May we look to the Lord in Christ.
Dear heavenly Father, once again we want to thank Thee for allowing us to be gathered together unto the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus. The prayer of our hearts for this time is that Thou, our Lord, wilt fill our vision, that we may see no one but Jesus only, because He is the only One who is worthy to be seen, to be heard, to be loved, and to be worshipped.
We give this time to Thee. Glorify Thyself. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
I would like to read again the letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 1, from Verse 3 through Verse 14.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:
even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him in love:
having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
in whom we have our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,
which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
making known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him
unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in Him,
in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will;
to the end that we should be unto the praise of His glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,—in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of His glory.
And then the Gospel according to Matthew, just one verse: Matthew 1:1.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
I believe everybody is quite familiar now that our theme is purpose, walk, and warfare. I am responsible for purpose.
In Ephesians, we read that according to the good pleasure of His will—our God is a living God—He has a will. And His will is good, acceptable, and perfect. He wills according to His good pleasure because He is God.
Having a will, that will is a purpose. He hides it within Himself. So in Ephesians we are told of the mystery of His will. It is a tremendous will, a wonderful, glorious will, as glorious as God Himself. But it is so wonderful that He hides it as a secret in Himself.
It is beyond the comprehension of all created things. It is a mystery, a secret, that needs to be revealed by God to us. But even though that mystery was not revealed in the beginning, God works all things according to that will. He has a counsel, a plan, to work out that will until that will is fully realized.
In the first session we had on purpose, we mentioned that we can see the purpose of God hidden in creation, particularly in the creation of man. When God created man, He had that purpose in view.
Actually, you find the man that God is after is not Adam; it is Christ. But thank God that with Christ, He also has the church in His view, as Eve was built and given to man.
This morning, in our second session on purpose, we would like to fellowship together on purpose illustrated in human history.
I think we know that, according to Archbishop Ussher, he computed that probably from the creation of man to our present time is about six thousand years.
Now, many things happened in human history during these six millennia. But, brothers and sisters, everything that ever happens in the history of mankind, big or small, is related to the purpose of God.
To put it another way, all the history of mankind is governed by the purpose of God. That is the reason sometimes we say history is His story. And I think it is very true: history is His story.
If we miss Him, we miss altogether the meaning of history. All the events, all the things that happen throughout these six thousand years, will be completely meaningless. It is just chaotic if we do not see the purpose of God—that is, Christ.
Now, of course, we cannot go through six thousand years of human history and try to find, in every detail, the purpose of God illustrated. But we do have a key to illustrate God’s purpose in human history.
I believe that key is in Matthew 1:1. Here you find the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. So this morning we would like to see human history illustrating the purpose of God in the Son of Abraham and the Son of David. That is the generation of our Lord Jesus.
Our dear brother yesterday led us through the life of Abraham. He showed us how Abraham, the father of faith, walked before God and was blessed. Our brother showed us step by step how he was separated again and again, in order that he might be blameless before God.
Now this morning, I would like to retrace the steps, but with a different emphasis.
When Abram was in Mesopotamia, in Acts 7, you find that the God of glory appeared to Abraham in the land of Mesopotamia before he came to Haran. There God appeared to him and told him to go out of the land, and from his kindred, into the place that God would show him.
By faith, Abram obeyed. He left, not knowing where he was going. But then we find him in Haran. Now, we are told that from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran is about six hundred miles.
We do not know for sure how many years he spent in Haran. But one thing we know: after the God of glory appeared to him in Mesopotamia and gave him that order, in all those years in Haran there was no appearing of the Lord.
Not until Abram’s father, Terah, passed away did God appear to Abram again and give him the same order, but with a reminder: “Go out of the land. You have not gone out of the land yet. Go out of your kindred. You have not done that yet. And out of your father’s house, and go to the place that I will show you.”
So, brothers and sisters, whenever we obey God and obey only partially—maybe halfway, or maybe more than halfway—we will find that in the sight of God, it is not obedience. God is not pleased with halfway obedience. God demands absolute obedience because He is God.
So Abram obeyed God, and he left and continued his journey until he came to the land of Canaan. We are told it was probably another four hundred miles.
After he arrived in Canaan, as our brother mentioned yesterday, God appeared to him. In Genesis 12:7, God said:
Unto thy seed will I give this land.
God promised to give the land to the seed of Abraham.
After Abram came out of Egypt, both Abram and his nephew Lot had many cattle. Because of this, their servants began to quarrel over the grazing ground. So Abram told Lot, “The whole land is before you; choose. If you go to the east, I will go to the west.”
As our brother already mentioned, Lot chose Sodom and Gomorrah because that place looked like Egypt. You know, they had just come out of Egypt.
After Lot left, God spoke to Abram in Genesis 13. God told him to lift up his eyes and look in the four directions. Whatever he saw, God said, “I will give it to you. I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if any man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.”
God told him to walk through the land, and whatever he covered would be given to him.
Then we remember, after his victory over the kings, in Genesis 15, God came to Abram in a vision and said:
Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Abram said to God:
O Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?
Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
When God said, “I am thy shield. I will protect you, and I will be thy exceeding great reward,” Abram said, “Well, what good is it for me to receive an exceeding great reward, since I have no seed? I am childless, and the one who is to be the heir will be one of my domestics, Eliezer of Damascus.”
Eliezer means, “God is my help.” Evidently, Abram got that slave when he sojourned in Haran. You know, in the old days it was a custom: if you had no child, one of your servants could be the heir of your inheritance.
So Abram said, “Well, Eliezer, one of the domestics, will be the heir.” And God said, “No.”
This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
You remember that God led him out—it was in the night—and showed him the stars in the sky, and said:
Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: so shall thy seed be.
Abram believed, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
At the same time, God made a covenant with him. In Genesis 15:18, He said:
Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.
But Abram waited, and still there was no birth from Sarah. Finally, we remember the story: Hagar, the handmaid of Sarah, was given to Abram, hoping that she would get a child through her.
Hagar was given to Sarah and Abram during their sojourn in Egypt. So they picked up Hagar when they were in Egypt. They were trying to help God fulfill His promise.
Ishmael was born. Ishmael means, “God hears.”
Yet when Abram had Ishmael, he was eighty-six years old. About thirteen years passed, and during those years God did not speak to Abram. Now, brothers and sisters, when God does not speak, it means something is terribly wrong.
Our God loves to speak to us because He loves us. So if God is not speaking, if God is silent, it is a sign that He is not pleased. God was not pleased with Abram trying to help God out. God did not need his help.
Then in Genesis 17, when Abram was ninety-nine years old, God in His mercy came to Abram again and changed his name to Abraham. Again, God made a covenant with him:
I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
When Abraham was one hundred years old, in Genesis 21, the promised son was given: Isaac was born.
Now, brothers and sisters, Abraham had many sons. He had Ishmael, born of Hagar. He had Isaac, born of Sarah. Later on, in Genesis 25, after Sarah died, Abraham had another wife, Keturah, and through Keturah he had more sons.
But even though Abraham had many sons, there was only one son who was the son of promise. Ishmael was the son of the flesh, born of the flesh, and so were the sons through Keturah. Only Isaac was the son born of promise.
The comment of the Holy Spirit concerning that part of human history is found in Galatians 3:16.
Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
God gave many promises to Abraham and to his seed. But the comment of the Holy Spirit on that history is that all the promises God gave to Abraham and to his seed were not to many seeds, but to one seed. That seed is Christ.
Abraham sent Ishmael away because he was not to inherit with Isaac. Abraham sent all the sons born of Keturah away. He gave them gifts and sent them to the east of the land because they were not the heir of Abraham. Only Isaac, the son of promise, was the heir of Abraham’s inheritance.
Physically speaking, the son of promise is Isaac. Spiritually speaking, the Son of Abraham is Christ. That is the comment of the Holy Spirit.
Here you find that Isaac is a type of Christ. Isaac is a shadow; the reality is Christ. As Isaac was a son of promise, born supernaturally—for Abraham was already one hundred years old and Sarah was beyond the time of conception—yet miraculously, according to promise, Isaac was born.
Now, brothers and sisters, as we think of Christ, He is the long-promised Son. Even way back in human history, in the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned and God came to them, God proclaimed His judgment. But in judgment He showed mercy; He gave them a promise.
In Genesis 3:15, He said:
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.
Brothers and sisters, today, of course, we know who is the seed of the woman. Adam called his wife Eve—he gave her that name after the fall—meaning, “mother of all living.”
When the first son, Cain, came, they thought, “Well, we have got it. We have the seed of the woman.” But they were mistaken. The long-promised seed of the woman is Christ. When the Word became flesh and tabernacled among men, full of grace and truth, that is the fulfillment of the prophecy.
Of course, our Lord Jesus is the promised seed of Abraham.
Isaac inherited all that Abraham had. You remember in Genesis 24, when Abraham sent his servant to his own land and his own kindred to get a wife for his son, the servant told that family that God had greatly blessed his master with cattle, sheep, silver, gold, servants, and all manner of possessions. My master gave all to his son. Isaac is the heir of Abraham.
Now, brothers and sisters, even though when we read the story of Isaac we find that his story is not very exciting, he had a very wonderful father, Abraham. The story of Abraham is a very exciting, wonderful story. Abraham was a great man.
He also had a very interesting son, Jacob. Jacob’s story is very complicated. But when you read the story of Isaac, it is very quiet, very common. He simply followed in the footsteps of his father, doing nothing different.
Why? Because God wanted to use Isaac as a typical example of the idea of a son. What is the meaning of a son? A son is to inherit all that his father possesses. A son is to follow his father’s footsteps and to inherit from his father all that his father has.
So here you find Isaac is a typical representation of what a son is. He inherits everything that belonged to Abraham.
Now, of course, the story of our Lord Jesus is glorious, not like Isaac. Yet we find that as Son, God has made Him heir of all things. Why did God create all things? He created all things to give as His gift, as His expression of love, to His Son. Nothing excepted—everything given to His Son.
So we find in Ephesians 3 that expression, “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily. He is the heir of all things, the rightful heir. All the others have to be sent out. He is the only One who deserves to have it all.
Another thing: Isaac is a type of Christ in Genesis 22, when God told Abraham, “Go to Mount Moriah and offer your son, your beloved son, your only son, to Me.” By faith Abraham offered his son.
We often think of the greatness of Abraham—how completely, absolutely, he obeyed God. He gave up everything to God, even that gift that God had given to him: Isaac. Yet, brothers and sisters, sometimes we forget Isaac.
By this time, Isaac was probably a teenager. We do not know exactly his age, but he must have been a teenager. He walked with his father; the wood was put upon his shoulders, so he was strong.
It is true that Abraham knew God, heard from God, and absolutely obeyed God. But Isaac, his son, being a teenager while Abraham was already well over one hundred years old—if Isaac had not agreed to that, he could very well have run away or resisted.
But here you find Isaac, how he obeyed his father, how willingly he gave himself to God, even to be killed. The obedience of Isaac.
Here you find a type of Christ. Christ, being the Son, was obedient to God, even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Brothers and sisters, the obedience of Christ. In this sense, Isaac really is a type of Christ.
Christ is greater than Isaac: the Son, the promised Son, the heir, and the obedience of the Son.
But the story does not end. In Genesis 24, Abraham called his servant Eliezer, his chief steward, and said, “Go to my own kindred and get a wife for my son.” Isaac was already forty years old.
Abraham, as a father, was a little concerned about him. So he said, “Now you go. Do not get a wife from the people of the Canaanites, but go to my own land, to my own kindred, and get a wife for my son.”
Genesis 24 is a beautiful picture. We do not have time to go through it, but you find that Eliezer went. As he arrived in Haran, sovereignly God prepared Rebekah.
Rebekah means “captivating.” She must have been a very captivating person. You see the faith of that servant, how he prayed. Yet with faith, there was also common sense.
He prayed that if he asked a woman, “Give me some drink,” and she gave him a drink and voluntarily said, “I will also give thy camels drink,” that would be the one whom God had chosen. But he waited as well. Probably other women passed by, but he would not go up to them. That was common sense.
He waited until he saw Rebekah, and then he asked. Sure enough, Rebekah quickly lowered the pitcher and said, “My lord, drink.” Then she said, “I will also draw for thy camels.”
Remember, there were ten camels, and those ten camels had travelled a long distance already. All their water must have been exhausted. To fill the thirst of an old man probably did not take much water, but to fill the thirst of ten camels—I do not know how many pitchers of water she had to draw from the well.
You see, Rebekah was a compassionate, kind woman. She was also a very diligent woman—very diligent. So the servant knew in his heart that God had answered his prayer.
You know the rest of the story. After the servant told the family, the family said, “It is of the Lord.” The next morning, the servant said, “Let us go.”
They said, “No, not that quickly. It is too sudden. Let her remain with us eight or ten days, and then she may go.” But the servant said, “Do not delay me, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way.” Then they said, “Let us ask Rebekah.”
When they asked Rebekah, Rebekah said, “I will go.” Very single-minded.
When she heard of Isaac, her heart was already united with him. She forgot her family, forgot her land, and she only desired Isaac.
Now, brothers and sisters, do you see the purpose of God illustrated in this part of human history? In Isaac, God illustrates Christ to us: the promised Son, the heir of all things, and already gives us a glimpse of the obedience of Christ.
But that is not the whole story. There is another side of the story. You find that it was Abraham who initiated this matter of giving Isaac a wife.
Is it not true that it is our heavenly Father who said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a help meet for him”? Is it not true that it is the will, the purpose of God, that even before the foundation of the world He purposed in Christ that Christ should have a helpmeet, His bride?
Rebekah was a woman with virtue. Not only was she outwardly captivating, but her inward beauty was even more captivating: kind, merciful, compassionate, diligent, single-minded, devoted.
Is it not true that the helpmeet, the bride of Christ—what God is looking for in that bride—is, number one, that she must be of His kindred? In other words, we must be born of the Spirit.
Christ cannot have a bride that is different from what He is. We have to have His life in us. We have to be of Him. But more than that, not only must we be born and have His life in us, but that life has to be developed into character.
Our Lord is compassionate and kind, and He wants to look in His church, to look in us, for the same character: compassionate, kind.
Our Lord is diligent. If you read the Gospel according to Mark, you find, “straightway,” “immediately.” He was very diligent, and that is a character He looks for in us.
Our Lord is really single-minded. You know how He set His love upon us. Brothers and sisters, we need to love Him with a pure love. We need to forget our father’s house, forget our land, and have our hearts completely given over to Him. This is what He is looking for in His bride.
We have to hurry on. Now you find the generation of Jesus Christ: Son of Abraham, Son of David. So we will now turn to David.
David, the beloved of God, the man after God’s own heart—God took him out of the pasture and made him king over all Israel.
David had many sons, but out of the many sons, only one son was to inherit his kingdom, and that was Solomon—peaceful. After David was disciplined by the Lord, Solomon was born, and God loved Solomon. Solomon was chosen by God to inherit the kingdom of David.
Now, brothers and sisters, there is One greater than Solomon. In Matthew 12, we find there is One greater than Solomon—a greater Son of David. Again, you find that this part of human history illustrates the purpose of God.
Solomon is a type of Christ—not a perfect type, for no type is perfect—but Solomon is a type of Christ. In Solomon, you find several things.
Number one, of course, we are familiar with the wisdom of Solomon. In 1 Kings 4, we remember how Solomon went to Gibeon and there offered a great offering unto the Lord because he loved the Lord. God appeared to him and told him, “Ask what I shall give thee.” Solomon asked for wisdom.
In 1 Kings 4:29:
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore.
And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the nations round about.
And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
And he spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
The wisdom of Solomon: God gave him a hearing heart, a heart that could hear God, and that is wisdom.
His wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the sons of the east. The wisdom of the sons of the east refers to philosophical wisdom. You know, the sons of the east were very philosophical.
Then his wisdom excelled the wisdom of Egypt. Egypt at that time was a country with very advanced technological knowledge. So here you find scientific knowledge, technological knowledge, and his wisdom excelled them.
His wisdom even excelled the wisdom of Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda. Some of them were psalmists; they sang songs unto the Lord. In other words, this was spiritual wisdom, and Solomon excelled them all.
So you find that the wisdom of Solomon excelled philosophical wisdom, scientific wisdom, and even spiritual wisdom. Why? Because he had a hearing heart, a heart that could hear God. That is real wisdom.
Brothers and sisters, that is what we need. Thank God, we find One who is greater than Solomon. He was not only given wisdom above everybody, but He is wisdom itself.
If you read Proverbs 8, you find wisdom personified. We all know that it refers to the second Person of the Godhead. Oh, the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily. He is the wisdom of God.
The second thing about Solomon is the riches of Solomon. God gave him great riches and wealth, surpassing all the kings before him.
If you read 1 Kings 4, 1 Kings 10, and 2 Chronicles 9, you find all the description about his riches. Think of his table—what a rich table he spread every day. Think of the gold he had. He made silver as nothing. The riches of Solomon.
But, brothers and sisters, when you think of Christ, you think of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Solomon’s riches can be counted, but the riches of Christ are unsearchable, limitless, boundless, as God is unsearchable.
Another thing about Solomon is his kingdom. He ruled not only over all Israel, but actually his rule extended all the way to the river Euphrates.
In other words, all that God had promised Abraham about the land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—God promised the whole land to Abraham—and during the time of Solomon, that was the extent of his kingdom.
But, dear brothers and sisters, who can measure the kingdom of God that is given to the beloved Son of God? His kingdom knows no end. His dominion extends without limit.
His is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Another thing about Solomon is his glory—the glory of Solomon. You remember even our Lord Jesus said, in that parable, that even the glory of Solomon could not be compared with what God has clothed the lilies of the valley.
The glory of Solomon is demonstrated to me especially in that throne that he made: an ivory throne covered with gold.
Ivory came from slain elephants—in other words, suffering. Gold is divine nature. In other words, through the suffering of our Lord Jesus, He has now entered into glory.
So, brothers and sisters, Solomon is a type of Christ. In Solomon we see Christ. If we do not see Christ in Solomon, brothers and sisters, we fail to see the purpose of God.
But that is not all. You know, Solomon did many things, but one thing we remember about Solomon is that he was used by God to build a temple, the habitation of God.
Even though at the dedication Solomon prayed and said, “Lord, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house which I have built!” Yet he built the temple for the name of God to rest there.
Solomon built the temple for the name of God to rest there. Brothers and sisters, One greater than Solomon has built a spiritual house.
The latter glory of the house surpasses the former glory. The Lord Jesus said, “I will build My church upon this rock; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Do you know that it is Christ who builds the church? You and I cannot build the church. We can do the work available to us, but we cannot build the church of God.
The Lord said, “I will build,” and He builds with living stones—stones, living stones, such as we are. He builds us together into one perfect building, a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
What a work He has done.
If we see only the temple of Solomon, as the disciples admired the glory in the temple of Solomon, yet the Lord said, “Not one stone shall be left here upon another.” We need to see the spiritual house that Christ is building today, and He is building it with you and me.
So, brothers and sisters, human history is His story. But the point is: how much of your history is His story?
Individually, we live on this earth for a number of years. We leave a personal history behind us. But, brothers and sisters, how much of your history is the story of Christ?
Are we purpose-oriented, or are we need-oriented? If we are all need-oriented, we are self-centered. Our life is centered upon ourselves: “Meet my need. Everybody meets my needs. God meets my need.”
But, dear brothers and sisters, only those who are purpose-centered are Christ’s. No one lives for himself or herself; no one dies for himself or herself. If we live or die, it is the Lord’s.
Brothers and sisters, we live for God’s purpose. We are called according to a purpose. Now, are we living according to that purpose?
How much? How much of us is Christ? Here we look at ourselves. Here we review our history. Brothers and sisters, we feel ashamed.
Even though we are given His life, yet we still live for ourselves. Very little of His life is developed. Very little of His character characterizes us.
If that is the case, remember: if it is not Christ, it cannot be returned to Christ. It will be burned, even though we are saved—yet so as through fire.
So, dear brothers and sisters, our burden is that we need to see God’s purpose. It is not just a theory; it is a life. We need to see God’s purpose centered upon Christ. Our life must be centered upon Him.
He is the heir of all things, so He needs to inherit us. We need to give ourselves to Him absolutely, completely. We need to allow His Spirit to work in us so that our life may have His character.
Corporately speaking, it is the same. How much of the history of our gathering together is His story? How much history of our meeting is merely our history, our stories?
Brothers and sisters, may our history, both individually and corporately, be His story.
Shall we pray?
Dear heavenly Father, Thou hast shown us Thy purpose. It is Christ, Thy beloved Son, and the church is given to Christ to be His helpmeet, His bride.
Our Father, we do pray that Thou wilt give us hearing hearts, that we may hear Thee: “This is My beloved Son; hear Him.”
That we may truly give ourselves to Him and allow Him to be built up in us, and build us together in Him, that Thy purpose may be fulfilled to the praise of Thy grace and glory.
In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.