As the best robe, Christ is our righteousness for us to be justified by God outwardly. Hence, putting the best robe on the returned prodigal signifies justification in Christ. As those who have Christ as the best robe, we have been justified by God.
In Luke 15:23 Christ as the inward life for nourishment is typified by the fattened calf. Here the father in the parable of the returned prodigal says, “Bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry.” Although the prodigal was clothed with the best robe, he was still hungry and he must have been glad to hear his father speak about eating the fattened calf. Dressed in the best robe and standing in the presence of his father, the son might have said, “Father, the best robe is for your satisfaction, but I am hungry and need something to eat.” When they began to eat the fattened calf, the whole family began to be merry.
Whereas the best robe is the righteousness of God prepared for the returned sinners, the fattened calf is the portion of the life supply prepared by God for the believing sinners (1 Cor. 1:9). The fattened calf signifies the rich Christ (Eph. 3:8) killed on the cross for the believers’ enjoyment. As we eat Christ as the fattened calf, taking Him into our being, we are filled with the divine life for our enjoyment.
Whereas the best robe is for us to be justified outwardly, the fattened calf is for us to be satisfied inwardly. The robe is for wearing, but the fattened calf is for eating. Eating is the taking of something which is outside of you into you and then digesting it so that it becomes organically part of you. As the fattened calf, Christ is to be eaten, digested, and assimilated by us to become the very fibers of our being.
The parable of the returned prodigal shows us that God’s salvation is of two aspects: the outward objective aspect signified by the best robe and the inward subjective aspect signified by the fattened calf. Christ as our righteousness is for our outward salvation; Christ as our life and life supply is for our inward salvation. After coming back to his father, the prodigal son enjoyed all the riches of God’s provision in His salvation, a salvation that is not only a matter of wearing but also of eating. The best robe qualified the prodigal to match his father’s righteousness, and the fattened calf satisfied his hunger. Hence, the robe signifies the judicial aspect of God’s salvation, and the calf signifies the organic aspect of God’s salvation.
Today we are experiencing and enjoying Christ as our outward righteousness and as our inward life and life supply. Wearing Christ as our robe, we feed on Him as the fattened calf, digesting Him, assimilating Him, and being constituted with Him. As a result, we are sustained, satisfied, and strengthened, and we experience an inward, metabolic change.
Luke 17:20-24 reveals that Christ is the kingdom of God. The human Savior Himself is the essence and the element of the kingdom of God.
Regarding this, we need to consider the Lord’s word in verses 20b and 21, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, Behold, here it is! or, There! For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” The word you here refers to the questioning Pharisees. In the Lord’s answer to the Pharisees, there is the strong indication that the kingdom of God is actually Christ Himself. The Lord Jesus was telling the Pharisees that they could not see the kingdom of God, even though it was among them. The kingdom of God was present, but they did not have the spiritual perception to see it. We need spiritual eyes to see that the kingdom of God is actually the wonderful person of Christ Himself. Wherever He is, there the kingdom of God is.
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