Saturday, April 5, 2014

Christ our Common & High Priest

Christ- a Common Priest during His earthly ministry.  This is truth.
Christ- a High Priest in Heaven. This is truth.
Christ our High Priest.
Christ our Returning King!
*******

1989 Special 2 -- Light From the Throne -- Part 2 --

THE LAW OF THE SIN OFFERING --

This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord: it is most holy.
The priest that offereth it shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Lev. 6:25-26)

So full of meaning was this law that when the sons of Aaron violated it, Moses became "angry" with them. (Lev. 10:16) He asked emphatically - "Why have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, for it is most holy, and He has given it to you to take away the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before Jehovah? Behold, its blood has not been brought into the holy place inside. You should certainly have eaten it in the holy place as I have commanded." (Lev. 10:17-18 Heb.)

The offering was a "goat," thus a sin offering for an individual. (Lev. 4:23,. 38)

Such being the case, the common priest ministered the blood (4:25, 30), and because it was not brought into the sanctuary, he should have eaten of the sacrifice, so as to bear in himself the sin.

In the sin offerings over which the High Priest ministered, the blood was brought into the sanctuary. In this differentiation between the individual and corporate sins as to whom ministered, and what each category of ministering priests did, we see the dual role of Christ both as COMMON PRIEST, and as HIGH PRIEST.

Every high priest was taken from among men (Heb. 5:1),

(((Heb 5:1  For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins))))

 so Christ to become the great High Priest had to become man.

In becoming man, He "partook of the same" flesh and blood as is common to humanity. (Heb. 2:14)

(((Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same...))))

He "took upon Himself the slave-form of man" (Phil. 2:7, Gr.)

(((Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men))))

coming in "the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. 8:3),

(((Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh))))

 being made "to be sin for us." (II Cor. 5:21)

(((2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. ))))

'In His earthly ministry, Jesus was both "that prophet" (John 1: 21)

(((Joh 1:19  And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
Joh 1:20  And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
Joh 1:21  And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No))))

and "common priest. " As "that Prophet" He would "build the temple of the Lord" even as Moses the earthly type. As "the Common Priest," He "offered sacrifice, Himself the priest, Himself the victim."  Ministering in the "court" of this earth, He bestowed "forgiveness" even as the common priests of Israel did upon the individual offerer.

To the scribes and Pharisees who became incensed because He said to a palsy stricken man - "Thy sins are forgiven thee" - Jesus demonstrated "that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins" by telling the man, "Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house." And he did! (Luke 5:18-24)

Here in the court of earth, the shadowy type was meeting "the very image" of the good things which it prefigured. In ministering the law of the sin offering, the priest would "make atonement" for the sin which the individual "committed, and it .[would] be forgiven him." (Lev. 4:35) So Jesus the "anointed One" declared forgiveness to the sin-burdened souls who came to Him. Not only did He forgive sins, but He provided a "forgiveness of sins" which "justified from all things" beyond the scope of the shadowy "law of Moses." (Acts 13:38-39)

(((Act 13:38  Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
Act 13:39  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. ))))

Having provided the sacrifice, He ministers, at the Throne of Grace ,mercy and grace to all who come boldly "in full assurance of faith." (Heb. 4:16; 10:22)

(((Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. ))))

The earthly high priest ministered only corporate sin offerings wherein the blood was brought into the sanctuary, and thus did not eat of the offering partaking of its symbolic sin.

Christ preserving the purity of His divine character, was called to be the High Priest after the Order of Melchisedec. In this mediatiorial work, He is not only "able to save to the uttermost" those who "come unto God by Him," but He is also "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." (Heb. 7:25,26)

(((Heb 7:25  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Heb 7:26  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens))))

In Christ, the law of the sin offering finds its reality, both in His work as a Common Priest while on earth, and in His work as High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary.

(((Common Priest, High Priest- truly our Savior alone has the power to save us. ))))

*
THE FAT OF THE SIN OFFERINGS --

Four times during the instruction of how the sin offerings were to be ministered, the Lord told Moses the fat was to be removed and burned "as the fat of the sacrifice of the peace offerings." (Lev. 4:10, 26, 31, 35) The peace offerings had been detailed just prior to the instruction concerning the sin offerings. (Lev. 3)

All "the fat that covereth the inwards, ... and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul (fold) above the liver ' with the kidneys, it shall [the priest] take away." (3:9-10) These were to be burned upon the altar.

The fat and the kidneys are declared to be "the food [Heb. - bread] of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour" unto the Lord. (Lev. 3:11, 16; 4:31) "All the fat" the Lord claimed as His, and with the blood, forbad that it should be eaten. (3:16-17)

What is the significance of this part of the ritual? What do the kidneys represent? What is the meaning of the fat and why is it cut away and burned?

First, the kidneys:  The kidneys "were regarded as the seat of the tenderest and deepest emotions." (Keil & Delitzsch, op cit., p. 306) Gesenius in his Hebrew lexicon states that the word for kidneys (k'layoth) was used metonymically to represent "the mind, soul as the seat of the desires, affections, passions," and is often coupled with "heart" (lev). Observe closely the following texts. Note the use of the Hebrew word for "kidneys" as a figure of speech. In each instance, the word is translated "reins" in the KJV:

The righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. (Ps. 7:9)
Examine me, 0 Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. (Ps. 26:2)
Thus was my heart grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. (Ps. 73:21)
But, 0 Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart. (Jer. 11:20)
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, ... (Jer. 17:10)

How are we to understand this in relationship to the sin offering?

God met Israel at the level of their perception. The "seat of emotion, desires and passions" was removed from the body and burned on the altar. But before this could be done, the "fat" had to be stripped from the kidneys and also burned. The full comment found in Keil & Delitzsch is interesting. It reads:    

Now, if the flesh of the victim represented the body of the offerer as the organ of the soul, the fat portions inside the body, together with the kidneys, which were regarded as the seat of the tenderest and deepest emotions, can only have set forth the better part or inmost kernel of the man. (op. cit.)

While this comment relates the separation from the body of certain parts of the sin offering, and differentiates between the "outer" and "inner man," it still leaves unexplained, why the fat had to be separated from the kidneys.

Paul addresses the "outer" and "inner" man concepts. He wrote, "For delight in the law of God after the inner man." (Rom. 7:22)

To him, "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." (II Cor. 4:16)

He explained how this could be. He wrote - "I die daily." (I Cor. 15:31)

Self, "the reins," was crucified with Christ. (Gal. 2:20)

The kidneys were burned on the altar. Yet the offerer lived because he was forgiven.

In this service, the fat stripped from the inwards parts as well as the kidneys, was also burned. Into "smoke" it was consumed away. What does this mean, and what is this ritual saying to us?

In the Scriptures, the Hebrew word, "fat" (helev) was used to refer to the best, and most abundant.

Pharaoh offered Joseph for his family, the "good of the land of Egypt," and said that they "shall eat of the fat of the land." (Gen. 45:18)

But "fat" is also associated with disobedience, sins, and backsliding. Observe the following texts:

Samuel said to Saul - "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." (I Sam. 15:22) In this experience, the "fat" was substituted for obedience. To have followed fully the instruction God gave in reference to the Amalekites (15:3), there would have been no fat to offer.

God through Isaiah said of Israel - Thou hast not "filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities." Then God declared of Himself - "I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember thy sins." (Isa. 43:24-25) How was this "blotting" out not symbolized by Israel? Israel had not brought the "fat of [the] sacrifices."

Ezekiel stated, of the priests who had charge of the sanctuary, that "when the children of Israel went astray" from God, they were to come near and offer to God "the fat and the blood." (Eze. 44:15)

It is objected that "fat" cannot be associated with sin because nothing which represented sin was permitted on the Altar of Burnt Offering. Besides, the offering of the fat of the sin offering was considered a "sweet savour unto the Lord." (Lev. 4:31) How then could this be associated with sin? It is further questioned, how can "fat," if it symbolized sin in any way, be considered as "the bread of the offering," and as being "the Lord's"? (See Lev. 3:11, 16)

In support of the first objection, the exclusion of "leaven," a symbol of sin, from the meal offering is cited. (Lev. 2:11) There is, however, a difference between leaven and fat. Leaven would be introduced into the meal, while fat is an integral part of the animal sacrifice. In the case of the individual sin offering, major parts of the sacrificial animal became the actual possession of the ministering priest. But in all instances, the fat was exclude, cut away, and burned.

The whole of the sin offering was considered "most holy" unto the Lord. (Lev. 6:25) Is it unreasonable to assume that any representation whereby sin is removed either from the  sinner, or whereby provision is made for its extinction, that such a sacrifice would be as a "sweet savour" unto God?

The fat cannot be considered in the same category as the "kidney" as it was separated from it, even though both were burned. if the "kidney" stood for the very "reins" of the person, and was burned on the altar, is the concept of sin not introduced to the altar? Does not the Scripture teach that "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked"? (Jer. 17:9) Is not the significant meaning of this part of the ritual saying - Since you have been forgiven; the wages of sin have been paid in the mediation of the blood; but to go and sin no more, excesses and abundance must be cut away. And the how is clearly indicated. While the sinner slew the victim, taking its life, it was the priest who separated the fat from the kidneys and the inward parts. The offerer could not do it, and not until he died symbolically in the sacrifice could the priest do it!

How does this pertain to the Reality?

We must be crucified with Christ.
Then living by the faith of the Son of God," we are "strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:16)

 The excesses of life are cut away; the abundances are placed in God's service; and we become "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." (Rom. 12:1)

Whenever sin is separated from the life, and all is surrendered to God, it is indeed to Him, "a sweet smelling savour."

*******

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

TRUTH!

Eph_3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man

PRAISE GOD!

Our hope truly is found ONLY in Christ in us!

Please LORD, we would be YOURS.  Let us be crucified with You, living with You in us even as we live in this mortal flesh. Let us live with FAITH in YOU who love us, YOU who died for us!

Please, we would be YOURS!

All by YOU!

No comments: