Having glanced at two of the leading points in our subject, namely, Israel freed from guilt under the shelter of the blood and Israel freed from all their enemies in the passage of the Red Sea, we have now to contemplate for a few moments Israel crossing the Jordan and celebrating the paschal feast at Gilgal, in which they represent the risen position of Christians now.
The Christian is one who is not only sheltered from judgment by the blood of the Lamb, not only delivered from the power of all his enemies by the death of Christ, but also is associated with Him where He now is at the right hand of God. He is, with Christ, passed out of death, in resurrection, and is blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. He is thus a heavenly man and, as such, is called to walk in this world in all the varied relationships and responsibilities in which the good hand of God has placed him. He is not a monk or an ascetic or a man living in the clouds, fit neither for earth or heaven. He is not one who lives in a dreamy, misty, unpractical region, but, on the contrary, one whose happy privilege it is, from day to day, to reflect, amid the scenes and circumstances of earth, the graces and virtues of Christ, with whom, through infinite grace and on the solid ground of accomplished redemption, he is linked in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Such is the Christian, according to the teaching of the New Testament. Let the reader see that he understands it. It is very real, very definite, very positive, very practical. A child may know it and realize it and exhibit it. A Christian is one whose sins are forgiven, who possesses eternal life, and who knows it, one in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. He is accepted in and associated with a risen and glorified Christ. He has broken with the world, is dead to sin and the law, and finds his object, his delight and his spiritual sustenance in the Christ who loved him and gave Himself for him, for whose coming he waits every day of his life.
This, we repeat, is the New Testament description of a Christian. How immensely it differs from the ordinary type of Christian profession around us we need not say. But let the reader measure himself by the divine standard and see wherein he comes short, for he may rest assured that there is no reason whatsoever, so far as the love of God, the work of Christ or the testimony of the Holy Spirit are concerned, why he should not be in the full enjoyment of all the rich and rare spiritual blessings which appertain to the true Christian position. Dark unbelief, fed by legality, bad teaching and spurious religiousness, rob many of God’s dear children of their proper place and portion. And not only so, but, from want of a thorough break with the world, many are sadly hindered from the clear perception and full realization of their position and privileges as heavenly men.
But we are rather anticipating the instruction unfolded to us in the typical history of Israel, in Joshua 35, to which we shall now turn. “And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore” (Josh. 3:14).
It is most desirable that the reader should, with all simplicity and clearness, seize the true spiritual import of the river Jordan. It typifies the death of Christ in one of its grand aspects, just as the Red Sea typifies it in another. When the children of Israel stood on the wilderness side of the Red Sea, they sang the song of redemption. They were a delivered people —delivered from Egypt and the power of Pharaoh. They saw all their enemies dead on the seashore. They could even anticipate, in glowing accents, their triumphal entrance into the promised land. “Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation. The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of Thine arm they shall be still as a stone; till Thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which Thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in; in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever” (Ex. 15:13-18).
All this was perfectly magnificent and divinely true. But they were not yet in Canaan. Jordan —of which, most surely, there is no mention in their glorious song of victory — lay between them and the promised land. True, in the purpose of God and in the judgment of faith, the land was theirs. But they had to traverse the wilderness, cross the Jordan and take possession.
How constantly we see all this exemplified in the history of souls! When first converted, there is nothing but joy and victory and praise. They know their sins forgiven; they are filled with wonder, love and praise. Being justified by faith, they have peace with God, and they can rejoice in hope of His glory, yea, and joy in Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord. They are in Romans 5:111, and, in one sense, there can be nothing higher. Even in heaven itself we shall have nothing higher or better than “joy in God.” Persons sometimes speak of Romans 8 being higher than Romans 5, but what can be higher than “joy in God”? If we are brought to God, we have reached the most exalted point to which any soul can come. To know Him as our portion, our rest, our stay, our object, our all — to have all our springs in Him and know Him as a perfect covering for our eyes, at all times and in all places and under all circumstances —this is heaven itself to the believer.
But there is this difference between Romans 5 and Romans 8, that chapters 67 lie between, and when the soul has traveled practically through these latter and learns how to apply their profound and precious teaching to the great questions of indwelling sin and the law, then it is in a better state, though, most assuredly, not in a higher standing.
We repeat, and with emphasis, the words “traveled practically.” It must be so, if we would really enter into these holy mysteries according to God. It is easy to talk about being “dead to sin” and “dead to the law” — easy to see these things written in Romans 67 — easy to grasp, in the intellect, the mere theory of these things. But the question is, Have we made them our own — have they been applied practically to our souls by the power of the Holy Spirit? Are they livingly exhibited in our ways to the glory of Him who, at such a cost to Himself, has brought us into such a marvelous place of blessing and privilege?
It is much to be feared that there is a vast amount of merely intellectual traffic in these deep and precious mysteries of our most holy faith which, if only laid hold of in spiritual power, would produce wonderful results in practice.
But we must return to our theme, and in doing so we would ask the reader if he really understands the true spiritual import of the river Jordan? What does it really mean? We have said that it typifies the death of Christ. But in what aspect? That precious death, as we are now considering, has many and various aspects. We believe the Jordan sets forth the death of our Lord Jesus Christ as that by which we are introduced into the inheritance He has obtained for us. The Red Sea delivered Israel from Egypt and the power of Pharaoh; Jordan brought them into the land of Canaan.
We find both in the death of Christ. He, blessed be His name, has, by His death on the cross —His death for us — delivered us from our sins, from their guilt and condemnation, from Satan’s power, and from this present evil world.
But more than this: He has, by the same infinitely precious work, brought us now into an entirely new position, in resurrection and in living union and association with Himself, where He is at God’s right hand. Such is the distinct teaching of Ephesians 2. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (vss. 46).
Note the little word “hath.” He is not speaking of what God will do, but of what He has done —done for us, and with us, in Christ Jesus. The believer has not to wait till he passes out of this life to enjoy his inheritance in heaven. In the person of his living and glorified Head, through faith, by the Spirit, he belongs there now and is free to all that God has given to all His own.
Is all this real and true? Yes! As real and true as that Christ hung on the cross and lay in the grave — as real and true as that we were dead in trespasses and sins — as real and true as the truth of God can make it — as real and true as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the body of every true believer.
Mark, reader, we are not now speaking of the practical working-out of all this glorious truth in the life of Christians from day to day. This is another thing altogether. Alas, alas! if our only idea of true Christian position were to be drawn from the practical career of professing Christians, we might give up Christianity as a myth or a sham.
But, thank God, it is not so. We must learn what true Christianity is from the pages of the New Testament and, having learned it there, judge ourselves, our ways and our surroundings by its heavenly light. In this way, while we shall ever have to confess and mourn our shortcomings, our hearts shall ever, more and more, be filled with praise to Him whose infinite grace has brought us into such a glorious position, in union and fellowship with His own Son — a position, blessed be God, in nowise dependent upon our personal state, but which, if really apprehended, must exert a powerful influence upon our entire course, conduct and character.