We have seen in the Old Testament that the land with its temple and city is the center of God’s plan. What God planned to do on this earth was to obtain that piece of land with the temple and the city built upon it. The temple is the center of God’s presence, and the city is the center of God’s authority. God’s presence and God’s authority could only be realized by the temple and the city built upon that piece of land. I must ask you to consider the whole record of the Old Testament more and more. The entire Old Testament deals with that piece of land and its temple and city.
We have already seen that this land is the full type, the all-inclusive type of Christ. We know that there are many types in the Old Testament. We know that the passover lamb is a type of Christ, and we know that the manna is a type of Christ. The tabernacle with all its furniture, utensils, and various offerings is also a type of Christ. But I wish to point out to you that without this piece of land, there is no all-inclusive type of Christ. The passover lamb is not the all-inclusive type, and neither is the manna or even the tabernacle with all the things related to it. Many different kinds of offerings were ordained by the Lord, but they only depicted various aspects of Christ. Only the land of Canaan is the full type, the all-inclusive type of Christ. We have all accepted Christ as our Redeemer. That is quite wonderful! But we must realize that Christ as the Redeemer is not the all-inclusive One. We are told in the Scriptures that Christ is all and in all, that Christ is the all-inclusive One. Everything is in Him and He is in everything. There is no other type in the Old Testament but the land of Canaan which shows Him as such.
What do we mean by the word all-inclusive? We are told that Christ is the light, but this is not all-inclusive. We are told that Christ is our life, but this also is not all-inclusive. We are told that Christ is the food and the living water, but even these do not make Him the all-inclusive One. Christ is all and in all. Christ is not only the light, the life, the food, and the living water, but Christ is everything to us. Whatever you need, whatever you contact, whatever you obtain, whatever you enjoy, whatever you experience—all these things must be Christ. Christ is the all-inclusive One to us.
We are not speaking doctrinally but very practically. Whenever you do something, whenever you enjoy something, whenever you use something, you must immediately apply Christ. For instance, you are sitting on a seat. Do you realize that this is not the real seat? This is but a shadow, a figure pointing to Christ. Christ is the real seat. If you do not have Christ, it means that in your entire life you have never had a seat. There is no rest for you. You have nothing to rely upon. You have something false, for Christ is the real thing.
Let me tell you something which may sound strange to you. Sometimes when I put on my glasses, I say, “Lord, these are not real glasses; You are my real glasses. Without You, I can see nothing. Without You, I have no sight.” Christ is everything to us. If you have Christ and the way to experience Him, you have everything. If you do not have Christ and know not how to apply Him and experience Him in such a practical way, you have nothing.
When you are climbing the stairs, do you realize that Christ is the real stairs to you? You are told that Christ is the way, and without Him there is no way. So when you are walking or driving, you must say, “Lord, You are my way. Without You I have no way, I have no way to do things, I have no way to go on, I have no way to be a person.” Christ is everything to us, so Christ is our way.
Many times during the past years of serving the Lord I have encountered problems between the husband and wife. Many times the brothers have come to me and said, “Brother Lee, would you kindly tell me a better way to deal with my wife?” My answer is always this: “Brother, there is no ‘better way.’ The better way is Christ Himself. And I would say the best way is Christ Himself.” Almost every time I answer in such a way, people do not understand. They always query, “What do you mean by that?” So I tell them, “Brother, I mean that Christ is the best way for you to deal with your dear wife.” Sometimes they press me to tell them in detail how to live, how to get along, and how to deal with their wives. Then I tell them, “Brother, I have told you clearly, Christ is the best way for you to deal with your wife. It’s quite simple. Forget about everything. Just come to the Lord in your spirit to have a personal contact with Him. Come and tell Him, ‘Lord, You are my life, You are my way, You are everything to me. So I come to You once more to take You as everything. I take You as the way to deal with my wife.’ Then be assured that you will know. I cannot tell you what to do, but the Lord Himself will be your way. Believe me.”
The sisters especially like to go into detail about their marital problems. They say, “Oh, brother, please give me some time. Be patient with me. Let me tell you the whole story.” I tell them, “Sister, I have the patience; I am ready to listen to you. But I tell you, it is all useless. The more you say, the more you tell me about this and that, the more you will get into trouble. Be simple. Just kneel down and from your spirit say something to the Lord. Don’t say something to me. This doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear you, but I cannot point out any better way than Christ Himself. You have to contact Christ once more.” Eventually most of the brothers and sisters have been convinced and have come to know something of Christ in a practical way. They have come to me and said, “Now I know that Christ is the best way for me to deal with my wife”; “Christ is the best way for me to deal with my husband.”
You see, this is not merely a doctrine or some sort of teaching. You must experience it. You must apply Christ to your daily life.
The people of Israel enjoyed the passover lamb and then the manna day by day for forty years, but they were never fully satisfied. They just applied a little of Christ; they just experienced a small portion of Christ. Not until they entered the land of Canaan was He everything to them and were they fully satisfied. When they entered the land, what they ate came from the land, what they drank came from the land—all their living came out of the land. The land was everything to them. No other type in the Old Testament is so all-inclusive as the land of Canaan.