Like Jacob, We have been Called for God’s Purpose and Our God is the God of Dealings

Rom. 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

In the story of Jacob as recorded in Genesis we see how God chose him, selected him, and then called him. Even though he started out by struggling, fighting, and supplanting, by the end of his life, Jacob became Israel, a prince of God, one who was expressing God and representing Him on earth.

Jacob represents us, and the things he went through are similar in principle to the things we are going through. God chose us and selected us in eternity past, and then He predestinated us to be His many sons to express Him and represent Him on earth (see Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:5).

We have been selected by God and predestinated by Him for a purpose, which is the same purpose God had in mind in creating man in Gen. 1:26, Image and Dominion. Why did God choose us? Why did He select us out of so many people? It is because He wants us to be His sons, His new creation, who would express Him in His image and represent Him with His dominion.

And for this purpose to be accomplished, God has to take us through a process of transformation, dealings, and breaking, so that we would bear His image and represent Him with His authority.

This is what we clearly see in Jacob’s life: God took Jacob through a long process of transformation, dealings, and breaking, and at the end of his life Jacob was one who expressed God (he blessed Pharaoh, the ruler of the world at that time, and he blessed all his children) and represented God (through his son Joseph, Jacob was ruling; Joseph’s experience is part of Jacob’s experience, and they are considered one).

We should not despise the dealings or murmur when the Lord allows us to go through dealings and breaking; these have the ultimate goal of making us priests and kings, those who express God and represent Him.

Just as Jacob’s life on earth was, so our life today is full of struggling and striving, and in this life-long process of transformation and dealings we have a lot of struggles, failures, mistakes, and dealings. But God will gain what He is after in us: He chose us, selected us, predestinated us, called us, redeemed us, and regenerated us, and now He regenerates us, transforms us, deals with us, builds us up, and makes us His corporate new man to express Him and represent Him on earth!

We have been Selected, Predestinated, and Called for God’s Purpose

God selected us out of His love before time began; He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, and then He predestinated us and called us in time. We have been pre-marked by God, and in time He calls us to Himself. After He selected us, God predestinated us – He marked us out beforehand to be His sons (Eph. 1:4-5).

In a sense we can’t experience God’s selection and choosing (since they happened in eternity past), but we believe the word of God! We can, however, experience God’s calling (Rom. 8:28), and He called us for His purpose (Rom. 9:11).

Why did God call us? What is God’s purpose in regenerating us with His divine life? We have been selected and called for God’s purpose, and now all things work together for good to us who love the Lord because God wants to fulfill His purpose in us – He desires to have Bethel, the House of God, His dream!

We have been created in God’s image and with His likeness to express God and exercise His dominion on the earth (Gen. 1:26) – this is the purpose of God’s calling. We were chosen by God so that we may express Him and represent Him. God’s purpose in His creating us and calling us is that we would express Him in His image and represent Him with His dominion.

In order for God to accomplish His purpose, He needs to deal with us until we are transformed into priests and kings, those who bear God’s image to express Him and exercise His dominion to represent Him.

In Jacob’s life we see that the purpose God selected and called Jacob was to deal with him until he was transformed into a prince of God who expresses Him and represents Him (see Gen. 47:7, 10). Jacob blessed Pharaoh, the highest authority on earth at that time; since the one who blesses is higher than the blessed one, Jacob was higher than Pharaoh! Jacob was a real representative of God on earth at the end of his life.

Today we as believers in Christ have been selected and called by God to express Him in His image and represent Him with His dominion. The only way this can be fulfilled is NOT by our outward works or clever manipulation (as Jacob tried so hard!) but by practicing to be filled with Christ moment by moment!

Christ is the image of God (Col. 1:15): He expresses God in full; when we are filled with Christ, we express God with His image. Christ is the King of Kings; when we enthrone Him in our being and let Him make His home in all our heart, we become His kingdom and represent God with His dominion.

Christ is the image of God for us to be filled with and express God, and Christ is the King working Himself into His people to make them His kingdom to exercise His dominion for His eternal expression. Just enjoy Christ and be filled with Him, and Genesis 1:26 will be fulfilled in you!

Thank You God for marking us out to be Your many sons. Thank You for calling us in time for Your purpose. Thank You for arranging all things, persons, and situations to work together for good so that Your purpose may be fulfilled. Lord Jesus, we want to be filled with You as the image of the invisible God. Fill us, Lord, and be expressed through us. Make Your home in our heart and be the King in our being so that we may be qualified to reign with You over all the earth for the exercise of God’s dominion!

Our God, the God of Jacob, is a God of Dealings

God’s purpose for Jacob was to deal with him until he was transformed into a prince of God, bearing His image to express Him and exercising His dominion to represent Him; this is God’s goal. (Quote from, Witness Lee)

If we look at Jacob’s life we will realize that he had a life full of dealings, and the God of Jacob was the God of dealings (Gen. 31:38-41). When God appeared to Jacob for the first time he implied that He wants to be Jacob’s God just as He was the God of his father Abraham and Isaac (see Gen. 28:13).

We also have experienced the God of Abraham (the God of justification) and the God of Isaac (the God of grace); now we need to go on and experience the God of Jacob (the God of dealings).

Jacob was destined by God to live a struggling life all his days. He struggled even before he was born, in his mother’s womb, trying to get out first; in God’s sovereignty, he was born second (Gen. 25:22-26). Then, he tricked his brother into selling him the birthright for a bowl of soup (Gen. 27:1-29).

Later, Jacob stole his brother’s blessing and had to run away from him for fear of his life; he was forced to leave the loving mother and father’s home (Gen. 27:41-46, 28:1-5). In God’s sovereignty, Jacob was led to meet Rachel AND Laban (Gen. 29:1-14), and he was cheated by Laban to marry his two daughters – he worked 7 years for Rachel but Laban gave him Leah, and then he had to work another 7 years for Rachel (Gen. 29:15-30).

His wives were competing, were envious on one another, and were wrestling in getting Jacob to be with them and have more children (Gen. 29:31-30:24). Jacob was squeezed by Laban and tricked him, but he was blessed by God (Gen. 30:25-31:16). He had to flee Laban and was pursued by him (Gen. 31:17-55), and then he feared Esau who was coming to meet him with four hundred armed men (Gen. 32:1-21).

His whole life Jacob was struggling, and the God of Jacob is the God of dealings. He is a picture of us: we also struggle, make deals with God, try some tricks, disobey God, go through things that deal with us, etc. Our God is the God of Jacob, the God of dealings who is seeking to transform us and make us His expression and representation on earth.

Lord Jesus, may we go on to experience You as the God of Jacob, the God of dealings. Lord, only You know what is in us and how much we need to be transformed. Give us the experiences You think we need so that we would be dealt with and transformed to be priests and kings to God. Lord, we open to You. Gain what You are after in us. Deal with what You need to deal. Don’t let us remain the same: natural, untransformed, and undealt with. Lord, gain the corporate Israel, the one new man that expresses You and represents You on earth!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Dick Taylor’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-Study of Genesis (msgs. 67-69), as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Genesis (3), week 2 / msg 2, Chosen, Dealt with, and Broken.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Thank You, dearest Lord; You’ve predestinated me. / You’ve called me and saved me and, Lord, preserved me. / You have brought me, Lord, to this day. (Song on the Lord predestinating us)
  # And we know that all things work together for good / To those who love God, / Those called according to His purpose. / For who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Song on Rom. 8:28)
  # What we are, we’re His image; / We’re created in His image, / To express the Christ, subdue the earth, / The purpose of our second birth, / We’re His image, glorious! (Hymns #1279)