The life of Joseph as seen in Genesis is a copy of the life of Christ, and Joseph is the only person in the entire Bible who is perfect and without any blame, typifying Christ in a full way.
When we read from Genesis 37 to the end of the book, the history of Joseph and of Jacob are intertwined; the Bible talks about both Jacob and Joseph, but they are one, Joseph representing the reigning aspect of Jacob’s mature life.
In Jacob we see transformation and maturity, and in Joseph we see reigning. In Jacob we see the mature life through all the dealings, breaking, and transformation, ending in a mature life expressing God. In Joseph we see the reigning aspect of Jacob’s mature life.
With Jacob and Joseph we see the fulfillment of God’s purpose in creating man: image (Jacob) and dominion (Joseph) (Gen. 1:26). Jacob with Joseph form one person as the completion of God’s purpose, together fulfilling God’s original intention in creating man.
Their biographies merge, and Jacob is expressed in Joseph while Joseph is ruling as a continuation of Jacob.
Joseph was a wonderful person; his life was nearly perfect, without defect, and he is such a great type of the life of Christ. Christ is the only One who is perfect in the whole universe, and He is typified by many great men in the Old Testament.
David the king was a type of Christ as a fighting and reigning One, ruling for God in His kingdom; but his life was not perfect – he committed a great sin (adultery). Solomon typifies Christ as the One who builds God’s temple and speaks words of wisdom; however, his life was defective, and he failed to express and represent God – he was married to many foreign wives, and he deviated from God’s way.
Out of all the persons in the Old Testament, Joseph is the perfect type of Christ, and in his short biography in Genesis we see no defect in him.
We need to see, on the one hand, how Joseph was a perfect type of Christ, and, on the other hand, how this applies to us. As typified by Joseph, Christ is the perfect and reigning One in our spirit – He is the constituted Christ within us.
We may be short in many aspects and we may have failures, but within us there is a part, the Christ constituted in us, that is absolutely perfect. In our spirit there is a wonderful perfect One, Christ Himself as typified by Joseph, and this One is constituted in us; He is the Beloved of the Father, He is perfect, and He is in us!
We are not yet fully matured, but we are being brought unto maturity, and Christ is in us as the Perfect One. Hallelujah, we have a Christ who is constituted into us as the Perfect Reigning One!
As we are seeking to be brought unto maturity, we are being constituted with Christ, and when we come to the full mature stage, this reigning life will be manifested in full! We can be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect because we have the Perfect One constituted in us.
We need to keep our eyes away from the defective, fallen, imperfect, and corrupted part, and fixed on the Reigning Perfect One in our spirit!
Joseph’s Life was a Copy of the Life of Christ – and how this Applies to Us (Part 1)
There are at least thirteen aspects of Joseph’s life that are a perfect copy of the life of Christ as the perfect reigning One. If you read Joseph’s biography and then the Gospels, you will be amazed: Joseph typified Christ in such a full way, that only God could ever write such a book!
Joseph is a perfect type of Christ; he portrays the constituted aspect of a mature saint. In this blog post and the next we will consider at least thirteen aspects of how Joseph’s life was a copy of the life of Christ, and how these aspects apply to our Christian life and experience.
1. Joseph was a Shepherd – Christ is the Good Shepherd
In his being a shepherd, Joseph’s life was a copy of the life of Christ (see Gen. 37:2; John 10:11-16).
Joseph was sent by his father not only to shepherd the flock but also to shepherd his brothers, bringing them food and seeing how are they doing. The Lord Jesus was also sent by His Father to shepherd His sheep, and He is the good Shepherd; He came to His sheep to shepherd them, bring them into the pasture, care for them, and even lay down His life for His sheep.
Joseph being a shepherd typifies the aspect of the constitution of Christ in the mature saints that is the shepherding life to take care of others.
In order for us to reign for God, we first need to shepherd others; we need to allow Christ to shepherd us and infuse us with His shepherding life, and then we can shepherd the saints. This also means that we need to be ready to lay down our soul-life for the purpose of shepherding others, just as Joseph was persecuted and sold by his brothers and Jesus was killed by the people He shepherded.
If we are to reign, we need to shepherd first; if we are to shepherd, we must be ready to be “killed” by those we are caring for. This all turns out for God’s purpose to be accomplished further.
John 10:11 I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep
2. Joseph was his Father’s Beloved – Christ is the Father’s Beloved
Joseph was the favorite son of his father, being Jacob’s beloved son (so much so that he drew the hatred of his brothers; see Gen. 37:3-4). In a similar way, Christ was the Father’s beloved Son, and at least in two distinct occasions the Father testified, This is My Beloved Son (after He was baptized and on the mount of transfiguration, see Matt. 3:17; 17:5).
Jacob loved Joseph very much, and the Father finds all His delight in Christ.
Applying this to our experience, the Christ who is wrought into us and constituted in us is Beloved of the Father. When we exercise our spirit to enjoy Christ and abide in Him, we have the sense that we are loved of the Father.
When we worship the Father at the Lord’s Table Meeting, when we touch our mingled spirit where Christ is, we sense that we are also loved of the Father.
We are loved by the Father in Christ. The part in us that is constituted with Christ is beloved of the Father.
3. Both Joseph and Jesus were Sent by the Father to Minister to His Brothers According to the Father’s Will
Jacob sent Joseph to see his brothers and minister to them according to his will, bringing them food and bringing news from them concerning their welfare (Gen. 37:12-17). Christ was sent by the Father to visit His brothers, the Jews, and minister to them according to the Father’s will (John 6:38).
The Lord Jesus came to do the Father’s will, and both Him and Joseph went to their brothers and did their father’s will regardless the cost.
The Christ who is constituted into us is doing the Father’s will in us and through us, and He ministers to us, cares for us, and ministers to others through us.
4. Both Joseph and Christ were Hated, Persecuted, Betrayed (Sold) by their Brothers
Even though Joseph did his father’s will and came to minister to his brothers, he was hated and persecuted by his brothers, who eventually sold him to some Midianites and Ishmaelites (see Gen. 37:5, 18-36).
In a similar manner, even though Christ came to minister to His brothers and care for them, being sent by the Father, He was hated by them without a cause, He was persecuted by the Jews, and He was eventually betrayed by His brothers (see John 15:25; Matt. 26:4, 14-15).
Even though Jacob loved him, in the eyes of his brothers Joseph was despised, depreciated, and dishonoured; his brothers even conspired against him to kill him.
When Christ came to His brothers, the Jews – the people of God, He was hated without a cause; the Jews conspired against Him and plotted to kill Him, and eventually His closest brothers (His disciples) betrayed Him and sold Him.
Joseph was sold to some Ishmaelites – the descendants of Abraham according to the flesh, and then he was taken to Egypt; Christ was sold to men in the flesh, the Jewish people, and then He was taken to the Romans (typified by Egypt) to be put to death.
Wow, if you read the record of Joseph’s life in Genesis and the record in the Gospels regarding Christ’s life on earth, you will see that Joseph was a type of Christ, and his biography is virtually the biography of Christ. How amazing!
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming as the good Shepherd to care for us and minister to us. You are now being wrought into us to be constituted in us as the shepherding life so that we may care for others according to God. Lord, we love You. You are the Father’s Beloved, the One in whom the Father finds all His delight. As the Beloved One by the Father, You are now being wrought into us to make us also beloved to the Father. O Lord Jesus, keep working Yourself into us to constitute us with all that You are until we reign in life!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. James Lee’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Genesis, msg. 110, as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Genesis (3), week 7 / msg 7, The Life of Joseph as a Copy of the life of Christ and Living as a Sheaf of Life and as a Star of Light.
- Picture credit: John 10:11 picture via, Christian Pictures Blog.
- Hymns on this topic:
# My Savior the good Shepherd is, / He’ll never leave the flock. / The One Who truly loves the sheep, / Became the Lamb of God. / Despised, afflicted in my stead, / He spent His soul for me. / And to the slaughter He was led, / That I not thirsty be. (Song on Christ as the Good Shepherd)
# Thy love that now enfolds us / Can ne’er wax cold or dim; / In Him that love doth center, / And we are loved in Him. (Hymns #48)
# How didst Thou humble Thyself to be taken. / Led by Thy creatures and nailed to the cross. / Hated of men, and of God too forsaken, / Shunning not darkness, the curse, and the loss. (Hymns #180)
About aGodMan
