Scripture Reading: Deut. 8:7-10; 11:11-12
Ⅰ
God's intention in His creation is to use the things of creation to illustrate the all-inclusive Christ; the whole universe is a picture of Christ and came into existence for the purpose of describing Christ—Col. 1:15-17.
Ⅱ
Whatever we do day by day should remind us of Christ as the reality of that thing—2:16-17:
A
If we follow the practice of taking Christ as the reality of all the material things in our daily life, our daily walk will be revolutionized and transformed; it will be full of Christ.
B
Everything we do will remind us to contact Christ, to experience Christ, to enjoy Christ, and to have Christ as our everything.
Ⅲ
The items mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:7-10 are types of Christ for our experience and enjoyment:
A
Christ is the reality of the water flowing forth in valleys and mountains.
B
The wheat typifies the incarnated and crucified Christ.
C
The barley typifies the resurrected Christ.
D
The vine typifies Christ as the sacrificing One who cheers God and man.
E
The fig tree typifies the sweetness and satisfaction of Christ as our life supply.
F
The pomegranate typifies the abundance and beauty of the life of Christ.
G
The olive tree typifies Christ as the man filled with the Spirit and anointed with the Spirit as the oil of exultant joy.
H
The animal life typifies Christ with His redeeming life.
I
The milk and honey typify Christ in His richness and sweetness.
J
The stones, the iron, and the copper typify Christ as the materials for building and fighting.
Ⅳ
As our good land, the all-inclusive Christ is rich in water—Deut. 8:7; 11:11-12:
A
Throughout the Bible there is a line concerning the Triune God as water—Gen. 2:10-14; Exo. 17:5-6; Psa. 46:4; John 7:38; 1 Cor. 10:4; Rev. 7:17; 22:1.
B
The first aspect of the good land mentioned in Deuteronomy 8 is its water; the supply of the life of Christ is as living water flowing within us—John 7:38; Rev. 7:17.
C
The good land is "a land of waterbrooks, of springs and of fountains"—Deut. 8: 7a:
１
The fountain is the source, the spring is the issue of the source, and the waterbrook, or the river, is the flow.
２
John 4:14b says, "The water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water gushing up [springing up] into eternal life":
ａ
This reveals that the Triune God flows in the Divine Trinity in three stages:
⑴
The Father is the fountain, the source.
⑵
The Son is the spring, the emergence of the fountain.
⑶
The Spirit is the river, the flow.
ｂ
We need to see that the Triune God is flowing through the Father, the Son, and the Spirit into us—2 Cor. 13:14.
ｃ
The flowing of the Triune God is "into eternal life"—John 4:14b:
⑴
Since the New Jerusalem is the totality of eternal life, "into eternal life" means "into the New Jerusalem."
⑵
Into speaks of destination and thus means "issuing in" or "to become."
⑶
The Father as the fountain, the Son as the spring, and the Spirit as the river flow into us and with us to become the New Jerusalem.
D
The water in the good land flows forth "in valleys and in mountains"—Deut. 8:7b:
１
If all the land were a plain, there would be no flow of water; if our life is a plain, there will not be the flow of water within us.
２
"Flowing forth in valleys and in mountains" indicates that Christ as the living water flows in different environments.
３
The valleys are the experiences of the cross, the experiences of the death of Christ, and the mountains are the experiences of Christ's resurrection— 2 Cor. 1:9; 4:11, 14.
４
We have our "ups" and our "downs," but Christ flows both in the "ups" and in the "downs"—6:8-10.
E
"The land into which you are crossing over to possess is a land of mountains and valleys; by virtue of heaven's rain, it drinks in water"—Deut. 11:11:
１
Heaven is the source; the living water comes from heaven.
２
For us as believers in Christ today, the rain is the Spirit; under the heavenly watering of the Spirit, we are not dry—Psa. 72:6; Joel 2:23, 28-29.
F
"It is a land which Jehovah your God cares for; always the eyes of Jehovah your God are upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year"—Deut. 11:12:
１
When we experience Christ as a land of water, we will enjoy the presence of God, and His eyes will be upon us.
２
God puts His eyes upon us so that we will hold fast to Christ and enjoy Christ.