30 minute read

Three Phases of God's Dealing with Us

By Lance Lambert

We're going to read the 15th chapter of Exodus. Exodus, chapter 15, from verse 1.

Three Vital Stages in God's Dealings with His People

I read that wonderful psalm, really, of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15, because it sums up for us three vital and very real stages in God's dealings with His people. Now, every single one of us, if we are a child of God, falls somewhere into one of these three stages. We are either in the first. If we are a child of God, we are all in the first. A number of us, many of us may be in the second. Some of us may, by the grace of God, have gone into the third.

I'm not going to try to work that out. I leave it to the Holy Spirit to apply it to every heart. But there are three absolutely clear stages in God's dealings with His people. And these three stages are exemplified in the way He led His children from Egypt to the promised land.

The Old Testament Pattern of God's Purpose

In the Old Testament, the deliverance of the people of God from Egypt, from Pharaoh, their journeying through the wilderness and their entry into the promised land are a picture of God's purpose for every single child of God. Now, God's purpose is not that you should just get out of Egypt, nor that you should get out of Egypt and feed on manna and water from the rock miraculously in the wilderness. God's real purpose for you is to get you right through the wilderness, out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the promised land.

Three Strands in the Song of Moses

So here we have a most wonderful picture, and we see it in this psalm of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15. You will see there are three things quite clearly. All the way through, these three strands are woven: getting out of Egypt—how God delivered them, how He got them out, how He destroyed their enemies when they pursued; the wilderness journey—the Lord was with them, providing for them, leading them; and then this marvellous theme of the whole thing, that the Lord is going to bring them into His sanctuary—into, as it says in verse 17, "bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance."

So we have an absolute panorama of the purpose of God to get us out of the world and into the fullness of Christ, out of the world and into what it means to be built together as the eternal home of God in the Spirit.

Stage One: A People Saved

Now, in the picture we have in the Old Testament, as I've said, we have three clear stages. The first I've entitled "A People Saved"—a people saved basically out of Egypt. Out of Egypt.

The Purpose of the Passover Lamb

Now, when God saved His people, He didn't give them a Passover lamb so that they might have nice little times in Egypt, that they might have little places of worship in Egypt, that they might somehow or other settle down in Egypt and have their sort of gardens and homes in Egypt. He gave them that lamb with one object: to get them out of Egypt and to smash the power of Pharaoh over them.

Deliverance from the Authority of Darkness

Now here is a New Testament scripture for you. Colossians, chapter 1 and verse 13.

The whole thought of being taken from right from under Pharaoh's nose, torn out from under his nose, when he said, "I will not let them go." God just stretched, as it were, over and took them from under his nose and took them out. And when Pharaoh relented, having finally said, "All right, get out," and went after them, God liquidated his crack core—the sort of really elite troops of Pharaoh's army—in the Red Sea.

The Meaning of Redemption

Now what does it mean to be out of Egypt? It means that positionally you have been taken out of this world, out of a world which lieth in the evil one, and you have been placed in Christ. That is what God has done. We call it redemption.

Now the word redemption simply means freeing somebody, loosing somebody, that's all. The idea is one of being loosed. So the whole thought is of prisoners, slaves, people who are under the authority of someone else, an alien force. And these ones have been freed by some act of another: redemption.

Overcoming the Lie of Continued Bondage

Some Christians have got a kind of sneaking suspicion that God has sort of stolen them. Well, they have at the back of their mind all the time they think, "You know, really, I belong to Satan. Really, I belong to this world. God is sort of—there's a kind of tug of war. God's got one arm pulling this way and the world's got the other arm pulling that way, but really, I belong to the world." There's a kind of tug of war going on.

Of course it's nonsense. And the Devil wants you to believe that because he knows that whilst you believe that, practically what is yours positionally, do you understand, cannot become true. While you still think, "Oh dear, oh dear, I'll never be free of this thing," you never will be. It's according to your faith. But faith rests on revelation.

So when you see it, faith is immediately born in your heart and takes hold of that fact. Now, it's so simple, because we're all subject to bondage of one kind. I suppose the greatest problem amongst believers, and I'm saying this to some of the oldest folks here as well, all of us, we are all subject to bondage. It's an amazing thing. And the Devil always wins us back, if you know what I mean, by simply breathing into our minds and hearts that somehow or other we're not truly severed from Satan and from this world.

Now that is a lie. It's an absolute lie. And whilst you believe it even partly, you remain bound. But the moment you see that through the Lamb slain and through the blood of the Lamb, the connection between you and Pharaoh has been smashed into smithereens—not just practically—may I just say something here, legally. Legally, so that your whole salvation and deliverance rests on an absolutely legal foundation.

The Foundation of Justification

Some people think that this first stage is all kindergarten stuff, you know, when you're very young in the Lord. And so we sail on believing that we know all about justification and all about redemption. "Of course we know what redemption means. Of course we know what justification means. That's a good word for the young ones amongst us." But that's nonsense.

The foundation of your salvation rests upon something which God has done. God did it. It is a lamb. And the basis of your getting out of Egypt and being delivered from the authority and power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His dear Son is not something that you were good, that you chose the best thing, that you signed a decision card, but the fact that Jesus Christ died in your place.

The Perfect Lamb Without Spot

Now take a look at this lamb. We have some marvellous things in the story at this first stage. There's the death of the Lamb. Now, the lamb was not only without spot, it was perfect. So you've got two things about the Lamb. One is negative, one is positive. One is that it is without sin. The other is that He's absolutely perfect. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ not only is sinless, He is absolutely holy.

Now this is the garment of your salvation. What a joy it is just simply to see that. That the Lord Jesus Christ has not only atoned for all that you have done wrong, all your sin of commission—but isn't it wonderful to see that the Lord Jesus Christ has actually done all that you should have done in the sight of God?

For many years I always looked upon justification as the fact that Jesus Christ died because I fell short. And I fell short because I did this and I did that, and I thought this, and I thought that. But it was more than that. The Lord Jesus, when He died, was not only sinless and took my sin upon Him in that way, but He actually, before God, did all that God ever required of me.

God's View of the Justified Believer

So when I put this garment of salvation upon myself, it's not only that I am covered for all my sin, but God looks upon me as someone who has perfectly done all that He's ever required of a man. Now, that should make you swing in the air almost, or sort of just go mad with joy, if we only saw it. It's so tremendous.

You see, God doesn't look upon us all and say, "Oh, what a wonderful rotten lot. I've saved them, of course, but they're a rotten lot." That's how we all look at each other. We sit there saying, "I can't praise amongst this lot."

And what does Balaam say? The Lord says, "I see no spot in Jacob." Now, we know very well from this book that there were a lot of spots in Jacob. They were murmuring, gainsaying, criticising. And God says, "I see no spot in Jacob."

How do you explain such a thing?

The Blood of the Lamb

Death of a lamb, blood of the Lamb. Now, let me drive this home a little more. They took that blood of that dead lamb and they put it on the outside, not on the inside. They didn't put it up and then sit down at Passover and keep on saying, "The blood." They never saw the blood. The blood was on the outside. They went outside—as we, if we were doing it here, we'd go downstairs, outside the portal and the door with the lintel and the gateposts. Then we'd go in. We couldn't see the blood. The angel of death sees the blood as he goes over Egypt.

Now, the most wonderful thing is this: Are you going to tell me that every single person sitting under the roofs of those houses that had the blood on the door were marvellously upright, good, decent people? No, sir. I'm quite sure there were a lot of blackguards amongst them, but they got saved because they trusted in the righteousness of another.

And are you going to tell me that in every Egyptian home where the firstborn died, they were all blackguards? No, sir. Many of them were decent, nice people. But they died, the firstborn, because the blood was not there.

The Enemy Overthrown

And of course, there's the enemy overthrown. Well, of course, they went through the sea, and then Pharaoh went out full blast. Now, this often happens with us, not just once, but again and again. Every time we see our justification more fully, we turn around and there we see them charging at us. Haven't you had that experience? Suddenly you say, "Oh, I'm free. Thank God, I'm free." And then all of a sudden you look and say, "Oh, here they're coming—full pelt, standards flying, bugles blaring, they're after you."

And of course, the first thing you say, "I'm finished. I'm finished. They'll get me." But the Lamb slain means that for you the sea is open. For them it closes. Now remember that. Every time you see the enemy, take a good look, because you'll see him sink like lead in the sea. Take a good look. Don't just say, "Oh, he's going to get me." You'll see him sink. Why? Because the Lamb slain means the sea opens for the people of God and closes for the enemy.

So what it does for you: salvation. For him: defeat. You: deliverance. Him: defeat.

Three Additional Elements

But just before we come to that second stage, let me just say there are three other things. There's the lamb—not only the death of the lamb, the blood of the lamb, but there is the lamb eaten. You must eat the lamb. It's no good just putting the blood of the lamb outside. You've got to get the lamb inside. So you have the blood of the lamb outside and the lamb inside.

What you do when you eat: you receive Him. "To as many as received Him, to them gave He the authority to become children of God." So you must have the blood outside—that shows that the connection between you and this world is severed, between you and Satan is severed. And now you must have Christ inside—you receive Him.

But then the next thing is an exodus: out, out. You're on the other side. Praise God for that. Well, so you should be. You're on a resurrection side of the bank. No longer of the world. You're in the world, but no longer of the world. Something tremendous has happened. God looks upon you and says, "That one's not of the world. Their citizenship is in heaven. They're mine," says the Lord.

Stage Two: A People Whose Life is Christ

Now, the second stage, very swiftly, is this: a people whose life is Christ. Now this is the second stage of God's dealings with us. A people whose life is Christ. If you want a little phrase: unto Him. Everything. Unto Him.

The Purpose of the Wilderness Journey

Now, some Christians miss this stage. We are so small in our mentality of mind that we think, "Oh, we should be in the promised land, we should be in the promised land, we shouldn't be in the wilderness." But just wait. The wilderness is a correct stage in this journey. Not forty years, but there should be a wilderness journey because it has a vital lesson for us.

What is that lesson? Very simply, here it is: There is nothing but desert, no sustenance, no water, no resources, no habitation, no inheritance—nothing but Christ.

Now, isn't that wonderful? Because what God was teaching these dear ones is this: "Look, before you can exploit what is yours in the land, before you can settle down and build your habitation, inherit your inheritance, possess your possessions, you've got to learn that I am everything."

Christ Plus or Christ Alone

If I could only learn this lesson: that the Christian life is Christ. It's not Christ plus.

You know, "Now I'm a Christian. Christ has saved me. Now I must add holiness. I must add zeal. I must add prayer life. I must add Bible reading. I must add witnessing. I must add this and add that, plus and plus and plus and plus." But it isn't plus, it's Christ.

Now then, that's why some people, after a while, get a Christian life which is so legal and so heavy and so tough, they throw the whole lot overboard. They say, "It's killing me, this Christian life. It's worse than living under the Old Covenant—driving myself to prayer, scourging myself to Bible reading."

But that's not the Christian life. Whipping yourself to witness to people. I did it. I will not go into how I did it, but my word, I followed Wesley's thing about one person per day—frightened every single person in the whole college. You see, the point was it was legality, it was Christ plus. Having got saved, my idea of the Christian life was it was all plus. "Now I've got to do it."

God's Provision in Christ

The second stage is to get us to see that Christ is our life and that God has made Him all that we need. "Who is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption."

There's a pillar of cloud and fire: guidance and protection. When the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night is resting, you rest. And when it moves, you move.

That's why every single tribe was put round the tabernacle and all had their tent flap, the door open towards the centre, so that anyone could look out while they were cooking or nursing the baby or reading or whatever they were doing. They could look out and see, "The cloud's going." And then everything was packed up, everything was put ready, on the move.

And you know, that pillar of cloud and fire wasn't just guidance, it was protection. When the Egyptian forces, seeking to destroy the children of Israel—the cloud of fire just went from in front, the vanguard, and went to the rear. It was like a big London fog between the Egyptian army and the children of Israel. They couldn't see them. But the most wonderful thing was the dear children of Israel couldn't see the Egyptians.

The Covenant Relationship

These people were in a covenant relationship with the Lord. This just means that they were holy. Now, some people's idea of holiness is that you've got to wear black or grey or navy blue at the brightest, that you sort of look rather sombre, and that is holiness. But holiness isn't that at all.

Holiness is a most wonderfully spontaneous and normal thing. It is simply being like Christ. Now, anyone who attracted sinners and publicans to himself must have been a very normal person. And that is holiness. So get rid of that idea that it's something sort of stiff and rigid and frigid and heavy and sort of very sanctimonious. That's not holiness. Holiness is something which is just simply that you're doing the will of God and that Christ is radiating out of you.

The Tabernacle: A Picture of Christ

And then again in this stage, the tabernacle. That's a wonderful thing. That's really Christ. Come into the tabernacle. Just come into the outer court. And the first thing that blocks your whole view is the brazen altar. That's Calvary. Go a little beyond it and the next thing that blocks your view is the laver—new birth, born through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now then, go into the tent of meeting. And what meets your gaze all around you: blue, red, white, purple—speaking of Christ. See the lampstand, the testimony of Jesus. See the showbread table—Christ as the bread of life. See the incense, golden incense altar—Christ as the intercessor. See the rent veil—through His flesh, a new and living way through His flesh. See the mercy seat—the love, the steadfast love, the mercy of God forever for us. See the ark of the covenant and within it the law unbroken—Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law. And in it a little golden pot with manna—the bread of life again, eternal life. And Aaron's rod that budded—authority, divine authority.

Oh, it's absolutely wonderful, isn't it? So much for all those dried sort of ideas about the tabernacle which just nearly drove us potty when we were younger. But when I began to see that it was Christ, then it was wonderful.

Stage Three: A People Possessing Their Possessions

Well, I must rush on to the third stage. I hope everyone's in that second stage. It's a wonderful stage to be. But it's a tough stage because God's always causing a hot desert wind to blow on everything we grow. We go scatter little seeds and we water them. And then the desert wind—gone. You know, all the time we're trying to sort of get into the land before we're there. And God's—the second stage is to cut us, take away all the props, destroy everything that is false and make us see that there's nothing in this desert—nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing at all—but Christ. But Christ is everything.

Now you can live even for forty years in the desert with Christ. And that's the lesson of this stage. You can go right the way through it with Christ as your only means of sustenance.

Beyond the Wilderness

But the third stage is a people possessing their possessions. Now, when God has got us out of Egypt, He doesn't want us to stay just there. Nor does He want us just to go through the wilderness knowing Christ as our water, Christ as the living bread, the bread of life, Christ as our guidance, Christ as our protection, Christ as the habitation of God. He wants us to go over another barrier, the Jordan, and into the land.

Now here, there's no desert. This is a land flowing with milk and honey. Now we've learned our lesson. We have learned that Christ is our life. So now we can start to till the earth because we do it through Christ. Do you understand?

Inheriting Our Inheritance

We can now start to possess the land. We can have our own inheritance. We can have our own fig tree and sit under its shade and eat its figs. We can have the vine, our own vine and eat the grapes. We can have our own olive tree. That's what it says. Everyone shall have his own olive tree and his own vine.

Because now we've learned a lesson: Christ is everything. Now I'm going to mix up all these symbols, so I'm not just doing it to be funny, but it's as if we find our olive tree in Christ and our fig tree in Christ and our vine in Christ. Now we begin to find that there is the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit in Christ. There is a union with Christ, which means that we can be fruitful. All these things we can find in Him.

The Passover in the Promised Land

And so they went over the Jordan. But in Joshua, chapter 5, verse 10, you will read that they kept the Passover on the very first night, just before they took Jericho, they kept the Passover. In other words, God was saying to them, "The basis for taking this land is the same basis for getting you out of Egypt and through the wilderness—the Lamb."

So we don't take the land by something further, we take it by the Lamb. And the Spirit of God comes upon us when we take the ground of the Lamb.

Conclusion: Three Clear Stages of Salvation

Now may God help us, because these are three very simple stages. Every one of us is somewhere—if we're a child of God, that is. Every one of us is somewhere in one of these stages. Well, thank God that the Lord so wonderfully can take us on. What a salvation we've got. And what a terrible thing to neglect it. How terrible a thing it is to be saved and just sitting on the wilderness bank of the Red Sea.

But there are many believers stuck there, having meetings, fellowshipping. Others have gone a little further into the wilderness. Some are doing the journey round and round and round and round and round. Thank God the manna is still there. Their shoes don't even wear out. Their ankles don't swell. That's what the Lord promised in all those years. How gracious God is, even where we shouldn't be.

That shows you what the justification of God is like. You see, they die in the wilderness. They don't go in and they don't possess. But God is so gracious, He doesn't throw their salvation away. He keeps them right up to the moment they die. Marvellous.

But that's not what God wants. God wants to get us over into the land. May we be those who are possessing our possessions, having learned the lessons of these great stages and moving on into all the fullness of God.

Closing Prayer

And now, Lord, we pray together that Thou wilt really bless this little word to every one of us. And we pray, Lord, wherever there's bondage or wherever there's need, Thou wilt apply Thy word. May the eyes of our hearts be opened to see, Lord, what has happened when Christ died, and to see, dear Lord, the marvellous nature of Thy redemption.

And may we, Lord, be moving on with Thee. If we're in the second stage, may we be really ready to move into the third. And if we're in the third, may we be possessing our possessions, Lord, more and more. O Father, may we know that being brought into the mountain of Thine inheritance, Thy sanctuary, O Lord, the place which Thou hast prepared to dwell in.

O Father, hear us then, as we commit ourselves to Thee in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

About Lance Lambert

Lance Lambert was one of the most distinguished Bible scholars and speakers in Israel in our day. He had an itinerant teaching ministry worldwide.

Born in 1931, Lance grew up in Richmond, Surrey and came to know the Lord at twelve years of age. In the early 1950's Lance served in the Royal Air Force in Egypt and later fellowshipped with the assembly at Halford House Christian Fellowship in Richmond, England.

Later in life, Lance discovered his Jewish ancestry—his father and many members of his family had died in the Holocaust. This discovery led him to become an Israeli citizen in 1980, and he made his home next to the Old City of Jerusalem.

Lance became noted for his eschatological views, which placed him in the tradition of Watchman Nee and T. Austin-Sparks. From his base in Israel, he produced a widely appreciated quarterly audio recording called the Middle East Update, which gave his unique perspective on current events in the Middle East in the light of God's Word. He wrote numerous books and was the presenter of the video production, Jerusalem, the Covenant City.