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Christ as the tabernacle is for us to experience and to pass through; Christ as the offerings is for us to enjoy that we may gain Him and become one with Him. We have to clearly differentiate between these two aspects — Christ as the tabernacle and Christ as the offerings. Christ as our offerings is more subjective and deeper than Christ as our tabernacle. This is because Christ wants us not only to be joined to Him and to pass through Him but also to receive Him into us. As the offerings, Christ is not only God’s food, but He also becomes our food and our element within. Thus, we are not only joined to Him but also mingled with Him. When a person enters into the tabernacle, at most he is joined to the tabernacle, not mingled with it. However, when a person receives Christ as the offerings, Christ enters into him, not only to be joined to him but also to be mingled with him to be his element. Therefore, the offerings are not only for union but even more for enjoyment and mingling.
In the Old Testament, Leviticus 1—7 shows us five kinds of offerings: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. All these five kinds of offerings are for dealing with the situations that we are in before God. Since the fall of Adam our situation before God has not been pleasing to Him. First, we are not for God; second, our living and conduct are not acceptable to God; third, there is no peace between God and us; fourth, our very being is sin, and we ourselves are just sin; and fifth, we have wronged and transgressed against both God and man. These are the five situations that we are in before God.
Christ as our offerings is mainly to meet our need in dealing with these five situations. The burnt offering deals with our first situation before God, which is that we do not live for God. When Christ was on the earth, He lived for God wholly and absolutely. At the end He even offered His own body as a burnt offering that He might live for God in our stead to satisfy God’s desire.
The meal offering, the second kind of offering, speaks of how Christ lived His human life before God. He was so balanced, fine, and perfect, and as such, He presented Himself before God for God’s satisfaction and enjoyment.
Besides the two offerings mentioned above, there are the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. The peace offering is for peace between us and God. Formerly we were not one with God and had no peace before Him. Before we were saved, we had no peace within whenever we thought of God; we felt that we did not conduct ourselves properly and were full of transgressions and shortcomings. But then Christ as our peace offering became our peace. When we repented and received the Lord Jesus as our Savior, believing that He shed His blood for us for the redemption of our sins before God, immediately we had peace within us. That kind of peace is indescribable. The more we draw near to Him, the more we feel that He is so dear and lovable; the more we pray to God, the sweeter and happier we feel within. It is not like the past in which we were frightened and fearful within whenever we thought of God. This is because Christ as our peace offering before God has solved the problem between us and God and has therefore reconciled us to God. Romans 5:11 says, “Boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” Previously, we had been afraid of God, whereas now we boast and exult in God through Jesus Christ.
How did Christ become our peace offering? First, He was slain for bearing our sins. Leviticus 3:2 tells us that the sacrifice of the peace offering had to be slaughtered and shed its blood.
According to typology, after the sacrifice of the peace offering was slaughtered and its blood was shed, the blood was sprinkled on and around the altar instead of being brought into the Tent of Meeting. This is different from the blood of the sin offering, a portion of which had to be brought into the Tent of Meeting to make propitiation before God for our sins. The blood of the sacrifice of the peace offering, however, did not have to be brought before God; it needed only to be sprinkled on and around the altar. Why? It is because although there had been a problem between us and God, now at the altar we are at peace because of the blood shed by the sacrifice of the peace offering. Very often we have no peace within because of a problem between us and God. When in faith we see the precious blood shed on the cross and know that the Lord Jesus has solved the problem for us, within we are at peace. Therefore, in order to be our peace offering, Christ was first slaughtered for us; second, He shed His blood for us.
A part of the peace offering was offered to God as His food. The best part, the fattest part, including all the fat, had to be placed on the altar as God’s food for His satisfaction (vv. 9-11). We seldom realize that in the universe God also needs food and that God has His food. We eat our food at the dining table, but God’s dining table is the altar, and His food is Christ. When Christ placed Himself on the altar, He became a food of fragrance for God’s enjoyment and satisfaction.
The remaining parts of the peace offering are for us, indicating that Christ has also become our enjoyment. Christ was slain and shed His blood not only to satisfy God’s need but also to satisfy our need as well. God and we, we and God, are both satisfied; therefore, God and we, we and God, can be at peace with one another.
Christ has made peace between us and God. If Christ had not been killed, had not shed His blood for us, and had not become God’s food and our food, then God’s requirement upon us could not have been met, and our problem before God could not have been solved. Thus, there would have been no peace between God and us. Thank the Lord that He became our peace offering by dying and shedding His blood for us. On the one hand, He became God’s food to satisfy God’s need, and on the other hand, He became our food to satisfy our need. The result is that both God and we are fully satisfied and at peace with one another. This is the meaning of Christ as our peace offering.
What is the sin offering, and what is the difference between the sin offering and the trespass offering? Actually, sin and trespass differ greatly in meaning according to the Scriptures. What is sin? People commonly understand sin to be actions such as killing people and beating people. Actually, those are merely sinful acts and not sin itself. This may be likened to the fact that a tree and its fruit are not the same. Sin is the tree, whereas sinful acts are the fruit of the tree. Stealing, lying, and doing shameful things are examples of the fruit of sin, sinful acts.
Then what is sin? Romans 7:15-17 says, “What I work out, I do not acknowledge; for what I will, this I do not practice; but what I hate, this I do. But if what I do not will, this I do, I agree with the law that it is good. Now then it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me.” This portion tells us first that sin dwells in us. There are certain things that we are not willing to do, yet we do them; this is against our thought and intent. Since this is the case, it is not we who do them but the sin that dwells in us. Second, the sin that dwells within our being is active and capable of doing these things. Last, sin compels us to do these things against our will.
Romans 6 speaks even more clearly about sin. It says that sin can reign and can have dominion over us (v. 12). In the Bible sin does not refer to the outward actions of sin; rather, it refers to the source of sin that dwells in us. Romans 8:3 says, “That which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Because the Lord Jesus came in the likeness of the flesh of sin, He could be the sin offering for us, and as such, He judged sin and condemned sin. In other words, first the Lord came in the likeness of the flesh of sin, then He became the sin offering, and finally He condemned sin.
What does it mean that the Lord came in the likeness of the flesh of sin? Second Corinthians 5:21a says, “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf.” Not only do we commit sinful acts, but we are sin; we sin because we are sin. A tree bears oranges because it is an orange tree. Likewise, we commit sins because we are sin; even if we do not commit any sinful acts, we are still sin. In the beginning, after Adam was created and before his fall, he did not sin because he was not sin; he was a man. Then in Genesis 3, after he had eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (v. 6), another element was added into him. That element was Satan. When the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil entered into man, Satan entered into man as sin. Since that time there has been the element of sin within man, and man has become sin. Everyone who is of Adam is a sinner from his birth.
In God’s creation we were human beings, but after sin entered into us, we became sinners. Since we are sinners, we commit sins without being taught, just as an orange tree, after a period of time, will naturally bear oranges without having to learn how. Some would ask, “What is man?” Strictly speaking, man is sin. Within man there is nothing but sin. However, one day the Lord Jesus became flesh; that is, He became a man like us. We are sin, so when the Lord Jesus became a man, He was in the likeness of the flesh of sin. He not only bore our sins but also became sin for us. He who did not know sin was made sin on our behalf. However, although He had the likeness of the flesh of sin, within Him He did not have the substance of sin. This is typified by the bronze serpent in the Old Testament (Num. 21:4-9).
John 3:14 says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” That bronze serpent typified Christ. In the Old Testament a bronze serpent was lifted up on a pole; in the New Testament a man — Jesus — was lifted up on the cross on Mount Golgotha. Was the One who was hung on the cross a man or a serpent? He was a man, yet He was typified by a serpent; He had the appearance of a serpent, yet He was truly a man. The serpent is Satan (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9). After the children of Israel sinned in the wilderness, poisonous serpents came into their midst and bit them. When the venom of the serpent entered into them, they became serpents. To say that at that time they were merely human would not be entirely accurate; they were also like serpents because within them they were full of the element of the serpent. Therefore, God lifted up a substitute — a bronze serpent — on the pole. Instead of lifting up a man, God lifted up a bronze serpent, because in His eyes all the children of Israel had become serpents.
However, there is a difference between the serpent that was lifted up on the pole and the serpents that bit the children of Israel. The serpent on the pole was a bronze serpent without the serpent’s poison. The bronze serpent typified Christ who became sin on our behalf and who was in the likeness of the flesh of sin. He only had the likeness of the flesh of sin; He did not have the reality of the sin of the flesh. Having been made sin in this way, He went to the cross as our sin offering to be judged and condemned there. When He was condemned, sin was condemned. Because man is sin, when the Lord Jesus became man, He became sin. When He went to the cross, He brought us — sin — with Him to the cross. When He was judged, we were also judged; that is, sin was also judged. When He was condemned, we were also condemned; that is, sin was also condemned. By being judged and condemned He became the sin offering; as such, He died for us not in name but in reality. As the sin offering, He dealt with us, the sinners.
The trespass offering, the last of the five kinds of offerings, denotes the Lord Jesus who bore our sins. All our sins — including lying, coveting, and all other actions by which we offend either God or man — were borne for us by the Lord Jesus. The sin offering deals with us, the sinners, whereas the trespass offering deals with our sinful acts. Therefore, both our person and our actions have been dealt with by Christ. Simply speaking, sin is the person while trespasses are the actions of sin. As such, the sin offering deals with our person, while the trespass offering deals with our actions of sin. When these problems are resolved, we are reconciled to God. Therefore, before the Lord could be the peace offering, He first had to be the sin offering and then the trespass offering; the trespass offering is dependent on the sin offering. If the Lord had not been made sin on our behalf, He could not have borne our sins. If He had not become our sin offering, He could not have become our trespass offering. If He had not dealt with us, the sinners, He could not have resolved the problem of our actions of sin. Therefore, these two offerings are closely linked together — the trespass offering follows the sin offering, and the two offerings are actually one.
These five kinds of offerings all denote Christ. When the Bible mentions these five categories of offerings, it always follows this sequence: first, the burnt offering; second, the meal offering; third, the peace offering; fourth, the sin offering; and fifth, the trespass offering. However, when we experience and enjoy these offerings, the sequence is reversed: first, the trespass offering; second, the sin offering; third, the peace offering; fourth, the meal offering; and fifth, the burnt offering. This is because according to our experience, when we are first saved, we see that we have so many sins, trespasses, transgressions, and other terrible things. At this time we see that the Lord Jesus was hung on the tree to bear all our sins. This moves us to receive Him as the sin-bearing Savior; thus, instantly we are at peace. This is our experience of Christ as the trespass offering.
Actually, our conduct is only the secondary problem; the primary problem is our being. Therefore, after we are saved for a period of time, we see that not only our conduct is poor, but even our being is problematic. Thus, we are enlightened to see that we are basically sin and that when the Lord Jesus was on the cross, He not only bore our sins, but having been made sin on our behalf, He judged and condemned us, the sinners. In this way we take a second step in knowing Christ. We then may pray, “Lord, I thank You. Since You became sin for me and died on the cross, I also died there. Lord, I experience You as my sin offering.” Whenever we see how corrupt and evil our conduct is and thus acknowledge that Christ died for us, we receive Christ as our trespass offering. When we see that our being is exceedingly wicked and even incurable, that every part of our being is sin, we would then receive Him as our sin offering. Seeing that through His blood He made redemption for our sins and that through His death He judged our person, we then have peace before God and with God. God is satisfied, and we also are satisfied.
Moreover, Christ became God’s food to satisfy God’s need; He also became our food to satisfy our need. God is fully satisfied in Christ, and we too are fully satisfied in Christ. At this moment within us we are joyful, at ease, peaceful, and comfortable; moreover, our heart is full of thanksgiving and praise. We have a sense that Christ is so good and so precious and that He is our peace, our reconciliation, and our acceptance to God. In this way we experience Christ as the peace offering. The peace offering is based on the trespass offering and the sin offering. Our trespasses and our sin were dealt with through Christ’s redemption, so there is no more problem between God and us. God is satisfied, and we are also satisfied; thus, we have peace with God.
Furthermore, we will eventually say to the Lord, “Lord, I want to be like You. You are so balanced, so fine, so obedient, and so blameless. Lord, I want to be like You in experiencing the death of the cross with the power of resurrection. You are without sin and You are not natural.” At this time we will experience Him as unleavened cakes, made with fine flour mingled with oil, having frankincense and salt added into it, but without honey or leaven. We bring the cakes before God, offering them as food to God, and they also become our food. We bring the Lord’s life, the Lord’s living, and the Lord’s conduct and walk and offer them all to God as an offering for our enjoyment as well as God’s enjoyment. This is the experience of the meal offering. Perhaps what we experience is a very small cake, and what Paul experienced was a very large cake; however, no matter what the size of the offering, we who have been saved all have a certain amount of experience of Christ as the meal offering.
For a person to experience Christ as the meal offering is still not enough. At this moment he will see that just as Christ was absolutely for God, he also ought to be for God; just as Christ offered Himself to live for God, he also ought to present himself as a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1 says, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.” The one who is offering the burnt offering does not let the priest slaughter the sacrificial animal for him; rather, he himself has to slaughter it, skin it, cut it into pieces, and then arrange the pieces on the altar to be burnt for God’s acceptance. The result is that with God there is a satisfying fragrance, but on the earth there is only a heap of ashes. In the same manner, all that we have must be for God alone; if God accepts us, then all that we have will become ashes. When we become ashes before men, we will be a satisfying fragrance before God. We do not regard ashes as something pleasant, yet God delights in the satisfying fragrance that comes from the burning which turns the sacrifice into ashes.
The children of Israel first offered the trespass offering, the sin offering, and then the peace offering, the meal offering, and the burnt offering. The way we Christians enjoy Christ is the same. First, we see that He bore our sins, so we enjoy Him as our trespass offering. Next we enjoy Him as our sin offering. Then we enjoy Him as our peace offering because He accomplished redemption for our sin and trespasses. From then on we desire to take Him as our life so that we may live the life He lived and may be like Him in His conduct and walk for God’s satisfaction. This is to enjoy Him as our meal offering. Then we go on further to see that Christ lived for God and that, like Him, we must also live for God since we have received Christ. He put everything to death, giving up His all on the cross for God, so we also must be like Him, putting our all on the altar to live for God. At this point God accepts us, and we become a burnt offering, turning into a heap of ashes for God’s satisfaction.
These five kinds of experiences will finally bring in two results: one is the satisfying fragrance before God, while the other is a heap of ashes before men. All our beauty, all our good points, all our special qualities, and our everything are all burnt completely. All that is left is just a heap of ashes — shapeless, colorless, and useless. However, at the same moment that we become ashes before men, we also become a satisfying fragrance before God. At this moment we not only experience Christ, but through experiencing Him we become food to God for His satisfaction.
Every person, regardless of which kind of offering he offers, has a reaction or response to his presentation of the offering. When a person offers the trespass offering, his response is to deal with his offenses and trespasses. Therefore, in the trespass offering there are ordinances concerning restitution. For example, when someone is conscious of his offense against another person, he has to go immediately before God and before man to confess it. A person who offers the sin offering also has a response. Knowing that he has offended God, he has deep regret before God and condemns himself. A person who offers the peace offering has a grateful heart because he feels that he is so unworthy to have received such great grace. Therefore, whenever he sees his relatives, friends, and the saints, he tells them about the Lord’s grace and love. This is the response of a person upon offering the peace offering. A person who experiences the meal offering always has a desire to take Christ as life, to live out the life of Christ, and to express Christ in his walk and conduct. This is the response to experiencing Christ as the meal offering. When a person enjoys Christ as the burnt offering, he will surely give himself completely to God and live for God in all things. He will place everything he has in the hand of God, desiring that he himself and all that he has would become a satisfying fragrance before God and a heap of ashes before men. These are the responses to presenting the offerings.
If we experience Christ, we will surely have these responses. If we have these responses, this proves that we have experienced Christ as our offerings. In our initial enjoyment of Christ, we deal with our trespasses and offenses. In our further enjoyment of Christ, we realize that we are sin and that we are wicked. When we go on another step to enjoy Christ, our heart is grateful, and we are full of joy. After a further step of enjoying Christ, we desire to live Him out. In our ultimate enjoyment of Christ everything we have is for God; we become a heap of ashes before men and a satisfying fragrance for God’s enjoyment. In this way Christ is our offering as well as God’s food. This is the burnt offering.
