Three Parables Portray the Three Gates on Each Side of New Jerusalem
Luke 15 is composed with three parables which correspond with the three gates on each of the four sides of New Jerusalem.
In the New Testament the Triune God is our entrance into Himself. Luke 15 unveils the love of the Triune God toward sinners by the parable of a good shepherd (vv. 1-7), by the parable of a seeking woman (vv. 8-10), and by the parable of a loving father (vv. 11-32). The shepherd refers to the Son who came to seek the fallen sinners, the woman refers to the Holy Spirit who is searching the sinners within themselves, and the Father receives the repenting and returned sinner as a certain man receives his prodigal son. In these three parables we see the Trinity—the Son as the seeking shepherd, the Spirit as the searching woman, and the Father as the loving and receiving father.*
The Triune God brings us into Himself. Many verses speak of our being “in Christ.” For example, 1 Corinthians 1:30 says “of Him [God] you are in Christ Jesus” and in Romans 6:11 we are “living to God in Christ Jesus.” These verses are the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise in John 14:20, “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
That day is the day of the Lord’s resurrection. We are now in Him and, since He and the Father are one, we are also in the Father. To be in the Triune God is our way to be in New Jerusalem because the Triune God is the essence of New Jerusalem.
* From chapter 35, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.
Posted by Don on February 24, 2023
Three Parables Portray the Three Gates on Each Side of New Jerusalem
