Living Always in the Presence of the Lord and Having Christ Constituted into us

Our God is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the Triune God. But what about Joseph – where does he fit in this?

If we have the glasses of God’s economy on while reading the last chapters of Genesis we will realize that Joseph and Jacob are a complete unit: Jacob represents the broken, transformed, and mature believer, and Joseph represents the reigning aspect of the mature life.

In other words, Jacob was dealt with, broken, transformed, and matured to express God, and he represented God to reign for God as he reigned through Joseph.

It is very good to prayerfully study the chapters in Genesis on the life of Joseph since he was a young man just like us, and he went through a lot of things – yet without any complaining, judging, or being angry about it.

He was sold by his brothers when he was 17 years old, then just a short while later, even though he was exalted by his master to rule over his whole house, Joseph was put into prison, where he stayed for 10-11 years.

Being in prison at such a young age and for such a long time can be “a lifetime” for many young people, but Joseph still went on with the Lord, living under the dreams he saw and living in the presence of Jehovah.

Because Joseph had God’s presence wherever he went, God blessed him and made him prosper. Whether in the dungeon, in his master’s house, or on the throne, Joseph had the Lord’s presence, ruled for God, and was made to prosper by God.

We all need to learn to stay in the Lord’s presence and practice being in His presence throughout the day. We shouldn’t desire to “rule over others” but we should rather enjoy Christ, touch Him, exercise our spirit, and practice being in the Lord’s presence so that we may experience Christ as the reigning aspect of the mature life.

From the time of our regeneration Christ is being daily constituted into us, and as we live in the Lord’s presence, we will have authority, we will prosper, and we will be under God’s blessing.

Joseph Represents the Reigning Aspect of the Mature Israel; Jacob Reigned through Joseph

Gen. 41:40-41 You shall be over my household, and according to your word all my people shall be ruled; only in the throne will I be greater than you. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.

It is amazing to read the story of Joseph and realize that he was so perfect and upright in all his living. He didn’t have an easy life but was hated, sold into slavery, and put in prison without doing anything wrong. In all these things, however, Joseph behaved in a perfect way, and he was eventually lifted up by God to the throne to rule over all Egypt.

According to the record in Genesis, Jacob and Joseph are two different persons, but according to spiritual experience, Jacob and Joseph are one person where Jacob is the mature person expressing God and Joseph is the reigning aspect of Jacob (Gen. 41:39-44).

In the spiritual application of the life of Jacob and Joseph to our Christian life, Joseph typifies the constitution of Christ, the reigning aspect of the mature life of Christ in us.

The record of Jacob’s life and Joseph’s life are intertwined, and Jacob and Joseph are one – Jacob reigned through Joseph. Joseph’s life was a part of Jacob’s generation, and Joseph’s biography was a part of Jacob’s history.

As a mature person, Jacob expressed God, and through Joseph, Jacob reigned for God; in Jacob we see the fulfillment of God’s purpose in creating man (see Gen. 1:26).

The reigning aspect typified by Joseph is Christ constituted into our being (Gal. 4:19). From the time of our regeneration, Christ has been constituting Himself into our being. As we go through many experiences in our Christian life, Christ is working Himself into us and we are more and more constituted with Christ.

Joseph represents this constituted aspect of a matured saint. As we grow in life unto maturity, we are being constituted with Christ to both express God (as Jacob did) and represent God (as Jacob reigned through Joseph).

We don’t rule for God because of our human education, our zeal for God, or anything that is outward; we reign for God by experiencing Christ as the constituted One in our being – He is the reigning One, and we reign in Him and with Him. As Christ is being wrought into us, the result will be reigning in life.

Lord Jesus, work Yourself into us more today. Constitute us more with Christ. Spread from our spirit into every part of our inner being and fill us with Yourself. Lord, fulfill Your purpose in us and through us. Grow in us unto maturity so that we may express You and constitute us with Yourself as the reigning aspect of the mature life so that we may represent You. Give us the experiences we need that we may be constituted with Christ and reach maturity in life!

The Reigning Aspect of the Mature Life is a Life that Always Enjoys the Presence of the Lord

The reigning aspect of the mature life is a life that always enjoys the presence of the Lord; wherever His presence is, there is authority, the ruling power. (Witness Lee, Life-Study of Genesis)

One of the main characteristics of Joseph’s life was that he was always enjoying the presence of the Lord. The Bible doesn’t tell us what he did to touch the Lord or how he prayed, but wherever he was, Joseph was in the Lord’s presence.

Whether in the dungeon or on the throne, God’s presence was with Joseph, and he derived his authority from nothing else but from the enjoyment of the presence of the Lord.

When Joseph was in his master’s house, he was entrusted with all that the master had; when he was in prison, he was entrusted with all the prisoners; when he was raised to the throne, he was entrusted with the whole land of Egypt.

The reigning aspect of the mature life is a life that ALWAYS enjoys the presence of the Lord; wherever the Lord’s presence is, there is authority, the ruling power (see Gen. 39:2-5, 22-23).

We shouldn’t try to rule over others or reign over people, and our aim should not be to “be the boss” or “numero uno”; rather, we should spend time in the Lord’s presence and have His presence with us wherever we are.

Whether in good situations or in not-so-good situations, we need to be in the Lord’s presence and, when we have the Lord’s presence, there will be some authority there.

Just like Joseph, when we are in the Lord’s presence, we will be prospered by Him (Gen. 39:2-3, 23). Even though Joseph was ill-treated and even put in prison unrighteously, because he had the Lord’s presence, he enjoyed the prosperity that came to him under the Lord’s sovereignty.

It doesn’t matter where we are and what the conditions are, as long as we have the Lord’s presence, things will work out for good because we love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

Wherever we are – “in dungeon” or “on the throne” – if we have the Lord’s presence, His prosperity is there and we will rule for Him.

Also, in the Lord’s presence Joseph was favored with the Lord’s blessing (Gen. 39:4-5, 22-23). Wherever Joseph went, no matter hos people treated him, he was blessed by God because he was in the Lord’s presence.

The blessing goes with the mature life, and when we are in the Lord’s presence we enjoy the Lord’s blessing. We shouldn’t seek to have outward prosperity or blessing; we should seek to have the Lord’s presence and live one with Him, and His blessing will follow.

This means that, no matter how others treat us, we exercise to enjoy the Lord and be in His presence. No matter what happens to us, we seek to live in the Lord’s presence.

Even our emotions should be regulated by the Lord’s presence. Joseph was regulated by the Lord’s presence in being glad and in weeping; he didn’t weep in front of his brothers when they came, but later he openly wept before them (after they went through some dealings and learned some lessons).

As those growing in life unto maturity by experiencing Christ day-by-day, we need to learn to express our emotions NOT according to our feelings but in the Lord’s presence. Let the Lord’s presence guide you, control you, and govern you in everything, and His blessing and prosperity will follow.

Lord Jesus, keep us in Your presence today. We treasure Your presence and we want to live in Your presence day-by-day. Your presence is everything to us. We want to learn NOT to look at outward situations or at the environment, but look to You, be one with You, and live in Your presence. Lord, may we realize that all things are under Your sovereignty to work together for our good according to Your purpose. We open to You and we let You work Yourself into us. Bring us on to maturity until even our emotions are kept in check and expressed in Your presence!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Minor Chen’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Genesis (msgs. 111-112), as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Genesis (3), week 8 / msg 8, Joseph – The Reigning Aspect of the Mature Life.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # I come to His presence afresh / Ere the night has passed into morning; / And His face I see as it shines on me / The Lord within is dawning. / And He speaks to me and reveals to me / All His riches for me today; / And with sweet delight I partake of Him, / My hunger has passed away. (Hymns #554)
  # Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live, / From morning to evening my one world Thou art; / O let not my heart be contented or rest / When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part. / Each moment, each day, throughout suff’ring and pain, / When nought in the world can give comfort or cheer, / When sighing and weeping encompasses me, / Lord, still all my sighing and wipe every tear. (Hymns #389 by Watchman Nee)
  # Transformed by beholding from glory to glory, / And from strength to strength on to Zion we go. / Constitute us with truth as daily we study— / Here a little there a little—Your Word to know. (Song on Growing and Being Constituted)