Living Stream Ministry Podcast ::
In 1983, Witness Lee concluded his life-study of Exodus. It spanned nearly 4 years. It includes 185 messages and nearly 2,000 pages. In the final paragraph of volume #8, he wrote, “I have the full assurance that those who have been with us throughout the years can never be the same. Eternity will reveal what the Lord has been doing within us and among us for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose.” Praise Him for the glorious conclusion of the book of Exodus.
In the whole Bible, there is not one page that describes the redemption of Christ so clearly as in Exodus 12. The passover here is presented to us as a picture of Christ’s redemption. When you look at this picture, you need all the other places to give you the interpretation.
Paul didn’t say “Our lamb has been sacrificed.” Paul said…”Christ our passover has been sacrificed.” What does he mean that “Christ is our passover?” Christ is not only the passover lamb, but He is every point…every aspect…of the passover. And passover here means the judgement of God passes over us.
According to the record in Exodus chapter 12, the passover of God’s judgement was due to the covering of the blood. When we come to Paul’s development, Paul said not only the blood was the passover, but Christ was the passover. Today, God’s judgement passover is due to Christ. This is why Christ is our passover.
What we have here is not only Christ historically coming as our redeemer to fulfill the type of the passover lamb, dying a vicarious redeeming death, bearing our sins in His body on the cross. We also see that this Christ who is the reality of the passover, is for our daily enjoyment. Paul charges us “Keep the feast!”
Christ Himself is the passover feast and all the elements and aspects of it. And Christ is the feast of the unleavened bread, and that was to be…in the Old Testament…seven days of duration. But those seven days indicate the complete and entire course of the Christian life. So when we see the distinction that Paul makes, we do not have less of appreciation for the historical work of Christ. Rather we have more.
And then we can see, from the light in the Word, how Christ is our passover for us to enjoy today day by day. That we should keep the feast. Keeping the feast implies the enjoyment of Christ. A feast is a time of enjoyment. So when we see a fuller view of what is in the Word concerning the passover as a type of Christ, we have light on our path pointing us to the daily continual experience and enjoyment of Christ throughout our whole Christian life. It’s a happy time whenever we can touch and testify concerning the enjoyment of Christ.
When God gave His law to His chosen people, God’s intention was to seek lovers out of these people. We have read some of the verses from Jeremiah, from Isaiah, from Ezekiel and from Hosea. All these four prophets had the concept that considers God as the husband and God’s chosen people as God’s wife. This is the revelation in the Bible.
Even in the New Testament, the thought is still here. Paul said I have betrothed you to a husband…that is Christ. Christ is the husband and the church composed with all the believers is His wife. But many of us never heard that Israel was espoused to God. The ten commandments were a kind of engagement paper. What is engagement? Engagement is to bring two persons into one. Eventually, God and His chosen people all are one through this engagement. Not only so. Even in the proper marriage life after 50 years, you will see mostly the two parties became about the same. In habit, in likes, in dislikes, in character, in slowness, in quickness…all about the same. Eventually, all God’s chosen people will be the same as God!
