It is a great thing to see that God desires to gain a wife, a counterpart and that the entire Bible tells us what God has done, is doing, and will do to obtain her. Genesis 2 especially tells us the story of Adam and Eve as a type of Christ and the church. The steps and processes Adam passed through are a type of what Christ also passed through in order to gain His bride.
Adam’s creation is a type of Christ’s incarnation. Adam not finding a counterpart for himself even after naming all the animals and birds typify Christ not finding a counterpart by coming to visit the natural humanity. Adam being put to sleep is a type of Christ being put to death on the cross.
Eve being built up from Adam’s rib typifies the church being built from the resurrection life of Christ released through His death. Eve being brought to Adam and Adam taking her as his wife since she was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh typify Christ presenting the church to Himself glorious, not having spots or wrinkles or any such things.
Today we would like to see how the church was produced in Christ’s death and resurrection. What a marvelous process with an excellent issue!
The Church was Produced through Christ’s Death and Resurrection
Adam as a type of Christ fell in a deep sleep for the producing of Eve as his wife – this shows us that Christ was “put to sleep” through His death on the cross for the producing of the church as His counterpart (see Eph. 5:25-27). Sleep in the Bible often refers to death (see 1 Cor. 15:18; John 11:11-14).
Human death is ugly and not pleasant, but Christ’s death on the cross under the judgement of God was the most wonderful death in the universe! Christ’s death released His divine life, imparted His life into us, propagated His life, multiplied God’s life, and reproduced God’s life – just like a grain of wheat falls into the ground to die and produce many grains (see John 12:24) for the making of a loaf which is the Body, the church (see 1 Cor. 10:7). Wow, how wonderful is Christ’s death!
God became a man, lived a perfect human life, and then He died an all-inclusive wonderful death on the cross. Through the process of incarnation, death, and resurrection, God in Christ has been wrought into man with His life and nature to make man the same as He is in life and nature to be His counterpart, His bride.
All the believers in Christ have been regenerated at one unique point in time: at the time of Christ’s resurrection, when we received the divine life and became the many members to compose the real Eve to match Christ as His bride! The church was produced and constituted at the time of Christ’s resurrection.
Christ’s divine life was released through His death (the outer shell of His humanity was broken open) and it was imparted into His believers in His resurrection for the constituting of the church as His counterpart (1 Pet. 1:3).
May the Lord open the eyes of our heart that we may see how the church as Christ’s counterpart was produced through Christ’s death and resurrection.
“No Bone of His Shall Be Broken”
In Exo. 12:46, Num. 9:12, and Psa. 34:20 it was prophesied concerning Christ that, “no bone of His shall be broken.” This was fulfilled in John 19:32-33, where we see that Christ died on the cross and the Roman soldiers did not break any of His bones (so as to help Him die).
This means that even though Christ’s human life died, His divine life cannot be broken – this life is the unbreakable eternal life of God in resurrection! What the soldiers could do is put Christ’s human life to death and then pierce His side with a spear, and blood and water flowed from Him (see John 19:34).
The blood was for our redemption and washing away from sins, and the water was for the impartation of life and regeneration to be produced as the church. The Lord Jesus Christ was smitten on the cross by the rod of Moses (as the rock was smitten by Moses in the wilderness), that is, by the law of God, and His side was pierced for blood and water to flow out!
In Adam’s case, God took a rib out of his side and built Eve – this bone typifies the divine life which is signified by the water flowing out of Christ’s side on the cross.
Furthermore, when Adam woke up from his sleep (which typifies Christ’s resurrection), he was a different person – one who had a wife produced out of his being. When Christ resurrected, He was also different than before: He was no longer single, but He had the church which was produced out of His resurrection life!
Adam had Eve to be his help meet, his wife, and Christ had the church to complement Him! Eve was produced from Adam’s rib taken from his open side, and the church was produced from the blood and water which flowed out of Christ’s pierced side.
The rib taken from Adam’s opened side typifies the unbreakable and indestructible eternal life of Christ (see Heb. 7:16; John 19:32-33, 36; Exo. 12:46; Psa. 34:20), which flowed out of Christ’s side to impart life into all those who believe into Him, so that they may be produced and built up as the church to be His counterpart!
Lord, open our eyes to see how the church was produced through Your death and resurrection. Thank You Lord for Your life-releasing, life-imparting, life-multiplying, and life-reproducing death on the cross. We praise You for regenerating us in Your resurrection, thus making us members of Your counterpart, the church. Hallelujah! The church is produced and built up with Christ’s resurrection life, the unbreakable and indestructible eternal life of Christ! Keep us applying Your blood to all our sins and enjoying the flow of Your life to be Your counterpart in reality today!
References and Further Reading
- Inspiration: bro. Ed Marks’ speaking in this message and portions from, Life-Study of Genesis (see pages. 219-220), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on the Crystallization Study of Genesis (1), week / msg 8, The Type of Eve as the Counterpart of Adam.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Through shadows, types and figures, / God’s deepest thought is known; / As typified by Adam, / The Husband, Christ, is shown. / A rib brought forth from Adam / Reveals the source of life / By which God built a woman: / Eve, as the church, His wife.
# For us Thou on the Cross wast pierced, / And blood and water streamed; / That life divine be giv’n to us, / That we may be redeemed. / Thy precious blood has made us clean, / That we accepted be; / Regenerated by Thy life, / We now are one with Thee. [by Witness Lee]
# O Lord, just make us such a one: / A Bride well-pleasing in the Son. / One to satisfy Your heart; / O we would fill Thy longing, Lord, / As Thy sweet counterpart.
