SALVATION AND PRESERVATION IN CHRIST
[p. 17] SALVATION AND PRESERVATION IN CHRIST
In reading these verses my thought is to show that salvation and preservation for God’s people now are found in Christ as rejected by Israel and accepted among the gentiles. Joseph’s possessions in Egypt foreshadow the present place that Christ has gained in the affections of the gentiles. Egypt was not strictly the place of glory for him who foreshadowed Christ. Canaan should have been the sphere of his glory, for it was Canaan that God had promised to Abraham; therefore if Joseph, who represents Christ, is glorified in Egypt it is evident that there was no place for him for the moment in Canaan. He was rejected there. And what I wish to say is, that although rejected in Canaan, rejected by his brethren, salvation for the remnant of Israel is found in him and preservation; and moreover, salvation for those who lived in Egypt — salvation for the Egyptians was found in Joseph. Now that is what I should like to make plain for it seems to me that, although in a general way God’s people are clear enough that salvation is in Christ, they are not so clear that it is in Christ rejected.
And hence many true believers in Christ retain their place in this world. So long as you maintain your place in the world out of which Christ has been rejected you will never realize salvation. I do not say that you will not go to heaven, because everyone who believes on Christ in the present dispensation will have a place in heaven; but I do say that, unless you accept the rejection of Christ, present salvation will not be yours. Now I do not say that you will not have a good conscience in regard to God because faith in Christ gives you that. Faith in Christ risen involves clearance for the guilty sinner; that may occur in Egypt, viewed as the world, or it may occur in Canaan, viewed as the sphere out of which Christ has been rejected; but, beloved friends, that in itself is not salvation. It is a most blessed thing for man to be conscious that there is not [p. 18] anything between God and him; and faith in Christ risen involves that for the guiltiest person on earth. Christ risen from the dead means that God has been glorified in His death, for we are told that He was “raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father”, Romans 6: 4. He is raised from the dead in right of what He is in His own person and in right of the virtue of His atoning sacrifice. God has raised Him according to Romans 4: 25 for our justification. That involves that God was perfectly glorified in His vicarious sacrifice. In chapter 6 He is raised by the Father’s glory — that refers to His person. The fourth refers to His work — the sixth to His person. Believing in Christ risen, the guiltiest sinner may see himself as clear as Christ is in the presence of God. I should like to establish everyone in the light of that. I would not like to detract from any joy you have in your soul in that blessed light. I should encourage you in it, beloved friends. But what I wish to show you is this — that salvation is in a rejected Christ. If you asked me for the scripture I would quote Acts 4: 11 - 12. Peter is speaking to the leaders of the world, to the leaders of Israel, and he says, “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”. Whose name is that? The name of the rejected Christ. It is in His name that salvation is. And those who prefer to retain their place in the system of things out of which Christ has been rejected do not realize salvation.
Well now, I wish to go back in the book of Genesis for a moment in order to show you the beginning of the section from which I have read. You must remember that the Scriptures were not written in chapters, they were written in sections, and this section of scripture really begins with chapter 37. Chapter 37 begins with the generations of Jacob. “These are the generations of Jacob”, and the only person mentioned is Joseph. I do not know if you have noticed it but it is worthy of inquiry as to why it is, although Jacob had twelve sons, that when the Spirit of God undertakes [p. 19] to give us the generations of Jacob, the only son mentioned is Joseph. You get no record of the generations of the other sons and children of Jacob until you come to chapter 46. That is to say this section of Scripture begins with Christ. Chapter 37 is Christ here in the flesh and when the Spirit of God undertakes to give us an account of the generations of Jacob the only person He can light upon that He can take account of is Christ. Every other man in Israel was unworthy of divine notice. “These are the generations of Jacob, Joseph”. God, as it were, looking down from heaven upon the millions of men upon the earth finds that there is only one man He can take account of and that man is Christ. In all the myriads of Jacob’s seed there is only one upon whom the eye of God can rest with complacency and that is Christ. Christ is taken account of by God as the only one worthy of mention. And the Spirit goes on to tell us that he was hated by his brethren but his father loved him. He was hated because his father loved him. Jacob loved Joseph and his brethren hated him all the more because his father loved him. So chapter 37 is the beginning of this section. Joseph is the only one whom God can mention. When you come to chapter 46 you find that the Spirit of God now mentions all the others; but, beloved friends, Christ has to be rejected, He has to die, and the intervening chapters record for us the rejection of Christ and the path of Christ figuratively and His glory in Egypt. All that took place in the intervening chapters. Christ is glorified in Egypt and now the gospel is preached. Joseph himself becomes the preacher. Now I allude to all that because I wish you to see clearly the present situation, which is this: Christ is glorified among the gentiles and everything of God is bound up with Joseph, with Christ as glorified among the gentiles. No nation under the sun had such privileges as Israel, but if they were to derive anything from God after the death and resurrection of Christ, and the setting aside of the nation, they must go out to the gentiles. Blessing henceforth was not in connection with Canaan but with Christ exalted and honoured among the gentiles.
[p. 20] When you come to chapter 46, Jacob is going down to Joseph. I wonder if there is any one here tonight who has never left Canaan. You may wonder why I say that you should leave Canaan, because you may have it in your mind that it is a sphere of blessing; but it cannot be if Christ is not there. It took Jacob a long while to learn that; his hopes, his faith were connected with Canaan, and rightly, because God had promised Canaan to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but Joseph was rejected. Ah, beloved friends, be the society what it may that you are connected with, be its history ever so ancient or so honourable, Christ is rejected, Christ is not there. You may find it hard to leave — Jacob did. But tidings from Egypt moved him. What were the tidings? “Tell my father of all my glory in Egypt”. The spirit of Jacob revived. Would God the light of Christ’s glory among the gentiles would enter into our souls — that is what moved Jacob. And Jacob found himself at Beer-sheba. I do not know if you have noticed Beersheba but it is the southern extremity of the land of Canaan, and Jacob was there — it was the exit out of Canaan into Egypt. What must Jacob’s feelings have been as he crossed the border of Canaan? The eyes of his heart would travel back into the territory promised by God to Abraham, Isaac and himself. Is it all over? Are the promises unavailing? Have they fallen to the ground? The God of Isaac appears to him there. Who is the God of Isaac? The God who raises the dead. Isaac is Christ risen. And God virtually said to Jacob at Beer-sheba, ‘Jacob, do not be distressed; every promise I have made to Abraham, to Isaac and to yourself is to be fulfilled and shall be established in due season’. Not the God of Abraham, but the God of Isaac, the God who raises the dead — the God of Isaac appeared to him at the southern extremity of Canaan, virtually saying to Jacob, ‘Everything that you have cherished in your heart, every thought of God shall find its answer in the risen Christ, nothing can fall to the ground’. It is Jacob’s extremity: he is about to die of hunger, the promise cannot feed him or sustain him in his soul. Christ figuratively is in Egypt, He is glorified there [p. 21] and if you are to live you have to go down to Joseph. Joseph had plenty, all the corn, and that in abundance. No one could tell how much corn Joseph had. The famine prevailed everywhere. In Egypt it was no better than in Canaan, but everything centred in Joseph. Everything! The wisdom of Joseph had devised that which should be the sustenance of the life of the world. His name, Zaphnathpaaneah, signifies that he was the preserver of the life of the world. Everything the world required for its sustenance was in Joseph. All was in Joseph — Egypt was as dependent on Joseph as Canaan. The gentiles today are as much dependent as the Jews. He is glorified among the gentiles but that does not mean the gentile world is any better than the Jewish. It is not among the kings of the gentiles, it is in the affections of God’s people taken from among the gentiles that He is glorified. It is among those who have affections for Christ. And He is honoured among the gentiles and it is there that all the wealth of God is under His hand. Jacob had his face toward Egypt and directly he turned his face toward Joseph in Egypt God said, ‘I will take account of you and all your posterity’. The only one worthy of notice is Joseph but in chapter 46 every one who belongs to him is mentioned — not now rejecting Christ — they are going out to Christ — they are forsaking Canaan for Christ. What would do that but faith? Only faith would depend on God’s promises. One cannot read the Acts without being struck how reluctant even the apostles were to leave Jerusalem and Judea, but faith went over all the barriers. Barnabas was one — he went down to Antioch fearlessly. He was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit. Ah, beloved friends, he believed on Christ glorified among the gentiles. Was Christ not glorified at Antioch? We are told that there were those there who were ministering unto the Lord. Did they not glorify Him and honour Him? Barnabas was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and he recognized Christ among the gentiles. The Spirit of God tells us about Barnabas, and I think if you wish God to take account of you now and call you by name you have to turn your face towards Christ rejected in the [p. 22] world but glorified in the faith of the gentiles. I only touch upon it, but directly Jacob and his family turn their faces to Egypt God takes account of them. He not only tells us about Jacob’s sons but his sons’ sons and his daughters. All are taken account of by God directly they turn their faces toward Joseph in Egypt. To my mind that is a wonderful picture of the present moment and I would inquire from everybody here as to whether you are clinging to any earthly system, any worldly system, for there is no salvation there. I am not depriving you of a good conscience. I wish to emphasize — every one who believes in Christ risen is justified by God; but salvation is in a rejected Christ. Forgiveness is not in a rejected Christ — it is in Christ risen; but you must accept Christ rejected in the world. The apostle says, “Neither is there salvation in any other”, Acts 4: 12. Who is that one? The one whom the builders rejected is become the head of the corner. So I say if you are connected with any earthly system, be it what it may, you will not find salvation there. You have got to go to Beer-sheba and Beer-sheba means that you are abandoning every earthly tie, every earthly association — you are abandoning it all — it is imperative. There is no choosing; if you are to live and be sustained in your soul you must go to Christ — it is imperative — no one could fail to see it in reading Genesis. What could Jacob have done? Famine reigned. It is easy to understand what famine involves, it involves death, and so he goes to Beer-sheba and that is where we have to go. We have to abandon every earthly hope, otherwise we shall die, because there is no food or sustenance in any earthly system today. Christ is outside. I am not making demands upon you but what I am presenting to you are facts presented in the Scriptures. Everything is bound up with Christ and Christ is not connected with any earthly system. He is outside of them all. If you want to five, if you want to be sustained, you must go out to Christ.
So he sends a message to Jacob — “Tell my father of all my glory in Egypt”. And he sends with the message a testimony to his power and to his wealth — the wagons and [p. 23] abundance of sustenance for Jacob and his household. But the point was they were to go down to Joseph in Egypt. Well, they go down and so they and their posterity are preserved on earth. Where are the Jews preserved today? Many efforts have been made to locate the lost tribes of Israel and we ourselves are acquainted with one of the tribes. Where do you think the true Israel of God is being preserved? Christ is preserving it. Who could do it but He? Who has the power to do it? The Lord has. Christ has power to feed and sustain the true Israel of God. They are found of Christ as glorified among the gentiles, they are found in the land of Goshen, in the best of the land. I am speaking for the moment of the remnant of Israel; for Jacob represented the Israel of faith abandoning the earthly Canaan for Christ rejected; and what do they find? What did they find in Egypt? Just turn for a moment to chapter 47, verse 11, where it says: “And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families”. There it is — I take it you see there the Israel of God preserved. Zaphnath-paaneah was the name given to Joseph by Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and the import of it is, the preserver of the life of the world. I have not any doubt that Joseph was that; at any rate he preserved the posterity of God’s people upon the earth and these are the only people in whom God has any interest. God will preserve His own people; but not only is the Israel of God preserved by a risen Christ but the gentiles find refuge there — the Egyptians came to Joseph. The Egyptians were suffering from the famine — the famine prevailed everywhere in Egypt and Egypt was as dependent upon Joseph as his father and brethren, and they found sustenance in Joseph. And so tonight, beloved friends, may it be your position, by implicit faith in Christ, to know what it is to be blessed and to be nourished by Him in Egypt.
Then it says, “And they had possessions therein”.
[p. 24] Some of you here tonight may think that christians have not very much; but then you do not know what they have. It is all a mystery to you. You know the gospel speaks about “The unsearchable riches of Christ”. What do you know about that? You are a stranger to all that. Joseph’s father and brethren found something in Joseph; they got possessions. You know christians do not go in for the possessions — that is really where the difficulty lies with many. Jacob had possessions in Canaan, he did not have Canaan, he lost Canaan for the moment, but he had the assurance in his soul before he left that everything was secured in the God of Isaac; but when he came down into Egypt he had possessions in Egypt. Where do you think all the possessions he tonight for christians? All in the Spirit. They are in Christ, I admit, but they are laid hold of and enjoyed through the Spirit. It says: “And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen”. Goshen was a place especially set apart for Jacob.
And then it says: “And they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly”. Now, I think, these are things, beloved friends, that should mark us. You know a man who has possessions in the Spirit of God is not looking for them in this world. It is as sure as possible if a man is endeavouring to possess something in this world he has not possessions in the Spirit. Now Barnabas had some. “Barnabas ... a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet”, Acts 4: 36, 37. They were earthly possessions, they were legitimate possessions, they were possessions he was entitled to, doubtless, as a man here in this world; but he sold them. What did he do with the money? He laid it at the apostles’ feet. How do you think he did that, how could he do that cheerfully? He had other possessions. The Spirit of God had come to Barnabas “For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit”, Acts 11: 24. The Spirit is the earnest of the inheritance and in the Spirit we have spiritual possessions and in virtue of these we sell the earthly ones. So Barnabas sold what he had and laid it down at the apostles’ feet. The [p. 25] apostles were the representatives directly of Christ, hence Barnabas laid the money at the feet of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ knew how to reckon the value of that offering of Barnabas. You need not think for a moment that Barnabas lost it, he got it back with interest. The Lord is the banker who pays the best interest on deposits — and here was the interest: Barnabas was a man filled with the Holy Spirit. Did not Simon offer money for the power of imparting the Spirit? The Lord Jesus Christ gives you that which is infinitely beyond money. He gives the Spirit, and with the Spirit you have the possessions. And if the believer has not these possessions he is hankering after the world. The believer has not only possessions therein but he multiplies.
It says, “And grew, and multiplied”. It is a wonderful thing that here the people of God who were about to die in Canaan are now cared for by Christ in a hostile country; for there was no love between the Egyptians and Canaanites. Jacob was a shepherd and a shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians. There was no natural love between an Egyptian and Jacob, but there was between Joseph and Jacob. Joseph loved his father and his brethren and so it is now. The gentiles as such have no love for us as God’s people, not any more than the Jews; but Christ has love for us. Christ has an interest in us, He gives us the Holy Spirit, and in the Spirit you have possessions and there you grow. Did you ever see a christian grow? A true mark of the growth of a christian is that he loosens his hold on things here. Jacob was going to die and he did not want to be buried in Egypt. He had no interest in Egypt, neither has a believer. The only interest you have is this — that there are some among the gentiles who believe in Christ. Canaan is the place of your hope; so Jacob requires an oath from Joseph. It is, as it were, that you were making a contract with Christ. Did you ever make a contract with Christ? He loves His people to draw near and make a proposition to Him. You have got the counsels of God at heart, every enlightened believer has the counsels of God at heart. You want to see the counsels effected. You are [p. 26] nourished for the moment by His power and His wealth but another king is rising who knew not Joseph, and Canaan was to be the sphere of blessing. It was the sphere of the famine for the moment, but God never deviates from His counsels. Jacob says: “If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: but I will he with my fathers; and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him”. He makes a contract with Joseph. That was in perfect accord with Joseph’s own mind. You may depend upon it that the Lord Jesus Christ is infinitely more set upon the accomplishment of the promises to Abraham than you can be, but He does delight in having us express our interest in divine counsels. Jacob says, Do not bury me in Egypt. If you are going in for the things of Egypt today you cannot consistently require that you shall not be buried there. It is consistent if you are going in for this world that you should have an honourable burial and a monument; that is consistent; but if on the other hand the only interest among the gentiles for you is Christ and His people, there is no burial there. Canaan now is in prospect — Canaan is the sphere of blessing, Canaan it was that God had spoken of as the inheritance; in Canaan eternal life shall be established; in Canaan man shall live for God, man out of the tomb shall five for God. Jacob says, ‘That is what I want. Do not bury me in Egypt: but I will lie with my fathers; and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt’. Now you see faith and it is a picture of faith today in a christian who thinks only of the bringing to pass of God’s counsels. God is the God of Isaac and that means He is the God who raises the dead and everything is to be on that footing in Canaan. God had assured Jacob of that at Beer-sheba, hence he says, ‘Bury me with my fathers. There it is God will come in, there it is He will raise the dead, and I want to be there amongst them’. So we wish to be, we shall be, brought into the sphere of blessing in the power of Christ’s resurrection;
[p. 27] but in the meantime we are enjoying the land of Goshen — Christ is for us — here He sustains us by His power.
In the next chapter we have a most delightful subject. He bowed himself upon the bed’s head after securing Joseph’s oath and now he blesses both the sons of Joseph. Why did he bless when he was dying? A perfect expression of faith in Scripture. “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying”, when he was at the extremity of weakness, “blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff”. That is faith when a man blesses when he is dying — he has no outward strength, no outward power but faith in God and the God who raises the dead. He blessed both the sons of Joseph. Isaac had blessed Jacob and Esau in relation to things to come, in relation to present things. There is nothing outward for us — Isaac’s blessing had relation to things to come and Jacob blessed when he was dying — nothing in this world. Faith connects everything with God’s world and the blessing of Jacob descended on the heads of Joseph’s sons in connection with God’s world for Joseph.
I do not know that I have kept strictly to my point but I think you can see if you are to enjoy what is in Christ today you have to accept His rejection. It is useless to expect it if you cling to an earthly association. There are multitudes of believers in Christ who are mixed up with associations of this world but salvation is not there — it is in connection with Christ risen and glorified among the gentiles, and if you are to have it you must accept the rejection and go to Beer-sheba and go to Egypt, that is to say, to Joseph and he will nourish you there, and you will have possessions and you will grow and become multiplied. May God grant it to us.