３
The believers’ baptism into the death of Christ, as the crossing of the Jordan River, leads the believers into the resurrection of Christ—Rom. 6:3-6; Col. 2:12:
ａ
In the aspect of burial, baptism is the termination of our old man.
ｂ
In the aspect of resurrection, baptism is the germination of our spirit so that we may be made alive in Christ with the divine life—John 3:6, 15; Rom. 8:10.
ｃ
In the 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 accomplishment of the economy of God—6:4; Col. 2:7.
D
Israel’s crossing the Jordan and entering into the good land are related to Israel’s possessing and enjoying the good land, which typifies the believers’ practical experience of the riches of the blessings in Christ as revealed in the book of Ephesians—Josh. 4:1.
E
Israel’s entering into the good land after crossing the Jordan typifies the believers’ experience of taking over the heavenlies, where Satan and his power of darkness are—Eph. 2:2; 6:12.
Ⅱ
Twelve stones were taken out of the Jordan, and another twelve stones were erected in the Jordan—Josh. 4:3-9:
A
The twelve stones taken from the Jordan signify the twelve tribes of the new Israel—vv. 3-7.
B
The stones’ being raised up from the waters of the Jordan signifies resurrection from death—v. 7:
１
These twelve stones were a sign, showing that the “resurrected” new Israel would be a testimony of the crossing of the death water—vv. 6-7, 21-24.
２
This typifies the believers’ experiencing with Christ the resurrection from death—Rom. 6:3-4.
C
The other twelve stones erected in the middle of the Jordan signify the twelve tribes of Israel in their old life and in their old nature—Josh. 4:9:
１
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.
２
This typifies that the old man of the believers should remain in the death of Christ—Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10.
D
The two sets of twelve stones signify that our old man has been buried and our resurrected new man is living and working with the Triune God as one; this corresponds with the revelation in Ephesians 2:1, 4-6, 15, and 10.
Morning Nourishment
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)
Today’s Reading
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