Scripture Reading: Heb. 1:2-3, 8; 2:10, 17; 4:14-15; 10:5-10; 13:8

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 15　DAY 1　»

　　Heb. 9:25-26 Nor in order that He might offer Himself often, just as the high priest enters into the Holy of Holies year by year by the blood of other creatures; since then He would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested for the putting away of sin through the sacrifice of Himself.

　　In Leviticus 1 through 7 we have the different kinds of offerings, all of which are types. The priesthood in chapters 8 through 10 should also be considered a type. Furthermore, all the matters in chapters 11 through 27 concerning the holy living of God's holy people should also be regarded as types. These chapters cover the living of the Israelites, God's people in the Old Testament. However, if we have the proper understanding of the types, we shall realize that all the types in these chapters are types of the living of the New Testament believers. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 311)

　　Because Leviticus is a book of types, there is the need for it to be expounded. Without the proper expounding, it is difficult for anyone to know this book. Nevertheless, some have claimed that there is no need for the exposition of the Bible. According to their concept, if we do not understand a certain portion of the Word the first time we read it, we should read it again and again until we do understand it. However, this is not true of a book like Leviticus. I assure you, even if you were to read Leviticus hundreds of times, you would still be unable to understand it.

　　The most fine and detailed types of Christ are in the book of Leviticus. Without chapter 1 of Leviticus, we do not have a way to explain or define Christ as the burnt offering. It is correct to say that the burnt offering is Christ for God's satisfaction. But how could Christ be such an offering? This is not easy to explain.

　　This message, which will focus on Hebrews as an exposition of Leviticus, is a concluding word to all the foregoing messages on the offerings and the priesthood.

　　In the book of Hebrews there are many references to the book of Leviticus, especially to the offerings and the priesthood. For example, Leviticus often speaks of the high priest. No other New Testament book speaks as much about Christ as the High Priest than the book of Hebrews does.

　　One of the most difficult books in the Bible for us to understand is Leviticus. Paul was the first one to open up, to expound, this book. Throughout the centuries, Bible teachers, especially among the Brethren, have expounded Leviticus. The Brethren opened up the types. We today have received much help from the Bible teachers who preceded us, and we are standing on their shoulders.

　　All those who have the proper understanding of Leviticus see the connection between this book and the book of Hebrews. For over sixty years we have been studying Hebrews and how it is linked to Leviticus.

　　C. I. Scofield said that in every chapter of Leviticus we can see Christ. When I first heard this, I did not understand it. I could see the offerings in Leviticus, but I could not see Christ. Eventually, I was helped by the Brethren to see that in Leviticus Christ is portrayed in the types. All the offerings are types, pictures, of Christ.

　　I was helped by the Brethren to see Christ in the types, [but] I did not realize until some time later that the offerings are God's food (Lev. 3:11...). (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 311-312, 21, 303, 124-125)

　　The sin offering signifies Christ as the offering for the sin of God's people. In the Bible sin refers to the indwelling sin in our nature, whereas sins refers to the sinful deeds, the fruit of the indwelling sin. Our sin was dealt with by Christ as our sin offering (Lev. 4; Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 9:26), and our sins, our trespasses, were borne by Christ as our trespass offering (Lev. 5; Isa. 53:5-6, 11; 1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 2:24; Heb. 9:28). As the Lamb of God, Christ took away sin in its totality—the inward sin and the outward sins (Isa. 53:10; John 1:29). (Lev. 4:3, footnote 4)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 35

«　WEEK 15　DAY 2　»

　　Heb. 13:11-12 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy of Holies for sin by the high priest are burned up outside the camp. Therefore also Jesus, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

　　Hebrews 13:11-12 tells us that Jesus as the sin offering suffered outside the gate....Christ was judged there, and that is also our place. The more we are outside the gate, the more we are in the place where Jesus was "burned to ashes." Then we can truly enjoy Him and praise Him for the blood and the ashes.

　　The gate in verse 12 refers to the city of Jerusalem, which signifies the earthly realm, while the camp in verse 13 refers to the tabernacle, which signifies human organization. Together, the two signify one thing, the Jewish religion with its two aspects, the earthly and the human....We need to follow [Christ] outside the religious camp, bearing His reproach. This means that we are passing through the process of suffering that He underwent. As suffering ones, we will become the same as He is. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3839-3840)

　　In Hebrews 10:5-10 we see that Christ is the unique sacrifice and offering....A sacrifice dealt with sin and sins, whereas an offering was a gift to God for His pleasure. All the sacrifices and offerings in the Old Testament are types of Christ as the unique sacrifice and offering in the New Testament. Through Christ as the offerings, we and God, God and we, have a mutual enjoyment, the fellowship of co-enjoyment (Deut. 12:7).

　　In Hebrews 10:5-9...Paul commented that Christ's coming to do God's will is to take away "the first that He may establish the second" (v. 9). The first in Paul's comment refers to the sacrifices and offerings of the first covenant, the old covenant; the second refers to the sacrifice of the second covenant, the new covenant, which sacrifice is Christ.

　　As the unique sacrifice and offering, Christ took away all the sacrifices and offerings of the old testament and established Himself as the new testament sacrifice and offering. Christ is our sacrifice to deal with sin and sins, and He is our offering, our gift, presented to God for God's satisfaction.

　　Christ came to be the real sacrifice and living offering, who offered Himself on the cross as the reality of all the offerings. He is the reality of the sin offering, the trespass offering, the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the peace offering. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3815, 3817-3818)

　　The central thought of Leviticus is that the universal, all-inclusive, and inexhaustible Christ is everything to God and to God's people. Today we can speak of the enjoyment of Christ, but one day all things will be headed up in Christ (Eph. 1:10). At that time, Christ will be everything to God and man. The enjoyment of this one person will be the unique celebration in the universe.

　　In the book of Leviticus itself we cannot see how great, excellent, wonderful, all-inclusive, and inexhaustible is the Christ whom we offer and enjoy as the offerings. In Leviticus we can see that all the offerings typify Christ, but we do not get the realization and the sense of how great Christ is. No word can express the greatness of the Christ who is all the offerings.

　　For a revelation of the all-inclusiveness of Christ, we need to come to the book of Hebrews.

　　The book of Hebrews reveals to us what a wonderful person Christ is. In chapter after chapter, Paul opens the veil to show us the marvelous, mysterious, all-inclusive person of Christ. In particular, Hebrews speaks of the priesthood of Christ. Christ is not only our Savior—He is also our High Priest. In chapter 10 we see that this One has become the replacement of all the Old Testament offerings. He came to do God's will (Heb. 10:7, 9). In the New Testament economy, God's will is to replace the Old Testament offerings with Christ. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 308, 303, 123)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 379, 381

«　WEEK 15　DAY 3　»

　　Heb. 1:2-3 Has at the last of these days spoken to us in the Son, whom He appointed Heir of all things, through whom also He made the universe; who, being the effulgence of His glory and the impress of His substance and upholding and bearing all things by the word of His power, having made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

　　We will begin to consider the aspects of the experience and enjoyment of Christ as revealed in Hebrews, one of the greatest books in the New Testament. Every aspect of Christ revealed in this book is significant.

　　Christ the Son is the center, the focus, of the book of Hebrews. In the Godhead He is the effulgence of God's glory and the impress of God's substance. In creation He is (1) the means through which the universe was made (1:2); (2) the power that upholds and bears all things (v. 3); and (3) the Heir appointed to inherit all things (v. 2). In redemption He accomplished the purification of man's sins and is now sitting on the right hand of God in the heavens (v. 3). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3699)

　　In the New Testament age, God has spoken to us in the Son, in the person of the Son. To us, Christ, the Son of God, is the mouthpiece of God, the oracle of God. The Son is God Himself speaking. To say that God has spoken to us in the Son means that God speaks in Himself. God has spoken in the Son, and the Son is God; this indicates that God speaks in Himself. God Himself speaks to us in His divine being, not through some other agent. The Son is God Himself (Heb. 1:8), God expressed. God the Father is hidden; God the Son is expressed. No one has ever seen God; the Son, as the Word of God (John 1:1; Rev. 19:13) and the speaking of God, has declared Him with a full expression, explanation, and definition of Him (John 1:18). God speaking in the Son means that the Son speaks God.

　　We need to also see how Christ is related to the Godhead. Hebrews 1:3 speaks of Christ the Son as the effulgence of God's glory and the impress of His substance. God's glory is God expressed, and God's substance is that which exists intrinsically in His divine being. In the Godhead, Christ is both the effulgence of the expressed God and the image of God's inner being.

　　Separating the effulgence from the glory may be likened to separating the shining of the sun from the rays of the sun. The shining cannot be separated from the rays, for they are one. Likewise, we should never consider the Son as separate from God. The Son is the expression of God Himself; Christ the Son is God expressed. He is nothing less than God; He is God Himself.

　　Our Christ is God coming to us. He is our God reaching us. Just as the sun can reach us by the shining of its rays, Christ, the Son of God, is God Himself reaching us and coming into us. We have a God who reaches us, a God who comes into us. This is our great salvation (2:3), and this is the Son of God.

　　The Son is also the impress, the express image, of the substance of God (1:3). The impress of God's substance is like the impress of a seal. The Son is the expression of what God the Father is. God's substance is Spirit (John 4:24), and Christ is the impress of this substance.

　　The glory is the outward expression, and the substance is the inward essence. God has His essence, His substance, as well as His appearance. God's essence is His substance. He has substance as well as glory. Our God is glorious and substantial. As far as God's glory is concerned, the Son is the effulgence of this glory. As far as God's substance is concerned, the Son is the impress of this substance.

　　The Son is not only the effulgence of God's glory but also the impress of God's substance. This means that the Son is God coming to us. When God does not come to us, He is simply God. When God comes to us, He is the Son as the impress of His substance. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3705-3706, 3704-3705)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 367

«　WEEK 15　DAY 4　»

　　Heb. 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

　　3:6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over His house, whose house we are...

　　After creating all things, the Son became the Upholder (Heb. 1:3). The earth is suspended in the air. There are no columns supporting it....He upholds it by the word of His power.

　　In Hebrews 11:3 we are told that the universe was framed by the word of God, and in 1:3 we see that the universe is upheld by the word of His power. The Son is not only the Creator, but He is also the Upholder. He created and upholds the universe by His word. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3702-3703)

　　Hebrews 1:2 tells us that Christ the Son is the appointed Heir of all things. This means that Christ is the legal Heir, inheriting all things in God's economy. Since Christ is not only the Son of God but also the Heir of God, all that God the Father is and has is His possession (John 16:15). In the past the Son was the Creator (Heb. 1:2, 10; John 1:3; Col. 1:16; 1 Cor. 8:6); in the present He is the Upholder of all things and the One who bears all things (Heb. 1:3); in the future He will be the Heir, inheriting all things (cf. Rom. 11:36). Since Christ created all things, He will inherit what He created. This is the relationship between Christ and creation.

　　After the devil, the serpent, seduced man into the fall, God promised that the seed of woman would come to bruise the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). In the fullness of the time the Son of God came to become flesh (John 1:14; Rom. 8:3) by being born of a virgin (Gal. 4:4), that He might destroy the devil in man's flesh through His death in the flesh on the cross. This was to abolish Satan, to bring him to nought. Satan has been abolished and done away with. Christ destroyed him, annulled him, brought him to nought, and rendered him powerless.

　　According to Hebrews 2:10, God made Christ "the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings." The Greek word translated "Author" means "Captain, Originator, Inaugurator, Leader, and Pioneer." The salvation mentioned in this verse and referred to in verse 3 and 1:14 saves us from our fallen state into glory. Jesus, as the Pioneer, the Forerunner (6:20), took the lead to enter into glory, and we, His followers, are taking the same way to be brought into the same glory, which was ordained by God for us (1 Cor. 2:7; 1 Thes. 2:12). He cut the way, and we are now taking the way. Hence, He is not only the Savior who saved us from our fallen state but also the Author who, as the Pioneer, entered into glory that we may be brought into the same estate.

　　Jesus is our Apostle and our High Priest. As the Apostle, He is typified by Moses; as the High Priest, He is typified by Aaron. The Apostle is the One who was sent to us from God and with God (John 6:46; 8:16, 29). The High Priest is the One who went to God from and with us (Eph. 2:6). As the Apostle, Christ came to us with God to share God with us that we might partake of His life, nature, and fullness.

　　Christ is not only a part of the house but also the Builder of the house (Heb. 3:3-4). Moses had only one nature—humanity. This human nature is good as the material for God's building, but Moses did not have the divine nature, which is good for being the builder. The Lord Jesus has two natures: humanity, which is good for the material for the building of God's habitation, and divinity, which is the element of the Builder. In His humanity, Jesus is the stone for God's habitation. He is the foundation stone (Isa. 28:16), the cornerstone (Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11), the topstone (Zech. 4:7), and the living stone (1 Pet. 2:4) to produce us as living stones (v. 5). In His humanity He is the good material for God's building, and in His divinity He is the Builder. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3703, 3723, 3727, 3739, 3742)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 369, 371

«　WEEK 15　DAY 5　»

　　Heb. 7:25-26 Hence also He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to intercede for them. For such a High Priest was also fitting to us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners and having become higher than the heavens.

　　How is Christ able to be a merciful and faithful High Priest? Because He is the Son of Man with the human nature and the Son of God with the divine nature. He is fully qualified. Aaron was a good high priest, but he only had humanity. He did not have divinity. Although Aaron could have been merciful, I doubt that he was truly faithful. But our High Priest, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, is both merciful and faithful because He is both God and man. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 142)

　　Our High Priest, Christ, who is great in His person, qualification, work, accomplishment, and attainment, has passed through the heavens (Heb. 4:14).

　　Although Christ is so high and capable, He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.

　　As our High Priest, Christ has been tried in all respects like us, but without sin (4:15). Since He has been tried, He is qualified and able to help us who are being tried (2:18). In all His trials, He was never stained with sin. He suffered the trials without being touched by sin. He is truly equipped to help us to pass through trials and to keep us from any entanglement of sin.

　　In Hebrews 6 all the believers are encouraged to go on to reach maturity (v. 1), that is, to go on to the heavenly ministry of Christ in the Holy of Holies in the heavens. To go on to this ministry, we must learn how to follow the Pioneer, the Christ who has become the Forerunner within the veil. In order to go on to this heavenly ministry, we have to enter the veil.

　　As the Forerunner, the Lord Jesus took the lead to pass through the stormy sea and enter the heavenly haven to be the High Priest for us according to the order of Melchizedek. As such a Forerunner, He is the Author of our salvation (2:10). As the Forerunner, He cut the way to glory, and as the Author, He entered into glory.

　　Christ is not only the consummator of the new covenant; He is also the surety, the pledge that everything in that covenant will be fulfilled....Christ pledged

　　Himself to the new covenant and to us. There is no possibility for Christ to change His mind. The effectiveness of the new covenant is guaranteed because He pledged Himself to us. This pledge depends completely on His divine priesthood.

　　Christ is able to save us because He intercedes for us (Heb. 7:25b). As our High Priest, Christ undertakes our case by interceding for us. He appears before God on our behalf, praying for us that we may be saved and brought fully into God's eternal purpose. We need to simply rest in His intercession, trust in it, and enjoy it....Many times we have been saved by His intercession. We have a perpetual, constant, and eternal Intercessor.

　　In 8:2 Minister refers to one who ministers as a priest. As a minister of the true (heavenly) tabernacle, Christ ministers heaven (which is not only a place but also a condition of life) into us that we may have the heavenly life and power to live a heavenly life on earth, as He did while He was here. In verse 2 the Greek word for holy places, used as a noun, is plural here. It refers to all the holy places in the tabernacle; strictly, it refers to the Holy of Holies, the holiest of all the holy places (9:8, 12, 25; 10:19; 13:11).

　　How can Christ minister the heavenly, spiritual, and eternal things from the heavens to us on the earth? It is by the heavenly "television" within us. Christ is "televising" the "scenery" in the heavens into our spirit. Christ is now far away in the heavens to minister all the heavenly, eternal, and spiritual things to us by the transmission of the eternal Spirit. Whatever is now in the heavens is immediately transmitted into our spirit. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3751, 3753, 3789-3790, 3797, 3782-3784)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 76, 372, 375-376

«　WEEK 15　DAY 6　»

　　Heb. 10:19-20 Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus, which entrance He initiated for us as a new and living way through the veil, that is, His flesh.

　　Christ accomplished redemption on the cross (Col. 1:20), but it was not until He entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies through the redeeming blood, that is, when He brought His redeeming blood to offer it before God, that He obtained the redemption that has an eternal effect. (Heb. 9:12, footnote 1)

　　Since Christ as the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world (John 1:29) by offering Himself once for all on the cross as the sacrifice for sins (Heb. 9:14; 10:12), His blood, which He sprinkled in the heavenly tabernacle (12:24), has accomplished an eternal redemption for us, even the redemption of the transgressions under the first (old) covenant (v. 15), transgressions that were only covered by animal blood. Thus, we have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19). See footnote 1 on Leviticus 16:1. (Heb. 9:12, footnote 2)

　　Hebrews 10:19-20 says, "Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus, which entrance He initiated for us as a new and living way through the veil, that is, His flesh." In these verses we see that Christ is the Initiator of a new and living way.

　　As the Initiator of a new and living way, Christ opened the way for us to enter the Holy of Holies by His blood through the veil, His flesh (v. 20). This refers to His death on the cross, which rent the veil in the temple to open a new and living way for Him to enter through His own blood into the Holy of Holies, where He is in the direct presence of God, ministering as our High Priest all that God is into our being as our life and life supply in the heavenly atmosphere. The Holy of Holies is the place within the veil where we may enjoy Christ ministering the riches of God in the heavenly atmosphere. When we receive such riches of the Divine Being into our being, we enjoy Christ as the Initiator of a new and living way.

　　Through the better sacrifices of Christ, we have boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:23; 10:19). It is not a small thing to enter the Holy of Holies, for there God is sitting on the throne of grace. In order to enter into such a place, we must have boldness, and we have it by Christ's death and by His blood. By the Lord's death and His blood we have the boldness to enter the Holy of Holies at any time, unlike the high priest in the Old Testament, who could enter into it only once a year (9:25).

　　The Holy of Holies in Hebrews 10:19 refers to the Holy of Holies in our spirit. Our human spirit is the Holy of Holies, which is God's residence, the chamber in which God and Christ dwell. If we would find God and Christ, there is no need for us to go to heaven. God in Christ is so available, for He is in our spirit. The Holy of Holies in our spirit corresponds with the Holy of Holies in the heavens. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3821-3822)

　　All the aspects of Christ revealed in Hebrews are inexhaustible. He is the Creator, the Upholder, the Heir, the One who has destroyed the devil, the Apostle, the High Priest, the Forerunner, the Surety, the heavenly Minister, the One appearing before God on our behalf, and the replacement of all the Old Testament offerings. Christ is the reality of every positive thing (Col. 2:16-17), including you and me (Phil. 1:21; Gal. 2:20).

　　Such a wonderful Christ is our perpetual due. This means that the all-inclusive Christ is our eternal portion for us to enjoy. We not only offer Christ to God— we also enjoy Him as we offer Him to God. We thus enjoy Christ with God, for we and God are co-eaters, eating Christ together in fellowship. This enjoyment is marvelous, and it is impossible for human words to describe it adequately. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 307-308)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 377-379