LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Three Men Before Canaan
The figures of Abraham, Moses and Joshua before Canaan are symbolic of three Christian attitudes before Christ.
Eliseo Apablaza
In many parts of the Scripture it is said that Christ is the gift that God has given us. God didn’t give us a religion, nor a doctrine; He didn’t merely give us a way, but rather He gave us a Person, and that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ.
We recognize that God has given His Son, not only for us but to us, so that He may be ours. Not only our Savior, but our operating life, our all sufficient life. But, how much of Christ have we taken?
We remember the Lord’s words in John chapter 10: “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.” He doesn’t only say: “I have come so that they may have life.” (If he only said this, it would already have been a very great thing). The Lord added: “... and have it to the full.”
We can know much of Christ or little of Christ; we can enjoy much of Christ or little of Christ. But we should never conform to a certain measure of Christ, as if that was all that Christ is.
We can know Christ in several ways. And to exemplify it, I want us to look at three patriarchs of the Old Testament. Many specialists of the Bible recognize that Canaan is a type of Christ. Now then, Canaan –that is to say, Christ– was known in three different ways by Abraham, Moses and Joshua.
Abraham
Abraham was the first of the patriarchs who was spoken to regarding Canaan. He had certain knowledge of the land, but Abraham didn’t settle down in it, in fact he hardly made ‘recognition’ of it.
The Lord told Abraham: “All the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever…Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” So Abraham walks through that beautiful land that was presented before him. All the days that Abraham lived, he walked through the land; yet in Hebrews it says that he lived like a stranger in a foreign land. For this reason, we can say that Abraham, who is always associated in the Scriptures with faith and justification, represents believers in the first phase of Christian life.
When we are new in the faith we have a certain glimmer of Christ. However, just as Abraham could not say: “This land is mine. I will put a hedge here, I will plant a vineyard and I will eat of its fruit”, nor do we fully appropriate Christ in this way.
Moses
But we can also know Christ as Moses knew Canaan. Moses was born in Egypt. For forty years, he walked with the people in the desert, strolling, waiting for that unbelieving generation to fall. Every year, Moses was filled with expectations. He wanted to enter into the good land. However, in the Scriptures we are told that on more than one occasion God tells him: “You will not enter.”
That scene at the end of Deuteronomy, a short time before Moses’ death, is very moving. Israel was on the border of the land, about to enter. Then the Lord told Moses: “Go up the mountain and I will show you the land.” Moses could look over and see the land of Naphtali, of Ephraim, of Dan, of Manasseh, of Judah, right up to the Mediterranean Sea. However, God tells him: “Therefore you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land.” What a terrible sentence for a man like him! For forty years he had dreamt of something that he could not take hold of.
Moses speaks to us of another stage in our life as a Christian. Moses is the law. He was an integral, meek, balanced man. However, by reason of what he represents, he could not enter in to possess Canaan. No Christian that walks under the power of the law can really enjoy Christ. He will never know all the wealth, the whole glory, all the beauty, the whole inheritance that he has in Christ.
Joshua
But we can also know Christ as Joshua knew Canaan. Joshua represents grace. All that we can receive, accomplish, and grow in Christ is by grace. It is not by works, so that no-one can boast. We were justified by grace, and we reach the fullness of life in Christ through grace.
Perhaps some of us think that, although we come to Christ in absolute impotence –having made mistakes, hopeless, sunken, wounded, enslaved,–now that we have Christ, we can reach fullness if we make an effort, because now we are under better conditions. May the Lord wash us clean of this thought, so that our faith is pure. There is only salvation in Christ! There is only fullness in Christ!
When we come to the character of Joshua, grace has a renovated flavor. The grace that we received at the beginning was a certain measure of grace. However, the grace that we now reach, after having walked under the law of works, after having experienced failures for 40 years, is a greater grace than the first one: it is an overabounding grace.
Ephesians 2:6-7 says: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
There is only one form in which God can show the incomparable riches of his grace, and that is given in the previous verse, “...seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Only by being in that position of rest –seated– at the right hand of God, with Christ, is God able to manifest the incomparable riches of his grace through us. May the Lord open the eyes of our understanding to see how beautiful this is.
Rediscovering Romans 7
In the book of Romans, the Christian life is very well ordered according to its different stages. Chapter 5 speaks to us about justification by faith. Romans 6 tells us that we died to sin, because we were included in His death. Romans 7 goes on a little further, and tells us that we have died to the law by means of Christ’s body. Romans 8 shows us the life in the Spirit, that is to say, the full life in Christ. You notice that we begin with justification, then, we continue with our death to sin and with our death to the law, and finally we end up living a full life in Christ. Precisely before Romans 8 is Romans 7: death to the law. This is the fundamental truth that we have to see before being able to enter into Romans 8! If we don’t see that Christ liberated us from the power of the law, we won’t be able to enter in the full life.
Following the allegory of the three patriarchs, we have to wait for Moses to die before being able to enter into Canaan and enjoy all that is Christ. To pass from Abraham to Moses (that is to say, from faith to works), isn’t difficult. In fact, one falls into it almost without noticing. All those that have walked for some time will know what it means to fall from faith to works.
Now, how do we “get out of” Moses and enter into Joshua’s reality; that is, taking possession of the inheritance in Christ? There is no other form except by accepting the reality of Romans 7.
Of all the chapters in Romans, perhaps this is the most misunderstood. As a result of that misunderstanding, firstly – at least for those that use the Version Reina-Valera 1960 (and indeed many other versions of the bible)–there is a mistake in the placing of the title called: “An Illustration From Marriage.” That leads us to think that the main truth here has something to do with marriage. And secondly, the verse that is almost always cited in Romans 7, is from verse 7 onwards in order to show what the condition of a Christian that is still under the law is like. So we begin to slip because of this intricate and beautiful reasoning, which is actually nothing other than a demonstration of the reality of a Christian who has not yet died to the law by means of Christ’s body.
Therefore we now have to preach this gospel to Christians. Romans 8 cannot be lived unless we see the reality of Romans 7: 4, 5 and 6: “So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in a new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” So, we are free from the law! This is a very glorious truth. When our eyes open up to see it, our only desire is to praise the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Promised Land –Christ– is placed before us to be enjoyed in fullness, to find all rest in it. This is a reality that is within our reach. We don’t have to ascend to heaven, because the One who was up there already came down to us; we don’t have to go down to the abyss, because the One who went down there, already ascended. Jesus Christ, the One who is at God’s right hand is also inside us through the Holy Spirit, and has been given wholly and freely.
The power of sin is the law
How can one conquer sin? How can one have a victorious Christian life? These are questions to which there are many answers. Many books have been written in respect to this. However, the key is in Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” By being free from the law, this automatically liberates us from the power of sin.
Let us look at 1 Corinthians 15:56 to verify this. “...The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” The power of sin is the law. That’s very strange because being the just, good and holy law, given for the good of man, how is it that this reinforces sin? When a boy is told: “don’t do this”, what is the most probable thing that will happen? He does it! That demonstrates how the law is the power of sin. If you prohibit something, you will incite that that prohibition be infringed. For that reason it is necessary for the Christian to know that we are free from the law by means of Christ’s body.
We believe and we receive Christ’s work on the cross, because he took the bond written in the ordinances which was against us upon himself, removing it from us and nailed it to the cross. That was where the law was! Those were the ordinances that were against us, that ordered us and condemned us–“If you don’t do this, you will die.”– Now we are free from the law! Therefore, “sin shall not be your master.”
It may be that for years there have been sinful tendencies in the heart that have never been conquered –not even with many prayers, nor fasting, nor any formula, be it by reading or listening. Once again, the victory takes place when seeing this word. Quite simply, it consists in seeing, not in doing. Moses could not enter into Canaan, because he fell victim to his own principles and commandments. Moses, the meekest man that walked upon the earth, could not enter because of an outburst of anger. Is that not the deciding factor?
That is what happens with the law: it produces anger. “Because law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15). But the heirs of Canaan are those of faith: “For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless” (vs. 14). “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace.” (vs.16). Hallelujah! It is by faith, it is by grace!
Brothers and sisters, our enemies that prevent us from entering into full enjoyment of Christ, are not demons, it is not Satan, they are not the enemies in the flesh, they are not walled cities. The greatest enemies are inside us; they are our unbelief, our desires, our trust in ourselves. May the Lord allow that through the power of the Word, we are increasingly cleansed.
Joshua was the man who introduced the people into the land. His name means “God saves.” Before, he was called Oshea which means “salvation.” However, the Lord changed his name. It is God who saves us, who liberates us. It is through Jesus Christ’s wonderful work on the cross of Calvary. His death had such a great repercussion, not only for our sins, but also for our liberation from the law and our liberation from sin. Now we can take all of Christ.
The powerful acts of the cross
Psalm 145 says: “One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.” When we read these verses, we tend to think of the work of creation. However, the most glorious work, the most prodigious of God’s works, happened on the cross of Calvary. Creating the universe was not a problem for God. He simply spoke, and all things came to be. To create man he just took some dust and gave him form with three of his fingers. However, in order to give us all that He has given us in Christ, the Son of God had to come down from heaven, be born as a man, live as a proscribed, go unjustly to the cross, die as a criminal, pour out his blood, take our sins upon him, take the old man upon him, to carry the weight of the law... Those are truly prodigious, wonderful acts! We will boast in those!
It is a delight to meditate upon how He took the carnal sinful man out of us; how He gave us such a powerful life; how He made the wonderful exchange of my dead self for the living Christ. All that was mine for all that was His; my contaminated, dirty, vile self for His eternal, life-giving, radiant life.
“To receive” is a New Testament word
Some of us have taken this attitude with the Lord in varying degrees: “Lord, let’s make a deal. Tell me: How much does abundant life cost? Perhaps I have just enough money. I have some savings in the bank; I can sell my house, my car, all that you say. I’ll pay you; because I want to live a full life. I am tired, Lord, because I listen to the word, I read the Bible, I pray, I fast, I attend the meetings, but I see that there is still such a great dissatisfaction within me. You came to give life and life in abundance, but I am not enjoying it. Lord, how much is it worth?”
That has been our attitude. But the word of the Lord helps us again here. “For if, by the trespass of one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Rom.5: 17)
If you look up in a concordance how many times the word “receive” appears in the Bible, in man’s relationship with God, you will discover that it almost doesn’t appear in the Old Testament. It is a word which is characteristic of the New Testament! The Jews that were under the law didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘receive’, because it had been said to them: “The man who does these things will live by them.” They had to fulfill! But in the New Testament the word ‘to receive’ appears on many occasions, even just as we open John’s gospel we are told: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him.. –To all who received him!–he gave the right to become children of God.”
So we will say this: Brother, if you don’t have, it is because you have not received, and to receive, it is necessary to have your hands held out. That is all that is necessary. We have sometimes wanted to give something to our small children. “Put out your hands! I will give you something...” And he puts out clenched fists, because he has something firmly hidden inside: a nail, a pellet, something like that... “Open your hands! I want to give you something...” And he has that small treasure grasped in his hands.
Likewise we do the same to God. To receive it is necessary to have our hands stretched out ... and to have them empty!
The unsatisfied Christians that are still thirsty, that feel like failures, that still love the world, that still look at their neighbor’s woman with lust, still have a gap in their hearts that Christ has not filled. Because when Christ’s fullness is present, there are no such desires. There is a sensation of such fullness, there is such a joy that no strange thing can find its way in there. Christ’s life is boiling inside, and our cup is overflowing. It is the fullness of life in Christ!
In repentance and rest you will be saved
A carnal man finds it difficult to be still; he doesn’t know how to wait. And that it is our great problem. Tell to an immature Christian that he has to be calm, that he has to wait and receive. He will say: “No, that cannot be. That is laziness. It is necessary to do something. Tell me what I must do and I will do it.” And the Lord tells us: “Be still, and know that I am God.” And He also tells us: “In repentance and rest is your salvations; in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
Oh, Lord, in repentance and in rest we want to be saved, in quietness and trust we want to be strong in you. We will wait on you, Lord. Our strength is nothing. In you is all strength. Our victory is nothing, yours is the victory! Our life, the life ‘psyché ’is a mortal life; your life, the life ‘zoé’, the eternal life; that truly is life; that is abundant life! 1
Not Moses, but Joshua
Let us continue. Taking possession of Canaan is a good metaphor for Christ as our abundant and victorious life.
The Lord said to Joshua: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give them –to the Israelites.” Notice that it is the land that “I am about to give them.” It is not the land that you will conquer; it is not the land that you will buy: it is the land that I give them! It is a gift, it is a gift. Christ is a gift!
“Moses my servant is dead.” The law is dead. The desert remains in the past. The man that led them, that spotless man who demanded such high standards from them, is no longer there. So now, you, Joshua, you who are small, you that are weak, you that tremble, you who for forty years walked along clinging to Moses’ robes, arise now. Moses is dead. You will cross the Jordan. You will enter into the land.
Those who enter Canaan are not the great Moses, full of merits; but the small ‘Joshuas’, shy and even cowardly, those who take hold of Christ.
Encouragement for the failures
We are accustomed to looking at man’s merits. All human life is based on the merits required to reach some kind of promotion. But in Christ it is the other way around, because His ways are not our ways, because His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
Abundant life is when you have arrived at the summit; not from halfway up, but from below.
Have you cried about your failures? Have you thought that God’s promises are for people better than you? When you read about the lives of God’s great servants, how you admire them, how you envy, but the moment arrives when you feel so overwhelmed that you close the book and say: I am not capable, this is not for me, I will never be an overcomer! Has this happened to you at some time?
Dear brothers and sisters, we have a message for you today: Moses didn’t enter Canaan, Joshua entered. Because of the Lord’s words to Joshua: “Be strong and courageous...,” which God repeats to him and then to the people, many have thought that only the strong and courageous enter Canaan. I also understood this to be so for a long time. And that single idea automatically left me out. However, we must understand that Joshua was a doubtful man, who made mistakes and was afraid. He was a man that was accustomed to following others. For that reason it was almost necessary to push him in order to cross the Jordan.
That gives us confidence, because Joshua’s book is good news. It is not by works, it is not by merits, it is not by what you can do. Do you want to enter in to possess Christ’s fullness? Stop doing whatever you are doing. Forget your methods to please to God. If you think that it is because you read the whole Bible once a year, don’t read it once a year. If you think that it is because you fast one day a week, stop fasting that day in the week. Or if it is because you pray three hours a day, say: I won’t pray for three hours a day anymore.
I don’t know how to say this –it may be interpreted wrongly, as if it were not necessary to pray, nor read the Bible or to fast– What we are saying is that we have to demolish that in which we have placed our trust. Everything that we lean on has to fall. Then we will know if the Lord sustains us or not, if the life that he has put inside us is powerful or not.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is such a great discovery! If you never thought that you could be free from sin, from bad thoughts and bad desires; that you could remain in that free condition, free, without following a law of godliness in the flesh; if you never thought that that was possible, I tell you that it is possible! It is absolutely possible. It is not only possible, it is what God desires, it is what God wants, so that you can say: Christ is not only my Redeemer; He is the One who sustains me, He is my victory, He is my abundant life!
Synthesis of an oral message shared in Rucacura (Chile) 2003.
1 Psyché and zoé designate two different types of life that are found in the New Greek Testament. Psyché is psychic or animal life; and Zoé is spiritual life. The first one is related with the soul; the second with the spirit. For example, psyché appears in Matthew 16:25; and zoé, in Romans 8:6.