Audio Download

Rev 1:13, Part3 – Christ Revealed in the Law of the Offerings

Updated September 29, 2023

Introduction

In our last study of this series, we saw all the scriptures which state plainly that Christ’s flesh was “the same as the children” and that He “was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin.”

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;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
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.
Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

We also saw that “every man is tempted when he is drawn away of His own lust and enticed:”

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

We also saw that the phrase “like unto” is demonstrated here in Revelation 1:13 and 14:14 and in John 8:55 and Daniel 3:25 and in many other verses to mean ‘exactly like’:

Rev 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

Joh 8:55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

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.

It is Christ who returns on a cloud. It is Christ who was in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It is Christ who took not on him the nature of angels but who took on Him the same flesh as the children of Abraham. It is Christ whose flesh was tempted to forego the death of the cross, and if you or I were to deny any of those truths, then we would be liars “like unto” or exactly like all those who do so. ‘God is true and every man is a liar’ (Rom 3:4).

Our time today will be spent mainly on demonstrating how the scriptures present Christ to us in the law of the offerings. It is there that God presents Christ to us as He wants us to see Him. It is all type and shadow, but to those who are given the ability to discern the things of the spirit, it all becomes a matter of comparing spiritual things with spiritual, discerning the finer points of who Christ is as revealed in the details of the offerings. Christ is said “to be sin” and yet, in the same verse, we are told that He “knew no sin.”

2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
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 Greek is “made him sin for us…” The words ‘to be’ have been added by the translators.

The Difference Between Sin and Trespass

How is it possible to be tempted and enticed to sin without actually committing sin? If we do not “know God and Christ” we will not have life eternal:

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

That is just how important a matter it is to know whether Christ’s flesh was the same as ours. The Old Testament law of the offerings explains how it is possible to be sin without committing a sin.. When we covered those offerings, we saw that there were five different offerings, each foreshadowing for us a different facet of the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice. Each of those offerings, except for the meal offering, had three categories within it. Those three categories were offerings from 1) the herd, 2) the flock and 3) the fowl. Those three categories, like Abraham’s wealth, foreshadowed varying depths of perception and appreciation for what Christ has done in and for us.

Gen 13:2 And Abram [was] very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

The better we know Christ the more spiritually wealthy we become.  Those who are truly coming “to know God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent” appreciate and value every detail of the depths of understanding of what is revealed in all the five offerings and in all the varieties of those five offerings. Those who serve “another Jesus and another spirit with another gospel” cannot see and are not interested in these “things of the spirit” and proclaim (and I quote) “the sin and the trespass offerings are the same, Mike.” How sad it is that all spiritual insights have been stripped away from all who are in Babylon, and the doubting Thomas attitude of physically “seeing is believing” has replaced the faith of Christ which teaches us “blessed are those who believe though they have not [physically] seen.” How sad it is that “science falsely so-called” has replaced the word of God and all the various blessings and gifts given to us are now all the ‘same’ to our Babylonian brothers.

To the spiritually blind there is no spiritual discernment between the value and efficacy of the sweet savor burnt offering and the meat offering. There is no particular difference between those two offerings and the peace offering, the one offering of which God and Christ and Christ’s redeemed all partake and through which they are all satisfied. These first three offerings, the burnt, the meat (meal), and the peace offerings, are all called “sweet smelling savor” offerings, as opposed to the last two, the sin and the trepass offerings, which are not sweet savor offerings. Those who have so little perception of Christ and His work see no particular difference between an offering of a bull of the herd or a lamb or goat of the flocks or a bird of the fowl. To these brothers in Christ, an offering of the flock is just as valuable as an offering of the herd or of the fowl. As this all relates to our study today, these blinded brothers in Christ cannot even see what the difference is between the sin offering and the trespass offerings. Again, I quote a beloved brother who wants me to say that Christ’s flesh was not sin. He shouted at me, “The sin and the trespass offerings are one and the same, Mike.”

Such is not the case. “Let God be true and every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4). It is demonstrated for us in those offerings that we must have a sacrifice, both for what we are, even if we are ignorant of what we are, and another sacrifice for what we wrongly do. Christ is never called a trespass offering because that part of His offering is accomplished only through us. Our Head committed no trespass, but the church, which is His body, must “fill up what is behind of His afflictions” and become, through Him living His life in us, a trespass offering, “clothed with a garment down to the foot… to cover the shame of our [fleshly, having trespassed] nakedness.” We how we fill up Christ just as He fills His Father. That is how we fill up in our bodies what is behind of His afflictions:

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 And what [is] the exceeding greatness of his power to us- ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own right hand in the heavenly [places],
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22 And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

What Are We?

What we are is dust of the ground a vessel of clay which is marred in the hand of the Potter, in the form of what the scripture calls a “body of death” and “sinful flesh.”

Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

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:

Neither of those verses are accepted by those who have no appreciation for the depth of revelation of who Christ is as revealed in the law of the offerings. We have demonstrated that “like unto” and “likeness of” mean ‘this is what He was’ and this is what we are: He is “the same” as we are as far as being flesh is concerned:

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;

By virtue of being “corruptible flesh”, we are sin, and the sin offering is dealt with in Leviticus 4. The sin offering itself is for “sins of ignorance” which later become known to have been committed. The sin offering is not for sins which are willfully committed. Not one particular sin is mentioned in the instructions concerning the sin offering. Our lack of understanding this is the result of our lack of understanding what man is and what the mind of God is concerning man. Man is not spirit having an earthly experience. Man is merely dust being given a spiritual experience before being changed out of this flesh and into His spirit through a resurrection. At that point, sinful flesh has served its purpose and is discarded. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” We are flesh and blood until we are raised from the dead or changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

Lev 4:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 4:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD [concerning things] which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
Lev 4:3  If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.

Lev 4:13  And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done [somewhat against] any of the commandments of the LORD [concerning things] which should not be done, and are guilty;
Lev 4:14  When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption [flesh and blood] inherit incorruption.

“If the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance… and are guilty… When the sin… is known, then the congregation shall offer… for sin.” The sin is there whether “the whole congregation” (all of mankind) is conscious of it or not. What has all of mankind done of which they are not aware? They are spiritually naked by virtue of being ‘marred vessels of clay in the Potter’s hand’ in vessels of sinful fleh.

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked [marred sinful flesh], the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

No specific sins are mentioned or enumerated in Leviticus 4 concerning the sin offering. That is why we are told that “Christ was made sin…[and] came in the likeness of sinful flesh” and died for “all in Adam” who are simply “made sin” by virtue of being “made of a woman, made under the law.. made subject to vanity.” That is also why we are told the Christ Himself “was clothed with a garment down to the foot.”

Why then are we told that He “knew no sin?”

2Co 5:21  For the man who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

That is where the trespass offering comes into play. It is covered in the sixth chapter of Leviticus, and it concerns sins which are specifically enumerated. This offering is for deliberate, conscious sins against the commandments of the Lord. This offering is for what we do in our marred bodies of sin.

Lev 6:2  If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;
Lev 6:3  Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:
Lev 6:4  Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found,
Lev 6:5  Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, [and] give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.
Lev 6:6  And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:

Look at all the details mentioned in this trespass offering which are totally ignored in the sin offering:

Lev 6:2  If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;
Lev 6:3  Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:

So all trespasses are sin, but all sin is not necessarily a trespass. We need a sacrifice for both. The sin offering is for sins done in ignorance. It is for the sin Adam and Eve are as flesh in their spiritually “naked, marred in the Potter’s hand” composition. They were naked, but they weren’t even ashamed because they didn’t even realize that they were naked:

Gen 2:25  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Why were not Adam and Eve ashamed? Was it because there was nothing wrong with being naked? No, it was not because there is nothing wrong with nakedness. It is a sin and a shame to appear naked:

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

So why were they not ashamed of their sinful and shameful and naked condition? It was because they were not yet aware of “the sin of the whole congregation.”

Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Gen 3:7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Eve was lusting after that forbidden fruit of the forbidden tree before she had ever touched that tree. How is that possible? It is possible because Eve was “marred in the hand of the Potter.” It is possible because “the whole creation is groaning, waiting for the redemption of our bodies.”

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

How had God formed Adam and Eve? Were they formed independent of sin and corruption? Were Adam and Eve formed free from the sin of vanity? What do the scriptures say? Is flesh in and of itself free from sin?

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

There it all is. Let those words sink into your spirit. The creature, the flesh, yes, even the flesh of our spotless Savior, was made subject to temptation and vanity, which must be overcome in us all. This is not the result of our will; it is the result of “the Potter’s hand.”

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter’s hand, so [are] ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

So God has, in Christ, given us a sacrifice for what “the creature was made.” He has given us a sacrifice for sins committed in ignorance. “He made Him sin, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  That is the sin offering. The sin offering is for what “the creature was made”, and the creature was made sin. “Made subject to vanity, not willingly but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope.”

Now that we have an offering for what we ARE, there is also a need for another offering. We must also have an offering for what we do in these bodies which are “not willingly… made subject to vanity.” That is what we have here in Leviticus 6. A deliberate lie is both a trespass and a sin. But ignorant sin is not a trespass.  It is simply “made sin.” For example:

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

All of God’s “vessels of clay are marred in the Potter’s hand.” They are sin before they are ever capable of committing a conscious trespass. For that cause Christ was “made sin, made of a woman, made under the law” without ever committing a willful sin of trespass.

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

Romans 7 reveals that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil typifies the law of Moses.  It is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Adam and Eve were not made naked by the tree. They were made naked by God. He made them to be sin, and they and you and I know sin by simply being in Adam.

Paul says, “I would not have known sin but by the law.  For I would not have known lust if the law had not said, ‘Thou shalt not covet.'”

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

In the garden the Adversary did what he still does; he mixed truth with error. The adversary told Eve, and Eve told Adam, that if they disobeyed God and ate of the tree, they would not die but they would become like God to know good and evil.  Now let’s put this statement to a Biblical test and see what part of it is a lie and what part of it is the truth. Here is what God actually told Adam and Eve.

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The proper translation of verse 17 is, of course, “Dying ye shall die.”

Gen 2:17  but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you may not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, dying you shall die. (LITV)

Those are the words of God.  So when the serpent said, “You shall not surely die” the serpent was lying and contradicting the words of God. Was the serpent lying when he said that Adam and Eve would know good and evil? No, he absolutely was not.  The Lord himself affirms:

Gen 3:22  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Was it really possible for Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of life and live forever while yet in the flesh? While it is presented to us here as if they could have done so, the sum of God’s word reveals to us that God had written all of Adam’s and all of Adam’s children’s days “in His book before there were any of them:”

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

So Adam and Eve were predestined to not believe what God said and to believe what the serpent said instead.  In that predestinated process, they learned the difference between good and evil.  They also become aware that they, just like Christ, were naked and needed to be “clothed with a garment down to the foot.”

Gen 3:7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Through the law, and without changing our hearts, God makes us aware of our sinful nature long before He brings us to overcome and cover that ‘shameful nakedness.’ Adam tried to cover his nakedness with his own efforts. He used fig leaves. Cain’s connection to his father was what led Cain to think that he, too, could forgo a blood sacrifice and replace it with a sacrifice “of the fruit of the ground.” “The fruit of the ground” is the fruit of our own efforts, separate from, and contrary to, God and His precepts. To this very day, mankind cannot distinguish the need for, or the difference between, a burnt offering and a meal offering. The same is true for the need for and the difference between a sin offering and a trespass offering. It is all the same to the natural man whose spiritual eyes have been made blind.

Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Adam and Eve were sinfully naked before they were conscious of that fact. They were “vessels of clay” marred in the Potter’s hand, shapen in iniquity, conceived in sin… made sin.

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

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Vessels made of clay are marred and sinful by design “in the hand of the potter.” All “vessels made of clay… are made subject to vanity and cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” That is why “though we have known Christ after the flesh, henceforth know we Him no longer after sinful flesh and blood… of the fruit of David’s loins according to the flesh… the same as the children of Abraham” (Heb 2:14-17 and Act 2:29-30).

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more [after the flesh].

Conclusion

We have seen in this study that when the scriptures say “like the Son of God” or “like unto the Son of God… like unto you… like unto the Son of man… or in the likeness of sinful flesh, what we are being told is that this is the Son of God, this is the Son of Man that is like unto you, and Christ’s flesh was “the same flesh as the children of Abraham”; the same flesh as you and I have.

We have seen that the law of the offerings reveals to us the many and varied facets of Christ’s sacrifice. We have seen that all of those varied facets are least appreciated by those who least know their Savior. We saw that the offering most understood as being fulfilled by Christ is the sin offering, and all the other offerings, which are so different from the sin offering, are yet all fulfilled in Christ and in His body. We have seen that when we are told that Christ came “in the likeness of sinful flesh” and that He was “made sin” for the purpose of being a sin offering, but that He knew no sin, because He never was overcome by His flesh and never committed a trespass even though His flesh tempted Him in every way just as our flesh tempts us. We also saw that the trespass offering has to be fulfilled in Christ through “His inheritance in the saints.” We have seen that if we cannot concede that the very purpose for a sin offering is to demonstrate to mankind that God’s spirit can and did and does dwell in corruptible flesh, we are denying that Christ’s flesh was sin but a spotless Savior can, did and does dwell in our bodies which are, through Christ in us, both sin and trespass offerings, thus “filling up what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ.”

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.

We have seen that what we are is what God has made us and not what we have chosen of ourselves to be. We have seen that we were made subject to vanity as marred vessels of corruptible clay. We have seen that we are dust having a spiritual experience instead of being spirit having an earthly experience. We have seen that we were made subject to vanity, not willingly but by reason of Him who subjected us in certain hope that in and through Christ, we are both a sweet savor and that which is not a sweet savor just as Christ was, and “in the saints… in my flesh” Christ is also all of the offerings, both sweet and not sweet savor offerings.

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and do fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly, (YLT)

It is thus that we fill and satisfy Christ, just as in Christ we fill and satisfy His Father:

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us- ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

The truth is that God saw us in Christ, and through us all men in Christ, “before the world began.”

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

It is thus, in Christ and Christ in us, that we will “keep the things which are written in this book, and will live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Rev 1:3, Mat 4:4).

In our next study, Lord willing, we will see the spiritual significance of why Christ was clothed with a garment down to His feet, and we will see what Christ’s garment was. We will also discover what is meant by being “girt about His paps with a golden girdle.”

Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.