In order for us to enter into the ministry of the New Testament age, we should intrinsically follow the minister of the age according to the vision of the age, and we start by judging the flesh and rejecting the flesh, for the flesh can never please God. Amen!
In 2 Kings 2, we see the journey that Elijah took together with Elisha, as God was about to take him up in a whirlwind into heaven (v. 1).
The journey that they took together is very significant, and the four major places on this journey have great significance in our experience as believers in Christ.
First, they went to Gilgal, and from Gilgal, Elisha followed him to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, and from Jericho to the river Jordan, which they crossed in a miraculous way.
Elijah’s following Elijah in this journey shows that, in order for us to enter into the ministry of the New Testament age (which Elisha represents), we need to intrinsically follow the minister of the age (which was Elijah at that time) according to the vision of the age, and on this journey, there are four crucial places.
Elijah asked Elisha to remain at Gilgal, for the Lord is calling him to go to Bethel, and then later to Jericho, and later to the river Jordan.
Elisha, however, did not leave Elijah, for he knew that he was about to be taken up.
At one point there were fifty men from the sons of the prophets who prophesied that Elijah will be taken; they did not follow Elijah, though they knew that he will be taken. Wow.
It is possible for us to see something of the New Testament ministry, but not enter in; it is possible to see how others enter in, but we ourselves may not enter in.
Elisha followed Elijah all the way to the river Jordan, and Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and struck the water, and the water parted to this side and that side so that the two of them crossed over on the dry ground.
After that, Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what should I do for you before I am taken from you.
And Elisha said, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. This is wonderful.
Elijah said, This is a hard thing to ask; if you see me when I’m taken from you, so will it be to you, but if you don’t, it will not be so.
And as they went on and talked, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them.
And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!
And he didn’t see him anymore. And he grasped his clothes and tore them in two pieces.
And he picked up Elijah’s mantle which had fallen from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan river.
And he struck the water again with the mantle, and the water parted. When the sons of the prophets, who were at Jericho opposite him, saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha, and they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
We want to see the significance of the four journeys that Elijah and Elisha took together, and how these apply to our Christian life.
The Four Crucial Journeys we need to Take to be Raptured or Receive the Power of the Holy Spirit
In 1 Kings 2:1-14, we see four journeys that Elijah and Elisha took together before Elijah was raptured.
These journeys are setting out from Gilgal, the journey to Bethel, the journey to Jericho, and the crossing of the Jordan River.
These are not just some journeys they took in order to arrive at a certain destination; these were under the Lord’s leading, and the result is that Elijah was raptured and Elisha was clothed with the Holy Spirit.
Before Elijah was taken into heaven and Elisha received a double portion of the Holy Spirit, they passed through four particular places; these places are full of significance in our Christian experience.
If we want to be like Elijah, who was taken into heaven, or like Elisha, who received the outer clothing of the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit descending upon him like an outer garment), we need to learn the crucial lessons typified by these four journeys.
If we want to be raptured or receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we must set out from Gilgal, travel to Bethel, journey to Jericho, and cross the river Jordan.
What do these four journeys typify? Gilgal is a place where God’s people were circumcised to deal with their flesh; to experience journeying to Gilgal is to judge our flesh and condemn it, realizing that the flesh is the greatest enemy of God.
Actually, rejecting the flesh is the highest expression of our spiritual life, for those who are rejecting the flesh and judging their flesh truly know what the spiritual life is.
Bethel refers to victory over the world and taking God as our everything.
We can change the age by first judging the flesh and rejecting it, and then by giving up the world and turning to God absolutely, taking Him as our everything.
Jericho was the first city that Joshua and the people of Israel had to defeat when they entered into the good land, and it signifies God’s enemy, Satan.
![But a soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he is not able to know [them] because they are discerned spiritually. But the spiritual man discerns all things, but he himself is discerned by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord and will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor. 2:14-16](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/But-a-soulish-man-does-not-receive-the-things-of-the-Spirit-of-God-for-they-are-foolishness-to-him-3.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "But a soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he is not able to know [them] because they are discerned spiritually. But the spiritual man discerns all things, but he himself is discerned by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord and will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor. 2:14-16")
For us to have the experience of journeying to Jericho is for us to fight the spiritual warfare against the enemy of God by putting on the whole armor of God.
We need to exercise our spirit of faith to believe in His word, and disregard our feelings; we need to stand in the position that Christ has given us.
Crossing the river Jordan, where the New Testament baptism began, signifies our overcoming death in order to live and minister in resurrection.
We need to pursue to know the power of Christ’s resurrection, for it is by the power of His resurrection that we determine to take up the cross and deny the self.
It is by the power of His resurrection that we are enabled to be conformed to His death by being one with His cross.
Elijah is a type of the Old Testament age with the Old Testament economy, and Elijah is a type of the New Testament age with the New Testament economy.
The way the age was changed from the Old to the New Testament economy is by passing through four places: Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and the river Jordan.
May we bring these matters to the Lord in prayer and cooperate with Him to experience Christ in such a rich way that we fully enter into the New Testament ministry, we are qualified to be raptured, and we are clothed with the Holy Spirit as power.
Lord Jesus, give us the experiences we need for us to be fully transferred into the New Testament age and be qualified to be raptured by You! We stand one with You, Lord, and we reject and condemn our flesh, even as You do. We consecrate ourselves to You and give ourselves to You to overcome the world and remain in fellowship with You. We exercise our spirit of faith and stand on Your word, putting on the whole armor of God to overcome the enemy and put him to shame. Amen, Lord, we aspire to know the power of Your resurrection so that we may be conformed to Your death and be enabled to bear the cross. Grant us to have the experiences we need that would prepare us to be raptured and would bring in the clothing of the Holy Spirit in power!
Change the Age by Judging the Flesh and Rejecting it as God Does under His Shining
The age was changed by passing through Gilgal, the place where God’s people were circumcised to deal with their flesh; Gilgal is the place where the flesh is judged and where God gives us the light to judge the flesh (Josh. 5:2-9; Gal. 5:24; Phil. 3:3-8).
The strongest and most evil enemy of God is our flesh (Rom. 7-8); the flesh is thoroughly and absolutely hated by God, and God would not tolerate it.
In a sense, we can say that God may tolerate our mistakes and transgressions, but He will never tolerate the flesh.
When the entire human race became flesh, God had to step in and destroy that whole generation, saving only Noah and his family.
What is the flesh? On one hand, the flesh refers to our corrupted body and, on the other hand, it refers to our entire fallen tripartite being – spirit, soul, and body.
![For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh, Though I myself have [something] to be confident of in the flesh as well. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day; of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew [born] of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; As to zeal, persecuting the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, become blameless. Phil. 3:3-6](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/For-we-are-the-circumcision-the-ones-who-serve-by-the-Spirit-of-God-and-boast-in-Christ-Jesus-and-have-no-confidence-in-the-flesh.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh, Though I myself have [something] to be confident of in the flesh as well. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day; of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew [born] of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; As to zeal, persecuting the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, become blameless. Phil. 3:3-6")
The flesh is the uttermost expression of the fallen tripartite man.
Rom. 3:20 says that no flesh can be justified by the works of the law; though the flesh tries to obey the law, it cannot please God.
Gal. 5:19-21 gives us the works of the flesh: lust in the corrupted body, the fallen soul, and the deadness in our spirit.
Everything that is evil and natural comes out of the flesh, and everything the flesh does is against God, in rebellion against God.
We need to learn to walk by the spirit and live in spirit so that we no longer fulfil the lusts of the flesh (Gal. 5:16, 25).
We should not become vain, provoking one another, and envying one another (v. 26); this is the litmus test for whether we live by the spirit and walk by the spirit.
The flesh, however, does not have only an evil aspect; it also has good aspects, as seen in Phil. 3:3-6.
Paul said that he could boast in his flesh, for he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, a top Pharisee with many attainments, etc.
But he considered all these things as refuse so that he may gain Christ.
We need to realize that God hates the flesh in both its good and evil aspects.
He wants us to be those judging the flesh and rejecting it. Gilgal means, “to roll away”; Joshua 5:2-9 shows that, when the second generation of the children of Israel arrived at Gilgal, they had to be circumcised.
The meaning of circumcision is to put off the body of the flesh (Col. 2:11).
Throughout the Bible we see that the flesh is condemned by God and is very displeasing to God.
The flesh is typified by Amalek in being warlike, ready to fight and attack us.
The flesh is also typified by Saul, who did many things to please God but did not obey God.
Everything that we possess from our birth is the flesh, for that which is born of the flesh is flesh (John 3:6).
On one hand, the flesh is sin, uncleanness, and corruption; on the other hand, the flesh is natural kindness, talent, zeal, wisdom, and ability.
Therefore, it is not easy to see the flesh, and we need the Lord’s light to expose the flesh so that we may know it and judge it.
The most difficult lesson for a believer is to learn to recognize his flesh and to cut it off, judge it, and reject it.
We may focus on being zealous for God, doing things for God, and working for God, but God focuses on who does all this: is it Christ in us or is it the flesh?
What He wants is not to have things done but to have Christ be expressed through us.
The Lord must bring us through many kinds of failures and exposures before we will know the flesh.
May we be those who cooperate with God by judging the flesh and condemning it. It is important for us to judge the flesh the way that God does it; when we do this, we truly know the spiritual life.
Judging the flesh and rejecting it is the proper spiritual path and goal of spiritual living.
Christ wants to be our virtues; He doesn’t want us to express our virtues without Christ as the essence.
In our fellowship with Him, we need to let Him touch us and expose the flesh.
Under His light, we can see what the flesh is, and we can cooperate with Him to judge the flesh even as He does it, and we do this by turning to our spirit to live in spirit, not giving any attention to the flesh.
When we walk in the spirit, when we contact the Lord in the mingled spirit and remain in the spirit, the flesh is spontaneously judged and condemned, and we live in spirit instead of fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.
May we realize how much God hates the flesh and how much He wants to annihilate the flesh, and may we cooperate with Him by turning to our spirit completely and judging the flesh and condemning it whenever He exposes it in us.
Lord Jesus, we agree with You: the flesh must be put off and terminated so that we may truly know the spiritual life! Shine on us, Lord, and expose what the flesh really is. May we realize that the flesh is not only the evil and sinful things in our fallen man but even the good and natural things that our fallen being does. Save us from living in the lusts of the flesh. Save us from living in the flesh and thus being an enemy of God. Keep shining on us, Lord, and expose the good aspects of our flesh so that we may judge it even as You judge it and condemn it! May we learn the lesson of judging the flesh and condemning it. Keep us turning to You and enjoying You!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ed Marks in the message, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 9, pp. 307-314, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Kings (2022 summer training), week 2, entitled, Four Crucial Journeys to Enter into the Ministry of the Age by Closely Following the Minister of the Age with the Vision of the Age.
- Hymns on this topic:
– In the flesh I need no effort to express / Marks of Adam’s nature and its sinfulness; / In the spirit I need not to strive or strain, / I can live as He is and in spirit reign. / Thru my death with Christ, from Adam I am free, / Thru my life with Christ, new life is given me! / Minding not the flesh, old Adam cannot move, / Minding just the spirit, life divine I prove. (Hymns #593, stanzas 3 and 4)
– Lord, teach us to discern the spirit / That we may never set our mind / Upon the flesh but on the spirit, / That sin and self no more may bind. (Hymns #746, stanza 3)
– I hardly know myself; / Deceived so much by pride, / I often think I’m right / And am self-satisfied. / I know Thee even less; / In doctrine, shallowly; / True revelation lack / Of Thy reality. / As for Thy life within, / In darkness I mistake- / If spirit or the flesh, / One for the other take. (Hymns #426, stanzas 2-4)
About aGodMan
Elijah is a type of the Old Testament age with the Old Testament economy, and Elisha is a type of the New Testament age with the New Testament economy. The age was changed by passing through four places — Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and the river Jordan (vv. 1-8). Gilgal was a place where God’s people were circumcised to deal with their flesh (Josh. 5:2-9); Bethel is the place to give up the world and turn to God absolutely, taking God as everything (Gen. 12:8); Jericho, the first city that Joshua and the people of Israel had to defeat when they entered into the good land, signifies the head of God’s enemy, Satan (Josh. 6:1-27); and the river Jordan, where the New Testament baptism began, signifies death (Matt. 3:5-6 and note Matt. 3:62b). To cross the river Jordan, Elijah struck the water with his mantle, which typifies the outpoured Spirit, the Spirit of power (v. 8). The Spirit of power dealt with the river of death so that the way was opened for Elijah and Elisha to cross over. All this signifies that in order for the age to be changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament in our experience, we must deal with our flesh (Gal. 5:24), give up the world and turn to God (1 John 2:15-17), defeat Satan (Rev. 12:11), and pass through death (Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 2:20). 2 Kings 2:1, footnote 1, Recovery Version Bible
God says the flesh must be put off; we must, therefore, agree with Him. When God says it must be cut off, we have to cut it off. We must start from Gilgal, and we must reject the flesh. It is not a matter of how much cutting should be done, but a matter of judging the flesh. The present error is that men pay attention to being zealous, doing good, and working, while forgetting to reject their flesh. But it is very important to judge the flesh the way God judges it. According to what I have learned before God, regeneration, sanctification, perfection, the overcoming of sin, and the acquisition of power are not the highest expressions of spiritual life. Rejecting the flesh is the proper spiritual path and goal of spiritual living. All those who have not set out from Gilgal have not started on the spiritual pathway.All those who have not learned to reject the flesh do not truly know the spiritual life. They can be zealous, work, and rejoice, but they do not truly know the spiritual life. Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 9, pp. 307-309
The Bible reveals that the strongest and most evil enemy of God is our flesh [cf. Rom. 7—8] …The flesh is thoroughly and absolutely hated by God. God will not tolerate it. In a sense, God may tolerate it our mistakes and transgressions, but He will never tolerate the flesh… At the time of the third fall, the entire human race became flesh. Thus, God stepped in and told His servant Noah that He was going to destroy that whole generation. Life-study of Genesis, p. 369, by Witness Lee
Rejecting the flesh is the highest expression of the spiritual life; God hates the flesh, and He is faithful to shine on our flesh to expose it.
May we agree with Him and judge the flesh and condemn it so that we may know the real spiritual life.
Brother may we realise that God hates the flesh to the uttermost and wants to destroy it, if we want to be those who are taken up like Elijah and receive the double portion of the Spirit like Elisha we need to be those who Cooperate with God by dealing and cutting off our flesh this does not only include our uncleanness and our sinfullness but also our natural ability and natural zeal needs to be cut off if we want to the spiritual pathway we need to take this of cutting off our flesh to follow the Lord
Dear brother, to be raptured like Elijah or to receive the power of the Holy Spirit like Elisha – we must be those who pass through four places beginning with the rejecting of our flesh – not just our sin but our natural ability and disposition.
As “circumcised ones” we serve by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus (not in ourselves) and put no confidence in our flesh. Such a living is the highest expression of the spiritual life.
Yes Lord take us through Gilgal! Bring us till we cross river Jordan! Shine on us a little bit more day by day! Make us willing to be willing to reject this fallen evil flesh! Lord you are our burnt offering! Only you in our spirit are pleasing to the Father! Preserve us in our spirit today!
Amen Lord, may we pass through these four crucial stages to change the age!! Make us Your age turners!!
May we go forth from Gilgal with the next generation, bring them also through these four crucial stages!! Amen Lord!!
Amen Lord, give us grace to know real spiritual life by judging our flesh in living in our mingle spirit to to be Your overcomers in this age! May our living and walking be in spirit to meet God need today!
Yes Lord, in our flesh nothing good dwells.
After we have dealt with sin, the world, and the conscience, it seems that all the outward filthiness has been dealt with. But if the Lord enlightens us, we will discover that the greatest difficulty encountered by the life of God within us is our natural life, our own being.
Hence rejecting the flesh is the highest expression of the spiritual life. Our passing through from Gilgal to the Jordan signifies our experience of the death of Christ so that we may be delivered from the flesh and enter into the riches of God’s life. If we receive the mercy of God and go on faithfully in the path of life, we will also fully experience the putting to death of our flesh by the cross and be conformed to His death. Only when we experience the deliverance of the putting to death of [368] our flesh by the cross will we be delivered out of the realm of desolation and failures and enter thereby into the riches and rest of Christ, living in the heavenly realm to fight for God and bring in His kingdom.
Oh Lord Jesus.