Metaphors of the Mystery - Part 2
Types Are the Past. Metaphors Are the Present.
Many believers approach Scripture with a strong appetite for types and shadows. We study Joseph as a type of Christ. We examine the Passover lamb. We trace the tabernacle. These things matter. Scripture itself tells us so.
But there is a limit to what types can do.
Types point back.
Metaphors define you now.
If you confuse the two, you will admire Christ without understanding yourself.
Types Look Backward
The Bible is clear that types belong to a former era. They are shadows. They are patterns. They are previews.
Romans 5 (KJ2000)
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Adam is called a figure. A type. He points forward to Christ.
Hebrews 10 (KJ2000)
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things…
The law was a shadow. Not the real thing.
Colossians 2 (KJ2000)
16 Let no man therefore judge you in food, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Shadows point to something real. But they are not the substance.
This is the nature of types.
They prepare you.
They announce Christ.
They help you recognise Him when He appears.
But once Christ has come, types have done their job.
Types Reveal Christ, Not You
Types are Christ-centred, but not identity-defining.
You can study Joseph and learn about betrayal, exaltation, and forgiveness. You can see Christ in him. But Joseph is not your identity.
You can study the Passover lamb and understand redemption. But you are not a lamb in that sense.
Types answer this question:
Who is Christ?
They do not fully answer this question:
Who are you in Christ?
That second question requires something else.
Metaphors Speak Present Reality
When the New Testament speaks about the believer, it does not rely on types. It uses metaphors.
These metaphors are not pointing backward. They are describing present truth.
You are not being invited to admire a pattern.
You are being told who you are.
You Are the Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12 (KJ2000)
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
This is not a type.
This is not a shadow.
This is your present identity.
You are part of His body. You are connected to Him and to other believers. You function. You supply. You are not observing Christ from a distance. You are joined to Him.
You Are a New Creation
2 Corinthians 5 (KJ2000)
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
This is not symbolic of something else.
This is a statement of reality.
You are not a repaired version of the old man.
You are something entirely new.
You Are the Temple of God
1 Corinthians 3 (KJ2000)
16 Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
In the Old Testament, the temple was a type. A structure. A location.
Now the language shifts.
You are the temple.
The reality has moved from building to person.
You Are Light
Ephesians 5 (KJ2000)
8 For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light.
Notice the language carefully.
You are not just in the light.
You are light.
This is identity language. Present tense. Direct.
You Are God’s Righteousness
2 Corinthians 5 (KJ2000)
21 For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
This is not a shadow.
This is not a picture.
This is who you are in Christ.
The Danger of Living in Types
Many believers stay in the Old Testament framework. They think in shadows.
They say:
I am trying to be like Joseph.
I am trying to be like David.
I am trying to be like Daniel.
There is value in learning from these men. But that is not the primary New Testament approach.
The New Testament does not say:
Become like them.
It says:
Understand who you are in Christ.
If you stay in types, you will live by imitation.
If you understand metaphors, you will live by identity.
Metaphors Are Not Decorations
Some treat metaphors as poetic language. As if they are optional or decorative.
That is a mistake.
When Scripture says you are a branch, it is telling you how you live.
John 15 (KJ2000)
5 I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.
This is not just imagery.
It is instruction.
Branches do not struggle to produce fruit.
They remain connected.
That metaphor defines your daily life.
Metaphors Shape Behaviour
When you understand that you are a member of a body, you stop competing with other believers.
When you understand that you are a temple, you become conscious of God’s presence within you.
When you understand that you are light, you stop negotiating with darkness.
When you understand that you are a branch, you prioritise abiding.
Metaphors are not abstract.
They produce specific behaviour.
From Observation to Participation
Types keep you observing.
You watch Joseph suffer.
You watch Moses lead.
You watch David fight.
Metaphors pull you into participation.
You are in Christ.
Christ is in you.
You are part of His body.
You are His temple.
This is not a story you watch.
This is a life you live.
Christ in You
Colossians 1 (KJ2000)
26 Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
The “mystery” is no longer hidden.
It is revealed.
And how is it explained?
Not through types.
Through direct language and metaphor.
Christ in you.
That is not a shadow.
That is substance.
The Shift You Must Make
If you want to understand the New Testament properly, you must make a shift.
Do not abandon types.
But do not live in them.
Use types to understand Christ.
Use metaphors to understand yourself.
Read the Old Testament to see what was coming.
Read the New Testament to see what has come.
A Simple Test
When you read Scripture, ask:
Is this pointing to Christ?
Or is this defining me in Christ?
If it is a type, receive the revelation of Christ.
If it is a metaphor, receive the revelation of your identity.
Final Thought
You can spend your whole life studying shadows and never step into reality.
Or you can recognise that the reality has already come.
Christ has come.
The mystery has been revealed.
You are in Him.
He is in you.
Types helped you recognise Him.
Metaphors now tell you who you are.
And until you see yourself the way the New Testament describes you, you will keep looking backward when you should be living forward.
Continue in grace!