In this series of messages we want to see something of the land of Canaan, which is a type of the all-inclusive Christ. We also want to see how the city and the temple, which were built on this land of Canaan, are types of the fullness of Christ, which is His Body, the church. Thus, what we will consider is the all-inclusive Christ, out of which and upon which the fullness of Christ, the church, is built. Remember well that it is not just Christ and the church but the all-inclusive Christ and the fullness of Christ, which is His Body, the church.
First of all, I would ask you to realize that according to the Scriptures all physical things, all the material things that we see, touch, and enjoy, are not the real things. They are but a shadow, a figure, of the true. Day by day we are contacting so many material objects: we are eating food, drinking water, putting on clothes; we are living in our houses and driving in our cars. I would ask you to realize and remember well that all these things are not real. They are but shadows, figures. The food we take every day is not the real food but a figure of the real. The water we drink is not the real water. The light before our eyes is not the real light but a figure pointing to something else.
Then what are the real things? Brothers and sisters, I would by the grace of God tell you in truth that the real things are nothing but Christ Himself. Christ is the real food to us. Christ is the real water to us. Christ is the real light to us. Christ is the reality of everything to us. Even our physical life is not a real life. It is but a figure pointing to Christ. Christ is the real life to us. If you do not have Christ, you do not have life. You will say, “I am living; I have life in my body.” But you must realize that this is not the real life. It is merely a shadow pointing to the real life, which is Christ Himself.
Day by day while living in my house, I have the realization and feeling that it is not my real dwelling. One day I said to the Lord, “Lord, this is not my dwelling place. This is not the real one; this is nothing. Lord, You Yourself are my dwelling place.” Yes, He is the real habitation to us.
Now I would ask you a question. Probably this has never occurred to you. You may be quite clear that Christ is your food, that Christ is your living water, that Christ is your light, and that Christ is your life. But let me ask you, have you ever realized that Christ is the very land on which you are living? Christ is the land. You may feel that day by day you are living on the earth, on this piece of land, but you must realize that the earth is not your real land. Even the earth is nothing but a figure pointing to Christ. Christ is the real land to us. Food is a figure, water is a figure, light is a figure, our life is a figure, and the land is a figure too. Christ is the real land to us. I must tell you that I have been a Christian for more than thirty years, but never until recent years did I have the thought that Christ is the land to me. I knew that Christ to me is the life, the light, the food, and everything, but not the land.
In the last few years the Lord has brought me to experience Him more and more. Before the Lord showed me that He is the land to us, He first showed me that He is our dwelling place. I had read the Scriptures day by day for more than twenty years without noticing that the Lord is our dwelling place. Then one day I saw something from the ninetieth psalm. In the first verse Moses says, “O Lord, You have been our dwelling place / In all generations.” That day the Lord opened my eyes to see that He is my dwelling place. At that time I knew the Lord as something more. But after two or three years the Lord opened my eyes even further. I saw that the Lord is not only the dwelling place to me but also the land. The Lord is the land to me. From that time the Lord has shown me many things from the Scriptures. From that time I began to understand why in the Old Testament the Lord always referred to a piece of land. The Lord called out Abraham, telling him that He would bring him to a certain land, which was the land of Canaan. You can recall how many times from the twelfth chapter of Genesis to the end of the Old Testament the Lord stressed and referred to the land again and again. The land...the land...the land I promised to your fathers. The land I promised Abraham; the land I promised Isaac; the land I promised Jacob; the land I promised you. I will bring you into the land. It was the land, the land, always the land.
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