Joseph's biography indicates that he had no defects. According to the record, he was altogether perfect. In the Bible Joseph is the perfect one in the Old Testament, and Jesus is the perfect One in the New Testament. The four biographies of Jesus in the New Testament reveal that He was perfect, without defect. The record of Joseph in the Old Testament reveals that he also was perfect. Some may say that in order to be a type of Christ, Joseph had to be perfect. But was not David a type of Christ? Certainly he was. But David, a type of Christ, committed gross sin. Solomon also was a type of Christ, but he too was sinful. With the exception of Joseph, all the personal types of Christ in the Old Testament had some shortcomings.
As a type of Christ, Joseph signifies the reigning aspect of a matured saint, the mature Israel. Certainly the reigning aspect of such a person must be perfect. None of us, of course, is perfect. However, in our reigning aspect we are perfect. Whenever we are reigning in the spirit, we are perfect. Nevertheless, you may say, "I am not perfect. Rather, I am like Judah." However, the aspect of you which is like Judah is not your reigning aspect, but your fallen aspect. Yes, according to your fallen aspect you are like Judah in chapter thirty-eight. Both chapters thirty-seven and thirty-nine are chapters of perfection. Chapter thirty-eight, on the contrary, is a chapter of perversion. Thus, the reigning aspect is in chapter thirty-seven and the fallen aspect in chapter thirty-eight. Perhaps yesterday you were reigning for God, but today you may have committed sin, even a gross sin. This reveals the fact that we have various aspects. In this message we shall deal only with the reigning aspect.
I hope that we all shall see that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Joseph are one person. Joseph is not a separate aspect of a complete spiritual person as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are. Rather, as we have seen, Joseph is an aspect of Jacob. The Bible does not say that God is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and the God of Joseph. This would make God quaternary instead of triune. There are only three. But when we come in Jacob to the stage of maturity, we see that with the mature life there is the reigning aspect. Neither Abraham nor Isaac reigned. But Joseph reigned representatively for Jacob. In other words, Jacob reigned through Joseph.
In 1:26, when God created man, He said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion..." In the last few chapters of Genesis we see an Israel expressing God's image and exercising His dominion. The exercise of God's dominion over all things is manifested in Joseph's life, whereas God's image is expressed in Israel. Joseph is not separate from Jacob, but is an aspect of the life that expresses God's image. The two aspects of expressing God's image and exercising God's dominion must be found in one person. Therefore, what is found in Joseph's life may be called the reigning aspect of the matured Israel. Without this light, you will not be able to understand this portion of the Word. Sorry to say, most Christians do not have this light.
Our goal must be to express God with His image and to represent Him with His dominion. For this, we are chosen and fallen as Jacob; we are called, we are justified, and we live by faith as Abraham; we inherit the riches of Christ and enjoy them as Isaac; and finally we struggle, we suffer, we are dealt with, and we reach maturity as Jacob. We all have the "Jacobean" struggling nature within us. If we were told not to struggle, we would struggle just the same. Struggling, however, is not necessarily wrong. If one has been a Christian for years but has never struggled, it means that he is not one who is seeking the Lord. It also means that he is not interested in gaining the birthright. But once we realize something about the birthright, we shall struggle to be holy and spiritual, and our "Jacobean" struggling nature will come out. When you struggle, be prepared to suffer. Along with the suffering, you will be under God's dealing hand. You may be smart, but God has a Laban who is smarter than you are. Be prepared to suffer and to be dealt with by the hand of God. Eventually you will reach maturity, and the reigning aspect of the matured Israel will be seen in your life. This is the reigning aspect represented by Joseph.
Again I say, Joseph is not a complete person, but simply an aspect of a matured saint who has passed through the experiences represented by the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After passing through all these experiences, the matured saint has an aspect that is constituted solely of Christ. Because this aspect of him is the constitution of Christ, it is perfect. Joseph represents this constituted aspect of a matured saint. In each of us there is a part that is constituted of Christ. Even if you have just been regenerated, a part of you, your regenerated spirit, has been constituted of Christ. This is the beginning of Christ's constitution in you. The process of being constituted of Christ will continue until it reaches its climax when the reigning aspect comes forth in you. When you are fully matured, you will have this top portion, this top aspect. This is the constitution of Christ, an aspect of the mature life constituted of Christ.
No doubt, Joseph is the perfect type of Christ because he portrays the constituted aspect of a mature saint. If the aspect of you which is constituted of Christ is not perfect, then surely no part of you could be perfect. In us who are fallen, saved, called, redeemed, and regenerated there is nothing perfect except the constituting Christ. Hallelujah, we have Christ's constitution within us! I repeat, Joseph represents the constitution of Christ in Jacob's mature life. This aspect, Christ constituted in the matured saints, is perfect. Hence, it perfectly typifies Christ.