来九14　何况基督借着永远的灵，将自己无瑕无疵地献给神，祂的血岂不更洁净我们的良心，使其脱离死行，叫我们事奉活神么？

　　约壹一9　我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。
　　我们新约的信徒享受主的洁净。然而，倘若我们单单阅读并了解新约，我们对这洁净所包含的，还不会有清楚、详细的图画。为此我们需要利未记十四章的预表。从这预表我们看见，要洁净我们的麻风，主必须成为肉体，成为人。就如香柏木所预表的，祂的人性崇高而尊贵；又如牛膝草所预表的，祂自甘卑微，成为人的样式。一面，祂的标准是高的；另一面，祂的身分非常卑微。这二者都是为着产生朱红色线。不仅如此，还有两只鸟预表基督的另外两面：被宰的鸟表征钉十字架的基督，活鸟表征复活的基督。没有基督的这些面，我们的麻风，我们的罪，就无法得着洁净（利未记生命读经，四三八页）。

　　Heb. 9:14 How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

　　1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

　　As New Testament believers, we enjoy the Lord's cleansing. However, if we simply read and understand the New Testament, we shall not have a clear, detailed picture of what is involved in this cleansing. For this we need the types in Leviticus 14. From the types we see that to cleanse us of our leprosy the Lord had to be incarnated, to become a human being. As typified by the cedar wood, His humanity was high and honorable. As typified by the hyssop, He was willing to be lowly in becoming in the likeness of men. On the one hand, His standard was high; on the other hand, His status was very low. Both were for the producing of the scarlet thread. Furthermore, the two birds typify Christ in two other aspects, with the slain bird signifying Christ in His crucifixion and the live bird signifying Christ in His resurrection. Without Christ in all these aspects, we could not be cleansed of our leprosy, of our sin. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 375)

　　我不相信古时的以色列人明白这些事物的意义：两只鸟；香柏木；牛膝草；用瓦器盛活水，把一只鸟宰于水上；将活鸟、香柏木、牛膝草和朱红色线捆在一起；又将这一捆蘸于那被宰的鸟血中，在求洁净的人身上洒七次。……然而，我们今天的确明白这些预表。现在我们看见，为着我们的洁净，我们需要一位具备多面的基督，一位经过了许多过程的基督。祂所流的血已经洒在我们身上，这样的洒就把我们罪人联于基督这位救赎者。
　　主的救赎，祂尊贵、拔高而卑微的人性，以及祂的复活、升天和得荣，都含示在这预表里。我们看过香柏木预表基督尊贵、拔高的人性，而牛膝草预表祂卑微的人性。被宰的鸟，当然是表征祂的救赎。……祂的复活是由另一只鸟，那活鸟所表征。这两只鸟表征基督的两方面—祂的死与复活。一面，正如被宰的鸟所表征的，祂被杀了；另一面，正如活鸟所表征的，祂复活了。受死的基督借着复活，成了活的基督。基督的升天是由活鸟在空中的高飞、翱翔所表征。主的得荣是由朱红色线所表征，朱红色含示君王职分；基督乃是在祂的君王职分里得着荣耀的。基督在祂的成为肉体里降卑，在祂的钉十字架里被羞辱，又在祂的君王职分里得荣耀。所以在这一个预表里，我们看见包罗万有的基督，因为这里有祂那既尊高又卑微的人性，有祂的救赎，以及祂的复活、升天和得荣。
　　“又把那只活鸟放到田野里。”（利十四7下）这表征活的基督使得了洁净的罪人不仅经历祂的死与复活，也经历祂的升天。这些都是基督为我们作成的，我们只需要经历并享受这一切。在钉十字架的基督，那被宰的鸟里，我们死了。现今在复活的基督这活鸟里，我们得在升天里飞翔。我们已经得了自由，没有拦阻的事物了。……要解释这个预表，我们需要对整本圣经有所认识。……圣经的神学与利未记十三至十四章的麻风大有关系。倘若这神学没有论到我们的麻风，我们与神就完全是分开的。祂是神，与我们毫无关系；而我们是患麻风者，与祂也毫无关系。……在这预表里，我们看见主的救赎，以及在祂复活里拯救的能力。我们因着钉十字架的基督已经蒙了救赎，现今得在复活的基督里，与祂一同在空中飞翔（利未记生命读经，四三八至四三九、四三三至四三四页）。
　　参读：利未记生命读经，第四十三篇。

　　I do not believe that the ancient Israelites understood the significance of the two birds, the cedar, the hyssop, the killing of one bird over an earthenware vessel filled with living water, binding together the live bird, the cedar, the hyssop, and the scarlet thread and dipping this bundle into the blood of the killed bird that this blood might be sprinkled seven times on the one who was to be cleansed....However, we today do understand these types. Now we can see that for our cleansing we need a Christ of many aspects, a Christ who has gone through a number of processes. The blood shed by Him has been sprinkled upon us, and this sprinkling connects us, the sinners, to Christ, the Redeemer.

　　The Lord's redemption, His noble, high, and lowly humanity, and His resurrection, ascension, and glorification are all implied in this type. We have seen that the cedar wood typifies Christ's noble and high humanity, and the hyssop, His lowly humanity. The slain bird, of course, signifies His redemption....His resurrection is signified by the other bird, the live bird. These two birds signify Christ in two aspects—in His death and resurrection. On the one hand, as signified by the killed bird, He was killed. On the other hand, as signified by the live bird, He was resurrected. The dying Christ became the living Christ through resurrection. Christ's ascension is signified by the live bird's flying, soaring, in the air. The Lord's glorification is signified by the scarlet, which implies kingship. Christ is glorified in His kingship. Christ was humbled in His incarnation, shamed in His crucifixion, and glorified in His kingship. Therefore in this one type we see the all-inclusive Christ, for here we have His humanity, which is both high and lowly, His redemption, and His resurrection, ascension, and glorification.

　　"He shall let the living bird go into the open field" (Lev. 14:7). This signifies that the living Christ causes the cleansed sinner not only to die and resurrect but also to experience His ascension. These have all been accomplished for us by Christ, and we only need to experience and enjoy them. In the crucified Christ, the killed bird, we died. Now in the resurrected Christ, the live bird, we are soaring in ascension. We have been freed, and there are no frustrations.

　　To expound this type we need the knowledge of the entire Bible....Biblical theology has much to do with the leprosy in Leviticus 13 and 14. If this theology were not involved with our leprosy, we would be altogether separated from God. He would be God, having nothing to do with us, and we would be lepers, having nothing to do with Him....In this type we see the Lord's redemption and the saving power in His resurrection. We have been redeemed by the crucified Christ, and now we are in the resurrected Christ, soaring in the air with Him. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 375-376, 370-371)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 43