Ｄ
The Lord as the Son of Man was lifted up in the form of the serpent on the cross to bear the judgment for the serpent-poisoned people; He was lifted up on the cross for the casting out of the old serpent, Satan, the ruler of the world—John 12:31-34.
Ｅ
Hence, the Lord, as the Son of Man lifted up, can deliver the serpent-poisoned people from sin, the serpent's poison; also, by His being lifted up, He would destroy Satan and draw all men to Himself—Heb. 2:14; John 12:32-33.
Ｆ
Now whoever believes into Christ as the One who was lifted up to be condemned in our place has eternal life; we need a”bronze serpent” to be our Substitute to bear God's judgment for us, to redeem us, and to release His saving, divine life into our being—3:14-16; 12:24.
Ｇ
When we repent and admit that we are serpentine, we are qualified to experience Christ as the eternal life and enjoy Him:
１
The Greek word for repentance means to have a change of mind, issuing in regret, to have a turn in purpose; also, man's repentance is his turning from all things to God Himself—Acts 26:20; 14:15b; 1 Thes. 1:9b.
２
In our experience, this is not a once-for-all matter but a daily experience; John the Baptist preached repentance (Matt. 3:2; Mark 1:4), and in the seven epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, the Lord Jesus tells us again and again to repent (2:5, 16, 21-22; 3:3, 19).
Ｈ
It is a great blessing for us to know that, as the fulfillment of the type of the bronze serpent, Christ came in the likeness of the flesh of sin to die on the cross as our Replacement and Substitute in order for us to be regenerated and have eternal life.
Morning Nourishment
John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that everyone who believes into Him may have eternal life.It was not that the children of Israel wanted to sin, but rather, the serpent in them caused them to sin. In judging the children of Israel, God actually was judging the serpent; therefore, the one hung on the pole was actually the serpent. Man sinned, but the serpent received the judgment. This shows that the one who sinned was actually the serpent in man, that is, the devil. In God's eyes the serpent and the children of Israel were one. Therefore, God's judging the serpent on the pole was also His judging of the children of Israel.
We also need to see that ultimately a Substitute, not the children of Israel themselves, was judged by God. This Substitute, Christ, was judged by being identified with the people for whom He was substituted. The cross of Christ indicates two identifications: the people redeemed by Christ were identified with Satan, and Christ was identified with His redeemed people. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1,”Synopsis of Numbers,” p. 312)
Today's Reading
We must realize that we are such serpentine beings. We must also realize that Christ was made sin for us and died on the cross as a bronze serpent so that the serpentine nature within us might be judged. If we realize that we are sinful people, serpentine beings, and confess this, immediately this dear, incarnated One will become our sin offering and enter into us. Then we will have Him as eternal life. This is the way for us to partake of the incarnated God for our enjoyment. It is when we admit that we are serpentine that we are qualified to experience eternal life and enjoy Him.John the Baptist preached repentance, and in the seven epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 the Lord Jesus again and again tells us to repent. This indicates that throughout our entire Christian life we need to repent. Daily we need to say,”Lord, I am serpentine. But I thank You, Lord, that You became the bronze serpent lifted up to be judged in my place. Lord, I confess that I am sinful. Even though You did not know sin, You were made sin for me, and You died on the cross to condemn sin. Now, Lord, I take You as my sin offering.” Whenever we do this, He once again becomes our enjoyment. (CWWL, 1982, vol. 2,”The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” p. 125)
The Greek word for repentance means to have a change of mind issuing in regret, to have a turn in purpose. Therefore, to repent, as taught in the Bible, is to have a change of mind. It is not to improve or reform oneself nor to forsake the evil and turn to the good, as people generally believe. Man's repentance is also his turning from all things to God Himself (Acts 26:20; 14:15b; 1 Thes. 1:9b). Originally man's mind was toward all things outside of God; hence, under its direction, all of man's behavior and actions were also against God. Real repentance should be a repentance unto God (Acts 20:21), a turning in reality from all things to God. (Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 3, pp. 45-47)
At the time the Lord Jesus spoke this word [in John 3:14] to Nicodemus, it is not likely that he understood it. Nicodemus surely did not regard himself as a serpent but as an ethical gentleman who came to the Lord Jesus for the purpose of receiving teachings about his behavior. However, in His word concerning the bronze serpent, the Lord Jesus appeared to be saying to Nicodemus,”You should not consider yourself a gentleman but realize instead that you are a serpent…. As your replacement, I will be lifted up in the form of a serpent.” It is a great blessing for us to know that, as the fulfillment of the type of the bronze serpent, Christ came in the likeness of the flesh of sin to die on the cross as our replacement and substitute. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 232)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1960, vol. 1,”Synopsis of Numbers,” ch. 26; Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 3, lsn. 29; CWWL, 1982, vol. 2,”The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” ch. 8