Now we will consider the fourth stage of our spiritual experience. This is the last and highest stage of our spiritual life-Christ’s full growth in us.
After we have passed through the previous stages, all difficulties in us relating to sin, the world, the offense in the conscience, the flesh, the self, and the natural constitution having been dealt with and purged, there remains in us nothing but God. God now has gained absolute ground in us, and our whole being within and without is entirely filled with the Holy Spirit. Now we enter the highest stage of the spiritual life, where Christ is fully grown and matured in us. We have, therefore, called this highest stage, “Christ’s full growth in us.”
Let us look at the type in the Old Testament as shown in the account of the Israelites’ departure from Egypt and their entrance into Canaan. At the outset of their journey, by passing through the Red Sea, they left Egypt, the land of bondage, while Pharaoh and his army were buried under the sea. Henceforth, the world with its usurping power was stripped off. Later, they fought with the Amalekites, which was a type of their dealing with the flesh. Then the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. The number forty in the Bible denotes testing and affliction. God led them to walk through the wilderness for forty years, because He desired, by means of testing and affliction, to expose the wickedness of their flesh. His intention was that the flesh should be dealt with exhaustively. Our experience is the same. After baptism, it is not enough to deal with the flesh just once; we must be dealt with in the hand of God for months and years. Sometimes God leads us through the wilderness so that not only is our living difficult, but even our spirits are dry, depressed, and miserable. The only reason for this is that through testing and affliction our flesh might be dealt with.
When the Israelites fulfilled their days of wandering, God led them through the Jordan, and they were circumcised in Gilgal. On one hand, they entered the promised land of Canaan in a practical way; on the other hand, they were facing the seven nations of the Canaanites, and warfare was required in order to annihilate them and establish the kingdom of God. This prefigures the fact that when our days of testing in the spiritual wilderness are fulfilled and we have learned to let our flesh be dealt with to a certain degree, God will lead us through the spiritual Jordan, where the flesh will be completely rolled away (Gilgal means, “roll away”) and cut off (Col. 2:11). Henceforth, we shall attain to the heavenly realm in a practical way, thereby inheriting all the fulness of Christ. Furthermore, it is at this very time that we contact the hosts of evil spirits in the heavenlies and begin the experience of spiritual warfare.
During their entire journey, the Israelites passed through two bodies of water: the Red Sea, and the River Jordan. The Red Sea was for the burial of Pharaoh and his armies, whereas the Jordan was for the burial of the Israelites themselves. When they passed through the Jordan, they brought twelve stones over with them and set up another twelve stones in the river bed. These two groups of twelve stones represent the twelve tribes. They signify that the old twelve tribes were terminated in the Jordan, and the newborn twelve tribes passed over to the other side of the river to enter into the promised land. Both of these two bodies of water through which they passed typify the death of Christ. The water of the Red Sea is a type of the aspect of Christ’s death which ends the power of the world. The water of the Jordan represents the aspect of Christ’s death which brings our old man to an end. When the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, they could fight only with the Amalekites; not until they passed through the Jordan could they fight with the seven nations of the Canaanites. This means that in the beginning of our spiritual life, after our baptism, we can only have warfare with the flesh (Gal. 5:17). Not until our spiritual life has reached the climax, when our flesh has been completely buried and rolled away and all our difficulties within have been resolved, will we be able to deal with the enemy without and engage in spiritual warfare.
We understand by all these types that the first three stages of our spiritual life have transpired before we pass through the Jordan. The fourth stage occurs after we cross the Jordan and enter into the land of Canaan. All our difficulties have been dealt with on the other side of the River Jordan and in the River Jordan. Now we come to this side of the river to deal with God’s difficulty, to fight against and totally destroy the seven nations of the Canaanites-the powers of spiritual darkness and wickedness in the heavenlies (Eph. 6:12)-who are usurping this promised land of God. Thus, spiritual warfare must be placed in the last and highest stage of our spiritual life. Only by passing through the various dealings and having our own problems solved, can we engage in spiritual warfare.
From another point of view, God has a two-fold purpose for all His redeemed ones: first, and most important, that we be filled with God Himself and manifest His glory; secondly, that we rule for God and deal with His enemy. When we reach the end of the third stage of our spiritual life, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, or God Himself; this, the first and most important purpose of God, has been fulfilled. It is at this time that God desires that we learn to fight for Him and deal with His enemy so that His secondary purpose can be fulfilled in us. This is what we will experience in this fourth stage of our spiritual life.
In this fourth stage, we shall cover five experiences: 1) knowing the Body, 2) knowing the ascension, 3) reigning with Christ, 4) spiritual warfare, or bringing in the kingdom of God, and 5) full of the stature of Christ. Now let us come to the first experience of this stage, that is, knowing the Body.
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