THE FATHER’S PLAN
Firstly, we have the Father’s plan. According to the King James Version, Ephesians 3:11 speaks of “the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The word purpose is an archaic term for the modern word plan. When we speak of God’s plan we are referring to God’s purpose. In eternity past God made a plan, a plan to have the church for Christ (Eph. 3:8-11). God’s plan is not just to have a group of sinners, nor to have a group of redeemed ones. Such a concept is too low. God’s plan is to have a bride for His Son.
We have heard time and time again that Christ came to save sinners. But have you ever heard a message telling you that Christ came to have the bride? John 3:29 says, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom.” In the four Gospels the Lord Jesus told His disciples that He was the Bridegroom (Matt. 9:15). He came not only to save sinners but to have the bride. Are we still sinners? No, we are the bride! Praise the Lord that we are no longer sinners—we are the bride! Should we still come to God confessing our sins in a begging way? No, we must come to Him joyfully, saying, “Praise the Lord! I am so happy that I am no longer a sinner. I’m a part of the bride!” Christ came not merely to be our Savior and Redeemer; He also came to be the Bridegroom. God did not plan to save a group of poor sinners and bring them all into heaven. God planned to take a part of the human race and make them the counterpart of His dear Son. Eventually, in the new heaven and the new earth, we shall not have a group of pitiful sinners; we shall have the bride, the New Jerusalem, the wife of the Lamb.
As we have seen, God the Father planned to take a bride for His Son out of the human race. Abraham, a type of the Father, charged his servant, a type of the Holy Spirit, not to take a wife for his son from the daughters of the Canaanites but from Abraham’s kindred (24:4, 7). In typology, this indicates that the counterpart of Christ must come from Christ’s race, not from the angels nor from any other creatures. Since Christ was incarnated as a man, humanity has become His race. Do not always think of humanity as being so poor. Humanity is not poor. Because humanity is the race of Christ, it is dear and precious to God. Only out of humanity can God obtain the counterpart for His Son. Therefore, we all must be proud of being a part of humanity and must say, “Praise the Lord that I am a man! Thank Him that I was not created as a part of the angelic race but as part of the human race.”
In Genesis 2 we see that God brought the living creatures to Adam to be named by him. Adam said, “This is a dog, and this is a cat. This is a monkey, and this is a donkey.” As he looked at all those creatures, he did not find his counterpart among them. Thus, God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, took one of his ribs, and built it into a woman as his counterpart (2:21-22). Hence, Adam and Eve were of the same race. This indicates that Christ’s counterpart must come from His race, the human race. We all have been created as the human race, and as a part of the human race we all have been reborn. Only the human race is qualified to be the counterpart of Christ.
THE SPIRIT’S ERRAND
While the father had a plan, the servant received a commission, an errand (v. 33). Abraham commissioned him to go to his race and take a wife for his son. This signifies that God the Father has commissioned God the Spirit. The New Testament reveals such a divine commission.
(Abraham—Called by God, Chapter 25, by Witness Lee)
