The Enjoyment of Christ
And Our Growth in Life Unto Maturity
Message Five
The Reigning Aspect of the Mature Life
Seen in the Life of Joseph
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Rom. 5:17…Those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Gen. 41:42 And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck.
39:21 Jehovah was with Joseph; and He extended kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.
Word of Appetizer
How does Joseph represent the reigning aspect of the mature Israel?
Joseph represents the reigning aspect of the mature Israel, the constitution of Christ in Jacob’s mature nature; Joseph’s life under the heavenly vision was the life of the kingdom of the heavens described in Matthew 5—7; by living such a life, he was fully prepared to reign as a king; according to the constitution of the heavenly kingdom revealed in these chapters in Matthew, our anger must be subdued, and our lust must be conquered.
The reigning aspect of the mature life is a life that always enjoys the presence of the Lord (Acts 7:9); wherever His presence is, there is authority, the ruling power.
Spiritual Burden
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.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
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 with Christ, the perfect One, Jacob reigned through Joseph.
Joseph as a fruitful bough (Gen. 49:22) typifies Christ as the branch (Isa. 11:1-2) for the branching out of God through His believers as His branches (John 15:1, 5); in Genesis 49:22 the fountain signifies God, the source of fruitfulness (Psa. 36:9; Jer. 2:13), and the branches’ running over the wall signifies that Christ’s believers as His branches spread Christ over every restriction, magnifying Him in all circumstances.
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.
The universal blessing on Joseph consummates in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth, in which everything will be new as a blessing to Christ and His believers.
The Experience of Life
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; 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.
We first receive the sealing Spirit for salvation; then we receive the garment of righteousness and begin to live Christ (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:20-21a). In order for us to live Christ, our neck must be chained, our will must be subdued, by the Holy Spirit.
Practice and Application
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.
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.
The secret of receiving God as our blessing of newness is to bring everything to God and let Him get into everything.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Joseph represents the constitution of Christ in Jacob’s mature life (Gen. 37:7-8)
(Please illustrate that as a type of Christ, Joseph signifies the reigning aspect of a matured saint.）
T2 We are the heavenly people living on earth (Gen. 37:7-8)
(Please illustrate that the more mature in life you become, the less you will speak negatively concerning the saints or the church.)
Day 2
T1 The way to control our lust is to be subdued, controlled, and directed by the vision (Matt. 5:21-22)
(Please illustrate that here in the church life we have the vision of the sheaf and the vision of the star.）
T2 A life such as Joseph’s always has the presence of the Lord (Gen. 39:2-5)
(Take Joseph as an example to illustrate that wherever the presence of the Lord is, there is authority.)
Day 3
T1 We should speak more according to the vision than according to the fulfillment of the vision (Gen. 40:8-9)
(Please illustrate that although Joseph’s dreams had not yet been fulfilled, he had the faith and the boldness to interpret the dreams of his companions.）
T2 Release and authority both come through speaking (Gen. 40:8; 41:16)
(Please illustrate that Joseph’s speaking not only released him from prison, but also ushered him to the throne.)
Day 4
T1 The chained neck signifies a will that has been conquered and subdued to obey God’s commandment (Gen. 41:42)
(Please illustrate that what the ring, the garments, and the gold chain in Genesis 41:42 represent.）
T2 Christ has taken the Gentiles as His wife during the time of His rejection by the Israelites (Gen. 41:45)
(Please illustrate that Joseph took as his wife Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On. What does this typify?)
Day 5
T1 Joseph was not out of control when he saw the fulfillment of his dreams (Rom. 5:17, 21)
(Please illustrate that He was able to control himself in such a way because he was a person with the rulership of the Spirit.）
T2 The strongest thing is to be able not to do something that you can do (Rom. 5:17, 21)
(Please illustrate with examples that Joseph was a person wholly under God’s restriction.)
Day 6
T1 If you take everything as of God, all the offenses will be over (Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28)
(Please illustrate that Joseph loved God; therefore, whatever happened to him was for good.）
T2 When you pay the highest price, you enjoy the best portion (Gen. 47:18-19)
(Please illustrate that Christ has the riches; the amount of these riches that He is able to supply us depends on what we are willing to pay.)
