Scripture Reading: Josh. 3:1—4:24; 5:1-10

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 & DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 3　DAY 1　»

　　Josh. 3:6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and cross over before the people…

　　Rom. 6:5-6 For if we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled…

　　The Jordan River typifies the death and resurrection of Christ, and the crossing of the Jordan River typifies the believers’ baptism. (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, p. 150)

　　Joshua 3 and 4 are on Israel’s crossing of the river Jordan. The people of Israel were ready to enter into the good land and to take it as their possession. However, in their old man they could not gain the victory. Their old man had to be buried so that they could become a new man. This corresponds to the New Testament economy of God. The children of Israel were buried in the death of Christ and then they were resurrected in the resurrection of Christ. This indicates that even in the Old Testament time the children of Israel were identified with Christ and were one with Him. Because they were one with Christ, passing through Christ’s experiences, His history became their history. In particular, they passed through Christ’s death to bury their old man and to become a new man in Christ for the fighting of the spiritual warfare. (Life-study of Joshua, p. 19)

　　We need to realize that our natural man, our old man, is altogether not qualified to fight the spiritual warfare for the gaining of Christ. God’s intention is to join us to Christ to have an organic union between us and Christ….We have been identified with Christ to experience what He has gone through. In union with Christ, His experiences become ours. He died on the cross, and we died with Him. He was buried, and we were buried with Him. He was resurrected from the dead, and we were resurrected with Him. Now because we are persons in Christ, we are no longer the old man but the new man.

　　The Ark of God with the bearing priests took the lead to go into the waters of the Jordan and stood still in the waters (Josh. 3:3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17a). The Ark was a type of Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God. When the Ark of God went with the children of Israel, the Triune God went with them, taking the lead and thus being the first to step into the water. Yet the Ark was on the shoulders of the bearing priests. This indicates that the priests bearing the Ark became one entity with the Triune God; they were one corporate person. God walked in their walking, and they walked in God’s walking. The spread of the Lord’s recovery today is through Christ’s move together with His bearing priests. We and He walk together as a corporate man. (Life-study of Joshua, pp. 19-20)

　　According to the spiritual principle in the Scriptures, the first mention concerning a matter becomes the spiritual significance of that matter. The first mention of the believers’ baptism takes place in the Jordan [Matt. 3:6]. Hence, according to the meaning in typology, the Jordan River denotes the death of Christ into which the believers have been baptized.

　　Romans 6:3 says, “Are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” Baptism is not a form or a ritual; it signifies our identification with Christ. Christ and His death are one. Christ’s death has separated us from the world and the satanic power of darkness; it has terminated our natural life, our old man, our self, our flesh, and even our entire history. The former is signified by the crossing of the Red Sea and the latter by the crossing of the Jordan River. Through baptism we were buried with Christ into death. We did not die directly; we entered into Christ’s death through baptism. (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, p. 151)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Joshua, msgs. 4-5

«　WEEK 3　DAY 2　»

　　Josh. 4:3 …Take up…out of the middle of the Jordan…twelve stones; and bring them over with you…

　　9 Then Joshua erected twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.

　　Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me…

　　The believers’ baptism into the death of Christ, as the crossing of the Jordan River, leads the believers into the resurrection of Christ. Colossians 2:12 says, “Buried together with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised together with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who raised Him from the dead.” In the aspect of burial, baptism is the termination of our flesh; in the aspect of resurrection, baptism is the germination of our spirit so that we are made alive in Christ with the divine life. In the new realm of resurrection we enjoy Christ as the all-inclusive good land in which we walk and even are being rooted and built up for the accomplishing of the economy of God (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:7). (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, p. 151)

　　Twelve representatives of the twelve tribes of Israel took up twelve stones from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm in the middle of the Jordan and brought them over and laid them down in the place where Israel lodged that night (Josh. 4:1-5, 8). The twelve stones signify the twelve tribes of the new Israel. Their being raised up from the waters of the Jordan signifies resurrection from death. The twelve stones raised up from the water were a sign, signifying that the resurrected new Israel would be a testimony of the crossing of the death water (vv. 6-7, 21-24). This typifies the believers’ experience with Christ of the resurrection from death (Rom. 6:3-11).

　　Joshua erected twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who carried the Ark had stood (Josh. 4:9). These were another twelve stones, signifying the twelve tribes of Israel in their old life and in their old nature. Joshua erected these twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan where the Ark was, signifying that the Lord wanted Israel in their old nature to remain under the death water of the Jordan. This typifies that the old man of the believers should remain in the death of Christ (Rom. 6:6; Col. 2:20). We who have been identified with Christ in His death and resurrection, who have been resurrected with Christ to become the new man, should leave our old man under His death. We in the church life should all be able to declare that our old man has been buried with Christ and remains under the death of Christ and that we are the new man.

　　The priests who carried the Ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until all the people had completely crossed over the river and everything was completed and until Joshua commanded them, according to the command of Jehovah, to come up out of the Jordan (Josh. 4:10-11). What a marvelous picture of the move of the Triune God embodied in Christ! As the priests stood in the middle of the Jordan, there was no need for them to be afraid, for the Ark was with them.

　　Because our old man has been buried and our new man is working with the Triune God, we do not need to be troubled by anything that may befall us. The Triune God is with us, and He and we are living together and working together.

　　As we consider Israel’s history recorded in Joshua 3 and 4, we need to realize that the same things have happened to us. We died with Christ, we were buried with Him, and we were resurrected with Him to become something new. Ephesians 2 tells us that the believers, who were dead in sin, have been made alive, raised, and seated together with Christ (vv. 5-6) to be one new man (v. 15). This new man is God’s masterpiece (v. 10). (Life-study of Joshua, pp. 21-23)

　　Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, lsns. 29, 33

«　WEEK 3　DAY 3　»

　　Josh. 4:10 And the priests who carried the Ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that Jehovah had commanded Joshua to speak to the people…. And the people hurried and crossed over.

　　John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

　　God put the priests in the place of death so that the Israelites would have a way to the land of life. The priests were the first ones to go into the water and the last ones to come up out of the water. They were the overcomers of God. Today God is seeking for a group of people who, like the priests of old, step into the water, that is, walk into death first. They are willing to be dealt with by the cross first, to stand in the place of death in order that the church will find the way of life. God must first put us in the place of death before others can receive life. The overcomers of God are the pioneers of God. (CWWN, vol. 11, p. 764)

　　The priests could not do much by themselves; they merely bore the Ark. They had to bear the Ark of the Covenant and go down into the midst of the water. We have to let Christ be the center, to put on Christ, and to go down to the water. The feet of the priests were standing on the riverbed while their shoulders were bearing the Ark. They were standing in death, while lifting up Christ.

　　The bottom of the river is the position of death; it is not comfortable, attractive, or restful. They were not sitting there, nor lying there, but standing there. If I live in my temper, Christ cannot live in others. If I stand at the bottom of the river, others will cross over the Jordan victoriously. Death works in me, but life works in others. If I die in submitting to God, life will work in others to make them also submit to God. The death of Christ works His life into us. Without death, there is no life.

　　To bear the Ark of the Covenant at the bottom of the river is a great suffering. They needed to be very careful. If they were not careful, the holy God would destroy them. They stood there watching the Israelites crossing one by one. Yet they were set to be last. The apostle said, “God has set forth us the apostles last”; “we have become as the offscouring of the world, the scum of all things, until now” (1 Cor. 4:9, 13). He wished all would believe in the gospel but not be like him with chains on his hands (Acts 26:29). Do I want a good report, an easy life, or sympathy? Or do I want the church of God to gain life? May we be able to pray, “Lord, let me die so that others can gain life.” God has said clearly that this is not an easy matter. Yet only in this way will God accomplish His eternal plan. Before they could come out, they waited at the bottom of the river for all of God’s people to cross over. We cannot come out of death before the kingdom comes. Eventually, …our triumphant Joshua will tell us to come up out of the water [cf. Josh. 4:17]. This will happen at the beginning of the kingdom.

　　Many people are not disobedient; they are merely not obedient enough….Without going through the cross, one cannot reach Gethsemane. Without dealing with the cross, one cannot say, “Your will be done.” Many people like the calling of Abraham, yet they do not like the consecration on Mount Moriah.

　　God has put us at the river bottom in order that we would be His overcomers. He put us in chains in order that others can receive the gospel. Death works in me but life in others. This is the only channel of life….The Lord’s death first fills us with life, and then this life flows to others (2 Cor. 4:10-12).

　　The work of God’s overcomer is to stand upon Christ’s death so that others can gain life…. His overcomers first see a truth and confirm such truth before He gains some others to obey this truth. (CWWN, vol. 11, pp. 764-766)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 11, pp. 763-767

«　WEEK 3　DAY 4　»

　　John 2:19 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

　　1 Cor. 15:36 Foolish man, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

　　2 Cor. 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

　　God wants us to go through death first after which He will give others life. We first must pass through the sufferings and the pain before others can have the life. To learn God’s truth, one must stand at the bottom of the river first. The reason the church cannot gain the victory by crossing over to the good land is that there is a shortage of priests who will stand in the bottom of the Jordan. Those who stand in the bottom of the Jordan will create a seeking heart in others. If a truth is deeply constituted in us, it will attract others to pursue the truth…. When we allow a truth to be constituted in us, we are allowing the Body of Christ to grow one more inch. The overcomers are those who receive life from above to supply the Body. (CWWN, vol. 11, p. 766)

　　Second Corinthians 4 shows us clearly that where there is reality, there is the supply…. [Verse 10] shows us that when the death of Jesus is manifested, His life is also manifested. In other words, the life of Jesus is seen in us because the death of Jesus is seen in us. When a group of people knows the death of Jesus, life is made manifest in them. Paul then said, “So then death operates in us, but life in you” (v. 12). In verse 10, he spoke of the manifestation of life. In verse 12 he spoke of the supply of life. When the manifestation is in us, it is life. When the manifestation is in others, it is supply. But the source is the same—the death of Jesus. Therefore, hollow preachings are vain. Preachings that do not touch any reality do not render any supply to the Body of Christ. When the death of Jesus operates in us, the life of Jesus operates in others. This is not a matter of preaching or work, but a matter of the supply of life. Of course, preaching has its use. But if there is no reality behind one’s preaching, there will not be the supply of life. When we have the “death of Jesus” (v. 10) in us, the Body of Christ receives the supply. Where there is reality, there is supply. If we do not know what the “death of Jesus” means and if we have not borne the cross in silence, we do not have the supply. Brothers and sisters, we have to remember that as far as spiritual reality is concerned, no work should be “performed” by us. When we pass through something in a real way, the Body of Christ spontaneously receives the supply. On our side, we should know the “death of Jesus,” and on the side of the Body of Christ, there will be the supply spontaneously.

　　Therefore, there is no need for us to tell others that we are forgiving others. There is no need for us to blow the trumpet and tell others that we are loving them. We do not need to draw attention to our bearing of the cross. If we touch reality, spontaneously, others will receive the supply. It does not matter whether or not we know that others are supplied, and it does not matter whether or not we feel it.

　　If we know what the “death of Jesus” means before the Lord, “the life of Jesus” will operate in the church spontaneously. If it is life, there will be the supply spontaneously. Supply gives life to others; it is not an exhibition of our own work. Supply edifies others, rather than broadcasts our own experience. The most important thing for us to do is have the supply through possessing the reality. Every time we pass through the death of Jesus, there will always be some brothers and sisters who receive the supply of life. There will be no need for us to wait to write an autobiography before others will receive the supply. As soon as we receive life from the Lord, the church will have the supply of life. (CWWN, vol. 36, “The Holy Spirit and Reality,” pp. 243-244)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 36, “The Holy Spirit and Reality,” pp. 243-248

«　WEEK 3　DAY 5　»

　　Josh. 3:17 And the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan,…until all the nation had completely crossed over the Jordan.

　　2 Cor. 4:11-12 For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death operates in us, but life in you.

　　Whenever we are truly bearing the cross before the Lord, the Body of Christ will receive the supply. If we do not know the meaning of the supply of life, we will not understand what Paul meant when he said, “Death operates in us, but life in you” [2 Cor. 4:12]. Moreover, he told the Colossian saints, “I now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church” (Col. 1:24)….This is the supply of life. (CWWN, vol. 36, “The Holy Spirit and Reality,” p. 244)

　　[In 2 Corinthians 4], instead of talking about his work and accomplishments, Paul speaks of affliction. In verse 8 he says, “We are pressed on every side.” If we had been Paul, we probably would have said, “Corinthians, we are blessed on every side….This blessing on our work proves that our ministry is of the Lord and that our work is of Him.” Paul continues, “Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (v. 10)…. Paul does not say, “Always bearing about in the body the great blessing of the mighty God.”…Seemingly Paul was a pitiful apostle in a pitiful situation.

　　In verse 11 Paul goes on to say, “For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” Perhaps we would expect Paul to say, “being rescued from death,” instead of “being delivered unto death.” Paul, however, was always being delivered unto death so that the life of Jesus might be manifested in his mortal flesh. Here Paul does not speak of mortal body, but of mortal flesh. The word body is positive, but the word flesh is negative. Mortal implies that the flesh is dying. I do not think we would be happy if someone referred to our body as mortal flesh. Nevertheless, Paul adopted such an expression in speaking of himself. The name Paul means little. In these verses Paul seems to be saying, “I prefer to stay in my smallness. The life manifested in me is the life of a Nazarene, not the life of a great man in the world. Moreover, the life of Jesus is manifested in my mortal flesh. I am not a great person manifesting something marvelous in a splendid body. No, I am a small person manifesting the life of Jesus, a man from Nazareth, in my mortal flesh.”

　　In verse 12 Paul says, “So then death operates in us, but life in you.” In this verse Paul does refer to his work. His work was a work of death operating in him….The work of the apostles is the work of death operating in them so that life may operate in the believers. It may not sound pleasant to us to hear of death operating in the apostles. But the issue, the result, of this operation of death is wonderful—it is life in others. This is the real work of the new covenant ministry. It is not a matter of working; it is a matter of dying. In the Lord’s recovery we need to die so that life may work in others. Hence, our dying is our working. The Lord does not need you to accomplish a work for Him. He needs you to die. If you die, life will work in others. You will minister life to others by dying. Therefore, our work is to be put to death. The apostles were not followers of a great person, but of a small man, Jesus of Nazareth. Furthermore, instead of being exalted, they were always being put to death so that the life of Jesus could be manifested in their mortal flesh. Death operated in them so that life might operate in the believers. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 294-296)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 33

«　WEEK 3　DAY 6　»

　　Josh. 5:3 And Joshua made knives of flint and circumcised the children of Israel…

　　Col. 2:11 In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ.

　　Rom. 8:13 …If by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live.

　　Although the Israelites had been disciplined, trained, and qualified, after crossing the Jordan they still needed further preparation before [they attacked the Canaanites]. Joshua 5 covers four matters of intrinsic significance. The first item is circumcision. Circumcision is a continuation of the burial in the death of Christ. By crossing the river Jordan, Israel’s old man was buried, and they came out to become the new man. This was an objective work done by God. Israel still needed to apply it to their flesh. Therefore, they prepared knives of flint to cut off their foreskins. This cutting was their application of what God had done in the crossing of the river Jordan. By cutting off their flesh to roll away the reproach of Egypt, they were buried and resurrected, both actually and practically. (Life-study of Joshua, p. 25)

　　In the New Testament circumcision means the constant application of the Lord’s death to our flesh. Romans 6:3-4 says that we have been baptized into the death of Christ and buried with Him, but Romans 8:13 and Galatians 5:24 tell us that we should apply the circumcision of the cross to our flesh by the Spirit. In fact our flesh has already been crucified, but in practicality we need to crucify the flesh day by day. This is the reality and practicality of remaining in the death and burial of Christ, and this is the significance of circumcision.

　　The second item of intrinsic significance in Joshua 5 is the Passover. The Feast of the Passover was held to remember Israel’s redemption from the death-judgment on the firstborn sons and their salvation from Egypt and from the tyranny of Pharaoh. This is a type of the Lord’s table….Our portion today is not death but the partaking and enjoying of Christ at His table. Israel’s keeping of the Passover typifies the believers’ keeping of the Lord’s table to remember the Lord’s redemption and salvation (Matt. 26:26-28). The Lord Jesus established His table with the bread and the cup to replace the Feast of the Passover. He has fulfilled the type, and now He is the real Passover to us (1 Cor. 5:7).

　　The third item of intrinsic significance is the eating of the produce of the good land…. Both the manna and the produce of the good land typify Christ.

　　The fourth item of intrinsic significance concerns the Captain of Jehovah’s army. The children of Israel were ready. They had been circumcised, they had enjoyed the Passover, and they had enjoyed the produce of the good land. However, they still needed a Captain. Then Joshua saw a vision in which Christ was unveiled as the Captain of Jehovah’s army. Joshua was the visible commander, but Christ was the invisible One. Before the children of Israel attacked the Canaanites, they were fully prepared and qualified with Christ, the embodiment of God, as their Captain. When they attacked Jericho, they did this under the commanding of the Captain typified by the Ark. The Ark, a type of Christ, who was their Commander in chief, took the lead to attack the enemies.

　　To prepare to possess the good land, we need to enter into these four items. We need to deal with the flesh, enjoy the Lord’s table, enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the produce of the good land, and see a vision of Christ, the embodiment of God, as our Captain. (Life-study of Joshua, pp. 25-26, 28, 26-27)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” ch. 14