Christ’s Resurrection in the Old Testament

The Goal—God’s Building

The Old Testament Type

The goal of Christ’s resurrection is first seen in the Old Testament type of Adam, a prefigure of Christ (Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:45b). In Genesis 2:21-25, God put Adam to sleep, signifying His death (John 11:11-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16). During Adam’s sleep, God took a rib out of Adam’s side and built it into a woman. After he awoke, “resurrected”, Adam was enlarged; that is, he had a counterpart who was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. This indicates that, in type, the woman, Eve was built in resurrection and became Adam’s enlargement in life. This is a type of Christ’s death and resurrection producing His built-up, enlarged expression in resurrection. In the New Testament fulfillment of this type, God put Christ to “sleep” on the cross. Then, out of Christ’s pierced side came forth blood and water (John 19:34). Blood is for man’s redemption (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19), and water signifies resurrection life for man’s regeneration (Titus 3:5; 1 Corinthians 10:4). Through His death and resurrection, Christ produced the church as His enlargement, the enlargement of God’s building in life (John 2:19-22) (Witness Lee, Genesis, 214, 218-221).

The goal of Christ’s resurrection is also typified by the temple of God in the good land. The stones for the building of the temple were taken from the mountains (1 Kings 5:15, 17-18; 2 Chronicles 2:1-2, 8), which typify the resurrected Christ (Witness Lee, All-Inclusive, 27, 75, 79). This indicates that the temple, in type, was built in resurrection. The reality of the temple in the New Testament is Christ’s mystical Body (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 1:22-23), which is also in resurrection (John 2:19-22; Ephesians 2:22).

Old Testament Type | New Testament Reality