Read part 1 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That every one who believes into Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life. (John 3:14-16)
Christians and even worldly people are familiar with the verse, “For God so loved the world…(John 3:16),” but most overlook the preceding verses. Actually, these verses hold the key to our salvation: we can only have the subjective experience of “God so loved the world” when we look at the cross. The cross is a very subjective experience—it is not something that can be understood or theorized about. How could God “so love” the fallen, sinful, satanic, wretched people, and how can that love flood into our souls? According to the sequence of the Bible, the verses right before John 3:16 say that just “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [t]hat everyone who believes into Him may have eternal life” (v.14-15). These verses actually happen simultaneously: the Son of man being lifted up and the people having eternal life are not separate events, but an “all-in-one” experience of salvation. The experience of “God so loved the world” is all about this brass serpent being lifted up on the pole—the Son of Man being lifted up on the cross.
This brass serpent on the pole originates in the Old Testament in Numbers chapter 21, yet it is a picture of the redeeming reality of the Lord on the cross in the New Testament. Its origin in the Old Testament also shows us a picture of warfare that every genuine believer goes through to gain salvation. When the Israelites were led into the land of Canaan, the good land was occupied by kings who represented Satan, the evil one. He made it very clear that the Israelites would have to conquer all the cities and all the kings occupying that land; in order for the chosen people of God to redeem their own land, they had to “utterly [destroy] them and their cities” (Num. 21:3). Unfortunately, some among God’s chosen people became impatient and murmured against God. This caused God to send fiery serpents as a death plague to the children of Israel. This situation was so widespread among them that when the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Jehovah and against you; pray to Jehovah, that He may take away the serpents from us,” God instructed Moses to place a brass serpent upon a pole and to lift it up for the people to see.
Like the Israelites, today human beings have no way out of our wretched and miserable lives by ourselves—we have been bitten and poisoned by the deadly venom of the serpent. It is the nature of the serpent’s venom in our body that stands in opposition to our true enjoyment as a human being of our purpose and meaning in God. The true healing—the true answer—is crucifying the serpent in us—Satan. This snake is not an actual snake, but a brass one; its nature has been judged, transformed, and changed. The brass typifies the crucifixion and judgment—something being dealt with and judged. But what part needs to be judged? The serpentine nature in us. Before the serpent was judged in us, our nature was under the satanic authorities in the air, typified by Bashan (Num. 21:33), a mountain standing in opposition to God’s dwelling place. The Lord wants to bring us back from Bashan, the opposition of God’s dwelling place—back from the deep sea of world and sin—to judge our serpentine nature and save and transform us into a new creation, realizing our true purpose as His unique expression on the earth today.
Being saved has a distinct signature; the brass serpent being lifted up on the pole is also a banner—it is a mark of victory, of life. Oftentimes people think being saved looks a certain way: being humble and willing, or even feeling guilty or self-condemning. But if we are truly saved, we will no longer feel trapped in the sorrow and frustration of our sins and failures. The very specific evidence of our salvation is the sense of victory in His love. As we see in John, God’s lovingkindness toward us comes by judging that serpentine nature in us so that we may enjoy healing—the putting to death of our flesh—and a sure victory over the satanic authorities. The pole with the brass serpent was lifted up; it causes us to look up to see this very specific testimony leading our lives—triumphant in His victory under His banner. His banner of victory—the cross—covers the shame of His people. All this is accomplished by the cross; every time we pray, we are looking at our own flesh being judged on the cross.
The only thing that differentiates us from Christianity or religion is that we have the cross. All of the spiritual saints who were genuinely reborn went through this self-denouncing process. Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ who liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20). The moment we realize that we have no way out—the moment we see the cross—is the time we can be saved. Only when we recognize we are on the verge of death, having been bitten by the snake, can we truly see the cross. The end of the human road is the beginning of God’s salvation in us. Throughout the generations, how many people have looked at the Lord crucified on the mountain, but cannot die to themselves? Seeing the cross is like coming into a room full of light. That light casts away all the darkness. We don’t feel ourselves or the wages of sin any longer. Whosoever sees the cross can joyfully declare His victory, freed from self and sin and loosed from the bondage of death. Whosoever sees the cross, at that moment, sees eternity.
(Above is part 2 of a series compiled from notes of fellowship taken from a gathering on 1/3/2021, not reviewed by the speaker. Read part 3 here.)