There is much that is important in the close of the account of these offerings. In the previous chapters the characters of the sacrifices were brought out. First, the perfectness of the offering of Jesus unto God: and, secondly, as outcast, treated as defiled, by reason of the sin that was laid upon Him. The trespass-offering partakes of the latter character. The Spirit of God is a holy detector and judge of all that is inconsistent with Himself: nothing of sin can pass unnoticed. The Spirit does not judge according to the natural conscience, but takes a standard according to the holiness of Jesus in the presence of God, so that our minds do not always discern that which He sees requisite to be judged. But whether we discern or not, the Spirit takes account of the evil in us; and if it were not for the sin-offering and the trespass-offering, we should be in a worse case than ever. For there is no atonement for sin made by the Spirit; this is no part of His work. The Spirit manifests all righteousness, revealing to us what Jesus taught; but we never read of the Spirit bearing our sins. This is a point of the utmost importance for our rest. The Spirit is the Spirit of testimony and holiness. In acceptance and in atonement Jesus alone has any part. Acceptance came in upon what Jesus wrought in the flesh—by His offering of His body once for all. “In the body of His flesh through death,” &c. The testimony of the Spirit is to unmingled holiness, bearing witness to our sins, showing us that in us good does not dwell, and also that peace and rest come by what Christ has wrought. The effect of this testimony of holiness would be to destroy peace, if the Spirit did not still reveal the efficacy of the blood-shedding; but while it is His office to exalt the perception of the holiness God requires, He still witnesses to us that “the blood of Jesus Christ... cleanseth from all sin.”
When we look at the variety of sin (for in spite of our ignorance we do perceive and know sin to be still cleaving to us), never could we have peace but through the testimony of the blood of Christ.
Supposing we have erred in the character of worshippers, ignorantly committing any of those things which are forbidden; here is sin, though we wist it not—the holiness of God is not limited by our conscience.
There are many things which would be sins upon the conscience hindering communion, were it not for the blood of Jesus.
The power and effect of the revelation of Jesus Christ is to bring us to God, to holiness. It is in vain, therefore, to reckon upon grace, if we do not see the place into which it brings us, even into the place of worship. The effect of grace is to bring us upon ground on which nothing inconsistent with worship will be tolerated.
In the chapter before us we have the different characters of sin, which without Christ could not be passed by. He will by no means clear the guilty. All that is inconsistent with Jesus within the veil is sin for us, and separates us from Him in communion. In the sixth chapter we see that God's eye notices sin against a neighbor, as well as against Himself; for the command is, “Receive ye one another, as Christ hath also received us to the glory of God.” With unhindered liberty we have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, even where all the holiness of God is displayed. The Spirit reveals many things in us inconsistent with this holy place, but we know that Jesus has offered both a sin and a trespass offering. “He was made sin for us Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him “; therefore the revelation of holiness reveals nothing to hinder our entrance into the holiest. Only we are increasingly purified from all the light of that place shows us.
If the holiness of God has been revealed, and you have swerved from the requirements of it, may the Spirit of God so reveal to you the offering made once for all, that you may be humbled as to yourself and then go on, resting upon the truth of the completeness of the sacrifice, assuredly knowing that “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth from all sin”!