I would, at this point, remind the reader that I do not, by any means, pretend to adduce all the Scripture proofs on the subject which has been engaging our attention. Far from it. I merely refer to a few leading, well-known passages; but all who are sufficiently interested in the matter can easily turn to various other scriptures which, though not referred to here, do clearly set forth the great truth that we can only have “life through death.”
We now proceed to the book of Leviticus, which may be said to be an almost unbroken series of proofs of our thesis. In glancing, rapidly, through the sacrifices of this book, I shall take it for granted that we have, in them, so many striking and beautiful types of that one great sacrifice offered on the cross for us and our salvation. This, we trust, will not be questioned by any reader of “Things New and Old.” But, even should any one raise an objection to those sacrifices being viewed typically, he cannot fail to see that, whatever they were, death formed the grand prominent circumstance in them all. I speak not of the meat offering in which there was nothing whatever about blood-shedding. Whether we look at the burnt offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, or the trespass offering, we find the same thing. In each and all, we meet the words, “he shall kill it.” Blood-shedding was essentially necessary to the completion of the sacrifice. Accomplished death lies at the foundation of everything. This point cannot be too strongly insisted upon. It is clearly and fully established in every part of Scripture, and in none more fully than in the types of Leviticus at which we are about to look, not indeed in their marvelous detail, but simply for the purpose of establishing the truth of our subject.
1. And, first, as to the burnt offering. (Lev. 1) Here we have the death of Christ as the expression of His perfect devotedness to God. This offering was wholly burnt; neither the worshipper nor the priest partook of it. It was all consumed on the altar—all went up, as a sweet savor, to the throne of God. But, how was the devotedness expressed? Was it by a spotless life merely? No. It was by accomplished death. True, there was a spotless life—a holy life—a devoted life—a precious life—a matchless life; but all this would not have availed to make an atonement, or to tell forth the living depths of devotion in the heart of Christ, had the blood not been shed. “A male of the first year without blemish” might be “voluntarily” presented at “ the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” It might be all that was required by the terms of the ceremonial law; but until the life was taken, until the blood was shed, there could be no “atonement” made—no sweet savor” presented. It was death that formed the basis of everything. Ten thousand unblemished males, voluntarily presented, could not have made an atonement for man, nor presented a fragrant odor to God, save on the ground of accomplished death. True, the life of Christ was most precious to God—infinitely precious, in every aspect of it; but, as the Antitype of the burnt offering, He gave up His life, in order to give full expression to His devotedness.
Here, then, we have a soul-satisfying view of the death of Christ, and of atonement, through that death. The burnt offering prefigures Christ, on the cross, not as a sin-bearer, but as accomplishing the will of God. How do we know this? Because “the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.” (Heb. 13:1111For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. (Hebrews 13:11).) But the burnt offering was consumed on the altar, and not “without the camp.” (Lev. 1:66And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. (Leviticus 1:6).) In it there was no question of the imputation of sin. It is the figure of Christ “offering himself, without spot, to God.” (Heb. 9) It does not set forth the hatefulness of sin, but the preciousness and divine excellency of Christ, and His devotedness to God, even unto death. It was wholly burnt. It all went up as a sweet savor. Its blood was not “brought into the sanctuary, by the high priest, for sin,” and therefore its body was not “burned without the camp,” but” on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord.” (Lev. 1:99But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. (Leviticus 1:9).) The death of the burnt offering does not tell us how God hated sin, but how Christ loved God and did His will, even unto the death of the cross life through death.
Hence, when we look at Christ as the burnt offering, we see “atonement” made according to the perfection of Christ’s obedience. It is not Christ putting away sin, a thing divinely true, blessed be God, but Christ doing the will of God. Hid He do it perfectly? Truly so. Well, then, “atonement” has been made just as perfectly. Christ, in the burnt offering, acted directly for God. True, He met man’s need likewise—his very deepest need—the need of heart and conscience; but it was as accomplishing the will of God that He did so. This is a grand truth to get hold of. The doctrine of the cross—the doctrine of atonement—the doctrine of “life through death,” cannot be rightly understood, unless we see the special point set forth in the burnt offering.
2. In the peace offering, (Lev. 3) we have a type of Christ as the One who is our peace. Here, too, death was essential. “He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.” Before ever “the fat” could be consumed on the altar of God—before ever the offerer could feed on “the flesh”—before ever the priest could feed upon “the wave breast and the heave shoulder,” the life of the sacrifice had to be poured out “Without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Heb. 9:2222And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22).) And if there is no “remission,” there can be no “peace,” no worship, no communion. In order to enjoy perfect peace, I must have perfect justification; and in order to have perfect justification, I must have a perfect atonement, and in order to have a perfect atonement, I must have accomplished death.
All this I have in Christ. He is the true peace offering. He has “made peace through the blood of his cross.” (Col. 1:2020And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. (Colossians 1:20).) Observe, it was “through the blood of his cross” that He made peace. It was not by His obedient life, how precious soever that life might be—and truly it was precious beyond all human thought. It was by His blood, and by it alone, He made peace. He gave up His life on the cross, and with that life went all the sin that was, by imputation, attached thereto, so that, in resurrection, all His members might be eternally linked with Him, partaking of the same life and standing in the same righteousness, and in the same infinite favor before God.
Christian reader, remember this. The entire question is settled. An eternal peace has been established by the finished work of the cross. The blood of your divine peace offering has put away all that could, by any possibility, keep you out from God’s presence; and it is your happy privilege to feed upon the flesh of your peace offering, in the clear sense of your perfect justification and acceptance. There is not a speck upon you in the “vision of the Almighty.” You are in Christ, and as Christ, before the throne of God. You are no longer looked at in your former or old creation-state. “You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” You are in the body, as to the plain fact of your condition, but you are not in the flesh as to the ground of your standing. The flesh is in you, and will be in you, to the end of your earthly career; but God views it as a dead thing. It came to its end when your peace offering yielded up His life on the cross; and now He is your life, your righteousness, your peace, your sanctification, your redemption, your hope, your glory, your eternal all. Oh! let me beseech of you to get a clear, full, deep sense of this into your soul. Be assured of it, if you are cloudy, as to this fundamental truth, you cannot eat the flesh of your peace offering. You will be continually looking at yourself. You will be looking, in some way or another, for the offering of a fresh sacrifice, instead of rejoicing in the eternal results of the sacrifice which has been offered. Remember, if the blood of a bullock could give peace for a time, the blood of Christ can give peace forever. If the former could give an annual conscience, the latter gives an eternal conscience. The character of the conscience depends upon the character of the sacrifice. This is a simple truth. May the Spirit of God enable you to enter into the solid comfort of it!
3. The sin offering (Lev. 4) bears witness to the same great gospel thought. In it we see a shadow of Christ as our sin-bearer—as the one who was “made sin for us.” If we compare the sin offering with the burnt offering, we shall find two very different aspects of Christ. But although the aspects are different, it is one and the same Christ; and hence, the sacrifice in each case was “a male without blemish.” This is easily understood. No matter in what aspect I view the Lord Jesus Christ, He must ever be seen as the same pure, spotless, holy, perfect One. True, He did, in perfect grace, stoop to be the sin-bearer of His people, but it was a perfect, spotless Christ who did so. The intrinsic excellence, the unsullied purity, and the divine glory of our blessed Lord appear in the sin offering, as well as in the burnt offering. It matters not in what relationship He stands, what office He fills, what work He performs, what position He occupies, His personal, His inherent, His essential glories shine out, in all their proper, their divine effulgence. Like the sun in the natural heavens, he may, as astronomers teach, pass through a different sign, every month; but, let the sign be what it may, it is one and the same sun which gladdens and enlightens us by his beams.
Thus it is with the burnt offering and the sin offering. Both typos point to the same great Antitype, though they set Him forth in such contrasted aspects of His work. In the burnt offering, Christ is seen meeting the affections of the heart of God, in the sin offering, He is seen meeting the necessities of the sinner’s conscience. That presents Him to us as the accomplisher of the will of God, this as the bearer of the sin of man. In the former, we are taught the preciousness of the sacrifice; in the latter, the hatefulness of sin. Thus much as to the two offerings in the main. The most minute and accurate examination of the details will only tend to establish the mind in the truth of this general statement. Into these details I do not attempt to enter in this brief article. I merely call my reader’s attention to the fact, that whether we look at the burnt offering, the peace offering, or the sin offering, we see that a sacrificed life was essential. The “sweet savor” of the burnt offering ascended when the blood was shed, and not till then. “The flesh of the peace offering” was eaten when the blood was shed, and not till then. Sin was put away by the sin offering when the blood was shed, and not till then.
4. Lastly, the trespass offering (Lev. 5) passes before us as a witness to the place which death occupies on the page of inspiration. In it we see Christ as the One who not only atoned for sin in the believer’s nature, but also for sins in the believer’s life. It was by blood-shedding, and by that alone, that He did both the one and the other. Christ was not only “made sin for us,” (2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21),) but He also “bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” (1 Pet. 2:2424Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24).) He was not made sin during His life, but in His death. He did not bear our sins during His life, but “on the tree.” This is plain and absolute enough. Whether we look at the types of the Old Testament, or hearken to the statements of the New, all set forth the same glorious truth, namely, that blood must be shed ere sin can be forgiven, righteousness imputed, peace enjoyed, communion realized, or worship presented. All Scripture establishes the precious and all-important doctrine of “LIFE THROUGH DEATH.”
Reader, as our object in this magazine, our object in each successive number, our object in each article, our object in each page and paragraph, is to deal with and profit the souls of men, let me, at the close of this article, affectionately yet faithfully ask you, have you gotten life through death? Have you yet found peace for your guilty conscience, peace for your broken heart, peace for your wearied spirit, through the perfect sacrifice of the cross? Are you satisfied, deeply, solidly, perfectly and eternally satisfied with what Christ has done for you? Have you found all you want in Him? Have you got done with yourself and found your present and everlasting all in Jesus? Oh! do make close, earnest, personal work with your soul in this matter. Do not trifle, do not generalize. Let not truth shoot over your head, but let it come straight home to your heart. May the Lord bless you, and make you a blessing!