According to spiritual experience,
Jacob and Joseph
are one person;
Joseph represents
the reigning aspect
of the mature Israel,
the constitution of Christ
in Jacob’s mature nature;
as a mature saint
constituted of Christ, the perfect One,
Jacob reigned through Joseph:
The reigning aspect
typified by Joseph
is Christ
constituted into our being.
The reigning aspect
of the mature life
is a life
that always enjoys
the presence of the Lord;
wherever His presence is,
there is
authority, the ruling power:
In the presence of the Lord,
Joseph was prospered by Him;
while Joseph was undergoing ill-treatment,
he enjoyed
the Lord’s prosperity
that came to him
under the Lord’s sovereignty.
In the presence of the Lord,
Joseph was favored with the Lord’s blessing
wherever he was;
when Joseph enjoyed prosperity,
he and those who were involved with him
were blessed.
Although his own dreams
were not yet fulfilled,
Joseph had
the faith and the boldness
to interpret the dreams
of his two companions in prison;
eventually,
Joseph was released from prison indirectly
through his speaking by faith
in interpreting the cupbearer’s dream,
and he was ushered to the throne directly
through his speaking boldly
in interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams;
both release and authority
came to him
through his speaking:
Andrew Murray
once said a word like this:
the good minister of the Word
should always minister
more than he has experienced;
this means
that we should speak more
according to the vision
than according to the fulfillment
of the vision.
Even if our vision
has not been fulfilled,
we should still speak of it to others;
the time will come
when our vision will be fulfilled;
Joseph’s dreams
were eventually fulfilled
through his interpretation
of the dream of the cupbearer.
If we are living out Christ,
we will bring either life or death
wherever we are (2 Cor. 2:14-16);
to the cupbearer,
Joseph brought restoration;
to the baker,
he brought execution.
If we seek the Lord,
He will put us into a “dungeon”;
without the dungeon
we cannot ascend to the throne;
we must not be a dungeon dropout;
we must stay in the dungeon
until we graduate
and receive the crown
(James 1:12; cf. Phil. 3:8).
We should not speak
according to our feelings
but according to the heavenly vision;
we are visionaries, seers,
of God’s eternal economy,
so we should speak
according to the absoluteness
of the truth of His economy
(Acts 26:16-19):
The visions
that Joseph saw
not only controlled his life
but also sustained his faith.
Because Joseph was important and valuable,
the time of his testing
could not be shortened.
In his receiving glory and gifts in his enthronement,
Joseph typifies Christ,
who received glory and gifts in His ascension:
The ring, the garments, and the gold chain
portray the gifts
that Christ received
in His ascension to the heavens,
which gifts He has passed on to the church:
The signet ring
signifies the Holy Spirit as a seal
within and upon Christ’s believers.
The garments signify Christ
as our objective righteousness
for our justification before God
and as our subjective righteousness
lived out of us
that we may be qualified
to participate in
the marriage of the Lamb.
The gold chain
signifies the beauty of the Holy Spirit
given for obedience
expressed in submission;
a chained neck
signifies a will
that has been conquered and subdued
to obey God’s commandment.
According to the sequence
of spiritual experience,
we first receive
the sealing of the Spirit for salvation;
then we receive
the garment of righteousness
and begin to live Christ;
in order for us to live Christ,
our neck must be chained,
our will must be conquered and subdued,
by the Holy Spirit.
After being resurrected from
the prison of death
and ushered into
the position of ascension,
Joseph married Asenath,
who portrays the church
taken out of the Gentile world
during Christ’s rejection
by the children of Israel;
Joseph called
the name of his firstborn Manasseh
(meaning “making to forget”)
and his second Ephraim
(meaning “twice fruitful”);
Joseph declared,
“God has made me forget
all my trouble and all my father’s house,”
and “God has made me fruitful
in the land of my affliction”.
The record of Joseph’s life
is a revelation
of the rulership of the Spirit,
for the rulership of the Spirit
is the reigning aspect of a mature saint;
the rulership of the Spirit
(a life of reigning in life,
being under the restriction and limitation
of the divine life
in the reality of God’s kingdom)
is higher than any other aspect of the Spirit:
Although Joseph
was full of human feelings and sentiments
toward his brothers,
he kept himself with all his feelings
under the rulership of the Spirit;
he dealt with his brothers
soberly, wisely, and with discernment,
disciplining them
according to their need
in order to perfect them
and build them up
that they might be
a collective people
living together
as God’s testimony on earth.
Joseph denied himself
and placed himself
absolutely under God’s sovereign leading,
conducting himself wholly
for the interest of God and His people.
Joseph’s living under God’s restriction,
a portrait of the human living of Christ,
manifested the maturity and perfection
of the divine life
and brought in God’s kingdom.
In Joseph’s dealings with his brothers,
we see
that he lived
a calm life, a sober life, and a discerning life
with love for the brothers
—a self-denying life
as the practice of the kingdom life.
Joseph’s sentiments, feelings,
considerations, and preferences
were absolutely under
the rulership and control of the Spirit.
The life manifested in the story of Joseph
is the resurrection life, the life of God;
his sentiments
were under the control of the resurrection life
to meet the need of his brothers.
Joseph is a living illustration of
what is revealed in the New Testament;
he was a self-denying person
who had
no self-interest, self-enjoyment, self-feeling,
self-ambition, or self-goal;
everything was for God and for God’s people;
Joseph’s self-denial,
his restriction under God’s sovereign hand,
was the key to
the practice of the kingdom life.
The most powerful person
is the one
who has the strength
not to do
what he is able to do
—this is the real denial of the self
and the genuine bearing of the cross.
Joseph’s realization
that it was God
who sent him to Egypt
(even though his brothers
intended evil against him)
is the reality of
Paul’s word in Romans 8:28-29.
Joseph did not need
to forgive his brothers,
because he
did not blame them;
he received
as from God
all that his brothers had done to him,
and he comforted those
who had offended him;
what grace,
and what an excellent spirit,
he had!
Because Joseph suffered
and denied himself,
he gained
the riches of the life supply;
in order to receive food from him,
the people had to pay
four kinds of prices:
their money, their livestock,
their land, and themselves
(47:14-23; cf. Rev. 3:18):
Money represents convenience,
livestock signifies the means of living,
and land represents resources;
if we would receive the life supply
from the Lord as the Dispenser,
we must give Him
our convenience,
our means of livelihood,
and our resources;
the more we give Him,
the more life supply
we will receive from Him.
Ultimately,
in order to receive
the best portion from the Lord,
including food for satisfaction
and seed to produce something for others,
we must hand
ourselves, every part of our being,
over to Him.
When we pay the highest price
by handing over
every part of our being
to Him,
we enjoy the best portion
of the enjoyment of Christ.
Hits: 15
7 replies on “Joseph – the Reigning Aspect of the Mature Life”
Prophecy note, 23 November 2014
What we see in the life of Joseph
is the rulership of the Spirit.
The term the rulership of the Spirit
is something new.
This aspect of the Spirit
is higher than any other aspect.
It is even higher than
the building of the Spirit.
The rulership of the Spirit
is the topstone, the capstone, of the structure
of the teaching of the Spirit.
The record of Joseph’s life
is a revelation
of the rulership of the Spirit,
for the rulership of the Spirit
is the reigning aspect
of a matured saint.
The life
manifested in the story of Joseph
is not the human life,
much less the fallen life.
Moreover,
it is not even the good natural life.
Rather,
it is
the resurrection life, the life of God.
Although Joseph
was in an exciting situation,
he did not display any looseness.
This is life.
With Joseph
we see
not only life
but also the way of life,
which is to keep ourselves
under control.
Never think
that Joseph was not human.
He was full of
human feelings and sentiments,
but he kept himself
with all his feelings
under the rulership of the Spirit.
Therefore,
in Joseph
we see
not only the mature life
but a reigning life
and the way of this reigning life.
We all, especially the young people,
need such a life and such a way
that is the reigning aspect
of a mature person.
This life
is not easily excited,
and it does not reveal its glory.
Instead,
in the midst of excitement
it remains calm,
controls itself,
and conceals its glory.
The most powerful person
is the one
who has the strength
not to do
what he is able to do
—this is the real denial of the self
and the genuine bearing of the cross.
Joseph did not need
to forgive his brothers,
because he
did not blame them;
he received
as from God
all that his brothers
had done to him,
and he comforted those
who had offended him;
what grace,
and what an excellent spirit,
he had!
Day 6
The genuine life supply
is never sold cheaply.
If you want the supply,
then you must pay the price.
The concept of generosity
is a worldly concept.
Joseph was in another realm,
where there was
neither generosity nor scarcity,
just the supply and the price.
In the Lord’s recovery
nothing is cheap.
If you want the food,
you must pay the price.
The greater the price
you pay,
the greater supply
you will receive.
The people
who came to Joseph for food
paid four kinds of prices:
their money, their cattle,
their land, and themselves.
These four items
cover all the prices
we need to pay today.
When we pay
with our money, cattle,
lands, and ourselves,
we receive
all four types of supply.
The first supply
is not as rare or precious
as the fourth supply.
Each supply is more precious
than the previous one,
and the last
is the most precious of all.
According to a superficial understanding,
money is what we depend on.
Actually, money represents convenience.
Some are not willing to pay
the price for the supply
because they are concerned about
losing their conveniences.
To take the way of the Lord’s recovery
is costly and inconvenient.
Yes, if you take this way,
you will lose your conveniences,
but you will gain the supply.
The second item
the people had to pay
for the food supply
was their cattle.
Cattle signifies
the means of our living.
Today you may care very much
about your automobile.
Perhaps you are afraid
that it will be stolen.
If so,
your automobile is your donkey.
For those with a doctoral degree,
their degree is their donkey.
For others
their position is their donkey.
But Christ, the rich One, the Supplier,
is here,
and He is neither generous nor stingy.
Although He does not want
to squeeze anything out of you,
for your sake
He requires
that you pay a price.
He will never sell His supply cheaply.
After you pay your money,
you need to pay with your cattle.
Only by handing over your cattle
will you receive the second supply.
After handing over our cattle,
we need to hand over our land.
The land represents our resources.
The Lord Jesus
is a “robber”;
He “robs” His lovers of everything.
He takes
our money, our cattle, and our land.
The Lord Jesus in His recovery
“robs” us of everything
—of our convenience,
our means of livelihood,
and our resources.
If you are willing to give the Lord your lands,
you will receive the third supply.
The last item
the Lord requires
is ourselves,
including every aspect of our being.
The Lord Jesus
will claim
every part of you.
Have your ears been claimed by Him?
If they have,
you will not listen to
anything other than Christ.
Have your lips been claimed?
If so,
then they will be used differently.
Has your whole being been claimed
by the Lord Jesus?
I doubt
that very many
have handed over their whole being
to the Lord.
Why are there still so many opinions,
and why is there
so little oneness and building
in today’s Christianity?
It is due to the fact
that very few
are willing to hand themselves over
to Christ.
By making
the last payment, the payment of themselves,
to Joseph,
the people partook of the top portion.
When you pay the highest price,
you enjoy the best portion.
Eventually,
we receive
not only food for satisfaction,
but also seed for reproduction.
When the Lord Jesus comes,
the whole earth
will belong to Christ,
and we shall hand over
whatever we have
and whatever we are to Him.
If we make the fourth payment,
we shall receive
not only the food
to satisfy ourselves
but also the seed
to produce something for others.
Day 5
Gen. 43:30-31
And Joseph hurried
—for his inward parts burned for his brother—
and sought a place to weep.
So he entered into his chamber and wept there.
Then he washed his face and came out,
and he controlled himself and said,
Serve the meal.
What we see in the life of Joseph
is the rulership of the Spirit.
You may have heard of
the regeneration of the Spirit,
the conviction of the Spirit,
the inspiration of the Spirit,
the infilling of the Spirit,
the anointing of the Spirit,
the power of the Spirit,
the light of the Spirit,
and the life of the Spirit,
but the term the rulership of the Spirit
is something new.
This aspect of the Spirit
is higher than any other aspect.
It is even higher than
the building of the Spirit.
The rulership of the Spirit
is the topstone, the capstone, of the structure
of the teaching of the Spirit.
The record of Joseph’s life
is a revelation
of the rulership of the Spirit,
for the rulership of the Spirit
is the reigning aspect
of a matured saint.
The life manifested in the story of Joseph
is not the human life,
much less the fallen life.
Moreover,
it is not even the good natural life.
Rather,
it is
the resurrection life, the life of God.
Although Joseph was in an exciting situation,
he did not display any looseness.
This is life.
With Joseph
we see
not only life
but also the way of life,
which is to keep ourselves under control.
Never think
that Joseph was not human.
He was full of
human feelings and sentiments,
but he kept himself with all his feelings
under the rulership of the Spirit.
Therefore,
in Joseph
we see not
only the mature life
but a reigning life
and the way of this reigning life.
We all, especially the young people,
need such a life and such a way
that is the reigning aspect
of a mature person.
This life
is not easily excited,
and it does not reveal its glory.
Instead,
in the midst of excitement
it remains calm,
controls itself,
and conceals its glory.
Joseph’s brothers
were under his control,
and he could have done
whatever he wanted with them.
If he had wanted them beheaded,
he had the authority
to command it.
He also could have feasted with them
if he had wanted to do that.
But as one
representing the reigning aspect
of the mature life,
Joseph behaved in a proper way
toward everyone.
Because not all his brothers were the same,
he did not treat them all in the same way.
The one who was the most evil
required the most thorough discipline.
As a type of Christ,
Joseph did the same thing to his brothers
that Christ will do
to the nation of Israel
in the future.
First,
Joseph disciplined them.
Joseph did everything
soberly and with discernment.
But this did not mean
that he had no love for his brothers.
On the contrary,
he had a great deal of love toward them.
However,
at the time
he could not openly display
his love for them.
Rather,
he had to extend love to them
in a secret way.
He did this
by restoring their money
and by giving them
provision for their journey.
Because Joseph’s brothers
did not understand
his wise dealing with them,
they were frightened
by his secret love.
During the seven years of plenty,
Joseph stored up the grain.
He did not take care of
his own interests.
It was not an easy task
to store all that grain.
For seven years
Joseph gathered the grain
and stored it in barns.
This was
a big job.
On the one hand,
Joseph was laboring;
on the other hand,
he was suffering
because he was separated from his father.
During these seven years
he did not care for himself
but made arrangements
for others
to be taken care of
in the future.
What he did in the seven years of plenty
was for the people.
He did this
at the cost of taking care of his own interests,
at the cost of seeing his father.
The riches
are not with the inexperienced ones.
In order to be rich,
we need to suffer
for a long period of time.
It took Joseph twenty years,
from the age of seventeen
to the age of thirty-seven,
to become rich.
Eventually,
after many years of suffering,
the food
was in his hands.
Because he had the food,
all the hungry ones
came to him.
Day 4
In his receiving glory and gifts
in his enthronement,
Joseph typifies Christ,
who received glory and gifts
in His ascension.
The ring, the garments, and the gold chain
portray the gifts that Christ received
in His ascension to the heavens,
which gifts He has passed on to the church.
The signet ring
signifies the Holy Spirit as a seal
within and upon Christ’s believers.
The garments
signify Christ
as our objective righteousness
for our justification before God
and as our subjective righteousness
lived out of us
that we may be qualified
to participate in the marriage of the Lamb.
The golden chain
signifies the beauty of the Holy Spirit
given for obedience
expressed in submission.
A chained neck
signifies a will
that has been conquered and subdued
to obey God’s commandment.
According to the sequence of spiritual experience,
we first receive
the sealing Spirit for salvation;
then we receive
the garment of righteousness
and begin to live Christ.
In order for us to live Christ,
our neck must be chained,
our will must be subdued,
by the Holy Spirit.
In Genesis 41:45
we see that Joseph
took as his wife Asenath,
the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On.
Joseph’s wife
was a heathen, an Egyptian.
Joseph took her
during the time he was rejected by his brothers.
This also is a type
portraying how Christ has taken the Gentiles
as His wife
during the time
of His rejection by the Israelites.
In the book of Genesis
we have seen three wives
who portray the church:
Eve, the wife of Adam;
Rebekah, the wife of Isaac;
and Asenath, the wife of Joseph.
As the wife of Adam,
Eve portrays
how the church comes out of Christ
and is a part of Christ.
She typifies
how the church is the same
in life and nature
as Christ
and eventually becomes
one Body with Him.
Thus, Eve typifies the church
being a part of Christ,
coming out of Christ,
returning to Christ,
and being one with Christ.
Rebekah portrays the church
as the called and selected one,
the one from the same source as Christ.
Isaac came from a particular source,
and Abraham’s servant
was sent to that source
to select and call a wife for Isaac
and to bring her to him.
This selected one
was Rebekah.
Asenath portrays the church
taken out of the Gentile world by Christ
during His rejection by the children of Israel.
During the time of this rejection,
Christ came to the Gentile world,
stayed there,
and received the church
out of the Gentile world.
Of his wife, Asenath,
Joseph begot two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim.
The name Manasseh
means “making to forget”.
This indicates
that with the birth of Manasseh
Joseph forgot all his afflictions.
When Manasseh was born,
Joseph seemed to say,
“Praise the Lord!
He has caused me
to forget my afflictions.”
This reveals
that when the church is productive,
Christ will declare
that He has forgotten
His afflictions.
The name of Joseph’s second son
was Ephraim,
which means “twice fruitful”.
When Ephraim was born,
Joseph said,
“God has made me fruitful
in the land of my affliction.”
With Joseph,
instead of affliction,
there was fruitfulness.
When we preach the gospel and produce fruit,
Christ will be happy and declare,
“There is no more affliction.
But look at all the fruit!”
Day 3
Wherever you are,
you will bring
either life or death.
To the cupbearer,
Joseph brought life.
In the cupbearer’s dream
we see a vine
full of life.
But to the baker,
Joseph brought death,
because the baker
was devoured by birds.
It is
not an insignificant matter
to be a Joseph,
for wherever you go,
people will either receive life
or suffer death.
Either they will go to Christ
typified by the vine
full of life,
or they will be devoured by Satan,
represented by the birds of the air.
In 2 Corinthians 2:14
the apostle Paul said,
“But thanks be to God,
who always leads us
in triumph in the Christ
and manifests the savor
of the knowledge of Him
through us in every place.”
In verse 16
Paul says,
“To some
a savor out of death unto death,
and to the others
a savor out of life unto life.”
No matter who a person may be,
if he contacts you,
it will be
either life or death to him.
This is
a very significant matter.
This is
the experience of Joseph.
Young people,
no matter how long your trial may be,
do not be disappointed.
You need to recognize
that your trial
is of God.
No one can be enthroned
without being tried and tested.
Although we
like to be enthroned immediately,
God would say,
“The time is not yet.
Do not talk to Me
about enthronement.
You need to be put into the dungeon.”
If you seek the Lord,
the Lord will put you into a dungeon.
Perhaps all who are around you
—your wife, your children, the elders,
and the brothers and sisters—
intend to respect you;
however,
whatever they do
only serves to put you into a dungeon.
Without the dungeon,
we cannot ascend to the throne.
Do not be a dungeon dropout;
stay in the dungeon
until you graduate
and receive the crown.
If Joseph had not stayed in the dungeon
for twelve years,
he would not have been qualified
to rule over the land of Egypt.
For this,
he had to be thirty years of age.
Those twelve years in the dungeon
accomplished a great deal for him,
not through objective education
but through subjective suffering and discipline.
Be patient;
eventually
you will be qualified
to rule.
Joseph was truly a dreamer,
and his life
was a life of dreams.
A victorious and overcoming Christian
will always be a dreamer.
You need to have dreams,
and you need to interpret
the dreams of others.
Day by day,
let us all speak
according to our vision,
according to our dreams.
Furthermore,
we must interpret
the visions of others,
and we must live
according to our vision.
We should not speak
according to our feelings
but according to the vision.
We are visionaries.
Because we are visionaries,
we do everything
according to the vision.
Although a certain thing
has not yet come to pass,
we speak according to
what we have seen of it,
and we find
that our vision
is being fulfilled.
What we are describing in this message
is not a mere doctrine.
As we follow the heavenly vision,
we shall trace Joseph’s footsteps.
Never think
that Joseph was enthroned immediately
after he saw the vision.
No,
he had to pass through
a long period of trial and testing.
The visions Joseph saw
not only controlled his life;
they also sustained his faith.
This does not mean, however,
that if your faith is stronger,
the length of time
until the fulfillment of your dreams
will be shortened.
Rather,
the stronger
your faith is,
the longer
the period of testing
will be.
Joseph’s time of testing
was much longer
than that of his companions
because he was more valuable than they.
Because they were not so valuable,
the time of their fulfillment
came very quickly.
Actually,
for those two latecomers,
there was nearly no testing.
They each had a dream,
and a few days later
their dreams were fulfilled.
Because Joseph was important and valuable,
the time of his testing
could not be shortened.
Day 2
Joseph was tested by the fact
that his dreams were not fulfilled.
Immediately after Joseph had his dreams,
he told his parents and brothers about them.
Not long after that,
he was sold into slavery
and then cast into prison
where, I believe, he stayed over ten years.
In his dreams
there was no indication or implication
that Joseph would suffer.
However, immediately after
Joseph had those dreams,
he had to endure suffering.
Likewise, I can testify
that the throne does not immediately follow
the vision of Christ, the church,
the cross, or the inner life.
Instead, there is
suffering, trial,
betrayal, and imprisonment.
Those of us
who have been in the church life for many years
have had this experience.
Perhaps some years ago
you saw a wonderful vision
concerning Christ and the church life.
Perhaps you even sang
about the glorious church life.
But what has actually happened
in the church life
has not been that excellent or glorious.
During his imprisonment
Joseph had
the faith and the boldness
to interpret the dreams
of his two companions in prison
even though his dreams
were not yet fulfilled.
It is the same with us
in the church life today.
Some brothers and sisters
are what we may call old-time dreamers.
They are those
who had dreams a long time ago.
Although they were excited
by the visions they saw
and the wonderful messages they heard,
they were later sold into Egypt.
Instead of
being surrounded by sheaves,
they found themselves
surrounded by “Egyptian scorpions”;
and instead of
being in the third heaven,
they found themselves
in prison.
Then some latecomers
joined them in prison,
just as Joseph
was joined in his confinement
by the chief cupbearer and the baker.
These latecomers
also had some dreams.
They could not understand their dreams,
but Joseph was able to interpret them.
Although Joseph’s dreams
had not yet been fulfilled,
he had the faith and the boldness
to interpret the dreams of his companions.
Joseph seemed to be saying,
“I had two dreams,
and God gave me
the interpretation of them.
I still believe in these interpretations,
although they have not yet been fulfilled.
I have the faith
to interpret your dreams for you.”
Do you have the boldness to say
that the church life is wonderful,
even when you
are surrounded by some “Egyptians”?
Could you say this
even when your dream of the church life
has not yet been fulfilled
and the church life
is not wonderful to you?
Joseph believed
not only for himself,
but also for others.
If your dreams
have been fulfilled
according to your interpretation,
it is easy to interpret
the dreams of others.
But in Joseph’s case,
even after a period of about ten years,
the interpretation of his own dreams
had not been fulfilled.
It was difficult
for one in such a situation
to interpret the dreams of others.
Nevertheless,
Joseph did so.
Andrew Murray
once said a word like this:
The good minister of the Word
should always minister
more than what he has experienced.
This means
that we should speak more
according to the vision
than according to the fulfillment
of the vision.
Even if our vision
has not been fulfilled,
we should still speak of it to others.
The time will come
when our vision will be fulfilled.
Joseph’s dreams
were eventually fulfilled
through his interpretation
of the dream of the cupbearer.
It was just a matter of days
before the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker
were fulfilled.
When the dreams of Joseph’s companions
were fulfilled,
Joseph was confirmed and strengthened.
Day 1
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,
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Joseph represents
the reigning aspect
of the mature life.
As such a representative,
Joseph typifies Christ,
for the reigning aspect
of the mature life
is Christ
constituted into our being.
In the presence of the Lord,
Joseph was prospered by Him.
Where the presence of the Lord is,
there is
not only the Lord’s authority
but also prosperity
brought about by the Lord’s sovereignty.
While Joseph was undergoing ill-treatment,
he enjoyed the prosperity
that came to him
under the Lord’s sovereignty.
In the Lord’s presence,
Joseph was favored with
the Lord’s blessing
wherever he was.
When Joseph enjoyed prosperity,
he and those who were involved with him
were blessed .
If we do not know
how to control
our tears, laughter, or anger,
it means
that we are childish in life.
The strongest sign
that we are matured
is that we are able to control our emotion.
When the two sons of Aaron
were burned in the presence of God,
there were indications
that Aaron was forbidden to weep.
Aaron might have said,
“My two sons
have just died in my sight,
and you ask me not to weep.
Moses, you are not human.”
Both Moses and Aaron
were in the presence of the Lord.
Moses could serve God in His presence
because he knew
how to control
his feelings of sympathy for his brother.
Aaron took Moses’ word.
Whether or not
you should weep, laugh, or be angry
depends upon the Lord’s presence.
We are not in the world
but in the presence of the Lord
in the Holy of Holies.
When you are about to express your emotion,
you should not do so
according to your feeling.
Rather, you must express your emotion
according to God’s presence.
Joseph could be the ruler in Egypt
because he was mature.
Being mature,
he ruled over himself
and over the whole earth.
At the right time
Joseph wept regarding his brothers.
Even this reveals
that he was a person
fully under the control
of God’s guidance.
In Genesis 42 through 44
Joseph did not weep
in the presence of his brothers.
But in chapter 45,
after the brothers
had passed through the dealings
and had learned their lessons,
Joseph wept.