Ascension Life Booklet . Bone of His Bones

Gary L. Garner

Old Testament Pictures

In the Old Testament and many times in the New there can be found numerous types of the Lord Jesus. By a type of the Lord I mean there are physical pictures hidden in the stories we read in the Old Testament that paint spiritual pictures of spiritual truths.

The Old Testament stories record page after page, word after word, beautiful things that happened; we have them recorded in our Bible, but below the surface they are physical pictures of spiritual truths. Jesus said, "Moses and the prophets and the Psalms speak of Me." He opened to the disciples on the road to Emmaus the Word of God and brought to them out of the Psalms and Prophets those things that spoke of Him.

Ezekiel 37 is a picture of the bones of the Lord, the body of Christ, coming together to His bones and forming the Body of which Jesus is the head. That Body is becoming a great army that brings life and revival throughout the world.

Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2: And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3: And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. 4: Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5: Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 7: So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8: And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9: Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon upon these slain, that they may live. 10: So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, and exceeding great army. 11: Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12: Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to to come out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13: And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14: And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

Ezekiel 37 is full of spiritual pictures. It has to do with dry people who need resurrection and dry people who someday the bible says will come together and become a great army, but first of all you need to understand that the 37th chapter of Ezekiel speaks to us of the resurrection of Jesus. You must see it that way. The bible is first and foremost a book about the Lord. It is a book about Christ.

A Type Of Christ

There are several reasons why I believe that this picture points to Christ. First of all, verse 9 tells us that these bones were once slain. Jesus was crucified on our behalf, he was alive, he was then slain and he is alive today forever more. He was slain. He was killed. These bones are the bones of one that was slain.

Verse 5 says breath entered into them. If you go back to Genesis 2:7 you will understand that the first Adam had the breath of life breathed into him.The word "breath" there, is typical of the life of the Lord. Jesus had to be quickened or made alive after he was crucified. First breath entered into Him and then He was out of that tomb, resurrected.

Notice that these bones were dry. Proverbs 17:22 says that a broken spirit drieth up the bones. Jesus became broken in spirit because He identified with you and with me. Psalm 22 is a great prophesy about what happened on the cross, and Jesus cried there in Psalm 22 as the Psalmist was looking hundreds of years into the future, Jesus cried and said "all of my bones are out of joint," so there are many, many reasons why we can assume here that the prophet Ezekiel is talking about the resurrection of Christ.

Revival

I think it is important for us to understand that these bones came together as a mighty army. This is where the Body of Christ comes in. If you do not see Ezekiel 37 as a resurrection of Jesus then you will never experience what Ezekiel 37 says will happen. You will never be a part of this army.

Many people see it this way; that there is going to be a great move of the Spirit of God, a great move of the coming together of the dry bones. We are hearing a lot about revival today and I am excited about revival, but we need to understand that the Spirit of God will not bring revival apart from revelation. Something must be received in you that allows the river of life to flow from you and bring revival.

What God is going to do is bring revelation that opens the flood gates of life that are in you. And that enlightenment is going to come through your understanding of what happened to Jesus. So you need to see Ezekiel 37 first of all as the resurrection of the Lord.

The dry bones are pictured all the way through the scripture as coming together to bring about a great revival.

Bone Of His Bone

Genesis 2:21-23
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. 22: And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23: 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.

When Adam needed a help meet, God used one of his ribs. The help meet for Adam came out of Adam. God took one of his ribs and He made Eve and when Adam looked at Eve he said, Thou art bone of my bones. He identified this woman as part of him. He said you are part of me, you and I together make one.

Adam was a figure of Him that was to come (Romans 5:14). Adam was a type of Christ. And out of Jesus came the Church. Just like Adam looked at Eve and said, "You are part of me," Jesus is looking at us and saying, "You are part of me." "Without you, Eve, I am not complete." Jesus is saying, "Without you Church, my bride, I am not complete." Jesus and the Church are one. Adam and Eve were one together. He said you are bone of my bones. We use this scripture when we are joining two together in marriage because when husband and wife get married they become one together.

Ephesians 5:30
For we (the church) are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his BONES.

We are members of his bones. Since it was His bones that came together and we are members of His bones, we can see a coming together not only of Him, but also of the Church.

Joseph Is A Type Of Christ

One of the most beautiful pictures of the Lord Jesus to be found is Joseph.

Joseph was the beloved of his father. He was rejected by his brethren. Joseph was left for dead, thrown into a pit. Joseph was imprisoned because he refused to submit himself to the sin that was offered. He was counted as one dead as he was hid in the prison, he was raised up out of that prison house and became number two in the kingdom.

Here is something that was said of Joseph.

Hebrews 11:22
By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

Joseph was about to leave or depart this earth but before he left he said something to the children of Israel about his bones (Exo. 13:19). Joseph is a type of Christ. Before He died, He left commandment about his bones.

If you are bone of Jesus' bone and Joseph is a type of Jesus then it would be interesting to discover what Joseph said about his bones.

Genesis 50:25-26
And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. 26: So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Where was Joseph? He was in the land of Egypt. He said you are going to carry my bones from here, I do not want to stay in the land of Egypt. This is the first mention of Joseph saying something about his bones. He told the children of Israel that God was going to visit them, there was going to come a visitation and they were going to be delivered from bondage and then he told them what to do with his bones. He said, I want you to put my bones in a coffin and I want you to take them with you when you leave, do not leave me here in Egypt. Don't leave me here in Egypt, don't bury me here. So the bones of Joseph were put in a coffin.

Notice that the book of Genesis, which describes the fall of man, concludes with a coffin. The book of Genesis begins with a glorious creation and ends with a coffin. Jesus put His bones as it were, in a coffin, as our substitute. Turn with me to Exodus 13 and let's find out where these bones went.

Exodus 13:19
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

In Exodus 12 the children of Israel had a great deliverance. They were delivered from Pharoah, who is a type of the devil, and from Egypt, who is a type of the world. But before they left, Moses gathered up the bones of Joseph and had them carried with them from the land of Egypt over into the wilderness. They wandered for forty years, and everywhere they went they carried Joseph's bones with them. They were going to take them to the promise land. Moses did not go into the promise land but Joseph did, the bones did. Moses did not make it. But he said to Joshua, "I have these bones here, we have to take these over there I cannot go, but take these bones."

Joshua 24:32
And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

Since Joseph is a type of Christ, can you see the bones of Jesus pictured in the bones of Joseph? Where are the bones of Joseph buried today? They were buried in the promise land. We can see a picture of the Church in the bones of Joseph.

Promise Land Available Today

We have already been taken into the promise land by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. But where do we find ourselves right now in the Church? In that coffin buried in the land of promise. We are already in the land of promise but those bones picture the Church. The one thing we need is a coming together of those bones. We need the breath of life to be breathed upon those bones.

Ephesians 4:16
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

This verse says that the body is fitly joined together by that which every joint supplies. We grow up into Christ by being fitly joined together by that which every joint supplies. Fitly joined together. What happened to the bones in Ezekiel 37? They were fitly joined together. God is putting together a body today that knows who they are and what they have in Christ Jesus, and why they have it. He is putting it together.

What is it going to look like? It is going to rise up to be the house of Israel, an army for the Lord. It is pictured in Judges in Gideon's army. It is pictured in Genesis with Abraham's army. It is pictured in David's life with David's army. All the armies of the Old Testament picture the Church of Jesus Christ as we come together as His bone.

All the problems with denominations and differences of opinion will melt away like a snow ball in summer when we get our mind on what is really important and that is finding out who we all are in Christ. When you find out what happened to Him you find out what happened to you. Ezekiel 37 is not something that has to happen, it is something that has happened and we need to receive a revelation of it. When God was putting the bones of Jesus together two thousand years ago He was putting you together because you are bone of His bone.

Pictured in the last couple of verses of Joshua is a beautiful picture of the Church of Jesus Christ today. We are still buried in the promise land waiting for a resurrection, but the resurrection has already occurred. Jesus was the fulfillment of the resurrection (John 11:25).

Revelation 1:5
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

He is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead. The first begotten. That word begotten means "given life to." He is the first one to be given life to from the dead. Does that mean that Jesus was the first one to be raised physically? No. You can go through the Old and New Testament and see other people that were raised physically, but Jesus was the first one ever raised spiritually.

Understand something Church; Jesus had a two-fold resurrection. First, He was made alive, that is, breath was given to those bones. The bones coming together typifies the physical resurrection. He was first made alive and then He was raised and it is all pictured in Ezekiel 37.

Many of us are still trying to become what God has already made us to be. He is the first begotten of the dead.

Isaiah 26:19
Thy dead men shall live, when, together with my dead body shall they arise.

God is talking about the coming together of the Church, the coming together of the army. Isaiah 27:1 speaks of the overcomers who overcome leviathan, the devil. First they had to be raised from the dead. When were they raised from the dead? "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise." Who is the "my" there? Christ. You were in Christ when He was raised from the dead. You not only were crucified with Christ, you not only were buried with Him, but you were raised together with Him and made to sit together with Him in heavenly places.

What Is The Inheritance?

Romans 8:16-17
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

We sing a song, joint-heirs with Jesus as we travel along. You are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus.

We have been so shallow in times past in talking about our inheritance in Christ. We have not seen the full scope of what belongs to us as a joint heir with the Lord.

Healing is involved in what belongs to you, victory is involved, joy is involved, peace is involved, but it could be summed up easier if we just said we have inherited a death. We have inherited a burial. We have inherited a resurrection. We have inherited a seating. Joint-heirs with Jesus means that you get what He got. What did He get? He got a quickening. He got a resurrection. He got a seating.

The next phrase says if we suffer with Him then we shall be glorified together. You cannot be glorified without suffering. "Well then Brother Gary, I will be glorified because I sure am suffering a lot in this life." No, that is not what that is talking about. The glorification that you get is Jesus' and the suffering you get is Jesus'. It is His suffering that you incorporate yourself with and His glorification that you can enjoy. It is His burial and His resurrection that you have. You have become a joint-heir with Jesus.

You have inherited six things: A crucifixion, a death, a burial, a quickening, a resurrection, and a seating. Those six things meet every need that you will ever have. It will get rid of anything that you want to get rid of and it will give you anything you are looking for in your life. You do not have a habit that death won't get rid of. You have to die. Thank God, Jesus died your death. You can get rid of anything you need to get rid of with the negative side, (I say negative side, both of them come out positive), but Jesus had to do something with your old man first.

You do not have any needs in your life that the resurrection of Jesus did not grant you. I have been made an heir of God and a joint-heir of Jesus. What did God give Jesus that belongs to me? He gave Him a quickening, a resurrection, and a seating. You are hooked up with divinity, the divine nature is now part of your being. You have eternal life within you. The same substance that is in God is now in you and that makes you a winner.

Bone of His Bones

3D Animated Flags Courtesy of 3DFlags.com

G R A C E
G ods
R edemption
A t
C hrist’s
E xpense

Pray For Our Troops

Spiritual Maturity Through a Revelation of the Person and Work of Christ