The Israelites as a Type of the Church

We understand from Scripture that Israel is a type of the Church. Let's look at those passages to better understand them.

The experiences the Israelites had were examples for us. The apostle Paul wrote:

Israaelites worshiping the golden calf

"For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ."

"Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.' Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall." (1Co 10:1-12)

First, Paul used the word examples in this passage, when he said, "These things happened as examples for us..." The Greek word for examples here is tupos. According to Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, tupos means :"a sampler ('type'), that is, a model (for imitation) or instance (for warning): - en- (ex-) ample, fashion, figure, form, manner, pattern, print." This means that the experiences of the Israelites in the wilderness were types or examples for us. Some of those things that happened to them were either models for us to imitate or instances to warn us. In some cases, they were patterns for us to follow.

Likewise, Israel itself was a type of the Church. By knowing and understanding that, we can learn many lessons for our lives from what they went through. That was exactly what Paul was saying here. He admonishes us not to be idolaters as some of them were, so that we don't suffer the same fate. He warns us not to be immoral as some of them were, so that the same thing doesn't happen to us that happened to them.  He warns us not to grumble either, for the same reason, so that we are not destroyed as they were. He warns us not to crave the evil things they craved. It's all quite plain and simple.

Once again, the apostle uses the same approach to warn the Church, citing the people of Israel as an example:

"Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, 'As I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest,' although His works were finished from the foundation of the world." (Heb 4:1-3)

"Therefore...it remains for some to enter [that rest], and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience..." (Heb 4:6)

In this passage, we learn that the Israelites had the good news preached to them, but they did not combine the Word of God with faith, so it was of no benefit to them. As a result, they did not inherit the Promised Land. They did not possess what God had promised them, because they didn't believe what He had said. Their unbelief resulted in their disobedience, so they failed to enter.

Likewise, if we do not believe the gospel when we hear it, then it will be of no benefit to us. If we do not combine the Word of God with faith when we hear it, then we will not receive the promises written in it. Just as the Israelites had the promise of entering His rest in the Promised Land, but did not enter that rest due to their unbelief, which resulted in disobedience, in the same way we have the promise of entering His rest during our earthly pilgrimage as well as eternally afterward up in heaven, but we could fail to enter that rest because of disobedience resulting from unbelief. That is a sobering truth.

There are other insights that we can gain from understanding that the Israelites were a type of the Church. For example, consider the fact that the Israelites were commanded to be separate from their worldly neighbors. But they actually failed to be separate, and instead they compromised with the nations, mingled together with them, and adopted their customs and practices, including their idolatry. Likewise, the Church is called to be separate, as I have written in my article called Separation from the World. Yet much of the Church today has become polluted by The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness. Let's come out from among them and be separate, as the Lord commands us in His Word. He says:

Therefore, "Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." And, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." (2Co 6:17-18).

When the Israelites sinned, God sent prophets to warn them to turn from their sin or face His punishment. He does the same today when the Church sins. One example would be the apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church. Another example would be the letters the apostle John wrote to the seven churches of Asia. Out of the seven churches, the Lord warned five of them to repent (Rev 2:1 - 3:22).

When the Israelites refused to listen to the warning God sent through His prophets, He allowed them to become oppressed by their enemies and ultimately they were taken into captivity in a foreign land called Babylon. The same thing happens when God's people in the Church refuse to heed the warnings He gives them to repent. He allows them to become oppressed and eventually they fall captive to the enemy. Do some research and see whether those seven churches of Asia are still there today. You will find that those areas are now dominated by Islam.

After the Israelites' captivity in Babylon was completed, only a remnant of them returned from captivity. In the same way, we understand from New Testament Scriptures that just as few people will be saved (Mt 7:14).

Closing Words
In this study we learned that the Israelites were a type of the Church, and their experiences were examples for us in both positive and negative ways. Knowing and understanding this will help us gain insights that we may otherwise have missed. It will teach us good patterns to follow, such as faith and obedience. It will also warn us about bad examples to avoid, such as unbelief and disobedience. It's quite simple actually. You are not wasting your time reading the Old Testament, because the Lord can teach you many practical lessons of life that will enable you to walk in victory, inherit the promises, keep you from going down to the pit, and save your soul.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2Ti 3:16-17).

The apostle's conclusion from all this is the following: "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall." There are many ways that you as a Christian can fall, as we see from the example of the Israelites. That includes grumbling, craving evil things, immorality, idolatry, testing the Lord, and many more. If anyone thinks he stands, let him beware lest he fall.

Studying types of Christ like this can help us grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Image of second temple may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.

Author's note:  Also see What Does it Mean to be Hebrew?, The High Priest as a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, Manna as a Type of Christ, Moses as a Type of Christ, Adam as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, Hagar and Sarah as Types, and The Mysteries of the Faith. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

__________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Adam as a Type of Christ

The first place to begin when studying typology is the book of Genesis, where all biblical doctrine begins. And the first place to begin in that book with regard to typology is with Adam, the first man that God created.

The First Man - Adam
Here is the account from Scripture:

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" (Gen 1:26-28)

In this passage God spoke to Himself. The word for "God" in this verse is Elohim, which is the Hebrew plural word for God. While there is only one God, He has a plural nature and actually spoke in the first person plural to Himself using words like "us" and "our". He decided to create man in His own image, according to His likeness, which He did on the sixth and final day of creation, before He rested from His work on the seventh day. He saved the best for last, and this crowning work of His was to create man in the image of God.

It's important to note that when God blessed man, He told them to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it, and to rule over every living thing that moves. All of these were attributes of God given to man.

However, we know that man soon fell into sin. He created them male and female, Adam and Eve. He did not create two men or two women, but one man and one woman. Eve was made from Adam, and she was bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh. They were together in the garden of Eden, which was a Paradise on earth. They were allowed to eat of any tree in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

"The LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.'" (Gen 2:16-17)

The penalty for eating of that tree was death, but when satan deceived Eve into eating the fruit of that tree, she did so, and then she gave some to her husband and he ate.

"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings." (Gen 3:6-7)

This is how the human race was plunged into sin, and since then all of their offspring have shared the same sinful nature. Up until that point, Adam and Eve were naked and they were not ashamed (Gen 2:25). But now that they ate of the fruit, they realized they were naked and covered their loins. Now they became conscious of sin, since they suddenly possessed the knowledge of good and evil. That act of their disobedience brought death to all mankind.

The Last Adam - Christ

According to the apostle Paul, Adam is a type of Christ. He said in his epistle to the Romans: "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come." (Rom 5:14)

Paul explained the many parallels between Adam and Christ:

"But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom 5:15-21)

One man, Adam, transgressed or sinned, which brought death to all mankind. On the other hand the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man Jesus Christ now abounds to the many, because of the sacrifice of His death on the cross. Adam's transgression brought judgment resulting in condemnation to all men. But the free gift of Jesus Christ who gave His life on the tree was necessary because of many transgressions committed by all people. That one act of righteousness resulted in justification of life to all men, rather than condemnation. Just as through Adam's single transgression the many became sinners, so also through the gift of the One -- a single act of righteousness -- the many will be made righteous. Adam's disobedience produced many sinners, but Christ's obedience produces many righteous people.

Paul also referred to this in his epistle to the Corinthians when he said:

"For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death." (1Co 15:21-26).

Again we have death by a man (Adam), and the resurrection of the dead by a Man (Christ). Everyone must die because of Adam, but all those in Christ will be made alive. Just as Adam was supposed to reign on earth, so Christ must reign until He puts all His enemies underneath His feet. Speaking of the reign of the second Adam, Paul wrote:

"For He has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when He says, 'All things are put in subjection,' it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all." (1Co 15:27-28).

That explains the ultimate goal of Christ's reign, which is to subject all things to God the Father, so that He may be all in all.

Finally, Paul drew more parallels between Adam and Christ at the end of that same chapter in 1 Corinthians 15. He wrote:

"So also it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living soul.' The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly." (1Co 15:45-49)

Side by Side Comparison
Let's summarize what we've just read by comparing the two Adams side by side using Scripture in the following chart:

Adam	Christ
"the transgression" (Ro 5:15)	"the free gift" (Ro 5:15)
"by the transgression of the one the many died" (Ro 5:15)	"the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many" (Ro 5:15)
"the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation" (Ro 5:16)	"the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification" (Ro 5:16)
"by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one" (Ro 5:17)	"those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ" (Ro 5:17)
"through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men" (Ro 5:18)	"through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men" (Ro 5:18)
"through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners" (Ro 5:19)	"through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous" (Ro 5:19)
"sin reigned in death" (Ro 5:21)	"grace...[reigns] through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Ro 5:21)
"by a man came death" (1 Co 15:21)	"by a man also came the resurrection of the dead" (1 Co 15:21)
"in Adam all die" (1 Co 15:22)	"in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Co 15:22)
"fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Ge 1:28)	"He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet." (1 Co 15:25)
He was supposed to subdue the earth, but caused death (Ge 1:28)	He will reign until His last enemy (death) is abolished (1 Co 15:26)
"The first man" (1 Co 15:45)	"The second Man, the last Adam" (1 Co 15:45,47)
"a living soul" (1 Co 15:45)	"a life-giving spirit" (1 Co 15:45)
"from the earth, earthy"	"from heaven"

Closing Words
Through the Scriptures, we have learned that Adam was clearly a type of Christ, and through a study of that subject, we can learn many truths that strengthen our faith in Christ. I trust this has helped to accomplish that objective in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types of Christ in the Bible

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note:  Also see Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, Joseph as a Type of Christ, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.