Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: TGCC
Program Code: TGCC000003A
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00:15 Well, welcome today to presentation number three
00:18 of this series on the vindication 00:21 of the character of God. 00:23 You'll notice that the title is, The Great Cosmic Controversy. 00:27 And the subtitle is, How God Clears His Name 00:31 of All False Charges. 00:33 Before we study today about the immaculate spotless Lamb, 00:39 we want to ask for the Lord's blessings. 00:41 So let's just bow our heads for a word of prayer. 00:43 Father in heaven, thank You for this beautiful day. 00:46 Thank You for life, thank You for health. 00:49 Thank You for all of Your abundant blessings. 00:52 Thank You for Your Word and for the privilege of studying 00:55 that Word freely. 00:57 We ask that You'll be with us through the ministry 00:59 of Your Holy Spirit and Your angels. 01:02 Help us to understand the importance of what 01:04 we will study today. 01:05 And we thank You for hearing our prayer, 01:07 for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus. 01:10 Amen. 01:14 Today we are going to begin studying the solution 01:18 that God has to the great controversy 01:21 between good and evil. 01:23 And basically, we're going to see that God solves this problem 01:28 by Jesus moving through the Sanctuary. 01:33 And so as we begin our study, we are going to take a look 01:37 at how Jesus moves in the Sanctuary step by step. 01:43 And of course, as we go along starting today, 01:46 we are going to study each of these steps in more detail. 01:50 But I just want to give you a global view now 01:53 of the steps that Jesus takes through the Sanctuary service 01:57 to solve the great controversy between good and evil. 02:02 We will begin our study of the Sanctuary in the camp. 02:06 The camp is where the sinners lived. 02:10 You know, many begin the study of the Sanctuary in the court. 02:13 But really, I believe that's a mistake to begin in the court. 02:17 Because in the camp is where Jesus lived 02:21 before He went to the cross, before He went to the altar. 02:25 In other words, we need to begin the study of the Sanctuary 02:28 in the camp where the sinners lived. 02:31 And there, Jesus came. 02:33 His first function was for Him to come and live a perfect life 02:39 as an immaculate Lamb, and to be a perfect Priest. 02:44 We're going to notice that Jesus is both the Priest 02:48 and the victim. 02:49 And the Bible tells us that the priest had to be without defect, 02:53 and the victim also had to be without defect. 02:59 So basically, the first function of Jesus in the camp 03:02 is to live a life without sin, 03:06 to develop a life of perfect righteousness. 03:09 He did that in the midst of sinners in the camp. 03:13 Then Jesus moved into the court. 03:15 The altar is the next piece of furniture in the Sanctuary. 03:20 And there, Jesus, the unblemished Priest 03:25 and the unblemished Lamb, offered His life as a sacrifice 03:30 for the sins of the whole world. 03:32 And so in the camp, He lives an unblemished life. 03:36 And in the court at the altar of sacrifice, 03:39 He bears the sins of the world and He dies the penalty of sin 03:44 that sinners should suffer. 03:47 And then the next piece of furniture in the Sanctuary 03:49 is the laver. 03:52 In the laver there was water. 03:54 And we're going to study that the laver symbolizes 03:57 the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 04:00 And of course, the purpose of the resurrection of Christ 04:03 is so that He can now enter the next function 04:07 of His ministry in the Holy Place. 04:09 Because if Jesus had not resurrected, 04:11 He would not have been able to begin His next function 04:15 in the Holy Place. 04:16 So the resurrection is the transition point between 04:20 His death on the cross and the beginning of His ministry 04:23 in the Holy Place. 04:25 And so basically, Jesus resurrects now 04:27 to pour out upon sinners the benefits of His perfect life 04:33 and His death for sin. 04:35 And then later on Jesus moves into the Most Holy Place 04:39 of the heavenly Sanctuary. 04:42 Excuse me, the Holy Place. 04:45 And there, Jesus becomes the High Priest. 04:48 In other words, Jesus becomes the Advocate, 04:51 the Mediator, or the Intercessor for those who come to Him 04:56 to claim the benefits of His life and of His death. 05:00 So the next step of Jesus is in the Holy Place 05:05 of the heavenly Sanctuary to serve as Advocate, 05:07 Mediator, and Intercessor. 05:10 And then He moves into the Most Holy Place. 05:13 And in the Most Holy Place He continues His function 05:16 as High Priest. 05:17 In other words, He continues interceding, 05:20 He continues being an Advocate or a Mediator, 05:25 for those who come to Him in faith claiming the benefit 05:29 of His life and of His death. 05:31 But Jesus then adds an additional function, 05:34 which is the judgment. 05:36 So He continues being the High Priestly Intercessor, 05:39 but He also now takes on an additional function, 05:43 which is that of the judgment. 05:47 And then finally the last step is, once all of the sins 05:52 have been cleansed from the Sanctuary on the 05:54 Day of Atonement, which is the judgment, 05:56 then Jesus brings all of the sins that were deposited 06:01 in the Sanctuary by those who were true believers, 06:05 and He brings out those sins and He places them 06:09 on the head of the scapegoat, Azazel. 06:13 And then Azazel, the scapegoat, is sent to the wilderness 06:17 where there are no inhabitants, and he basically is exiled 06:22 from the Sanctuary and from the encampment of Israel. 06:26 So summarizing the steps that Jesus takes in the Sanctuary, 06:30 first of all He comes to the camp to live a perfect life 06:34 so that He can be a perfect Priest and a perfect victim. 06:38 Secondly, He goes to the court altar, bears the sins 06:42 of the whole world, and suffers the penalty for sin 06:45 in place of every human being. 06:48 Then He moves to the laver. 06:50 That is, Jesus resurrects from the dead. 06:53 The purpose of His resurrection is so that He can go to the 06:56 next function in the Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary. 07:01 And in the Holy Place Jesus serves as an Advocate, 07:05 Mediator, or Intercessor for those who claim 07:09 His perfect life and those who claim His death for sin. 07:13 And then later on Jesus moves into the Most Holy Place 07:17 where He continues serving as the High Priestly Mediator, 07:21 but He adds another function. 07:23 That is, the function of the judgment. 07:26 And then after His work in the Most Holy Place is finished, 07:30 then He moves back to the door of the Tabernacle 07:34 to the Holy Place, and the scapegoat is waiting there 07:37 in the court right next to the door that leads 07:40 into the Holy Place. 07:42 And all of the sins that had been placed in the Sanctuary 07:44 now are taken, the two hands of the High Priest 07:48 are placed on the head of the scapegoat, 07:49 and all of the sins that have been placed in the Sanctuary 07:53 are confessed on the head of the scapegoat. 07:55 And then the scapegoat is sent to a wilderness, 07:59 a desolate wilderness, where there are no inhabitants. 08:02 And in this way, the Sanctuary and the camp 08:07 are totally cleansed from sin. 08:10 So those are the steps that we're going to take a look at 08:13 in the rest of the presentations that we are 08:16 going to study here together. 08:19 Now I need to mention that the first three functions of Jesus, 08:24 the first three functions; which are His perfect life 08:28 in the camp, His death on the cross which is 08:32 symbolized by the altar, and His resurrection, 08:36 Jesus performed for every single human being who has ever lived 08:42 in the history of planet earth. 08:44 In other words, in those first three steps Jesus provided 08:50 what is needed by every single person on the planet. 08:55 So there's no one, we're going to notice, 08:57 that really should perish. 08:58 Because the provision for salvation is complete. 09:02 By His perfect life, His death for sin, and His resurrection 09:07 Jesus has made provision for everyone to be saved. 09:13 However, we find that the last steps of Jesus in the Sanctuary 09:19 have to do, not with the whole world, but they have to do with 09:25 individuals who actually come to Jesus claiming the benefits 09:32 of His life and His death and His resurrection. 09:35 So basically, what I want us to remember is that the 09:38 first three functions; that is, His life in the camp, 09:41 His death in the court, and His resurrection in the court, 09:45 that He did for every single person who has ever lived. 09:48 The last steps; which are His ministry in the Holy place, 09:52 His ministry in the Most Holy Place, 09:54 and the placing of the sins upon the head of the scapegoat, 09:58 has to do only with those who believe in Jesus 10:01 and claim what Jesus did in the camp and in the court. 10:06 And this will become clearer as we study along. 10:10 By the way, what Jesus did in the first three steps 10:13 of His ministry; that is, by His perfect life in the camp, 10:17 and by His death at the altar, and by His resurrection, 10:21 Ellen White calls that the benefits of His atonement. 10:26 The benefits of His atonement. 10:28 The benefits He gained for every single person 10:32 who has ever lived. 10:33 I want to read a statement that we find in, Early Writings, 10:36 page 259, where Ellen White explains what the benefits are. 10:44 Here's the statement, page 259, Early Writings. 10:53 That happened at the cross, right? 11:04 So when Jesus said, "It is finished," on the cross, 11:07 the veil was rent. 11:08 That means that the sacrificial system of the Jews 11:11 came to an end. 11:13 She continues writing... 11:35 Now listen carefully. 11:37 "...to shed upon His disciples..." 11:40 Not all human beings. 11:42 But He went there "...to shed upon His disciples 11:45 the benefits of His atonement." 11:49 So what did Jesus go to heaven for? 11:52 To pour out upon His disciples, that means His followers, 11:57 the benefits of His atonement. 11:59 And the benefits of His atonement are His perfect life 12:04 and His death for sin. 12:05 Those are the benefits. 12:06 Jesus gained those benefits for everyone. 12:09 But only those who come to God through Him are benefited 12:14 by what Jesus did in the camp and in the court. 12:18 Ellen White continues explaining... 12:41 In other words, because they did not follow Jesus to the cross, 12:43 because they didn't believe in the resurrection, 12:45 they were not ready to follow Jesus in His work 12:48 in the Holy Place of the Sanctuary. 12:50 So she says... 13:06 So are you understanding what this is saying? 13:08 So the first three aspects of the ministry of Christ; 13:12 His perfect life in the camp as Priest and as victim, 13:16 and His death on the cross, represented by the altar, 13:19 and His resurrection where He now goes into the Holy Place, 13:23 those three steps were done for every single person 13:27 who has ever lived in the history of planet earth. 13:30 They are the benefits of Christ's work. 13:34 But not everyone claims those benefits. 13:37 And so we need to remember, that is a very, very important point. 13:40 Now let's review the accusations that Satan 13:45 launched against God. 13:47 And I'm going to only mention four of those accusations 13:51 of Satan against God. 13:54 Number one, God is a respecter of persons. 13:57 In other words, God has favorites. 14:00 He favored His Son above everybody else. 14:04 And so the first argument is, God plays favorites. 14:08 God is a respecter of persons. 14:11 Secondly, God keeps secrets. 14:15 There's certain knowledge that He keeps to Himself 14:17 and He only shares with His Son, when everybody should have 14:21 the opportunity of knowing those things. 14:24 In the third place, God's law is restrictive of our liberties 14:30 and cannot be kept. 14:32 That is a strong argument that Lucifer used in heaven, 14:37 and he also used it on earth when he tempted Eve, 14:40 and then Eve tempted Adam. 14:42 And then we have the argument that God is selfish. 14:46 All He wants is for His creatures 14:49 to serve Him as slaves. 14:51 He wants them to render Him blind service. 14:55 And God will not lift even one finger to serve. 15:01 Now we're going to study this evening about the ministry 15:06 of Jesus in the camp, the Sanctuary camp, 15:09 which is the first step that Jesus takes in solving 15:13 the problem of the great controversy. 15:16 And we're going to see how Jesus answers step by step 15:20 these accusations that were launched against 15:24 the government of God. 15:25 And when we finish our study, we are going to notice 15:29 that every single accusation of Satan against God, 15:32 every smear of God's character, will be removed 15:37 and God will be cleared. 15:39 Now after man sinned, Satan came up with a new argument 15:45 that seemed to place a contradiction 15:48 in God's character. 15:51 Satan's argument against God's character 15:55 flowed in the way that I'm going to read now. 15:58 This is Satan speaking to God. 16:01 "Your law requires absolute sinless perfection. 16:08 You, Yourself, stated that if the righteous requirement 16:12 of the law is not met, the result is death. 16:18 Man has not met the righteous requirements of the law. 16:23 And therefore, he must die." 16:25 Are you understanding the argument? 16:27 "Therefore, he must die." 16:29 "If You don't keep Your word," the devil says to God, 16:33 "Your justice and truth is compromised. 16:37 Because Your justice demands the death of the sinner, 16:40 and the law demands a perfect life. 16:43 Furthermore, if You do not keep Your word, 16:46 then You will appear to be a liar." 16:49 So Satan continues saying to God, "If You don't 16:54 keep Your word, Your justice and truth is compromised. 16:57 But if Your justice destroys man, if You keep Your word 17:02 and man is destroyed because of sin, 17:05 then Your love is compromised. 17:08 How can a God of love destroy His creatures?" 17:12 So are you seeing that there's a seeming contradiction 17:15 between the justice and the love of God? 17:17 Satan is saying to God, "Your law demands absolute perfection. 17:22 You said that if someone doesn't render the law 17:24 absolute perfection, that person has to die. 17:27 Well, all human beings have failed to render 17:30 perfection to the law. 17:32 Therefore, all human beings should die. 17:34 If You don't execute the penalty, then You will be 17:38 proved a liar and Your justice is compromised. 17:41 But if You destroy sinners, then how is it that a God of love 17:46 destroys His own creatures?" 17:49 And so there seems to be a contradiction between the 17:52 justice and the love of God. 17:54 That was an additional accusation of Satan against 17:58 God's character after Adam and Eve sinned, 18:01 and after all human beings followed the example 18:04 of Adam and Eve. 18:06 And so now we need to take a look at how God resolved 18:09 that first accusation of Satan where he says, 18:13 "God, You have said that the law demands absolute perfection. 18:18 And if a being does not offer the law absolute perfection, 18:22 that person must die." 18:26 Now I would like us to remember that according to the Bible 18:30 Jesus created every single person that lives 18:34 upon this planet. 18:36 Let's notice John 1:1-3. 18:40 John 1:1-3 18:43 This is a passage we know very well. 19:01 So who is it that created every single person 19:05 that lives upon this planet? 19:07 Jesus. 19:08 You know, when I say that, somebody usually says, 19:12 "But Pastor Bohr, you know, Jesus didn't create me. 19:14 I was born from my mother." 19:17 And so I say, "Well very good. 19:18 And who was your mother born from?" 19:20 "Well she was born from her mother." 19:22 I say, "And where did her mother come from?" 19:25 "Well she came from her mother." 19:26 Now if we go all the way back to the beginning, 19:28 where does the process end? 19:29 It ends with Adam and Eve. 19:31 When Jesus created Adam and Eve, He created everyone, 19:35 because everyone descends from Adam and Eve. 19:38 And so because Jesus created everyone, Jesus is responsible 19:43 for our existence. 19:44 Isn't Jesus responsible for our existence? 19:46 He's not responsible for our sin. 19:49 That's our choice. 19:51 He is responsible for our existence because He created us. 19:55 Did we ask to be created? Did we ask to be born? 19:58 No. 19:59 So who is responsible ultimately for our existence? 20:02 It is Jesus Christ. 20:03 And so Jesus says to Himself, "I created these individuals, 20:08 I'm responsible for their creation. 20:10 I cannot conceive of not creating a way in which 20:15 My creatures can be saved, 20:17 in harmony with the character of God." 20:21 Now as we've noticed, the law of God requires absolute 20:26 sinless perfection. 20:28 The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, tells us that 20:31 God requires absolute sinless righteousness from everyone. 20:37 Now the Bible also says that if we don't give the law 20:42 perfect righteousness, if we can't offer the law 20:45 what the law requires, the Bible says that is sin. 20:50 Let's notice 1 John 3:4. 20:54 1 John 3:4 21:05 I like better the way the King James reads in 1 John 3:4. 21:10 It says, "For sins is..." What? 21:12 "...sin is the transgression of the law." 21:16 So I want you to notice what we have here. 21:18 The law requires absolute sinless perfection, 21:21 absolute righteousness. 21:24 If that is not offered to the law, that is called what? 21:29 Sin. 21:30 And let me ask you, how many people are guilty of sin 21:35 on this earth? 21:36 Every single person. 21:38 Notice Romans 3:10. 21:41 Romans 3:10 21:43 And then also we will read verse 23. 21:54 How many human beings could offer sinless perfection 21:58 to the law, absolute righteousness to the law? 22:01 No one. 22:03 It says, once again... 22:08 And then verse 23 tells us... 22:16 So there's a serious problem in the human race. 22:20 There is no one on the planet that can offer the law 22:25 perfect righteousness. 22:27 And so, the law tells every human being what? 22:30 Because you don't offer the law perfect righteousness, 22:33 a perfect life, the result is that you must what? 22:38 You must die. 22:40 Let's read that in Romans 5:12. 22:43 Romans 5:12 22:46 And then we'll also read chapter 6:23. 22:56 Who was that one man? 22:59 Adam. Very well. 23:15 Are you seeing the chain of argument here? 23:20 And then it says in Romans 6:23... 23:29 So the law says, "Obey me perfectly and live. 23:33 If you don't, that's sin. 23:36 And if you sin, you will die." 23:39 And everyone has what? Sinned. 23:42 Therefore, how many human beings were on death row? 23:45 Every single human being was on death row. 23:48 Now the question is, how could man be saved 23:53 from this problem of not being able to offer the law 23:57 sinless perfection, or absolute righteousness, 24:00 when there was no one in the human race who could 24:03 offer the law what the law requires? 24:06 Well, in the Old Testament we have what are called, 24:09 the laws of redemption. 24:11 If a person, for example, sold their possession, 24:15 their inheritance, that inheritance could 24:18 be bought back. 24:20 And if an individual sold himself into slavery 24:24 or into servant-hood, there was a way in which 24:27 that person could gain his freedom. 24:30 And you say, "Well, how could the person get back 24:33 their inheritance that they had sold, and get back the freedom 24:36 that they had sold as well?" 24:38 Let's go to Leviticus 25, and we'll read verse 25 24:42 first of all about the lost inheritance, 24:45 and secondly we'll read Leviticus 25:47-49 24:50 which describes when a person sold themselves into slavery. 24:54 First of all, Leviticus 25:25. 25:05 That is, his inheritance. 25:10 Now the word, "redeeming," is very important. 25:12 It's the Hebrew word, "ga'al." 25:16 And basically it means, buying something back 25:20 by paying a price. 25:22 It's the principle of the pawn shop. 25:25 Do you know what a pawn shop is? 25:27 You need some money, and so you take an object 25:30 and you take it to the pawn shop, and you sell it 25:32 to the pawn shop owner. 25:34 Can that object that you sold be recovered? 25:39 Yes. 25:40 By doing what? 25:42 By paying a higher price, right? 25:45 So you go pay the higher price and you can buy back 25:48 that which you sold. 25:50 That's the meaning of the word, ga'al, that is used here. 25:54 So it says... 26:02 That is, a relative that pays the price to buy back 26:05 the inheritance that was lost. 26:12 So who could redeem or who could buy back 26:16 what an individual had sold? 26:18 It had to be a what? 26:20 It had to be a redeeming relative. 26:24 And it calls that relative, specifically, his brother. 26:29 So in other words, a close relative could buy back 26:33 what had been sold. 26:35 Now, what happened if an individual sold 26:38 himself into slavery? 26:39 Because they could do that in Israel as well. 26:42 Notice verses 47 to 49. 27:07 Once again the word, "redeemed," there is the word, "ga'al." 27:10 In other words, he can be bought back. 27:13 The relative can pay a price to buy that person's freedom back. 27:18 And then notice what it says in the last part of verse 48. 27:40 Well, it's a hypothetical statement, because if he 27:42 sold himself into slavery, you know, he wasn't going to 27:46 be able to buy himself back. 27:48 And so basically what this is saying is that if an individual 27:51 sold their inheritance, or if an individual sold himself 27:54 into slavery, the inheritance could be bought back 27:58 by paying a price, and the freedom could be bought back 28:02 by paying a price. 28:04 Let me ask you this: 28:05 Did all human beings sell their inheritance? 28:09 We sold our inheritance, right? 28:11 Who did we sell it to? 28:13 We sold it to the devil. 28:15 Did all of us sell our freedom and come into bondage? 28:20 Yes. Bondage of sin. 28:22 We became slaves of sin. 28:24 Now the question is, how could we get our inheritance back? 28:28 How could we gain our freedom back? 28:31 We needed a what? 28:33 We needed a brother or a next of kin who could come 28:37 and pay the price so that our freedom could be bought back 28:42 and our lost inheritance could be bought back. 28:46 But there was a serious problem. 28:49 And that is, that within the human race 28:52 there was not a single human being that had not 28:55 sold his inheritance and sold himself into slavery. 28:59 Are you understanding the problem? 29:01 The problem is, everybody sold themselves into slavery. 29:04 Everybody sold their inheritance. 29:07 And so nobody within the human race could what? 29:11 Could redeem that which had been sold. 29:16 Now let me ask you a question. 29:18 Before Jesus came to this world, 29:22 was Jesus a member of our family? 29:28 You know, sometimes I ask that question and people say yes, 29:30 because they're not reflecting a lot upon the question. 29:34 The question is, before His incarnation, 29:38 was Jesus a member of the human family? No. 29:42 So was Jesus our next of kin? No. 29:45 So could Jesus fulfill the laws of redemption 29:49 of buying back the inheritance and buying back our freedom 29:52 if He came as God? 29:54 He could not do that. 29:55 He had to be what? 29:57 He had to be our next of kin. 29:58 And you say, "Well, why would He have to be our next of kin?" 30:02 There are several reasons, but there are two main reasons. 30:05 Number one, the Bible tells us that God cannot be tempted. 30:13 And so if Jesus had come as God, He could not have been what? 30:18 He could not have been tempted. 30:19 Could Jesus have developed a perfect life of righteousness 30:23 if He was not a human being? 30:24 No. 30:26 He had to be tempted in all things such as we are, 30:29 and He had to develop a righteous character 30:31 that He could give to us when we claim it. 30:34 Are you following me or not? 30:36 But if He came as God, He couldn't be tempted. 30:39 And therefore, He could not form a righteous character 30:42 that He could impute or credit to our account. 30:46 So because He had to be tempted, He had to come as a human being. 30:51 It says in James 1:13... 31:04 So can anyone tempt God? 31:05 If Jesus had come to this world as God, would the devil 31:10 have been able to deceive Him? 31:12 Come on, God can't be deceived. 31:13 God knows all things. 31:15 And so it would not have helped us at all 31:17 for Jesus to come as God. 31:18 Now there's a second reason why Jesus had to become 31:21 our next of kin, He had to become a human being. 31:23 And that is so that He could die. 31:28 Can God die? 31:30 No. God can't die. 31:32 Notice 1 Timothy 6:15-16. 31:36 1 Timothy 6:15-16 31:39 I'm only reading the last part of verse 15. 31:42 Speaking about God the Father, it says.. 32:07 And so you notice here that we're told that God is what? 32:11 Immortal. 32:13 Basically, it means that God cannot die. 32:15 So if Jesus had come to this earth, not as one 32:18 of our next of kin, could Jesus have died? 32:22 He could not have died. 32:24 And so now we understand why the laws of redemption 32:26 required that an individual, in order to redeem someone, 32:30 had to be his brother. 32:32 It had to be a member of that family. 32:35 Are you following me or not? 32:36 Now, here's something very interesting. 32:39 Go with me to Matthew 1:1. 32:43 Matthew 1:1 32:46 This is speaking about the genealogy of Jesus Christ. 32:51 And I want you to notice what we're told there in Matthew 1:1. 33:05 So was Jesus the Son of David? 33:08 Yes. Was Jesus the Son of Abraham? 33:11 He most certainly was. 33:13 Bu now I want you to notice something very interesting. 33:17 Go with me in your Bibles to John 8:58. 33:22 John 8:58 33:26 Here, Jesus is speaking to a group of Jews. 33:29 And I want you to notice what He says. 33:34 Or as it says in the King James, "Verily, verily..." 33:42 Now wait a minute. 33:43 We just read that Jesus is the Son of Abraham. 33:46 Now Jesus is saying, "Before Abraham was, I AM." 33:50 So Jesus is the Father of Abraham and the Son of Abraham. 33:54 You say, "Now wait a minute. 33:55 How can He be the Father and the Son of the same person?" 33:59 Well, because as God He's Abraham's Father. 34:03 And as Son of Abraham, He is because He became incarnate. 34:09 Are you with me or not? 34:10 Now notice also Revelation 22:16. 34:14 Revelation 22:16. 34:18 Here, Jesus is speaking and He says... 34:33 So Jesus is the Root of David, 34:36 and He is also the Offspring of David. 34:38 So David comes from Jesus and Jesus comes from David. 34:42 You say, "Now how can that be possible?" 34:44 How can Jesus be the Father of David and the Son of David? 34:47 He's the Father of David because He created David. 34:52 Because He is God. 34:53 He is the Son of David because He is what? 34:56 Because He is man. 34:58 So are you understanding the reason for the incarnation? 35:02 If Jesus had not become a man, Jesus could not have been 35:07 tempted like we are tempted, and He could not have developed 35:10 a righteous character that He could offer the law 35:13 in our place. 35:15 Are you following me or not? 35:16 Very, very important point. 35:18 And that's what we're studying today. 35:20 And in our next study together, I'm going to show you 35:23 that unless Jesus had become a man, our next of kin, 35:27 Jesus could not have gone to the court to die at the altar, 35:32 because God is immortal. 35:34 He had to become a man in order to what? 35:37 To die. 35:38 So He had to become a man in order to be tempted 35:41 and develop perfect righteousness to offer the law 35:43 in our place. 35:45 And then, Jesus had to bear the sins of the whole world, 35:48 and as a human being He had to die, paying for the penalty 35:51 of the sins of the whole world. 35:54 I hope you're understanding what we're saying. 35:56 Now let's go to John 1:14. 35:59 John 1:14 36:02 You know, sin was committed in the Sanctuary camp. 36:07 So Jesus came to camp in our midst when He became incarnate. 36:11 You know, sometimes, actually most of the time, 36:14 when Adventists study the Sanctuary, they begin 36:17 the study of the Sanctuary in the court at the altar. 36:20 I think it's a mistake to start studying the Sanctuary 36:24 in the court at the altar of sacrifice. 36:27 Let me ask you, does the ministry of Jesus begin 36:30 when He died on the cross? 36:32 Or did He have to live a perfect life before that? 36:35 He had to live a perfect life. 36:37 You see, in order for the sacrifice to be acceptable 36:41 before God, that animal had to be without what? 36:46 Without blemish. 36:48 And the priest that offered the sacrifice 36:51 also had to be without blemish. 36:54 Now the victim without blemish and the priest without blemish 36:57 represents the perfect life of Christ before His death. 37:02 You see, Jesus had, first of all, to live a perfect life 37:05 so that He could offer perfect righteousness to the law, 37:09 which no human being can offer. 37:12 And that's why in John 1:14, we are told... 37:22 That word, "dwelt," is very interesting. 37:24 It comes from the word, "skenoo," which means, 37:28 to pitch a tent. 37:29 So it's saying Jesus pitched His tent in our camp. 37:33 Notice once again the idea that He came to camp with us. 37:36 And so it says, once again... 37:51 Now what did Jesus do in the camp where sinners dwell? 37:55 The fact is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness 38:00 that He could offer the law of God. 38:02 He lived that life for every single human being 38:06 who has ever drawn breath in the history of planet earth. 38:11 In order for His sacrifice to be accepted... 38:14 And tomorrow we're going to talk about His sacrifice. 38:16 In order for His sacrifice to be accepted, 38:19 He had to, first of all, be a blameless Priest 38:22 and He had to be a blameless or immaculate sacrifice. 38:28 By the way, Jesus also proved by His perfect life, 38:31 as we'll notice, that it is possible to obey the law of God 38:36 in sinful flesh. 38:38 Also, Jesus developed a perfect life that He could impart 38:43 or He could infuse into people that received Jesus Christ 38:48 as their Savior. 38:50 But we want to dwell primarily in this study 38:52 with the point that Jesus lived a perfect life 38:57 which He lived for every single human being 39:00 and He is willing to give to those who come to Him in faith. 39:05 Now go with me to Leviticus 22:20-22. 39:10 This is describing the victims that were offered 39:13 on the altar in the Old Testament. 39:15 I want you to notice what characteristics the beasts 39:20 that were offered had. 39:22 Once again, Leviticus 22:20-22. 40:04 So you notice that the victims that were offered 40:07 had to be without blemish. 40:09 Now in the Old Testament service they could only determine 40:13 that the victim had no physical blemish. 40:17 But the fact that the victim had no physical blemish 40:20 illustrated the fact that Jesus was going to come 40:23 and He would have no moral blemish. 40:25 In other words, the fact that the beast that was offered 40:29 had no physical blemish is an illustration or a type 40:33 of Jesus who would have no moral blemish. 40:37 But I want you to notice that not only did the victim 40:40 have to be without blemish, but the priest that offered 40:44 the victim also had to be without blemish. 40:46 Notice Leviticus 21:17-21. 40:51 Leviticus 21:17-21 41:43 So you notice that the victim had to be without blemish, 41:47 and the priest that offered the victim also had to be 41:50 without blemish. 41:52 Now the question is, what was represented 41:55 by the priest and by the victim? 41:58 Let's take, first of all, a look at what was represented 42:02 by the victim. 42:03 Go with me to Exodus 12:5. 42:07 It's talking about the Passover here. 42:08 Exodus 12:5 42:12 Here, God specifies what type of victim would be acceptable 42:17 in the Passover sacrifice. 42:31 So notice, the Passover lamb could have no what? 42:34 Could have no blemish. 42:36 Now the question is, what was represented or symbolized 42:39 by the Passover lamb? 42:41 We don't have to guess. 42:42 Go with me to 1 Peter 1:18-20. 42:47 1 Peter 1:18-20 42:51 It says there... 42:57 Incidentally, that word, "redeemed," that is used here 43:00 is the equivalent word to, "ga'al," in the Old Testament 43:04 in Hebrew. 43:06 And basically, it means the same thing is Greek. 43:08 It means, to buy back by paying a price. 43:11 So in the New Testament, when you find the word, "redeemed," 43:14 it means that you have gained your freedom, 43:18 you have regained the inheritance, because 43:20 our next of kin has paid the price to buy back what we sold. 43:25 That's the idea here. 43:26 So it says... 43:33 In other words, nobody paid silver or gold 43:36 to gain back our freedom and our inheritance. 43:39 So it says... 43:43 "...from your aimless conduct..." 43:45 That's another way of saying, "of your sins." 43:47 "...received by tradition from your fathers..." 43:49 That is, by inheritance. 43:57 What kind of lamb? 44:07 The plan was laid long before Jesus died. 44:20 So what was represented by the victim that had no blemish? 44:24 It was Jesus Christ who was represented by the victim 44:28 that had no blemish. 44:29 Now I want you to notice another text that refers 44:33 to Jesus as the victim without any blemish. 44:36 1 John 3:5 1 John 3:5 44:57 So is Jesus the victim without any sin? 44:59 Absolutely. 45:01 How important is the life of Jesus? 45:05 If I was to ask you this: 45:07 What is more important; the life of Jesus, 45:10 the perfect life of Jesus in the camp, 45:13 His death at the altar of sacrifice, 45:16 His resurrection at the laver, 45:19 His intercession in the Holy Place, 45:23 or His judgment in the Most Holy Place? 45:25 What would say is the most important function of Jesus? 45:30 I would say, yes. 45:33 All of them. 45:36 Because if Jesus had not lived a perfect life, 45:38 His sacrifice would not have been accepted. 45:41 And if His sacrifice had not been accepted, 45:44 He would not have resurrected. 45:46 And if He had not resurrected, He would not serve as our 45:49 Intercessor in the Holy Place. 45:51 And there would be no judgment. 45:53 And no cleansing of the Sanctuary. 45:56 You know, many Christians just dwell on the cross. 45:57 They say, "The cross, the cross, the cross." 45:59 They're dwelling just on the altar of sacrifice. 46:01 Don't get me wrong, the cross is important. 46:04 The death of Jesus for sin is important. 46:07 But it would have had no value unless Jesus had first 46:09 lived a perfect life in the camp so that He could offer the law 46:14 perfection in our place. 46:17 So basically what Jesus did was He lived His life, 46:20 and it is available to every single human being 46:23 who has ever drawn breath. 46:25 He provided a perfect life of perfect righteousness 46:28 for every person who has ever lived in the 46:30 history of planet earth. 46:32 And so you say, "Well, that means then that 46:33 everybody is going to be saved." 46:35 No. 46:37 What is the most famous verse in the Bible? 46:40 You even find it at football games between the goal posts. 46:44 Maybe it's to convert the kicker, or perhaps 46:48 it's to distract the kicker. 46:50 To lead him to think about other things. 46:52 But anyway, you find John 3:16. 46:55 And everybody likes to emphasize the first half of John 3:16. 46:59 "For God so loved the world, that He gave 47:02 His only begotten Son." 47:03 Period. 47:05 But they forget that the second half of the verse 47:08 has conditions. 47:10 Because the second half of the verse says, 47:12 "...that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, 47:16 but have everlasting life." 47:18 Was it vitally important that Jesus live a perfect life 47:20 in our place? 47:22 That He weaver a perfect robe of righteousness 47:24 that He could offer us? 47:25 Yes. But it only becomes ours when we meet the conditions. 47:30 So was the provision of His life complete for everyone? 47:35 Yes. And tomorrow we're going to find that His death 47:37 on the cross was a complete death for every sin 47:40 that has ever been committed, as a provision. 47:44 Does that mean that everybody is going to benefit? 47:46 No. Because you have to claim it. 47:49 So what I'm saying is that the work of Jesus 47:52 in the camp and in the court is for everybody. 47:55 Beginning with His work in the Holy Place, His intercession, 47:59 He applies His life and His death to those who meet 48:02 the conditions. 48:04 And then it becomes an individual thing. 48:07 It's not corporate for the whole world. 48:09 It's for those who claim what Jesus did. 48:13 Now Jesus was not only the perfect victim, 48:16 the victim without blemish. 48:18 We just read some text here. 48:20 1 Peter 1:18-20 says that He was the Lamb 48:24 without blemish and without spot. 48:26 We read 1 John 3:5 where it says that in Him there is no sin. 48:30 But the Bible also tells us that Jesus was the 48:34 unblemished Priest. 48:36 Notice what we find in Hebrews 4:15. 48:40 Hebrews 4:15 48:50 "...but was tempted in most points..." 48:56 Oh, okay. My eyes must be failing me. 49:00 So it says... 49:05 "...but was tempted in some points..." 49:09 No, it says He "was tempted in all points like Adam was..." 49:15 No, it doesn't say like Adam was. 49:19 It says, He "was tempted in all points as we are..." 49:24 But there's a difference. 49:26 "...as we are, but without sin." 49:29 Did Jesus offer the law absolute sinless righteousness? 49:34 Yes He did. 49:35 And He did it for every single human being 49:38 who has ever lived in the history of planet earth. 49:41 So we're going to notice that in this way God answers the 49:45 argument that Satan used that we began with 49:49 in our study this evening. 49:50 In a moment we'll go to that. 49:52 Every act of obedience of Jesus added a thread 49:57 to the perfect robe of righteousness. 50:00 And when Jesus said, "It is finished," on the cross, 50:03 the last thread was added to the perfect robe of righteousness 50:08 that He is willing to offer to every single sinner 50:12 who is repentant and confesses his sin 50:14 and trusts in Jesus Christ as his Savior and as His Lord. 50:19 So we do not have a High Priest who can't sympathize with us. 50:23 He was tempted in all things, and yet He never sinned. 50:28 He was an unblemished Priest. 50:32 Now let's notice another text that speaks about Jesus 50:35 as the unblemished Priest. 50:37 Hebrews 7:25-26 Hebrews 7:25-26 50:45 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost 50:52 those who come to God through Him..." 50:56 Now we're going to study more of that particular phrase. 50:59 It's very interesting. 51:00 So who is Jesus able to save to the uttermost? 51:04 Did He make provision for everyone to be saved? 51:07 The provision is for everyone to be saved. 51:09 But is everybody going to be saved? 51:11 No. Notice what it says. 51:18 So must we come to God through the intercession of Jesus Christ 51:22 in order to be saved? 51:23 Yes. That's an individual thing. 51:26 It's claiming what Jesus did personally and individually. 51:31 And it continues saying here... 51:43 Who is, "them"? 51:45 Those who come to God through Him. 51:47 And then verse 26 tells us what kind of High Priest He is. 52:05 Does that talk about the moral perfection of Christ? 52:08 Could Jesus present perfect righteousness before the Father 52:12 if He had not lived a life of perfect righteousness? 52:15 No. 52:16 So how important is the life of Jesus before His death? 52:20 Folks, it's just as important as His death. 52:24 Now let's go back to Satan's argument. 52:27 Satan's argument was composed of two particular points. 52:31 We're talking about the last new argument after sin 52:34 entered the world. 52:36 Point number one, Satan says to God, 52:39 "The law requires absolute sinless perfection. 52:43 And no one can offer the law that perfection 52:48 that the law requires." 52:49 That's point number one. 52:51 Was the devil right that no one on planet earth 52:54 could offer the law sinless perfection 52:56 or perfect righteousness? 52:57 He was right. 52:59 But of course, he didn't exactly know at that point 53:02 what the solution was going to be. 53:03 That the One who created all was going to offer to come 53:07 and live in place of all. 53:09 And now the second point that the devil argued was, 53:13 "Therefore, because no one is able to offer righteousness 53:17 to the law, therefore everyone is under the sentence of death." 53:24 A double whammy. 53:26 We cannot offer perfection to the law, and therefore 53:30 Satan says to God, "You said it. 53:32 You said that if anyone does not offer perfection to the law, 53:36 then that person has to..." What? 53:38 "...has to die. 53:39 And because everyone has sinned, everyone has to die." 53:43 Now the subject that we're studying this evening 53:47 solves the first problem. 53:49 The problem of nobody being able to offer righteousness, 53:53 perfect righteousness, to the law of God. 53:56 Jesus answered Satan's first accusation 53:59 by coming to this earth, becoming our next of kin, 54:04 and living the life that we should live in our place. 54:08 In this way, we've studied, He wove a robe of perfect 54:14 righteousness which is freely available to all who come 54:19 to Him repentant and by faith. 54:23 There is now a perfect life that can satisfy 54:27 the just demands of the law. 54:29 And all we have to do is become brothers of Jesus, 54:32 all we have to do is receive Jesus through repentance, 54:35 confession, and faith in Him and Jesus will take His 54:39 perfect life and He will credit it to our account. 54:42 And God will look at us as covered with the perfect robe 54:47 of Christ's righteousness which He wove by His life 54:53 on planet earth. 54:55 Now what about the second problem? 54:57 There was a second serious problem. 55:00 And that is, that the law not only requires 55:03 perfect righteousness, but if righteousness is not 55:07 offered to the law, the law says what? 55:10 You must die. 55:13 So was it enough for Jesus to live a life of 55:16 perfect righteousness that He could offer the law? 55:18 It wasn't enough. 55:20 How would the problem of all of the sins that had been committed 55:24 be resolved? 55:26 Somebody had to pay the penalty for the sins, right? 55:28 Are you understanding the second problem? 55:30 And so Jesus says, "I'm going to solve this problem too. 55:35 The first problem is solved because I went, 55:37 I suffered all of their temptations, 55:39 and I never sinned. 55:40 I wove a perfect robe of righteousness 55:42 for every single person who has ever lived 55:44 in the history of the earth." 55:45 And anyone can come repentant, confessing, and in faith, 55:49 and can claim that perfect robe of righteousness. 55:51 And they can stand before the throne of God 55:54 guiltless in Jesus Christ. 55:56 But Jesus says, "I'm going to solve the second problem too." 55:58 And this will introduce our subject for tomorrow. 56:02 Jesus says, "And then after I've lived a perfect life, 56:05 I am going to go to the garden of Gethsemane, 56:08 and I'm going to go to the cross, 56:09 and I'm going to bear the sins of the whole world. 56:12 Every sin that has ever been committed in the history of 56:15 planet earth, I am going to bear it upon Myself. 56:18 I'm going to suffer the penalty for all of the sins 56:21 of My creatures. 56:23 Because I created them all, I have the right to take the place 56:27 of all of them. 56:28 And I will take all of the sins upon Myself 56:30 and I will suffer the penalty that all of them should suffer. 56:35 And then if anyone comes to Me repentant, 56:38 confessing their sins, sorrow for sin, 56:42 and having faith in Me, I will take My life, My perfect robe, 56:47 and I will place it upon them. 56:49 All of their sins will be forgiven because I bore them 56:52 on the cross." 56:53 And those individuals will be seen as if 56:57 they had never sinned. 56:59 They will be accepted in the Beloved. 57:04 So let me ask you, does the perfect life answer one of the 57:08 accusations of Satan? 57:11 That no one can offer perfection to the law, 57:13 therefore everybody is doomed to die? 57:15 Absolutely, because Jesus offered it in the place of 57:18 all of His creatures. 57:19 Does the death of Jesus on the cross 57:21 answer the second part of that accusation? 57:24 Yes. 57:25 And by the way, when Jesus dies on the cross, 57:29 He shows both the justice of God and the love of God. 57:32 Remember that the devil tried to present a conflict between 57:35 the justice of God and the love of God? 57:38 He said, "If You don't punish man justly, 57:41 then You're a liar. 57:42 Because justice demands the death of the sinner. 57:44 But if You destroy the sinner, what God who loves 57:47 is going to destroy the sinner?" 57:49 But the beautiful thing is that Jesus came to this world 57:53 and He suffered under the justice of God, 57:57 showing that God loves. 57:59 In other words, Jesus proved that the devil's 58:01 argument was wrong. 58:02 God can be the just and the justifier of those 58:06 who believe in Jesus Christ. |
Revised 2016-08-29