The bronze serpent in Num. 21:4-9 is a type of the Lord Jesus, who was crucified in the likeness of the flesh of sin as our Substitute and replacement so that we, sinners who are bit by the serpent, might look at Him (believe into Him) and have eternal life.
In Num. 21 the people became impatient on the way and murmured against Moses and Aaron, complaining that there’s no food and water in the wilderness, and their soul loathes the manna which they had to eat every day.
The people complained so much that the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and bit them, so many of them died; this shows that we fallen people have been bitten by the evil one, the serpent, and we are dying.
In Matt. 3:7 the Lord Jesus called the Pharisees and the Sadducees, Offspring of vipers, and in John 8:44 He said that, You are of your father, the devil. In 1 John 3:10 John tells us that there are the children of God or children of the devil. Unless people are regenerated, they are children of the devil.
The people of Israel came to Moses and confessed that they have sinned by complaining and murmuring against Jehovah, and they asked him to go to God on their behalf; God told Moses to make a bronze serpent in the likeness of the fiery serpent that bit the people, and lift it up on a pole.
All those who were bitten by the fiery serpent and would look at the bronze serpent would live. This is a story that is unique to the book of Numbers, and it is very significant in our Christian life today, for the Lord Jesus Himself applied the type of the bronze serpent to Himself.
In John 3:14-15, as the Lord Jesus was talking to this noble, righteous, respected elderly man, Nicodemus, He said that, Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that anyone who believes into Him would not perish but have eternal life.
We all know that Christ is the reality of all the positive things in the universe, but here we see that Christ is the reality of a negative item, the bronze serpent. He came in the likeness of the flesh of sin (He “looked like a serpent” but didn’t have its poison) but without the sin in the flesh, and He came to die and put to death the serpent and sin, so that all who believe into Him would not die but have eternal life.
And in His conversation with Nicodemus the Lord made reference to Himself as the bronze serpent, alluding to the fact that Nicodemus, who seemed to be a good man, an honorable man, and a seemingly righteous man, was bitten by the serpent, and he was serpentine in nature.
We need to see how this applies to us and how we can enjoy Christ as the reality of the bronze serpent.
By Believing into Christ as the reality of the Bronze Serpent we have Eternal Life
As descendants of Adam, all men have been bitten by the old serpent, Satan; Satan has bitten us and infused his poison into us when Adam sinned, and we all are born in sin. In God’s eyes all sinners are not only bitten by Satan, the serpent, but also serpentine, that is, they have the evil, poisonous nature of Satan as sin.
When the children of Israel sinned against God, they were bitten by serpents; God told Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on their behalf for God’s judgment, that by looking upon that bronze serpent all might live.
The Lord Jesus came in “the likeness of the flesh of sin” (Rom. 8:3) – which likeness is equal to the form of the bronze serpent – and concerning sin that He might condemn sin in the flesh.
The bronze serpent had the form of the serpent but he was without the serpent’s poison; the Lord Jesus came in the likeness of the flesh of sin, but in no way did He have the sin of the flesh.
Yes, Christ was made “in the likeness of the flesh of sin” when He became man and put on human nature, but He did not participate in any way in the sin of the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21).
When He was lifted up in the flesh on the cross, by His death Satan, the old serpent, was dealt with; He died as the reality of the bronze serpent so that God might judge the old serpent with his poisonous nature.
Through the cross Christ, the reality of the bronze serpent, dealt with the old serpent and also with the serpentine nature within fallen man (Heb. 2:14; John 1:29).
Just as the children of Israel, we need to look to Christ, the reality of the bronze serpent, and live; this means that we need to believe into Christ and receive eternal life!
The bronze serpent signifies first the Lord Jesus, then the children of Israel (who sinned and should have been hung on the pole to be cursed and judged), and third it signifies Satan, the old serpent.
It’s not that the children of Israel wanted and set out to sin, but rather, the serpent in them caused them to sin. When God judged the children of Israel, He actually judged the serpent; the one hanging on the pole was the serpent, not the children of Israel.
We as human beings have been bit by the serpent and have sinned, and now there’s a serpentine nature in our being; by nature, we are joined to Satan, the old serpent, and we are serpentine.
But praise the Lord, Christ came as our Substitute – He came as the reality of the bronze serpent, and He judged the serpent on the cross. What we need is a Substitute, someone who would be judged on our behalf, and God judged Christ as the reality of the bronze serpent, who came in the likeness of the flesh of sin.
Christ, our Substitute, was judged by being identified with us, the people for whom He was substituted.
On the cross therefore we see two substitutions: we as the people who were redeemed by Christ were identified with Satan, and Christ was identified with us, His redeemed people.
When we hear the gospel, we realise that we are inwardly serpentine, sinful in nature, and we condemn Satan in us; then, we receive the cross of Christ and believe into Him, and we have eternal life!
This is the principle of regeneration: we who were identified with Satan and even a part of Satan, we see that the Lord Jesus has dealt with our identification with Satan on the cross; therefore, we condemn this identification and receive the Lord’s salvation with the result that we live and have eternal life! Hallelujah!
Seeing that the Lord Jesus as the reality of the bronze serpent has dealt with Satan, the old serpent, on the cross, we condemn Satan in us, we receive the cross, we believe into the Lord, and we have eternal life by faith!
Thank You Lord Jesus for coming as the reality of the bronze serpent to deal with the old serpent and with our serpentine nature. Lord, we realise that we have been bitten by Satan, the serpent, and we are by nature serpentine, even one with Satan. Oh Lord, we look to You and we believe into You, the reality of the bronze serpent, for You have come in the likeness of the flesh of sin but without its poison, and You have dealt with sin and with Satan on the cross! Hallelujah, Jesus Christ has terminated Satan, sin, and the flesh on the cross, and we can believe into Him, have eternal life, and live!
Enjoying, Applying, and Ministering Christ as the Sin-dealing Life to Ourselves and to others
Christ as the reality of the bronze serpent refers to Him being the reality of the sin offering; we may appreciate the trespass offering more because we can see how many sins we commit, but the sin offering is a great matter.
Sometimes, however, we may think that taking Christ as our sin offering is something theoretical, for we do not have a grasp of what it means for Christ to be the sin offering. Because Christ is the reality of the bronze serpent, we can day by day enjoy Him and apply Him to our being as the reality of the sin offering.
Christ is not only the One who dealt with our sinful nature on the cross, but He is also the sin-dealing life, the life that deals with our sinful nature.
Therefore, we do not only initially enjoy Christ as the reality of the bronze serpent, when we believe into the Lord and realise that we have Him as our Substitute, but we can daily enjoy and apply the Lord to our being as the reality of the sin offering, as the sin-dealing life.
Furthermore, we can also minister Christ as the sin-dealing life to others. If we know that a certain brother or sister has committed some sins, we just need to pray for them and learn, before the Lord, how to minister Christ as the sin-dealing life to them so that they may deal with their sins.
The life of Christ is a life that deals with sins. First, we need to be dealt with by enjoying Christ’s sin-dealing life, and then, we must minister such a Christ as a sin-dealing life to others.
Exposing others’ sins and mistakes and claiming to “shine God’s light on them” doesn’t mean that they get any help; what helps others is our ministering Christ as the sin-dealing life to them.
As priests, we need to bear away the iniquity of the congregation by first enjoying Christ as the sin-dealing life, and then having the capacity to bear away the iniquity of God’s people.
May the Lord bring us into such an experience; may we realise that first we need to enjoy and apply the Lord as the sin-dealing life to our being, and then we need to minister Him as the sin-dealing life to others.
When we go to others who have sinned, first we need to soften their hardened heart; a person who sins usually has his heart hardened (Heb. 3:14) by the deceitfulness of sin.
We need to trust in the Lord that we have the grace with the spirit to soften his hardened heart. And then, when his heart is softened, the very Christ as life will be actually, really, and richly ministered to him, and this life will operate in him.
We don’t even need to mention his faults or sins – the Christ we minister to others will operate in them to expose what needs to be exposed, and to heal him.
Just as the proper medicine reaches the sick parts and makes them well, so the ministering of Christ as the sin-dealing life to others will help him to get rid of sins among the saints. May we all learn to take Christ as our sin offering so that we may minister Him as the sin-dealing life to God’s people.
Lord Jesus, we take You as our sin offering so that our sin may be dealt with and so that we may minister You as the sin-dealing life to others. Lord, thank You for dying for us on the cross as our Substitute, as the reality of the bronze serpent; You bore our sin and You terminated sin in our nature. May we day by day enjoy and apply You as the reality of the sin offering, and may we minister You as the sin-dealing life to others. Amen, Lord Jesus, You are the sin-dealing life, the life that deals with our sinful nature; we want to experience You, apply You, and minister You as such a One!
Read this article / blog post in Romanian – puteți citi acest articol și în limba română la următorul link – Să credem în Cristos ca realitatea șarpelui de bronz și să savurăm viața Sa care tratează păcatul.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1960, vol. 1, “Synopsis of Numbers,” ch. 26, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallisation-Study of Numbers (1), week 10, The Major Types and the Prophecy concerning Christ.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Brazen serpent, to Thee looking, / Son of Man, uplifted high. / Thou didst bear the flesh of sin in / Likeness on the cross to die. / Old creation’s termination; / Finished, Satan and the world, / Finished Satan and the world! (Hymns #1089)
# My old man has been crucified with Him, / With all its foul corruption deep within; / And buried too its nature serpentine, / Completely finished—this great fact is mine, / I hold it fast. (Hymns #1179)
# It is His wings that heal our pains / And soothe the serpent’s poisoned stings; / Close to His bosom we must press / To feel His healing wings. (Hymns #754)
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