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Content

• PREFACE

• INTRODUCTION: THE SHADOW POINTS TO THE REALITY

• WHAT IS TYPOLOGY?

• TYPES, ANTITYPES, SHADOWS AND FULFILMENT

• SCRIPTURE MUST ESTABLISH THE CONNECTION

• JESUS AND THE MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS

• ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS AND SPIRITUAL ISRAEL

• CREATION AS A TYPE OF THE NEW CREATION

• ADAM AND CHRIST: THE FIRST AND LAST ADAM

• ADAM AND EVE: CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

• THE GARDEN OF EDEN AND THE CHURCH

• ABRAHAM AND ISAAC: THE SON OFFERED IN SACRIFICE

• JONAH AND JESUS

• NOAH AND THE GOSPEL DAY

• OLD COVENANT SHADOWS POINT TO JESUS CHRIST

• FURTHER EXAMPLES OF BIBLICAL TYPOLOGY

• HOW TO STUDY A BIBLICAL TYPE

• CONCLUSION: THE REALITY IS FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST

Important Points

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• Infallibility and authority belong only to God and His Word.

COGMA therefore strongly advises that you prayerfully study the content of each Study Guide with the heart of a Berean (Acts 17:10–12).

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PREFACE

The Bible contains many real people, events, objects and institutions that God used to reveal greater spiritual truths. This form of biblical language is called typology.

A type is something real that points beyond itself towards a greater spiritual reality. That greater reality is called the antitype.

Typology therefore differs from symbolism. A symbol may use an image to represent another truth, while a biblical type is rooted in genuine history.

Adam was a real man. Isaac was a real son, and Noah built a real ark. Israel's sacrifices, priesthood and other Old Covenant arrangements were also real.

Yet Scripture shows that these people, events and institutions can point beyond themselves towards greater spiritual realities. The historical account remains true while God also uses it to prepare the way for something greater.

Typology helps us understand the unity of Scripture and how earlier biblical events prepared the way for truths revealed more fully in Jesus Christ. The earlier picture has meaning, but the greater reality must govern our understanding of the type.

In this Study Guide, we will examine how types and antitypes work, how Scripture establishes the connection, and how the earlier picture must always remain under the greater reality to which it points.

The purpose is not to search for hidden meanings everywhere or create connections through imagination. It is to recognise the patterns God has established in His Word and understand the greater truths they reveal.

Above all, biblical typology directs our attention towards Jesus Christ, the greater reality in whom God's purpose is fulfilled.

INTRODUCTION: THE SHADOW POINTS TO THE REALITY

Throughout the Bible, God uses real people, events, objects and institutions to reveal greater spiritual truths. Something may belong genuinely to history while also pointing beyond itself towards a reality that God will reveal more fully.

This is the principle of typology. The earlier person, event, object or institution is called the type, while the greater reality to which it points is called the antitype.

The type is therefore not imaginary. It actually existed or happened, but God used that historical reality to prepare the way for something greater.

Paul explains this principle when speaking about the experiences of Israel.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11:

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

Notice that Paul says these things “happened.” The events were real, but they were also “ensamples” written for the instruction of those who came later.

Many biblical types ultimately direct our attention towards Jesus Christ and His New Covenant purpose. The manna in the wilderness points towards Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life, while Adam points towards Jesus Christ as the last Adam.

Old Covenant sacrifices, priesthood and other outward arrangements also prepared the way for greater spiritual realities. The earlier picture is important, but it must never become greater than the reality to which it points.

At the same time, typology must be handled carefully. We cannot decide that something is a type simply because we can imagine a similarity. Scripture must establish the connection, and the interpretation must remain in harmony with the whole Word of God.

Several principles will therefore guide our study:

• The type is historically real;
• The antitype is the greater reality;
• Scripture must establish the connection;
• The type must remain under the reality to which it points.

The purpose of studying typology is not to search for hidden meanings everywhere. It is to recognise the patterns God has established in His Word and understand more clearly the spiritual realities they reveal.

The type prepares the picture. The antitype reveals the greater reality.

WHAT IS TYPOLOGY?

Typology is a form of biblical interpretation in which a real person, event, object or institution points towards a greater spiritual reality that God later reveals more fully.

The earlier picture is called the type, while the greater reality is called the antitype.

This relationship may involve:

• A person;
• An event;
• An object;
• An institution.

The important point is that the type genuinely belonged to history. Typology does not turn historical events into imaginary stories. Instead, it recognises that God can use something real within His purpose to reveal something greater.

The Type Is Real

A biblical type must first be understood in its historical setting. The spiritual meaning does not remove or replace the historical reality.

Adam was a real man, and Noah was a real man who built an ark. Abraham and Isaac were real people, while Israel's sacrifices, priesthood and tabernacle were genuine parts of the Old Covenant.

These things do not become less historical because Scripture later shows that they also carry spiritual meaning. The history remains true.

What typology adds is the recognition that God placed a greater purpose within the picture. Something that happened in history can also prepare us to understand a spiritual reality revealed later.

The Antitype Is Greater

The antitype is not simply another event that happens to resemble the type. It is the greater reality towards which the type points.

Scripture gives us a clear example through Adam.

Paul wrote in Romans 5:14:

“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.”

Paul describes Adam as “the figure of him that was to come.” The One who was to come is Jesus Christ.

Scripture therefore establishes the relationship for us. Adam is the earlier figure, while Jesus Christ is the greater reality.

This is an important example because it shows that genuine typology is not based upon imagination. The Bible itself provides the connection.

The Type Does Not Equal the Antitype

The type and antitype are connected, but they are not equal. The type provides the earlier picture, while the antitype reveals the greater truth.

This means that we should expect both similarities and differences between them. The type does not need to reproduce every detail of the antitype.

Adam helps us understand Jesus Christ, but Adam and Jesus Christ are not equal. Isaac helps us understand sacrifice, but Isaac's experience is not equal to the saving work of Jesus Christ.

The Old Covenant priesthood also helps us understand spiritual truth, but those priests were not equal to the greater reality fulfilled in Christ. The earlier picture can teach important truth without becoming equal to its fulfilment.

The antitype therefore does more than repeat the type. It fulfils and surpasses it.

Typology Shows the Unity of Scripture

Typology also helps us see that the Bible is not a collection of disconnected accounts. Events separated by hundreds or even thousands of years can belong to one unfolding purpose.

The physical creation can help us understand the new creation, while the first Adam can help us understand the last Adam. A promised son can point towards a greater sacrifice, and a physical ark can help reveal truths connected with salvation.

Old Covenant arrangements can also point towards what God would later fulfil in Jesus Christ. The earlier picture prepares the way for the greater reality.

These connections help us see the unity of God's Word. An event may have an immediate historical purpose while God also uses it to prepare the way for something greater.

Typology Must Move Us Forward

The purpose of a type is not to keep our attention fixed upon the earlier picture. The type prepares us to recognise the greater reality.

Once the antitype is revealed, the earlier picture must be understood through that greater truth. We do not allow the type to become greater than its fulfilment or use the earlier picture to weaken what God has revealed more fully.

Typology therefore moves our understanding forward. The historical account remains important, but its greater purpose becomes clearer when the reality to which it points is revealed.

This gives us a simple principle for everything that follows: The type is real. The antitype is greater. Scripture establishes the connection, and the earlier picture prepares us to recognise the greater reality.

TYPES, ANTITYPES, SHADOWS AND FULFILMENT

Typology becomes clearer when we understand how the Bible uses the ideas of type, antitype, shadow and fulfilment.

A type points forward towards something greater. A shadow gives an outline of a reality that is still to be revealed. The antitype is the greater reality itself, while fulfilment is the point at which that reality is revealed.

These ideas are especially important when we study the Old Covenant. God gave real outward arrangements that had an appointed purpose, but those arrangements were pointing towards something greater.

A Shadow Is Not the Substance

Paul wrote in Colossians 2:16-17:

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Paul makes a clear distinction between the shadow and the body. The Old Covenant contained visible practices that God Himself had given, and they had purpose and meaning, but they were not the final spiritual reality.

Paul describes them as “a shadow of things to come.” He then identifies the greater reality: “the body is of Christ.”

The shadow therefore points beyond itself. Its purpose is to prepare us to recognise something greater.

The Shadow Had an Appointed Purpose

Calling something a shadow does not mean that it was wrong or unnecessary. God gave the Old Covenant according to His purpose.

Its sacrifices, priesthood, tabernacle, washings, appointed days and other arrangements taught important truths and prepared the way for what was coming.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 10:1:

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.”

The Law contained “a shadow of good things to come.” The shadow could teach through representation, but it could not itself produce the spiritual reality it represented.

A sacrifice could point towards a greater sacrifice, while a priest could point towards a greater priestly reality. Ceremonial cleansing could also point towards true spiritual cleansing.

The earlier form had meaning because of the greater truth towards which it pointed. Representation is not production.

Fulfilment Brings the Greater Reality

When the antitype is revealed, the purpose of the type becomes clearer. Fulfilment does not mean that God made a mistake with the earlier arrangement, but that what He had been pointing towards has now reached its greater reality.

Paul described the Law as a schoolmaster.

Paul wrote in Galatians 3:24-25:

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

The schoolmaster had an appointed purpose: “to bring us unto Christ.” The destination was Jesus Christ.

Paul then says, “after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” The earlier arrangement served its purpose by bringing people towards the greater reality.

The direction is therefore from the earlier picture towards fulfilment. We do not move backwards from the reality to the shadow as though the shadow could add something to what has already been fulfilled.

The Reality Governs the Shadow

Once fulfilment has come, the shadow must be understood through the reality. We should not allow the earlier picture to reduce, redefine or compete with what God has now revealed.

This is particularly important when a type or shadow points towards Jesus Christ. The earlier representation must remain under the greater truth revealed in Him.

The Person is greater than the representation.

The reality is greater than the shadow.

The antitype is greater than the type.

The earlier picture helps us understand what God was preparing to reveal, but our attention must finally rest upon the greater reality itself. The fulfilment explains the purpose of the shadow.

This gives us an important principle for everything that follows: The type points forward. The shadow prepares the way. The antitype reveals the greater reality. Fulfilment shows us what God intended from the beginning.

SCRIPTURE MUST ESTABLISH THE CONNECTION

Once we recognise that the Bible contains types and antitypes, an important question follows: How do we know when something is genuinely a biblical type?

The answer is simple: Scripture must establish the connection.

Typology must never be controlled by imagination. A resemblance between two events may be interesting, but similarity alone does not prove that God intended one to be a type of the other.

Scripture Sometimes Identifies the Type Directly

In some cases, the Bible clearly identifies the relationship. This gives us a firm Scriptural foundation for studying the type and antitype together.

Paul wrote concerning Adam in Romans 5:14:

“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.”

The words “the figure of him that was to come” establish the connection between Adam and Jesus Christ. We do not have to invent the relationship because Scripture gives it to us.

In the same way, Jesus connects the days of Noah with the days of the Son of man, while Paul connects the marriage relationship with Christ and the Church. Where Scripture makes the connection, we can study the type with confidence.

The New Testament Often Explains the Old

Many Old Testament events become clearer when the New Testament reveals their greater spiritual significance. The later revelation helps us understand why an earlier event carries meaning beyond its immediate historical setting.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11:

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

The events were genuine history, but the New Testament tells us that they also carry spiritual instruction. The history remains true while Scripture reveals its greater significance.

This gives us an important principle: Later revelation helps us understand the greater meaning of the earlier picture.

The history does not change. Rather, Scripture shows us why that history also has significance beyond its original setting.

Similarity Alone Is Not Enough

It is possible to find similarities between many biblical events. An Old Testament person may travel somewhere, suffer hardship, carry an object or perform an action that resembles something found elsewhere in Scripture.

That does not automatically make the relationship typological. If similarity alone determined meaning, almost anything could be called a type.

We should therefore ask:

• Does Scripture identify the connection?
• Does a New Testament writer use the earlier event in this way?
• Does the interpretation agree with the immediate context?
• Does it harmonise with the whole Word of God?
• Does the proposed antitype reveal something greater than the type?

These questions help protect the interpretation from speculation. They keep the authority with Scripture rather than with the imagination of the interpreter.

A Type Is Part of God's Intentional Design

A genuine biblical type is more than an accidental resemblance. The relationship belongs to God's intentional design within Scripture. The earlier person, event or institution was real, while God also used it to prepare the way for a greater truth that would later be revealed.

The type and antitype must therefore possess a genuine correspondence. They may differ greatly in outward form, but the essential truth represented by the type must be present more fully in the antitype.

A type may also serve both as a picture and as a prediction. It can teach truth within its own historical setting while at the same time pointing forward towards something God will later reveal or fulfil.

The antitype is always the greater reality. The type prepares the picture, but the fulfilment reveals the greater truth.

This principle also helps us recognise what does not carry typological meaning. Details that were necessary only for the ordinary function of an object or event should not automatically be given spiritual significance.

Scripture must establish the connection rather than imagination assigning meaning to every accessory.

Do Not Force Every Detail

Even when Scripture establishes a genuine type, we should not assume that every detail carries a separate spiritual meaning. A type may establish a broad relationship without assigning spiritual significance to every part of the historical account.

We should therefore be careful about giving spiritual meaning to every:

• Number;
• Colour;
• Object;
• Action;
• Person;
• Place.

Some details may carry significance when Scripture establishes that meaning. Others may simply belong to the historical event.

Where Scripture gives meaning, we accept it. Where Scripture provides sufficient evidence, we follow it carefully. Where Scripture gives no foundation, we should not create one.

The Word of God must remain above the imagination of the interpreter.

The Greater Revelation Must Govern the Type

A proposed interpretation must also remain in harmony with the greater truth God has revealed. An Old Testament type cannot be used to contradict or weaken the New Testament reality.

This is especially important with Old Covenant shadows. Once Jesus Christ has fulfilled what the shadow represented, the shadow must be understood through that fulfilment.

The earlier picture cannot become greater than the reality. The fulfilment must govern our understanding of the type.

Good typology therefore follows a clear order: Scripture identifies the pattern. Scripture establishes the connection. Scripture reveals the greater reality.

When we follow that order, typology becomes a powerful way of seeing the unity of God's Word without allowing imagination to control its meaning.

JESUS AND THE MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS

One of the clearest examples of typology comes from Jesus Himself. In John chapter 6, Jesus takes something real from the history of Israel and uses it to reveal a greater spiritual reality found in Him.

Israel had literally eaten manna in the wilderness. God provided this food to sustain them during their journey. The manna was real, the people who ate it were real, and their experience belonged to the history of natural Israel.

Jesus used that historical event to direct attention towards something greater.

Jesus said in John 6:48:

“I am that bread of life.”

He then said in John 6:49:

“Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.”

Jesus places the natural and the spiritual beside each other. The Israelites ate physical manna, but that bread could sustain only natural life. They ate it and eventually died.

Jesus Christ declares Himself to be “that bread of life.” The manna therefore provides the earlier picture, while Jesus Christ reveals the greater spiritual reality.

Physical Bread and Spiritual Life

The manna met a genuine physical need. Israel required food in the wilderness, and God supplied it.

However, physical food cannot give spiritual life. Natural bread can sustain the body for a time, but it cannot quicken a person who is spiritually dead in sin.

Jesus Christ gives what physical manna could never provide. The comparison helps us understand an important principle of typology:

• The type is physical and temporary;
• The antitype reveals the greater spiritual reality;
• The type prepares us to recognise what God will reveal more fully.

The manna was therefore not the final reality. It pointed beyond itself towards the One who could give true spiritual life.

Jesus Christ Is the Greater Reality

This example also shows why the antitype must be greater than the type. The earlier picture has value, but it cannot equal the reality towards which it points.

Manna could be gathered and eaten, but Jesus Christ gives spiritual life. Manna sustained natural Israel physically, while Jesus Christ gives life to those who are born again and comes to dwell within them by His Spirit.

The physical provision was important, but it could never produce the spiritual reality represented by the picture. The manna could sustain natural life, but it could not give the life of Christ within.

This is the same principle we have already established: Representation is not production.

The manna could represent spiritual provision, but the manna itself could not produce spiritual life. The reality is found in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Used History to Reveal Spiritual Truth

This example is also valuable because it shows that typology is not a method invented later by Bible students. Jesus Himself took an Old Testament historical reality and used it to reveal spiritual truth.

The manna remained genuine history. Jesus did not deny what happened in the wilderness or turn the historical account into an imaginary story. Instead, He showed that the physical provision could help His hearers understand something greater.

The type was the manna in the wilderness. The antitype is Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.

The natural bread sustained physical life for a time. Jesus Christ gives the spiritual life that physical provision could never give.

The purpose of the type is therefore fulfilled when our attention moves beyond the manna towards Jesus Christ. We do not remain occupied with the earlier physical provision when the greater spiritual reality has been revealed.

The type directs us towards the antitype, and the antitype reveals the greater spiritual reality in Jesus Christ.

ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS AND SPIRITUAL ISRAEL

Paul also uses the experiences of Israel in the wilderness to teach spiritual truth to New Testament believers. The events recorded in Exodus and Numbers were real. Israel was delivered from Egypt, passed through the wilderness and experienced God's provision, instruction and judgement.

Yet Paul explains that these historical events were also written for the instruction of those who would come later.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11:

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

The important word is “ensamples.” The experiences of natural Israel provide examples through which spiritual truth can be understood.

The history remains literal, but God uses that history to teach those who belong to Him in the New Covenant.

Natural Israel and Spiritual Israel

This typology also helps us understand an important distinction made throughout the New Testament. Being physically descended from Israel does not automatically make a person part of God's spiritual people.

Paul wrote in Romans 9:6-8:

“Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”

Paul makes the distinction very clearly: “They are not all Israel, which are of Israel.” Natural descent is not enough.

He then explains, “They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God.” Physical ancestry by itself does not identify the New Covenant people of God.

The New Covenant people of God are identified spiritually through the work of God. This agrees with the wider New Testament teaching that the Church consists of those who are born again.

The True Jew Is Inward

Paul develops the same truth in Romans 2:28-29:

“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

Again, Paul moves from the outward to the inward. Under the former covenant, physical descent and outward circumcision identified natural Israel, but the New Covenant directs attention towards the inward work of God.

Paul says, “he is a Jew, which is one inwardly.” The emphasis is spiritual rather than physical.

This does not establish two different peoples of God with two different ways of salvation. There is one Saviour, one Gospel, one Spirit and one spiritual body.

Natural Jewish people must be born again in the same way as Gentiles. Both enter the one people of God through Jesus Christ.

The Wilderness Experiences Become Spiritual Warnings

Paul's use of Israel in the wilderness therefore has both a typological and practical purpose. Their experiences provide instruction and warning for those living under the New Covenant.

Natural Israel experienced:

• Deliverance;
• Provision;
• Testing;
• Temptation;
• Disobedience;
• Judgement.

These events became warnings for New Testament believers. Their history teaches important truths concerning faith, obedience, temptation and the danger of turning away from what God has revealed.

The point is not that the Church becomes another natural nation. The natural history supplies the earlier picture, while the New Covenant reveals the greater spiritual reality.

The experiences of Israel can therefore teach born-again believers without placing the Church back under the natural identity or covenant arrangements of Israel.

One People in Jesus Christ

The greater reality is found in Jesus Christ. The New Covenant does not preserve two separate saving programmes, one for natural Israel and another for the Church.

Those who belong to Jesus Christ form one spiritual people. Entrance into that people is through the new birth rather than through natural ancestry.

This helps us understand why typology is important. Natural people, places and events in the Old Testament can provide pictures through which spiritual truths under the New Covenant become clearer.

Natural Israel provides the historical picture. The born-again people of God reveal the greater spiritual reality.

The distinction is not based upon race or nationality. It is between the outward and the inward, the natural and the spiritual.

The type is natural Israel. The greater New Covenant reality is the one spiritual people of God who belong to Jesus Christ through the new birth.

CREATION AS A TYPE OF THE NEW CREATION

One of the broadest examples of typology in Scripture is the relationship between the physical creation recorded in Genesis and the new creation in Jesus Christ.

The physical creation was literal and real. God created the heavens and the earth, and He created mankind within that physical world. Yet Scripture also uses the language of creation to describe the spiritual work God performs when a person is born again.

This gives us an important example of how typology works:

• The type: The physical creation;
• The antitype: The spiritual new creation in Jesus Christ.

The first creation does not become imaginary because it also carries spiritual meaning. Its historical reality remains, while God uses it to help reveal something greater.

The First Creation Was Physical

When God completed the physical creation, Moses wrote in Genesis 1:31:

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

God had brought an ordered physical creation into existence. The earth, plants, animals and mankind were real parts of that creation.

Adam belonged to this natural creation. Paul later described him in a way that helps us understand the contrast between the physical and the spiritual.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:45-47:

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”

Notice the contrast. The first is natural, while afterward comes that which is spiritual. The first man is “of the earth, earthy,” while Jesus Christ is the “quickening spirit.”

Paul is showing us that the natural came first, but it was not the final spiritual reality. The physical creation therefore provides a picture that helps us understand something greater.

The New Creation Is in Christ

The New Testament speaks of another creation. This new creation is not another physical world, but a spiritual reality found in Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The words “new creature” carry the thought of a new creation. Notice where this new creation exists: “in Christ.”

Paul is not describing the rebuilding of the physical body or the creation of another physical world. He is describing the spiritual change that takes place when a person is born again and receives new life in Jesus Christ.

The first creation gives us the natural picture. The new birth brings us into the spiritual reality.

Jesus Christ Gives the New Life

The new creation is not produced by human effort, religious education or outward improvement. It comes through the life Jesus Christ gives.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:4-6:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

The word “quickened” speaks of being made alive. The person who was spiritually dead receives spiritual life through Jesus Christ.

This helps us understand why Paul calls Jesus Christ the “quickening spirit.” The born-again believer receives spiritual life because Jesus Christ comes to dwell within by His Spirit.

The Christian life therefore begins with new creation, not external imitation. God does not simply instruct the sinner to improve the old life until it begins to resemble Jesus Christ.

He gives new spiritual life through the indwelling Christ. The change begins within because Jesus Christ Himself becomes the life of the born-again believer.

The New Birth Brings Us Into the Spiritual Reality

Jesus explained the necessity of spiritual birth. Natural birth alone cannot bring a person into the spiritual Kingdom of God.

Jesus said in John 3:3:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Natural birth brings us into the physical creation. The new birth brings us into spiritual life in Jesus Christ.

This distinction is important because the Kingdom of God is spiritual. Physical existence alone does not place a person into Christ or into His spiritual body.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:50:

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”

The new creation therefore requires more than natural life. A person must be born again.

At the new birth, the believer receives the Spirit of Christ and becomes spiritually alive in Him. This is a complete work of God, not the beginning of a process in which another spiritual life must later be received.

The believer possesses Jesus Christ. The believer possesses the Person.

The Type Helps Us Understand the Reality

The first creation and the new creation demonstrate clearly how typology works. The physical creation came first and was real, yet through it God gave us language and patterns that help us understand His spiritual work.

In the first creation:

• God gives life;
• Something new is brought into existence;
• Mankind enters a physical world.

In the new creation:

• God gives spiritual life through Jesus Christ;
• The believer becomes a new creature;
• The believer is brought into spiritual life in Christ.

The natural picture helps us understand the spiritual reality, but the antitype is greater than the type. Natural life cannot produce or replace the spiritual life that comes through Jesus Christ.

The purpose is therefore not to remain occupied with the physical creation as though natural life were sufficient. The type directs us towards the greater reality.

The first creation gives us natural life. The new creation gives us spiritual life in Jesus Christ.

This prepares us for another major example of typology: the relationship between the first Adam and the last Adam, Jesus Christ.

The physical creation provides the earlier picture, but the new creation in Jesus Christ is the greater spiritual reality. The first creation gives natural life. The new creation gives spiritual life in Jesus Christ.

ADAM AND CHRIST: THE FIRST AND LAST ADAM

One of the clearest examples of biblical typology is the relationship between Adam and Jesus Christ. Scripture itself establishes this connection, so we do not have to depend upon imagination to identify the type and the antitype.

Adam is the type, while Jesus Christ is the greater reality. Paul establishes this relationship directly.

Paul wrote concerning Adam in Romans 5:14:

“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.”

Adam is described as “the figure of him that was to come.” The One who was to come is Jesus Christ.

This gives us a Scriptural foundation for examining the first Adam and the last Adam together. The connection comes from the Word itself.

The First Adam and the Last Adam

Paul develops this relationship further in 1 Corinthians 15:45-49:

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”

Paul gives us several important contrasts:

• The first Adam and the last Adam;
• The living soul and the quickening Spirit;
• The natural and the spiritual;
• The earthy and the heavenly.

These contrasts help us understand why Adam is a type of Jesus Christ. They also show clearly that the antitype is greater than the type.

The First Adam Was a Living Soul

Adam belonged to the physical creation. God formed him from the dust of the earth and gave him natural life.

Paul therefore describes the first Adam as “a living soul.” This natural life is genuine life, but it is not the spiritual life that comes through the new birth in Jesus Christ.

Paul says, “that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.” The order is important because natural life comes first, while spiritual life must follow.

This agrees with what Jesus taught concerning the necessity of being born again.

Jesus said in John 3:3:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Natural birth brings a person into the physical creation. A second birth is necessary to enter spiritual life in the Kingdom of God.

The first Adam therefore helps us understand natural humanity. He received natural life, but he could not give the spiritual life that comes through Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Is the Quickening Spirit

Paul calls Jesus Christ “the last Adam” and “a quickening spirit.” To quicken means to make alive.

The first Adam received natural life. Jesus Christ gives spiritual life.

This difference is central to the typology because the antitype does something the type could never do. Jesus does not simply provide an outward example for people to copy.

He gives His own life to those who are born again. The Christian life begins because Jesus Christ gives spiritual life and comes to dwell within.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:4-6:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

The believer is “quickened together with Christ.” Where there was spiritual death, God gives spiritual life.

This is the new birth. Jesus Christ, the quickening Spirit, gives spiritual life and comes to dwell within the born-again believer by His Spirit.

The Christian life therefore comes from the life of Jesus Christ within. It is not produced by training the natural life of the first Adam to imitate Christ outwardly.

The believer possesses the Person. Jesus Christ Himself becomes the life within.

From the Earthy to the Heavenly

Paul also contrasts the source and character of the two Adams. He says, “The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”

The first Adam represents natural humanity. We enter that natural human family through physical birth.

Jesus Christ is the last Adam and the source of spiritual life. Through the new birth, the believer becomes part of the new creation in Him.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Notice again the words “in Christ.” The new creation is found in Jesus Christ.

The believer does not simply receive a spiritual improvement to the old natural creation. God gives new spiritual life through Christ.

The first Adam therefore provides the natural picture, while Jesus Christ brings the greater spiritual reality. The antitype does not simply repeat the type because it brings something greater.

The Kingdom Is Spiritual

This relationship also helps us understand why natural birth alone cannot bring a person into the Kingdom of God. The natural belongs to the first creation, while entrance into the Kingdom requires spiritual life.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:50:

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”

The Kingdom of God is spiritual. Physical descent, natural ability, family heritage and outward religion cannot place a person into it.

A person must be born again. The new birth brings the believer into spiritual life in Jesus Christ.

Paul described this spiritual change in Colossians 1:13:

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

The born-again believer is brought into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ through spiritual life. This is not a physical change of location, but a present spiritual reality in Christ.

Jesus Christ Is Greater Than the Type

The first Adam helps us understand the last Adam, but the two must never be treated as equals. The whole purpose of the type is to direct our attention towards the greater reality.

Adam received life. Jesus Christ gives life.

Adam belonged to the natural creation. Jesus Christ brings the new creation.

Adam was earthy. Jesus Christ is the Lord from heaven.

Through the first Adam, we understand natural life and natural humanity. Through Jesus Christ, the last Adam, we receive the spiritual life that natural humanity could never produce.

This is the purpose of the type. The earlier picture directs our attention towards the greater reality revealed in Jesus Christ.

The first Adam was made a living soul. The last Adam, Jesus Christ, is the quickening Spirit who gives new life to all who are born again in Him.

ADAM AND EVE: CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

The typology of Adam does not end with Adam himself. Scripture also uses the relationship between Adam and Eve to help us understand the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church.

The historical account is real because Adam and Eve were actual people. Yet Paul later takes the language of their marriage and applies it directly to Christ and the Church.

This gives us another clear example of typology:

• Adam points towards Jesus Christ;
• Eve points towards the Church;
• Their marital union points towards the spiritual union between Christ and His people.

The connection is not based simply upon an interesting resemblance. Paul establishes the relationship from Scripture itself.

Eve Was Brought Forth From Adam

Moses wrote in Genesis 2:21-24:

“And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

Eve was not created independently from Adam. God took from Adam and brought forth the woman who became his wife.

Adam therefore said, “she was taken out of Man.” The woman came from Adam and was then joined to him in marriage.

The historical event is real, but it also provides the type. The New Testament later uses this relationship to help reveal the greater spiritual relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church.

Christ and His Church

Paul deliberately uses the language of Genesis when teaching about Jesus Christ and the Church.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:25-32:

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

Paul makes the connection explicit. He begins with husband and wife, repeats the language of Genesis and then says, “I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

The typology is therefore established by Scripture itself. The first marriage provides a picture through which Paul explains the greater spiritual relationship.

From Adam's Side

The creation of Eve also provides a striking picture when compared with the death of Jesus Christ. Adam entered a deep sleep, and from his side God brought forth the woman who became his wife.

At Calvary, the side of Jesus was also opened.

John wrote in John 19:32-34:

“Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”

The physical events are different, so we should not force every detail into an exact comparison. However, the typological relationship directs our attention from Adam and his wife towards Jesus Christ and the people who belong to Him.

From Adam's side came that from which Eve was formed. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood, He purchased the people who comprise His Church.

Paul said in Acts 20:28:

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

The Church belongs to Jesus Christ because He purchased it with His own blood. His sacrifice stands at the centre of the relationship between Christ and His people.

This verse also gives a powerful witness concerning who Jesus Christ is. Paul calls it “the church of God” and says that God purchased it “with his own blood.”

The Church Was Brought Forth Through Christ

Just as Eve came from Adam, the Church has its life and origin in Jesus Christ. The Church is not produced by human organisation, denominational structure or religious membership.

It was brought forth through the saving work of Jesus Christ and revealed in its New Covenant reality at Pentecost, when Jesus Christ returned as the Holy Spirit to dwell within His people. The Church therefore consists of those who are born again and possess His life within.

It is not simply an institution associated with His name. It is His body.

Paul says in Ephesians, “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” The language deliberately echoes Adam's words concerning Eve.

The first marriage therefore helps us understand the greater spiritual relationship. The Church receives its life from Jesus Christ and is joined to Him spiritually.

The Bride and the Mother of the Born Again

Eve became the mother of natural humanity. Scripture also uses the picture of a spiritual woman and mother when speaking about the people of God.

Paul wrote in Galatians 4:26:

“But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”

This Jerusalem is not a future earthly city. It speaks of the spiritual people of God, the present Church composed of those who are born again.

The typology therefore develops naturally:

• The first Adam had a wife;
• Jesus Christ, the last Adam, has His Church;
• Eve became the mother in the natural creation;
• Jerusalem above is described as “the mother of us all” in the spiritual creation.

The natural relationship provides the earlier picture, while the spiritual relationship in Christ reveals the greater reality.

The Great Mystery

Paul calls this relationship “a great mystery.” The mystery is not marriage by itself because Paul explains what he is speaking about.

He says, “I speak concerning Christ and the church.” The historical relationship between Adam and Eve was therefore carrying a greater spiritual picture.

Adam and Eve provide the type. Christ and the Church reveal the greater reality.

The purpose of the type is not to leave our attention fixed upon the first marriage. It is to help us understand the close spiritual union between Jesus Christ and the people He has purchased, cleansed and filled with His own life.

The Church does not possess spiritual life independently from Jesus Christ. Its life comes from Him because He dwells within every born-again member by His Spirit.

As Eve came from Adam and was joined to him, so the Church has its life and origin in Jesus Christ and is spiritually one with Him.

THE GARDEN OF EDEN AND THE CHURCH

The Garden of Eden provides another important example of typology. The Garden was real, and the events recorded in Genesis actually happened. Yet the Garden also provides a picture that helps us understand the greater spiritual reality of the Church of God.

The connection begins with a simple fact: God made the Garden. Moses wrote in Genesis 2:8:

“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”

The Garden was not man's invention. God planted it and placed man within it, which points us towards the greater spiritual reality of the Church.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:18:

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Jesus said, “I will build my church.” Just as God planted the Garden, Jesus Christ builds His Church. The true Church is therefore not created by denominational organisation, religious membership or human authority. Its origin is in Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Life Before Entering the Church

The Genesis account also provides an important picture concerning life. Moses wrote in Genesis 2:7-8:

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”

Adam received life before God placed him in the Garden. The spiritual reality is equally important: a person must receive spiritual life before belonging to the true Church of God.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The Church consists of those who are born again and made spiritually alive in Jesus Christ. A person does not join the Church in order to become saved. Jesus Christ saves, and those whom He saves belong to His spiritual body.

Luke wrote in Acts 2:47:

“Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

Notice that “the Lord added to the church.” The Church is therefore not simply a human organisation that people choose to join. Jesus Christ brings born-again believers into His spiritual body.

The natural picture helps us understand the greater reality:

• Adam received life before being placed in the Garden;
• The believer receives spiritual life through the new birth;
• Those who are born again belong to the Church of God.

The type is physical, while the greater reality is spiritual. Adam first received natural life and was then placed in the Garden. In the greater reality, the believer receives spiritual life through Jesus Christ and belongs to His Church.

The Tree of Life Points to Jesus Christ

Another important feature of the Garden is the Tree of Life. The same picture appears again in Revelation.

Jesus said in Revelation 2:7:

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

The Tree of Life points beyond itself towards the source of spiritual life. Scripture also connects the Tree of Life with wisdom, while the New Testament identifies Jesus Christ as the wisdom of God. The greater reality is therefore not a physical tree, but Jesus Christ Himself.

He is the source of spiritual life and remains in the midst of His people. The Church does not possess life independently from Him because Jesus Christ dwells within every born-again believer by His Spirit.

The Greater Reality

The Garden of Eden therefore provides a clear typological picture:

• God planted the Garden;
• Jesus Christ builds His Church;
• Adam received life before being placed in the Garden;
• A person must be born again before belonging to the true Church;
• The Tree of Life points towards Jesus Christ, the source of spiritual life.

The physical Garden was real, but it points towards something greater. The earlier picture helps us understand the spiritual reality without replacing it. The Church of God is not a physical garden, building or human organisation, but the spiritual body of Jesus Christ, composed of those who are born again and possess His life within.

The Garden provides the earlier picture. The Church reveals the greater spiritual reality, and Jesus Christ remains the life in the midst of His people.

ABRAHAM AND ISAAC: THE SON OFFERED IN SACRIFICE

The account of Abraham and Isaac provides an important example of typology. Isaac was the promised son through whom God's covenant promise would continue, yet Abraham was commanded to offer him. The New Testament helps us understand how this historical event points beyond itself towards Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote in Galatians 3:16:

“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

The promise given to Abraham ultimately reaches its greater fulfilment in Jesus Christ. The history of Abraham and Isaac therefore belongs within the larger purpose that leads towards Christ.

As Abraham and Isaac approached the place of sacrifice, Isaac asked where the offering would come from. Moses wrote in Genesis 22:6-8:

“And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”

The words “God will provide himself a lamb” direct our attention towards God's greater saving provision. The historical event provides the earlier picture, while Jesus Christ reveals the greater reality.

Type and Antitype

The writer of Hebrews confirms that Abraham's experience carried a figurative meaning. He explains both Abraham's faith and the significance of receiving Isaac back.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 11:17-19:

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”

Notice the words “he received him in a figure.” Isaac was not actually killed, but Abraham believed that God was able to raise him from the dead. Scripture therefore describes his receiving Isaac back as “a figure.”

The type does not reproduce every detail of the antitype. Isaac was spared, while Jesus Christ actually gave Himself. This difference reminds us that the antitype is greater than the type and that the earlier picture must be understood through the greater reality.

Isaac provides the earlier picture. Jesus Christ reveals the greater and sufficient sacrifice through whom God's saving purpose is fulfilled.

JONAH AND JESUS

Jonah provides one of the clearest examples of biblical typology because Jesus Himself establishes the connection between Jonah's experience and His own death and resurrection.

Jonah's experience was a real historical event. Jonah wrote in Jonah 1:17:

“Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

Jesus later used this event as a sign pointing towards what would happen to Him. He did not create a new meaning unrelated to the history, but showed that Jonah's real experience also provided an earlier picture of something greater.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:39-40:

“But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus leaves no doubt that the relationship is intentional. Jonah's experience provides the earlier picture, while the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ reveal the greater reality.

Type and Antitype

This example demonstrates one of the safest ways to recognise biblical typology. We do not have to invent the connection because Jesus Christ establishes it Himself.

Jonah's experience actually happened, but it also pointed beyond itself. The earlier event became a sign through which Jesus revealed what would happen to Him. The history remains real, while the greater purpose becomes clear through the explanation Jesus gives.

Jonah provides the type. Jesus Christ's death and resurrection reveal the greater reality.

NOAH AND THE GOSPEL DAY

The account of Noah and the ark provides another important example of typology. Noah was a real man, the flood was a real historical judgement, and the ark was a real vessel of safety. Yet Jesus later used the days of Noah to point towards a greater spiritual reality.

Jesus said in Luke 17:26:

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.”

Jesus directs our attention back to Noah and shows that those historical events carry significance beyond their immediate setting. The natural events provide a picture through which we can understand a greater spiritual truth.

Seven Days Before the Door Was Shut

Before the flood came, God gave a final period of seven days. The ark had been prepared, but there remained a limited period before the judgement came.

Moses wrote in Genesis 7:4:

“For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.”

At the end of that period, Scripture records something very important. Noah and those with him entered the ark, and God Himself closed the way behind them.

Moses wrote in Genesis 7:16:

“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.”

The seven days therefore formed a limited period in which the way into the ark remained open before judgement came. The event was literal, but it also provides a type of the period in which salvation is available before time is brought to its conclusion.

The Seven Days Point to the Gospel Day

The seven literal days in Noah's time help us understand the seven prophetic periods of the Gospel Day. The natural event provides the type, while the Gospel Day reveals the greater prophetic reality.

The Gospel Day began in A.D. 31 at Pentecost, when Jesus Christ returned as the Holy Spirit, and it continues until the end of time. Throughout this complete period, the Gospel goes forth and salvation remains available through Jesus Christ.

The seven days connected with Noah were ordinary literal days. The seven periods of the Gospel Day are not seven literal twenty-four-hour days, but prophetic periods through which the one Gospel Day progresses.

This gives us an important example of typology. The type is seven literal days before the door was shut, while the greater prophetic reality is seven periods within the Gospel Day during which the message of salvation goes forth before time ends.

The type gives us the natural picture. The antitype reveals the greater spiritual meaning.

The Light of Seven Days

Isaiah uses similar language when describing the light of God's purpose. His prophecy brings together the number seven and the picture of light.

Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 30:26:

“Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.”

Notice the expression “the light of seven days.” The number seven is repeatedly connected in Scripture with completeness.

In this prophetic picture, the Gospel light is presented across seven days, giving us a complete picture of the Gospel Day from Pentecost to the end of time. The seven periods do not represent seven different gospels or seven different saving programmes.

There is one Gospel, one Church, one Spirit and one Jesus Christ. The seven periods describe the movement of God's people through the complete Gospel Day.

The Ark and the Place of Safety

The ark provided safety from the judgement that came upon Noah's world. However, the greater spiritual truth must be understood through Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 10:9:

“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

Jesus Christ is the Door of salvation. We must therefore be careful not to make the physical ark itself the final spiritual reality.

The ark points towards God's provision of salvation, but salvation is found in Jesus Christ. The type must direct us towards the greater reality rather than becoming the reality itself.

When a person is born again, that person receives Jesus Christ and becomes a member of His spiritual body, the Church. The Church is therefore not a human organisation that a person joins in order to become saved.

Jesus Christ saves, and those whom He saves belong to His spiritual body. The believer enters salvation through Christ, not through membership in a religious organisation.

The picture of Noah helps us see several truths together:

• God provided one place of safety;
• There was an open door for an appointed period;
• People had to enter while the opportunity remained;
• God Himself eventually shut the door.

In the Gospel Day, Jesus Christ is the one Door through whom sinners enter salvation. The earlier picture points towards Him.

Seven Churches and One Church

The same sevenfold pattern appears in the book of Revelation. John addresses seven churches and also speaks of seven Spirits.

John wrote in Revelation 1:4:

“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;”

However, Scripture also makes clear that there is only one Spirit and one body.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:4:

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;”

There are not seven different Spirits of God or seven separate Churches belonging to Jesus Christ. There is one Spirit and one body.

The seven churches therefore provide a complete prophetic picture of the one Church through the seven periods of the Gospel Day. In the same way, the seven Spirits represent the fullness of the one Holy Spirit's work throughout those periods.

The number seven communicates completeness without dividing what Scripture declares to be one. There remains one Jesus Christ, one Spirit, one body and one Gospel throughout the complete Gospel Day.

The Type Points to a Complete Period of Salvation

The account of Noah demonstrates how typology can connect a literal Old Testament event with a much greater spiritual reality. The historical facts remain important because the type itself was real.

The seven days were real, the ark was real and the door was real. The flood and the judgement that came upon Noah's world were also real.

Yet together they provide a pattern that points beyond Noah's world. The earlier historical picture helps us understand the greater spiritual and prophetic reality.

The Gospel Day is the complete period of Gospel opportunity from Pentecost in A.D. 31 until the end of time. Throughout its seven prophetic periods, Jesus Christ remains the one Door of salvation.

The purpose of the type is therefore not to leave our attention fixed upon Noah's ark. The type directs us towards Jesus Christ and the salvation found in Him.

Noah's seven days provide the type. The seven periods of the Gospel Day reveal the greater prophetic reality. The Door is Jesus Christ, and salvation is found in Him.

OLD COVENANT SHADOWS POINT TO JESUS CHRIST

The Old Covenant provides one of the clearest demonstrations of typology in the Bible. God gave Israel real sacrifices, a real priesthood, a real tabernacle, appointed days, washings and other outward practices. These things belonged to a genuine covenant established by God.

However, they were not the final spiritual reality. They were preparing the way for Jesus Christ.

This means we should neither dismiss the Old Covenant as meaningless nor treat its outward forms as though they were God's final purpose. We must understand why God gave them and where they were pointing.

The Scriptures Testified of Christ

Jesus gave us an important principle for understanding the Old Testament Scriptures. He showed that they were testifying of Him.

Jesus said in John 5:39:

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

The Scriptures testified of Jesus Christ. The Law, the sacrifices, the priesthood and the other outward arrangements were not independent ends in themselves.

They formed part of God's unfolding revelation that pointed towards Jesus Christ. Their greater purpose becomes clearer when they are understood in the light of Him.

Jesus made this even clearer after His resurrection.

Jesus said in Luke 24:44:

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.”

Notice the words “concerning me.” Jesus identifies the Law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms as containing things that were moving towards their fulfilment in Him.

The Old Testament therefore prepares the way for the greater reality. We understand its shadows correctly when we see where they were pointing.

The Old Covenant Contained Real Shadows

The Old Covenant included many visible and physical things. Israel had a literal tabernacle, a literal priesthood, literal animal sacrifices and literal washings.

There were also appointed meats and drinks, holy days, Sabbath days and other outward ordinances. These things were given by God and were right for the purpose and time for which He appointed them.

However, Scripture shows that they pointed beyond themselves towards something greater.

Paul wrote in Colossians 2:16-17:

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Paul describes these things as “a shadow of things to come.” He then identifies the greater reality by saying, “the body is of Christ.”

The shadow had purpose because it pointed towards something real. However, the shadow was never intended to replace the reality.

The Sacrifices Pointed Beyond Themselves

Israel offered sacrifices according to God's commandment. Those sacrifices taught the seriousness of sin and the necessity of sacrifice, but animal blood could never become the final answer to humanity's spiritual need.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 10:1:

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.”

The sacrifices were “a shadow of good things to come.” They pointed forward towards something greater.

Their repeated offering also showed that the final reality had not yet been reached. What had to be offered repeatedly could not itself provide the complete spiritual reality towards which it pointed.

Jesus Christ brought the greater reality. The earlier sacrifices represented what would be accomplished through Him.

Representation is not production. The shadow could teach through sacrifice, but it could not produce the complete salvation found in Jesus Christ.

The Priesthood Pointed Beyond Itself

The Old Covenant also had a God-appointed priesthood. Priests served in the tabernacle and later in the Temple, offering sacrifices and carrying out the worship required under that covenant.

Yet that priesthood was also pointing towards something greater.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 9:11:

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;”

These words provide an important turning point: “But Christ being come.”

The priesthood had pointed forward. The tabernacle had pointed forward, and the sacrifices had pointed forward.

Then Christ came. The greater reality had arrived.

The earlier arrangements must therefore be understood through what was fulfilled in Him. The shadow prepared the way, but Jesus Christ brought the reality.

The Outward Forms Had an Appointed Limit

The Old Covenant practices were not given without an appointed purpose or limit. Scripture itself explains that these outward arrangements belonged to a particular period.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 9:9-10:

“Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.”

Notice two important expressions. First, Scripture says, “Which was a figure.” Then it says these things were imposed “until the time of reformation.”

The word “until” establishes a limit. These outward practices were given for an appointed period and were not designed to continue forever beside the reality to which they pointed.

The figure had a purpose while the greater reality was still being prepared. Once fulfilment came, the figure had accomplished the work for which God had appointed it.

The Law Brought People to Christ

Paul described the purpose of the Law through another familiar picture. He called it a schoolmaster whose purpose was to bring people towards Christ.

Paul wrote in Galatians 3:24-25:

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

The schoolmaster had an important purpose: “to bring us unto Christ.” The schoolmaster was not the destination because Jesus Christ was the destination.

Paul then makes the change clear: “after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” The earlier arrangement had served its appointed purpose.

This helps us understand the correct direction of typology. We do not move from Christ backwards to the shadow as though the shadow could add something to Him.

We move from the shadow to the reality.

The Reality Is Greater Than the Shadow

The Old Covenant therefore teaches us an essential principle concerning types and antitypes. God may give something physical, visible and temporary to point towards something spiritual and greater.

When the greater reality comes, the purpose of the earlier picture becomes clear. The fulfilment explains why the shadow had been given.

The sacrifices pointed forward. The priesthood and tabernacle also pointed forward, while the washings, appointed days and outward ordinances pointed towards their fulfilment.

Their direction was towards Jesus Christ. This does not diminish their importance because it explains their purpose.

The Old Covenant was preparing the way. The types taught, the shadows gave an outline, and the outward forms represented truths that would later be revealed more fully.

Then came the great turning point: “But Christ being come.”

Once Jesus Christ brought the reality, the believer did not need to return to the shadows in order to complete what had been received in Him. The Person is greater than the ordinance.

The purpose of biblical typology is therefore not to keep us occupied with the shadow. The shadow points forward. Jesus Christ is the greater reality to whom it was pointing.

FURTHER EXAMPLES OF BIBLICAL TYPOLOGY

The Bible contains many other examples in which something physical or historical points towards a greater spiritual truth. These shorter examples help reinforce the principles we have established without requiring a detailed study of each one.

These examples show why a type must be understood according to the truth Scripture establishes. The outward forms differ, but each genuine type contains a correspondence that directs us towards something greater. The purpose is never to remain occupied with the physical picture.

The type prepares the way. The greater spiritual reality is revealed in Jesus Christ and His New Covenant purpose.

HOW TO STUDY A BIBLICAL TYPE

Typology can reveal important spiritual truth, but it must be studied carefully. A genuine biblical type is not discovered by imagination. It is recognised through the connections God has established in His Word.

A disciplined method helps us remain within Scripture and prevents us from assigning spiritual meanings to details that God has not identified. The purpose is to understand the patterns God has revealed rather than create patterns of our own.

Begin With the Literal Account

The first step is to understand what actually happened. Before looking for typology, we must establish the historical setting and meaning of the verse.

Ask:

• Who was involved?
• What happened?
• Why did it happen?
• What did the verse mean in its original setting?
• Was it connected with a particular covenant, promise or event?

A type does not lose its historical reality because it also carries spiritual meaning. The literal account remains the foundation upon which the typological connection is established.

Noah really built an ark, and Isaac was genuinely taken to the place of sacrifice. Adam and Eve were real people, while Israel's sacrifices and priesthood were actual parts of the Old Covenant.

We should therefore never ignore the literal account in our search for spiritual meaning. The type is historically real before we consider what greater reality it may reveal.

Let Scripture Establish the Connection

The next question is: Does Scripture show that this person, event, object or institution points towards something greater?

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11:

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

The events happened, but Scripture tells us that they also provide spiritual instruction. The historical reality and the greater spiritual purpose therefore belong together.

Sometimes the connection is stated very clearly. Adam is described as “the figure of him that was to come.” Jesus connects the days of Noah with the days of the Son of man, while Paul connects the marriage relationship with Christ and the Church.

Where Scripture establishes the connection, we can study it with confidence. Where Scripture does not establish a connection, we should be cautious.

An interesting similarity is not enough to establish a biblical type. Scripture must remain the authority over the connection.

Identify the Type and the Antitype

Once the connection is established, clearly identify the two sides. This helps prevent the earlier picture from becoming confused with the greater reality.

Ask:

• What is the type?
• What is the antitype?
• Which belongs to the earlier picture?
• Which is the greater spiritual reality?

For example, Adam is the type and Jesus Christ is the antitype. The physical creation is the type, while the new creation in Jesus Christ is the antitype.

This distinction is simple but important. The type points forward. The antitype reveals the greater reality.

Look for the Principal Connection

After identifying the type and antitype, examine what Scripture is communicating through the relationship. We should begin with the main truth rather than immediately trying to give every detail a spiritual meaning.

Ask first: What is the principal truth being revealed?

With Adam and Christ, the principal connection concerns the first and last Adam, the natural and the spiritual, and the living soul and the quickening Spirit. These are the relationships Scripture itself establishes.

With the Old Covenant shadows, the principal truth is that the earlier outward forms pointed towards greater realities fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The shadow prepared the way, while Christ brought the reality.

The main Scriptural connection must therefore govern the interpretation. Other details should never be allowed to distract from the truth Scripture is clearly revealing.

Notice Both Similarities and Differences

Typology often involves comparison, but the antitype is usually greater than the type. We should therefore notice both the similarities and the differences.

Isaac helps us understand sacrifice, but Isaac was spared while Jesus Christ actually gave Himself. Adam received life, while Jesus Christ gives life.

The Old Covenant priesthood served for an appointed time, while Jesus Christ brings the greater spiritual reality towards which that priesthood pointed. The differences help demonstrate why the antitype is greater.

The type is therefore not an exact duplicate of the antitype. It is a God-given picture that helps reveal something greater.

Do Not Force Every Detail

One of the greatest dangers in typology is trying to make every detail mean something. Once a genuine type has been identified, it can be tempting to continue finding spiritual meanings in every part of the historical account.

A genuine type does not give us permission to invent meanings for every:

• Number;
• Colour;
• Object;
• Direction;
• Action;
• Person;
• Place.

Some details may carry spiritual significance when Scripture establishes that meaning. Other details may simply belong to the historical event.

We must learn to recognise the difference. Where Scripture establishes a connection, we follow it, but where Scripture remains silent, we should not allow imagination to fill the gap.

Scripture must remain the authority over the interpretation.

Consider the Covenant Setting

When a type comes from the Old Covenant, we must also ask where it belongs within God's unfolding purpose. The covenant setting can be essential to understanding the purpose and limit of the type.

Ask whether the type was given temporarily and whether it pointed towards Jesus Christ. We should also consider whether the greater reality has now been revealed.

This is especially important when studying sacrifices, priesthood, washings, appointed days and ordinances. These outward forms belonged to an appointed covenant setting and pointed towards something greater.

The shadow must not be allowed to compete with the reality. Once the fulfilment has been revealed, that fulfilment must govern our understanding of the earlier picture.

Keep Jesus Christ Central

Finally, genuine biblical typology should lead us towards the greater revelation of God's purpose in Jesus Christ. The type is not intended to become the final focus.

Jesus said in John 5:39:

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

That statement gives us a safe direction for studying biblical types. The Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ, and genuine typology should help us understand that testimony more clearly.

We begin with the historical account and allow Scripture to establish the connection. We identify the type and antitype, examine the principal similarities and differences, refuse speculative interpretations and understand the covenant setting.

Above all, we allow the type to direct us towards the greater reality God has revealed. Good typology does not lead us into speculation. It leads us more clearly to the truth revealed in Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION: THE REALITY IS FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST

Typology helps us understand how God used real people, events, objects and institutions to prepare the way for greater spiritual realities. The type is historically real, but its fuller purpose becomes clear when Scripture reveals the antitype.

Throughout this Study Guide, we have seen this principle in many different ways. The manna in the wilderness points towards Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life, while natural Israel provides lessons for spiritual Israel. The physical creation helps us understand the new creation, and Adam points towards Jesus Christ as the last Adam and quickening Spirit.

Adam and Eve provide a picture of Christ and His Church, while the Garden of Eden points towards the Church of God. Abraham and Isaac prepare us to understand sacrifice, Jonah points towards Christ's death and resurrection, and Noah provides a picture connected with the Gospel Day. In each case, the earlier historical reality prepares the way for something greater.

But Christ Being Come

The Old Covenant itself also contained many types and shadows. Its sacrifices, priesthood, tabernacle, washings, appointed days and ordinances were given by God for an appointed purpose, but they were pointing towards something greater.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 9:11:

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;”

Those words provide the great turning point: “But Christ being come.” The shadow pointed forward, but Jesus Christ brought the reality. The earlier picture served its purpose by preparing the way for what God would fulfil in Him.

Typology must therefore remain under the authority of Scripture. Similarity alone cannot establish a biblical type because Scripture must establish the connection, and the greater revelation must govern our understanding of the earlier picture.

The purpose of typology is not to leave us occupied with types and shadows. It is to help us recognise more clearly the unity of God's Word and the greater reality revealed in Jesus Christ. Once the reality has been revealed, the shadow must remain under that fulfilment.

The type teaches. The shadow prepares. The antitype reveals the greater reality. That reality is found in Jesus Christ.

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