Scripture Reading: Josh. 1:2-3, 6-9, 16-18; 5:2—6:16
Ⅰ
If we would possess the good land for the fulfillment of God's purpose, we need to be formed into a corporate Joshua—Josh. 1:2-3, 6-9:
A
As the good land, Christ is ready to be taken and possessed by His believers; however, there is the need for those who are ready to take Him, possess Him, experience Him, and enjoy Him in His all-inclusiveness—Deut. 1:21; Num. 14:6-9, 24; Josh. 1:3:
１
Joshua 1:3 indicates that although God had given Israel the good land, Israel still needed to take the land.
２
They needed to cooperate with God by rising up to fulfill God's commission to possess the land—vv. 10-15.
B
Joshua led the children of Israel to enter the promised land and to take it, possess it, and enjoy it—v. 6:
１
Joshua was to be occupied with God's word and to let the word occupy him—v. 8; Col. 3:16.
２
The response of Israel to Joshua implied their willingness, their readiness, and their being in one accord not only with Joshua but also with Jehovah their God as expressed by their blessing Joshua in the name of their God— Josh. 1:16-18.
３
Israel had become a corporate Joshua, chosen, called, redeemed, saved, trained, prepared, and qualified by God, ready to go on with God as one to take the land of Canaan—3:11, 17.
４
To gain the all-inclusive Christ, we need to be today's Joshua, fighting the battle, taking the land, and enjoying Christ as our inheritance—1:1-3, 6, 9.
C
The children of Israel were buried in the death of Christ, and then they were resurrected in the resurrection of Christ—4:1-11; Rom. 6:3-6:
１
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—Josh. 4:9.
２
We need to realize that our old man, our natural man, is not qualified to fight the spiritual warfare for gaining the all-inclusive Christ—Rom. 6:6.
D
After being formed, constituted, disciplined, trained, and qualified, God's people had come to the plains of Moab, where they were waiting to enter into the good land, to take it, and to possess it—Num. 36:13:
１
The formation of the children of Israel into an army to fight for God typifies the New Testament believers' being built up into the organic Body of Christ to fight for God and with God for the carrying out of His economy—Eph. 4:16; 6:12.
２
God's army, a corporate Joshua, was prepared and ready to take the good land under the blessing of God in His Divine Trinity and also under the blessing of Moses, the man of God—Num. 6:22-27; 2 Cor. 13:14; Deut. 30:16; 33:1.
Ⅱ
If we would possess the good land for the fulfillment of God's purpose, we must engage in warfare to defeat the satanic forces—Josh. 5:2—6:16:
A
Satan, the enemy of God, has been doing his utmost to hinder the people of God from enjoying Christ as the all-inclusive One; he will do whatever he can to keep us from enjoying Christ as the good land—Col. 2:8, 18:
１
To this day, evil forces are veiling the all-inclusiveness of Christ from God's people—2 Cor. 4:3-4.
２
There is an exceedingly real spiritual warfare in which we must engage; we must fight the battle to gain the all-inclusive Christ for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ, the new man, and the kingdom of God—Eph. 6:10-12; 1 Tim. 6:12a; 2 Tim. 2:3-4; Col. 1:13, 18; 2:19; 3:10-11.
B
Israel's fighting against the inhabitants of the land portrays the invisible spiritual warfare that is taking place behind the visible scene on earth—Dan. 10:10-21; Eph. 6:10-20:
１
Christ is our good land, and God wants us to gain Christ, but there is a layer of devilish, demonic forces between us and the good land; if we would take possession of the good land for our enjoyment, we must defeat these satanic forces—Col. 1:12-13; 2:15; Eph. 3:18; 6:11-12.
２
We need to be today's Joshua and Caleb, fighting against and defeating the satanic forces so that we can gain more of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, setting up and spreading the kingdom of God so that Christ can come back to inherit the earth—3:8; 4:16; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 11:15.
C
We need to deal with the flesh, enjoy the Lord's table, and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the produce of the good land—Josh. 5:2-12.
D
Joshua saw a vision in which Christ was unveiled as the Captain of Jehovah's army; whereas Joshua was the visible captain, Christ was the invisible Captain of God's army—vv. 13-15.
E
The victory of Israel over Jericho was not by their fighting but by their blowing the trumpets and exalting Christ by bearing the Ark, through their faith in God's word of instruction—6:1-16:
１
The silence of the people signifies being one with the Lord to carry out the matter in His way without the expression of opinion or feeling—vv. 10, 16.
２
Israel marched around the city with the Ark, a type of Christ as the embodi-ment of the Triune God, on the shoulders of the priests; the spiritual signifi-cance of this scene is that it is a picture of the corporate God-man—God and man, man and God—walking together as one person—vv. 3-9.