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Chosen no: R-4397 a, from: 1909 Year. |
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"For This He Did Once"
"Who needeth not daily, as those high
priests, to offer up
sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's;
for this he did once, when he offered up himself."--Heb. 7:27.
IN studying the Book of Hebrews it is well to
keep in memory that the Apostle's thought was not to give a detailed
explanation of the types of the Law, but merely to prove to the Jews that they
should look beyond the high priests and the under-priests of the Aaronic order
for a greater Higher Priest of our profession (order) and a superior
under-priesthood, "a royal priesthood." In the text above quoted St.
Paul is drawing attention to the fact that a repetition daily and yearly of the
sacrifices of the Law on a higher plane is not to be expected, but rather that
the One Priest (Christ, Head and Body,) in the one antitypical Atonement Day
accomplishes the entire work which will usher in full forgiveness and
reconciliation to all the people. This in type was done in the one [R4397 : page 154] Atonement Day and the
antitype of that Atonement Day is not yet ended. It will close with the end of
this Gospel Age. It will close when the last member of the Body of Christ shall
have suffered with the Lord, "Filling up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ."-- Col. 1:24.
The first offering of the Day of Atonement was
the bullock, which typified the man Jesus. It was because of this offering and
by the act of consecration that our Lord became the Anointed One--"the
High Priest of our profession." As the spirit-begotten High Priest our
Lord for three and a half years offered up himself, his manhood, in sacrifice.
He finished that offering, typified by the bullock, at his death. Then, as
shown in the type, he took the blood of the bullock and proceeded into the Most
Holy, "there to appear in the presence of God for us"-- the
"household of faith."
In the type the typical high priest, after
offering the first sacrifice and after applying its blood on behalf of the body
(the under-priest) and his house (the tribe of Levi), laid his hands on the
Lord's goat and slew it and did with it as with the bullock, except that its
blood when taken into the Most Holy was differently applied--on behalf of the
other eleven tribes, who represented all nations, peoples, kindreds and tongues
of humanity.
These two offerings and their distinctly
separate sprinklings of blood were both parts of the one Atonement Day
service--"this he did once." Two deaths are clearly shown and two
blood sprinklings; and on behalf of two different classes; but they were parts
of the one sin atonement. Just so our Lord, during his earthly ministry, was
dying daily, yet it was one sacrifice; so also when we fill up a share of his
sufferings, dying daily, it is part of his sufferings and sacrifice, which he
is still accomplishing in us once for all--this he does once and will never
repeat. All sacrificing of this sort will end with this age--he will accept no
further members of the Body of Christ, no additional members to "the royal
priesthood."
As we have repeatedly shown, the first Atonement
Day sacrifice was our Lord's sacrifice of his own flesh, the man Jesus, and the
second sacrifice was that of his adopted members--those justified by his
blood and consecrated to his service even unto death. These accepted by the
Lord are sacrificed by him as parts or members of himself; and their blood
(death) is counted in as a part of the blood of Christ--"dead with
him." This is the "Mystery" hidden from previous ages and
generations. The "fellowship of this Mystery" was granted to
the Jews and Gentiles of the "little flock" of the called and chosen
and faithful.
Our Lord as the High Priest laid his hand upon the "Lord's goat" at Pentecost. His power (hand) there
came upon his followers accepting their consecration and bringing to them the
trying experiences as his members which faithfully endured will,
according to the Divine plan, grant them a share with him in his divine [R4398 : page 154] nature and Kingdom. It is
not the suffering of the Church that counts, but the sufferings of Christ. It
is because we are counted in as members of Christ, "members in
particular of the Body of Christ," that we are permitted to be his members
on the spirit plane and to share the glories and honors of our Head. "If
we suffer with him, we shall reign with him." "If we be dead with him
we shall live with him."
Thus the sufferings of Christ, while in the one
sense of the word ended at Calvary, in another sense of the word continue in
his members; this is a "Mystery" to many. The sufferings of
Christ are still in process and his faithful ones are still filling them up.
St. Peter tells us that the prophets of old spake of the sufferings of Christ
and of the glories that should follow. The sufferings of Christ Jesus were
followed by his personal glorification, demonstration of which was given at
Pentecost; but the glory mentioned in this text has not yet been accomplished.
It awaits the completion of the sufferings of Christ--the sufferings of the
members: "For if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it."
(1 Cor. 12:26.) "When he shall appear in
glory, we shall appear with him." We shall be glorified together if
we suffer with him as his members.
With the Jews there was a Day of Atonement every
year, with its sacrifices repeated year by year continually. But with Christ
there is but one antitypical Atonement Day and when its "better
sacrifices" shall have been accomplished --when the great antitypical High
Priest shall have finished the work of offering up himself, including his
members, thereafter there will be no more sufferings of Christ for anybody to
fill up. The glory of the Millennial Kingdom will then be ushered in. The sins
of the whole world will be blotted out so far as God is concerned and the High
Priest of our profession will be a Priest upon his throne (Head and members)
after the order of Melchisedec.
W.T. R-4397a : page 153 - 1909r