The Consecrated Way For Us All.

Continued…

CHAPTER XII

PERFECTION

Again it is written: “The law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” Hebrews 10:1-4.

This again shows that though perfection was the aim in all the ministry that was performed under the law, yet perfection was not attained by any of those performances.

They were all simply figures for the time then present of the ministry and priesthood by which perfection is attained; that is the ministry and priesthood of Christ.

Those sacrifices could not make the comers thereunto perfect. The true sacrifice and the true ministry in “the sanctuary and the true tabernacle” do make the comers thereunto perfect: and this perfection consists in the worshipers having “no more conscience of sins.” But since it is “not possible” for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, it was not possible, though those sacrifices were offered year by year continually, so to purge the worshipers that they should have no more conscience of sins. The blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean could and did sanctify to the purifying of the flesh, but of the flesh only. And even this was “but a figure for the time then present” of “the blood of Christ,” which so much more purges the worshipers that they have no more conscience of sins.

“Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldst not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come … to do Thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second.” Hebrews 10:5-9.

Here are mentioned two things: “the first,” and “the second.” What are these two things? Which is “the first,” and which “the second”? The two things mentioned are sacrifice, offering, burnt offerings, and offering for sin—all as one—and the will of God.

Sacrifice, offering, burnt offerings, and offering for sin—all as one—are “the first,” and “the will of God” is “the second.”

“He taketh away the first that He may establish the second.” That is, He “taketh away sacrifice, offering, burnt offerings, and offering for sin, that He may establish the will of God. And the will of God is “even your sanctification” and your perfection. 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Matthew 5:48; Ephesians 4:8, 12, 13; Heb. 13:20, 21.

1Th 4:3  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication

Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. 

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ

Heb 13:20  Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 

Heb 13:21  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

But this could never be accomplished by those sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and offering for sin which were offered by the Levitical priesthood—they could not make the comers thereunto perfect. They could not so purge the worshipers that they should have no more conscience of sin. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. Therefore, since the will of God is the sanctification and the perfection of the worshipers; since the will of God is that His worshipers shall be so cleansed that they shall have no more conscience of sin; and since the service and the offerings in that earthly sanctuary could not do this, He took it all away that He may establish the will of God.

“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” The will of God is “even your sanctification.”

Sanctification is the true keeping of all the commandments of God.

In other words, this is to say that the will of God concerning man is that His will shall be perfectly fulfilled in man. His will is expressed in His law of ten commandments, which is “the whole duty of man.”

This law is perfect, and perfect- ion of character is the perfect expression of this law in the life of the worshiper of God. By this law is the knowledge of sin. And all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God; have come short of this perfection of character. The sacrifices and the service in the earthly sanctuary could not take away the sins of men and so could not bring them to this perfection. But the sacrifice and the ministry of the true High Priest in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle do accomplish this. This does take away utterly every sin.

And the worshiper is so truly purged that he has no more conscience of sins. By the sacrifice, the offering, and the service of Himself, Christ took away the sacrifices and the offerings and the service which could never take away sins, and by His perfect doing of the perfect will of God He established the will of God. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10.

In that former earthly sanctuary and service, “every priest standeth daily ministering and offering

oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” But in the service in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle, “this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:11-14.

Thus perfection in every respect is attained through the priesthood, the sacrifice, and the service of this our great High Priest at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens in His ministry in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

 “Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that He had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” Hebrews 10:15-18.

And this is the “new and living way” which Christ, through the flesh, “hath consecrated for us”—for all mankind—and by which every soul may enter into the holiest of all—the holiest of all places, the holiest of all experiences, the holiest of all relationships the holiest of all living. This new and living way He “hath consecrated for us through the flesh;” that is, He, coming in the flesh, identifying Himself with mankind in the flesh, has, for us who are in this flesh, consecrated a way from where we are to where He now is, at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens in the holiest of all. In His coming in the flesh—having been made in all things like unto us and having been tempted in all points like as we are—He has identified Himself with every human soul just where that soul is. And from the place where every human soul is, He has consecrated for that soul a new and living way through all the vicissitudes and experiences of a whole lifetime, and even through death and the tomb, into the holiest of all at the right hand of God for evermore.

O that consecrated way!

Consecrated by His temptations and sufferings, by His prayers and tears, by His holy living and sacrificial dying, by His triumphant resurrection and glorious ascension, and by His triumphal entry into the holiest of all, at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens! And this “way” He has consecrated for us.

 He, having become one of us, has made this way our way; it belongs to us.

He has endowed every soul with divine right to walk in this consecrated way; and by His having done it Himself in the flesh—in our flesh—He has made it possible, yea, He has given actual assurance, that every human soul can walk in that way, in all that that way is and by it enter fully and freely into the holiest of all.

He, as one of us, in our human nature, weak as we, laden with the sins of the world, in our sinful flesh, in this world, a whole lifetime, lived a life “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,” and “was made” and ascended “higher than the heavens.” And by this He has made and consecrated a way by which, in Him, every believer can in this world, and for a whole lifetime, live a life holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and as a consequence be made with Him higher than the heavens.

Perfection, perfection of character, is the Christian goal—perfection attained in human flesh in this world.

Christ attained it in human flesh in this world and thus made and consecrated a way by which, in Him, every believer can attain it. He, having attained it, has become our great High Priest, by His priestly ministry in the true sanctuary to enable us to attain. Perfection is the Christian’s goal, and the High Priesthood and ministry of Christ in the true sanctuary is the only way by which any soul can attain this true goal in this world. “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary.” Psalm 77:13.

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having an High Priest over the house of God; 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.” And “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised.” “For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more. … But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” O, then, “see that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven.” Hebrews 12:18-25.

The Consecrated Way — Alonzo Jones

The Life of Faith.

CHAPTER XII

PERFECTION

The great thought and purpose of the true sanctuary, its priesthood, and ministry, is that God shall dwell in the hearts of the people.

What now is the great thought and purpose of His dwelling in the hearts of the people? The answer is, Perfection.

The moral and spiritual perfection of the worshiper.

Let us consider this:

At the close of the fifth chapter of Hebrews, immediately following the statement that Christ, “being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him; called of God an High Priest after the order of Melchizedek,” it is written: “Therefore,” that is, because of this, for this reason, “leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.” Hebrews 6:1.

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God

Next it is shown that perfection is attained only through the Melchizedek priesthood. And it is shown that this was always so and that the Levitical priesthood was only temporary and typical of the Melchizedek priesthood.

Following this, in discussing the Levitical priesthood, it is written: “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, … what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?” Heb. 7:11.

And again, in the same connection, “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did [or “but it was the bringing in of a better hope,” margin]; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” Verse 19.

By these scriptures it is perfectly plain that the perfection of the worshiper is that which is offered and which is attained in the priesthood and ministry of Christ. Nor yet are these all the words on this thought. For, as already quoted in the description of the sanctuary and its service, it is said that it “was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience.”

That none of this could make him that did the service perfect is its great lack. Therefore that the priesthood and ministry of Christ in the true sanctuary can and does make perfect him who enters by faith into the service is the great thought and the goal of all.

That earthly service “could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience.” “But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 9:11, 12.

This sanctuary, priesthood, sacrifice, and ministry of Christ’s does make perfect in eternal redemption every one who by faith enters into the service and so receives that which that service is established to give.

Further, “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

The blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean in the Levitical service and the worldly sanctuary did sanctify to the purifying of the flesh: for so the word concerning it continually declares. And that being so, “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,” sanctify to the purifying of the spirit and “purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

What are dead works? Death itself is the consequence of sin.

Dead works therefore are works that have sin in them.

Then the purging of the conscience from dead works is the so entirely cleansing of the soul from sin, by the blood of Christ, through the eternal Spirit, that in the life and works of the believer in Jesus sin shall have no place; the works shall be only works of faith, and the life shall be only the life of faith, and so be only the true and pure “service of the living God.”

To be continued…

The Consecrated Way — Alonzo Jones

To Know the Love of Christ.

CHAPTER XI

“THAT I MAY DWELL AMONG THEM”

When the Lord gave to Israel the original directions for the making of the sanctuary, that was to be a figure for the time then present, he said, “Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8. That He might “dwell among them” was the object of the sanctuary. This purpose of the sanctuary is more fully stated in the following: “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle [margin, “Israel”] shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God.” Exodus 29:43-46; also Leviticus 26:11, 12.

This purpose was not that He should dwell among them simply and only by the tabernacle’s being set up in the midst of the camp of Israel. This is the great mistake that Israel made in the use of the tabernacle and so almost wholly lost the true purpose of the sanctuary.

When the tabernacle was made and was set up in the midst of the camp of Israel, many of the children of Israel supposed that that was enough; they supposed that to be the way in which God would dwell in the midst of them. It is true that by the Shekinah, God did dwell in the sanctuary. But even the sanctuary with its splendid furniture, standing in the midst of the camp—this was not all of the sanctuary. In addition to the splendid building and its furniture, there were the sacrifices and offerings of the people and the sacrifices and offerings on behalf of the people. There were the priests in their continual services and there was the high priest in his holy ministry. Without these the sanctuary was for Israel practically an empty thing, even though the Lord did dwell in it.

And what was the meaning and purpose of these things? Let us see: When any of the children of Israel had “done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done,” and so was “guilty,” then “of his own voluntary will” he brought to the door of the tabernacle his sacrificial lamb. Before the lamb was offered in sacrifice the individual who had brought it laid his hands upon its head and confessed his sins and it was “accepted for him to make atonement for him.” Then he who had brought the lamb and confessed his sins slew it. Its blood was caught in a basin. Some of the blood was sprinkled round about upon the altar of burnt offering,” which was at the door of the tabernacle; some of it was put “upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation;” some of it was sprinkled “seven times before the Lord before the veil of the sanctuary;” and all the rest of it was poured out “at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” The lamb itself was burnt upon the altar of burnt offering. And of all this service, it is written in conclusion: “and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.”

The service was similar in case of the sin and confession of the whole congregation. Also there was a similar service, a continual service morning and evening, in behalf of the whole congregation. But whether the services were individual or general, the conclusion of it was always declared to be “The priest shall make an atonement for him [or them], and it shall be forgiven him.” See Leviticus chapters 1 to 5.

The course of service of the sanctuary was completed annually. And the day of the completion of the service, the tenth day of the seventh month, was especially “the day of atonement” or the cleansing of the sanctuary. On that day service was concluded in the Most Holy Place. That day was the “once every year” when “the High Priest alone” went into the “Holiest of all” or Most Holy Place. And of the high priest and his service that day it is written, “He shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.” Leviticus 16:234; Hebrews 9:2-8.

Thus the services of the sanctuary, in the offering of the sacrifices and the ministering of the priests, and of the high priests alone, was for the making of atonement and for the forgiveness and sending away of the sins of the people. Because of the sin and guilt, because of their having “done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done,” atonement must be made and forgiveness obtained. Atonement is literally at-one-ment. The sin and the guilt had separated them from God. By these services they were made at-one with God. Forgive is literally give-for. To forgive sin is to give for sin. Forgiveness of sin comes alone from God. What does God give, what has He given, for sin? He gave Christ, and Christ “gave himself for our sins.” Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 2:12-16; Romans 5:8-11.

Therefore when an individual or the whole congregation of Israel had sinned and desired forgiveness the whole problem and plan of forgiveness, of atonement, of salvation, was worked out before their faces. The sacrifice which was brought was in faith of the sacrifice which God had already made in giving His Son for sin. In this faith sinners were accepted of God, and Christ was received of them for their sin. Thus they were made at one with God, and thus God would dwell in the midst of them; that is, He would dwell in each heart and abide in each life to make that heart and life “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” And the placing of the tabernacle in the midst of the camp of Israel was an illustration, an object lesson and suggestion, of the truth that He would dwell in the midst of each individual. Ephesians 3:16-19.

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; 

Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 

Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 

Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 

Some of that nation in every age saw in the sanctuary this great saving truth. But as a body in all ages Israel missed this thought, and stopping only with the thought of His dwelling in the tabernacle in the midst of the camp, they came short of having His own personal presence dwelling in their individual lives. Accordingly their worship became only outward and formal, rather than inward and spiritual. Therefore, their own lives continued unreformed and unholy, and so those who came out of Egypt missed the great thing which God had for them and “fell in the wilderness.” Hebrews 3:17-19. The same mistake was made by the people after they had passed into the land of Canaan. They put their dependence on the Lord only as He dwelt in the tabernacle and would not allow that the tabernacle and its ministry should be the means of His dwelling in themselves through faith. Consequently their lives only increased in wickedness. Therefore God allowed the tabernacle to be destroyed and the ark of God to be taken captive by the heathen (Jeremiah 7:12; 1 Samuel 4:10-22) in order that the people might learn to see and find and worship God individually and so find Him to dwell with them individually. After the absence of the tabernacle and its service from among Israel for about a hundred years, it was restored by David and was merged in the grand temple that was built by Solomon. But again its true purpose was gradually lost sight of. Formalism with its attending wickedness more and more increased until in Israel the Lord was compelled to cry out: “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer Me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” Amos 5:21-24. Also in Judah, by Isaiah, He was compelled to make a like plea: “Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I can not away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth: they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:10-18.

Yet His pleas were not regarded. Israel was therefore carried captive and her land was left desolate because of their wickedness; and the like fate hung over Judah. And still this danger to Judah was from the same great cause that the Lord had been striving always to teach the nation and which they had not yet learned: the holding of the temple and God’s presence in that temple as the great end, instead of holding that as only the means to the true end which was that by means of the temple and its ministry in accomplishing forgiveness and atonement, He who dwelt in the temple would dwell in themselves. And so again the Lord pleaded with His people by Jeremiah that He might save them from this mistake and have them see and receive the great truth of the real meaning and purpose of the temple and its service. Thus He said: “Behold, ye trust in lying words, that can not profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord. “But go ye now unto My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by My name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to Me: for I will not hear thee. … Oh that My head were waters, and Mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of My people! Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave My people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like

their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me. Jeremiah 7:8-16; 9:1, 3. What were specifically the “lying words” in which these people trusted? Here they are: “Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.” Jeremiah 7:4. Thus it is made perfectly plain that the people though going through the forms of worship and of the temple service, went through all this merely as forms, missing entirely the purpose of the temple and its services, which was solely that God might reform and make holy the lives of the people by His dwelling in them individually. And missing all this, the wickedness of their own hearts only more and more made itself manifest. For this reason all their sacrifices, worship, and prayers, were only mockery and noise, so long as their hearts and lives were unreformed and unholy. Therefore the word “came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever.” Jeremiah 7:1-7. Instead of allowing God’s great purpose of the temple and its services to be met in themselves, the people utterly perverted that purpose. Instead of allowing the temple and its services which God in His mercy had planted among them, to teach them how that He in truth would dwell among them by dwelling in their hearts and making holy their lives, they excluded all this true purpose of the temple and its services and perverted it all to the utterly false purpose of sanctioning grossest wickedness and cloaking deepest, darkest unholiness. For such a system there was no remedy but destruction. Accordingly the city was besieged and captured by the heathen. The temple, their “holy and beautiful house” was destroyed. And with the city and the temple a heap of burnt and blackened ruins, the people were carried captive to Babylon, where in their sorrow and the deep sense of their great loss they sought and found and worshiped the Lord in a way that so reformed their lives that if they had done it when the temple stood, it would have stood forever. Psalm 137:1-6. God brought them back from Babylon a humbled and reformed people. His holy temple was rebuilt and its services were restored. The people again dwelt in their city and their land.

But apostasy again ensued. The same course was again repeated until, when Jesus, the great center of the temple and its services came to His own, the same old condition of things again prevailed. Matthew 21:12, 13; 23:13-32. In their hearts they could persecute and pursue Him to the death and yet outwardly be so holy that they could not cross the threshold of Pilate’s judgment hall “lest they should be defiled”! John 18:28. And the Lord’s appeal to the people was still the same as of old—that they should find in their own personal lives the meaning of the temple and its services and so be saved from the fate which had overtaken their nation through all its history, because of this same great mistake which they were repeating.

Accordingly, one day in the temple Jesus said to the multitude there present, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But He spake of the temple of His body.” John 2:1921. When Jesus in the temple spoke thus to that people, referring to “the temple of His body” he was still endeavoring, as through all their history, to get them to perceive that the great purpose of the temple and its services always was that by means of the ministry and service there conducted, God would dwell and walk in themselves as He dwelt in the temple, making holy His dwelling-place in themselves, as His dwelling in the temple made that place holy so that their bodies should be truly temples of the living God, because of God’s dwelling in them and walking in them. 2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Corinthians 3:16,17; Leviticus 26:11, 12; 2 Samuel 7:6, 7.

And still they would not see this truth. They would not be reformed. They would not have the purpose of the sanctuary met in themselves, that God should dwell in them. They rejected Him who came personally to show to them this true purpose and the true Way. Therefore again there was no remedy but destruction. Again their city was taken by the heathen. Again the temple, their “holy and beautiful house,” was burned with fire. Again they were taken captive and were forever scattered, to be only “wanderers among the nations.” Hosea 9:17.

Again let it be emphasized that the earthly sanctuary, the earthly temple, with its ministry and services, was as such only a figure of the true, which with its ministry and services was then in heaven. When the thought of the sanctuary was first presented to Moses for Israel it was stated by the Lord to him, “See…that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” Hebrews 8:5; Exodus 25:40; 25:30; 27:8. The sanctuary on the earth was therefore a figure of the true, in the sense of its being a pattern of the true. The ministry and services in the earthly were “figures of the true” in the sense of being “the patterns” of the true—“the patterns of things in the heavens.” Hebrews 9:23, 24. The true sanctuary of which this was a figure, the original of which this was a pattern, was then in existence. But in the darkness and confusion of Egypt, Israel had lost the true idea of this, as they had also of many other things which were plain to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob; and by this object lesson God would give to them the knowledge of the true. It was therefore not a figure in the sense of being a type of something to come that did not yet exist, but a figure in the sense of being an object lesson and visible representation of that which then existed but was invisible, to train them up to such an experience in faith and true spirituality that they should see the invisible.

And by all this God was revealing to them and to all people forever that it is by the priesthood, ministry, and service of Christ in the true sanctuary or temple which is in heaven, that He dwells amongst men.

He was revealing that in this faith of Jesus, forgiveness of sins and atonement is ministered to men so that God dwells in them and walks in them, He being their God and they His people, and thus they be separated from all the people that are upon the face of the earth—separated unto God as His own true sons and daughters to be built up unto perfection in the knowledge of God. Exodus 33:15, 16; 2 Corinthians 6:16-18; 7:1.

Exo 33:15  And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

Exo 33:16  For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 

2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 

The Consecrated Way — Alonzo Jones

Christ's Priesthood.

CHAPTER X

“THE SUM”

And “now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest.”

And what is that of which this is “the sum"?

1. That He who was higher than the angels, as God, was made lower than the angels, as man.

2. That He who was of the nature of God was made of the nature of man.

3. That He who was in all things like God was made in all things like man.

4. That as man He was tempted in all points like as men are and never sinned but was in all things faithful to Him that appointed Him.

5. That, as man, tempted in all points like as we are, He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities and was made perfect through sufferings in order that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest; and was called of God to be an High Priest.

6. That by the power of an endless life He was made High Priest.

7. And that by the oath of God He was made High Priest.

Such are the specifications of the Word of God, of which the “sum” is “We have such an High Priest.” And yet that is only a part of “the sum.” For the whole statement of “the sum” is, “We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”

On earth there was a sanctuary which man pitched and which man made. True, this sanctuary was both made and pitched under the direction of the Lord; nevertheless, it is far different from the sanctuary and the true tabernacle which the Lord Himself pitched and not man—as far different as the work of man is from the work of God.

That “worldly sanctuary” with its ministry is more briefly described and the meaning of it is more briefly told in Hebrews 9 than would be possible otherwise to do. Therefore we quote Hebrews 9:2-12, inclusive: “For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy-seat; of which we can not now speak particularly.

“Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people; the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing; which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

That sanctuary was but “a figure;” and it was but a figure “for the time then present.” In it priests and high priests ministered and offered both gifts and sacrifices. But all this priesthood, ministry, gift, and sacrifice was, equally with the sanctuary, only “a figure for the time then present,” for it all “could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience.”

That sanctuary and tabernacle itself was but a figure of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man. The high priest of that sanctuary was but a figure of Christ, who is High Priest of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle. The ministry of that high priest of the sanctuary on earth was but a figure of the ministry of Christ, our great High Priest, “who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”

The offerings of the priesthood in the ministry of the sanctuary on earth were but a figure of the offering of Christ, the true High Priest, in His ministry in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle. Thus Christ was the true substance and meaning of all the priesthood and service of the sanctuary on earth, and any part of it that ever passed without this as its meaning was simply meaningless.

And as certainly as Christ is the true Priest of Christianity, of which the Levitical priesthood was a figure, so certainly the sanctuary of which Christ is minister is the true sanctuary of Christianity, of which the earthly sanctuary of the Levitical dispensation was a figure.

And so it is written: “If He were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” Hebrews 8:4, 5.

“It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with

these [earthly sacrifices]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” And in “heaven itself,” in the Christian dispensation, there was seen the throne of God and a golden altar and an angel with a golden censer offering incense with the prayers of all saints, “And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.” Revelation 4:5; 8:2-4.

Also in this same time there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.” Revelation 11:19; 15:5-8; 16:1. And further there was seen there “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.” Revelation 4:5. There, too, was seen one like the Son of man clothed in the high priestly garment. Revelation 1:13. There is therefore a Christian sanctuary, of which the former sanctuary was a figure, as truly as there is a Christian high priesthood of which the former high priesthood was a figure. And there is a ministry of Christ, our High Priest, in this Christian sanctuary, as truly as there was a ministry of the former priesthood in the former and earthly sanctuary. And “of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum: We have such an High Priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”

The Consecrated Way — Alonzo Jones

Christ - Our High Priest.

CHAPTER IX

FURTHER QUALIFICATIONS OF OUR HIGH PRIEST

Such is the thought of the first two chapters of Hebrews. And upon this the third chapter opens, or rather the one great thought continues with the beautiful exhortation: “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was faithful to Him that appointed Him.”

Having presented Christ in the flesh, as He was made “in all things” like the children of men and our nearest of kin, we are now asked to consider Him in His faithfulness in that position. The first Adam was not faithful. This last Adam “was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in all His [God's] house. For this Man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is builded by some man, but He that built all things is God.

 And Moses verily was faithful in all His [God's] house as a servant for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ [was faithful] as a Son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.”

Next is cited Israel, who came out of Egypt, who were not faithful; who failed of entering into God’s rest because they believed not in Him. Then upon this is the exhortation to us to “fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest,” in believing in Him who gave Himself for our sins.

We enter into rest in the forgiveness of all our sins, through believing in Him who was faithful in every obligation and under every temptation of life.

We also enter into rest and there abide, by being partaker of His faithfulness, in which and by which we also shall be faithful to Him who has appointed us.

For in considering Him “the High Priest of our profession” in His faithfulness, we are ever to consider that “we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15.

When we “have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” we have an High Priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. And the way in which He can and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities is that He “was in all points tempted like as we are.” There is not a point in which any soul can be tempted but that He has been exactly so tempted, and has felt the temptation as truly as any human soul can feel it. But, though He was in all points tempted like as we are and felt the power of it as truly as any one can, yet in it all He was faithful and through it all He passed “without sin.” And by faith in Him—in this His faithfulness—every soul can meet all temptation and pass through it without sinning.

This is our salvation, for He was made flesh as man and in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren and to be tempted in all points like as we are “that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God.” And this not only “to make reconciliation for the sins of the people,” but also to “succor”—to run under, to run to the aid of, to assist and deliver from suffering—“them that are tempted.” He is our merciful and faithful High Priest to succor—run under—us when we are tempted, to keep us from falling under the temptation and so to keep us from falling under sin. He “runs under” us is our temptation so we shall not fall under the temptation but shall conquer it and rise in victory over it, sinning not. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” Heb. 4:14.

And also seeing that we have such an High Priest, “let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Further, in presenting for our consideration our High Priest in His faithfulness, it is written that “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, who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way, for that He Himself also is compassed with infirmity.” Hebrews 5:1,2.

And this is why it is that in order that He should be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God and that He should bring many unto glory, it became Him, as the Captain of their salvation, to be “compassed with infirmity,” to be tried by temptation, to be “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;” thus “in all things” to be made acquainted with human experience, so that He truly “can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are not [sic. “out"] of the way.” In a word, in order that He might be “a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God,” it became Him to be made “perfect through sufferings.” “And no man taketh this honor [of high priesthood] unto himself but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an High Priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, to-day have I begotten Thee. As He saith also in another place, Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death and was heard in that He feared; though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; and being made perfect [being tested to perfection in all points], He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him; called of God an High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:4-10. “And inasmuch as not without an oath He was made Priest; for those priests [of the Levitical priesthood] were made without an oath; but this with an oath by Him that said unto Him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek: by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.”

Thus, above all others, by the oath of God, Jesus was made a Priest.

Therefore, and “by so much” “we have such an High Priest.”

And further, “They [of the order of Aaron] truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: but this man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.” Hebrews 7:23, 24.

By the oath of God He is made a Priest forever.

He is also made a Priest “after the power of an endless life.” Hebrews 7:16.

Therefore “He continueth ever.”

And because He continueth ever, He hath an “unchangeable priesthood.”

And because of all this, “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.” Hebrews 7:25.

And “we have such an High Priest.” And “such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's; for this He did once, when He offered up Himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son [High Priest], who is consecrated forevermore.” Hebrews 7:26, 27.

The Consecrated Way — Alonzo Jones

Let This Mind Be In You

CHAPTER VIII

“IN ALL THINGS LIKE”

 It should be particularly noted that in the first and second chapters of Hebrews the thought and discussion concerning the person of Christ is especially as to nature and substance. In Phil. 2:5-8 there is presented the thought of Christ’s relationship to God and to man, especially as to nature and form. Thus: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Phil. 2:5-8, and R.V.

When Jesus emptied Himself He became man: and God was revealed in the Man. When Jesus emptied Himself, on the one side man appeared, and on the other side God appeared. Thus in Him God and man meet in peace and become one: “for He is our peace, who hath made both [God and man] one, … having abolished in His flesh the enmity, … to make in Himself of twain [God and man] one new man, so making peace.” (Eph. 2:14, 15).

He who was in the form of God took the form of man. He who was equal with God became equal with man. He who was Creator and Lord, became creature and servant. He who was in the likeness of God, was made in the likeness of men. He who was God, and Spirit, was made man, and flesh. John 1:1, 14.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

Nor is this true only as to form: it is true as to substance. For, Christ was like God in the sense of being of the nature, in very substance, of God. He was made in the likeness of men, in the sense of being like men, in the nature and very substance of men. Christ was God. He became man. And when He became man, He was man as really as He was God. He became man in order that He might redeem man. He came to man where man is, to bring man to Him where He was and is. And in order to redeem man from what man is, He was made what man is:—

Man is flesh. Gen. 6:3; John 3:6.

Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 

Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

“And the Word was made flesh.” John 1:14; 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; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil

Man is under the law. Rom. 3:19.

Rom 3:19  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 

Christ was “made under the law.” Gal. 4:4.

Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law

Man is under the curse. Gal. 3:10; Zech. 5:1-4. “Christ was made a curse.”

Gal 3:10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 

Zec 5:1  Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. 

Zec 5:2  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. 

Zec 5:3  Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. 

Zec 5:4  I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. 

Gal. 3:13.

Gal 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree

 Man is sold under sin (Rom. 7:14) and laden with iniquity. Isa. 1:4.

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 

Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

 And “the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:6.

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Man is “a body of sin.” Rom. 6:6.

Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 

And God “hath made Him to be sin.” 2 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. 

Thus, literally, “in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren.”

Heb_2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Yet it must never be forgotten, it must be borne in mind and heart constantly and forever, that in none of this as to man, the flesh, sin, and the curse was Christ ever of Himself or of His own original nature or fault. All this He “was made.”

“He took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”

And in all this Christ was “made” what, before, He was not, in order that the man might be made now and forever what he is not.

Christ was the Son of God. He became the Son of man that the sons of men might become the sons of God.

Gal. 4:4; 1 John 3:1.

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 

Christ was Spirit. 1 Cor. 15:45.

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

 He became flesh in order that man, who is flesh, might become spirit. John 3:6; Rom. 8:8-10.

Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 

Christ, who was altogether of the divine nature, was made partaker of human nature in order that we who are altogether of the human nature “might be partakers of the divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:4.

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

 Christ, who knew no sin, was made to be sin, even the sinfulness of man, in order that we, who knew no righteousness, might be made righteousness, even the righteousness of God. And as the righteousness of God, which, in Christ, the man is made, is real righteousness, so the sin of men, which Christ was made in the flesh, was real sin. As certainly as our sins, when upon us, are real sins to us, so certainly, when these sins were laid upon Him, they became real sins to Him. As certainly as guilt attaches to these sins, and to us because of them, when they are upon us, so certainly this guilt attached to these same sins of ours and to Him because of them, when they were laid upon Him.

As the sense of condemnation and discouragement of our sins was real to us when these sins of ours were upon us, so certainly this same sense of condemnation and discouragement because of the guilt of these sins was realized by Him when these sins of ours were laid upon Him.

Thus the guilt, the condemnation, the discouragement of the knowledge of sin were His—were a fact in His conscious experience—as really as they were ever such in the life of any sinner that was ever on earth. And this awful truth brings to every sinful soul in the world the glorious truth that “the righteousness of God,” and the rest, the peace, and the joy, of that righteousness, are a fact in the conscious experience of the believer in Jesus in this world, as really as they are in the life of any saint who was ever in heaven.

 He who knew the height of the righteousness of God, acquired also the knowledge of the depth of the sins of men. He knows the awfulness of the depths of the sins of men, as well as He knows the glory of the heights of the righteousness of God. And by this “His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many.” Isa. 53:11. By this His knowledge He is able to deliver every sinner from the lowest depths of sin and lift him to the highest height of righteousness, even the very righteousness of God. Made “in all things” like unto us, He was in all points like as we are. So fully was this so that He could say, even as we must say the same truth, “I can of Mine own self do nothing.” John 5:30.

Of Him this was so entirely true that, in the weakness and infirmity of the flesh,—ours which He took—He was as is the man who is without God and without Christ. For it is only without Him that men can do nothing. With Him and through Him, it is written: “I can do all things.” But of those who are without Him it is written: “Without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5. Therefore, when of Himself He said, “I can of Mine own self do nothing,” this makes it certain forever that in the flesh,—because of our infirmities which He took; because of our sinfulness, hereditary and actual, which was laid upon Him and imparted to Him;—He was of Himself in that flesh exactly as is the man who, in the infirmity of the flesh, is laden with sins, actual and hereditary, and who is without God. And standing thus weak, laden with sins and helpless as we are, in divine faith He exclaimed, “I will put My trust in Him.” Heb. 2:13.

He came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” And in saving the lost, He came to the lost where we are. He put Himself among the lost. “He was numbered with the transgressors.” He was “made to be sin.” And from the standpoint of the weakness and infirmity of the lost, He trusted in God, that He would deliver Him and save Him.

Laden with the sins of the world; and tempted in all points like as we are, He hoped in God and trusted in God to save Him from all those sins and to keep Him from sinning. Ps. 69:1-21; 71:1-20; 22:1-22; 31:1-5.

And this is the faith of Jesus: this is the point where the faith of Jesus reaches lost, sinful man to help him. For thus it has been demonstrated to the very fulness of perfection, that there is no man in the wide world for whom there is not hope in God, no one so lost that he can not be saved by trusting God in this faith of Jesus.

And this faith of Jesus, by which in the place of the lost, He hoped in God and trusted God for salvation from sin and power to keep from sinning,—this victory of His it is that has brought to every man in the world divine faith by which every man can hope in God and trust in God and can find the power of God to deliver him from sin and to keep him from sinning. That faith which He exercised and by which He obtained the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil— that faith is His free gift to every lost man in the world. And thus “this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith;” and this is the faith of which He is the Author and Finisher. This is the faith of Jesus that is given to men. This is the faith of Jesus that must be received by men in order for them to be saved. This is the faith of Jesus which, now in this time of the Third Angel’s Message, must be received and kept by those who will be saved from the worship of the “beast and his image,” and enabled to keep the commandments of God. This is the faith of Jesus referred to in the closing words of the Third Angel’s Message: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” And now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: “We have SUCH an High Priest.” All that we have thus found in the first and second chapters of Hebrews is the essential foundation and preliminary of His high priesthood. For “in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that [so that, in order that] He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” Heb. 2:17, 18.

The Consecrated Way — Alonzo Jones

Made Sin For Us.

CHAPTER VII

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.

THE LAW OF HEREDITY

"The Word was made flesh.”

“When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman.” Gal. 4:4. “And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:6.

We have seen that in His being made of a woman, Christ reached sin at the very fountain head of its entrance into this world and that He must be made of a woman to do this. Also there was laid upon Him the iniquity, in the actual sins, of us all.

Thus all the sin of this world, from its origin in the world to the end of it in the world, was laid upon Him: both sin as it is in itself and sin as it is when committed by us: sin in its tendency, and sin in the act: sin as it is hereditary in us, uncommitted by us; and sin as it is committed by us.

Only thus could it be that there should be laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

Only by His subjecting Himself to the law of heredity could He reach sin in full and true measure as sin truly is. Without this there could be laid upon Him our sins which have been actually committed, with the guilt and condemnation that belong to them. But beyond this there is in each person, in many ways, the liability to sin, inherited from generations back, which has not yet culminated in the act of sinning, but which is ever ready, when occasion offers, to blaze forth in the actual committing of sins.

David’s great sin is an illustration of this. Ps. 51:5; 2 Sam. 11:2.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

2Sa 11:2  And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 

In delivering us from sin, it is not enough that we shall be saved from the sins that we have actually committed: we must be saved from committing other sins. And that this may be so, there must be met and subdued this hereditary liability to sin; we must become possessed of power to keep us from sinning—a power to conquer this liability, this hereditary tendency that is in us to sin.

All our sins which we have actually committed were laid upon Him, were imputed to Him, so that His righteousness may be laid upon us, may be imputed to us. Also our liability to sin was laid upon Him, in His being made flesh, in His being born of a woman, of the same flesh and blood as we are, so that His righteousness might be actually manifested in us as our daily life.

Thus He met sin in the flesh which He took, and triumphed over it, as it is written: “God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin IN THE FLESH.”

And again: “He is our peace, … having abolished in His flesh the enmity.”

And thus, just as our sins actually committed were imputed to Him that His righteousness might be imputed to us; so His meeting and conquering, in the flesh, the liability to sin, and in that same flesh manifesting righteousness, enables us in Him, and Him in us, to meet and conquer in the flesh this same liability to sin, and to manifest righteousness in the same flesh.

And thus it is that for the sins which we have actually committed for the sins that are past, His righteousness is imputed to us, as our sins were imputed to Him. And to keep us from sinning, His righteousness is imparted to us in our flesh; as our flesh, with its liability to sin, was imparted to Him.

Thus He is the complete Saviour. He saves from all the sins that we have actually committed; and saves equally from all the sins that we might commit, dwelling apart from Him. If He took not the same flesh and blood that the children of men have with its liability to sin, then where could there be any philosophy or reason of any kind whatever in His genealogy as given in the Scriptures? He was descended from David; He was descended from Abraham; He was descended from Adam and, by being made of a woman, He reached even back of Adam to the beginning of sin in the world. In that genealogy there are Jehoiakim, who for his wickedness was “buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem” (Jer. 22:19); Manasseh, who caused Judah to do “worse than the heathen;” Ahaz, who “made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord;” Rehoboam, who was born of Solomon after Solomon turned from the Lord; Solomon himself, who was born of David and Bathsheba; there are also Ruth the Moabitess and Rahab; as well as Abraham, Isaac, Jesse, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah: the worst equally with the best. And the evil deeds of even the best are recorded equally with the good. And in this whole genealogy there is hardly one whose life is written upon at all of whom there is not some wrong act recorded.

Now it was at the end of such a genealogy as that that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” It was at the end of such a genealogy as that that He was made of a woman.” It was in such a line of descent as that that God sent “His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.” And such a descent, such a genealogy, meant something to Him, as it does to every other man, under the great law that the iniquities of the fathers are visited upon the children to the third and fourth generations. It meant everything to Him in the terrible temptations in the wilderness of temptation, as well as all the way through His life in the flesh. Thus, both by heredity and by imputation, He was “laden with the sins of the world.” And, thus laden, at this immense disadvantage He passed triumphantly over the ground where at no shadow of any disadvantage whatever, the first pair failed. By His death He paid the penalty of all sins actually committed, and thus can justly bestow His righteousness upon all who choose to receive it. And by condemning sin in the flesh, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, He delivers from the power of the law of heredity; and so can, in righteousness, impart His divine nature and power to lift above that law, and hold above it, every soul that receives Him. And so it is written: “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Gal. 4:4. And “God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for [on account of] sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8:3, 4. And “He is our peace, … having abolished in His flesh the enmity, … for to make in Himself of twain [God and man] one new man, so making peace.” Eph. 2:14, 15.

Thus, “in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren. … For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” Whether temptation be from within or from without, He is the perfect shield against it all; and so saves to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him. God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, Christ taking our nature as our nature is in its sinfulness and degeneracy, and God dwelling constantly with Him and in Him in that nature—in this God has demonstrated to all people forever that there is no soul in this world so laden with sins or so lost that God will not gladly dwell with him and in him to save him from it all and to lead him in the way of the righteousness of God. And so certainly is his name Emmanuel, which is, “God with us.”

The Consecrated Way — Alonzo Jones