand out like great mountain peaks in connection with our Lord Jesus Christ. They are His Incarnation, His Death, His Resurrection, His Ascension, involving His present activities on High, and His Coming again. They stand related to each other, and the one follows the other of necessity.
His Incarnation
“Who is He that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5). That word, “believes,” does not indicate a mere matter of acquiescence in the truth of the incarnation, but rather the sincere faith which leads to a realization in one’s soul, in one’s inner being, that the Lord Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Why was so stupendous a step taken? He, who was in the form of God, was found in the form of a bondslave. We read, “This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ” (1 John 5:6). It was in view of His death. There flowed out of the spear-riven side of the dead Saviour blood and water—actual blood and water. These, we find, symbolize the way God effects deliverance for His people. The blood speaks of our deliverance from the penalty of sin; the water speaks of our deliverance from the power and defilement of sin—water symbolizing the cleansing power of the word of God, applied to heart and conscience in the power of the Spirit.
The Son of God came for God’s glory, the Revealer of God, and for blessing to men. If the Lord had lived that wonderful life, which so delighted the heart of God, and had not made atonement, where should we have been? Things for us would have been worse than ever.
But, thank God, our Lord came on purpose to die. He came by “water and blood.”
His Death
There are four great historical types of the death of Christ in the Old Testament, showing what fulness of meaning is found in it.
(1) The Passover Night.
(2) The Crossing of the Red Sea.
(3) The Uplifting of the Brazen Serpent.
(4) The Crossing over Jordan.
It is significant that only in one of these types is blood mentioned. How is this? The reason is the precious blood carries the other three. All that followed flowed out from what took place on the Passover night.
On the Passover night God shut Himself out as Judge, by bringing Himself in as Saviour. The sprinkling of the Israelites’ dwellings on the night of judgment sets forth in type the efficacy of the precious blood of Christ in meeting the judgment of God.
It would have been a lamentable thing if God had left the children of Israel under the lash of the taskmaster, making bricks without straw. God would surely carry on His work on behalf of His people, and deliver them from bondage. Hence the crossing of the Red Sea was a necessity—after the sprinkling by blood—type of the believer’s deliverance from the world and the power of Satan
Then the brazen serpent speaks of the flesh being condemned as incurably bad, the only remedy being the introduction of a new life. Those who looked at the serpent of brass lived. So we get John 3:14-15. How dreadful it would be, if God had left us with nothing but the flesh in us after He had blessed us. The flesh is always in the believer till the end of life is reached, and must be kept in the place of death. That is true, but thank God, new life has been communicated to the believer, and the power to live it by the Holy Spirit.
And finally if God took the children of Israel out of Egypt, He was not going to leave them in the wilderness. He placed them in the land. Hence the crossing of Jordan. And God is not going to leave us in the wilderness. He is going to lead us into heavenly things, and ultimately to take us to glory.
The Resurrection
Seeing the Lord glorified God about the question of sin at the cross, and had fully met the claims of divine justice on our behalf, the resurrection followed as a necessity. “Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father” (Rom. 6:4). The resurrection was a divine necessity. Without the resurrection there could be no Christianity. A dead Saviour would be no good to us. We need and have a living, triumphant Saviour, risen from the dead—living in the presence of God. He has triumphed over sin and death and hell.
In Genesis 3:15, we read of the serpent bruising the heel of the woman’s seed. This pointed on to the cross. When the Lord died upon the cross Satan no doubt thought he had gained a great victory; but after a few brief hours—a long enough interval to establish the fact that our Lord had really died—He rose again, and Satan knew that the victory was not his. The victory was our Lord’s. Christ today is living in the glory on behalf of His people.
Romans 8:11 is a very wonderful Scripture, showing forth the fact that the Spirit of God, by whose power Christ rose from the dead, is the very Spirit indwelling the believer, the pledge that at His coming, if alive on the earth, the believer’s mortal body will be quickened. The believer will be raised because Christ has been raised. This is the whole argument of 1 Corinthians 15.
We have the type of it in Leviticus 23. We read there of the Feast of the First Fruits on the morrow after the sabbath, that is the first day of the week, the day of our Lord’s resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:23, we read of “Christ the Firstfruits.”
Fifty days after we read of the Feast of the new meat offering—typical of the church. The Church was formed on the Day of Pentecost, the anniversary of this feast, and the fulfilment of it. The word, Pentecost, comes from a root meaning fiftieth.
Romans 8:11 speaks of the living saints when the Lord comes as being quickened; 1 Corinthians 15:23 speaks of the dead saints, being raised at His coming “Christ the Firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.”
The Ascension
Forty days after our Lord rose from the dead, He ascended to heaven. What is He doing there? is a very important question. One thing is certain, He is not ceasing to love and care for His people. We are told to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus” (Heb. 3:1).
As the Apostle our Lord brings God to man; as High Priest He brings man to God. The Lord Jesus revealed God to us. Look at the contrast there is between gods of man’s imagination, the gods of heathen lands, monsters of cruelty and lust, and how God is revealed in Christianity, “God is love” (1 John 4:16). “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
Christ on high is our great High Priest. Two Scriptures in Hebrews tell us of His blessed work on our behalf. “We have not an high Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15). That means we have an high Priest who is sympathetic, succouring and sustaining, One who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
Look at our Lord when on earth weeping at the grave of Lazarus. Is He less sympathetic with His tried and sorrowing saints today? Surely not.
And what does our great high Priest strengthen us for? In order that we may be able to go triumphantly through the wilderness. Yes! and still further that we may consciously enter God’s, presence and worship there. Here is our second Scripture, “Having an high Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:21-22). The greatest and highest privilege that can be enjoyed by the people of God is to be so filled with a sense of the greatness and goodness of God that their hearts are bowed in worship. With joy we recognize our Lord as the Leader of the praises.
But He is also the Advocate “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). The high Priest has to do with our infirmities, succouring, sustaining sympathizing. The Advocate has to do with the believer when he sins. There can be no sympathizing with sin. But if the believer sins, how touching it is that we are not given up by the Lord. On the contrary He is active for our recovery. Surely it is the ministry of our Lord so dealing with the sinning saint that repentance takes place, and confession is made, and full restoration to communion with the Father is effected. It is not a question of the sinner and God, but of a saint and the Father, not for the obtaining of salvation, but for the restoration of communion. The principle is seen in Psalm 51:1—“Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation”—not restore to me Thy salvation, but “the joy of Thy salvation.” It may be discipline may come in to this end.
His Coming Again
We look back upon the incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord. We enjoy His high priestly care and rejoice to know of His advocacy—alas! that it should ever be necessary. Now we await His coming again. Soon He will come. He will not leave His church for ever in the wilderness. He wants His Bride by His side. His second coming is the topstone of all we have been considering. He says, “Surely I come quickly.” We respond, “Even so, come Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).