Order in Worship and Service--Part 3

An honest theologian thinks over God’s thoughts and brings them into God’s order, as the builders of Solomon’s temple took the stones already hewn and put them into places God designed them to be. (Read I Chron. 22.) God is the God of order (Ex. 25:40-Lev. 5; I Cor. 14:40). The Levites had to have a large apprehension of the tabernacle, priesthood, and offerings because they must put things into their proper places, since those things foreshadowed the Lord Jesus Christ and His redemptive work.

Theology is necessary to properly define, defend, and diffuse the truth of God. There is no inner light or revelation given above that which God has given in His completed Scriptures: “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3 NASB). So-called individual revelations are without a standard. Therefore, they are completely subjective. The Holy Spirit guides Christians. However, He does not guide them to formulate doctrine that false teachers superimpose on the completed word of God settled forever in heaven (Ps. 119:89).

Theology has fallen into disrepute among most “churches” today because philosophy, psychology, and sociology appeal to the natural thinking of most people. Scripture warns, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Col. 2:8 NASB). Religionists thrive on fragments of Scripture because they intoxicate their devotees until they lose sight of the whole. There is more to any Biblical subject than appears on the surface. The untrained eye looks into the heavens and sees many small lights scattered across the great expanse. On the other hand, the astronomer sees in the same heavens the depths of infinite space crowded with celestial bodies. The untrained eye cannot see what the trained eye sees. The sinner is born blind to spiritual things and cannot see them (John 9).

The Holy Spirit illuminates and leads Christians to distinguish justification of sinners from that of righteous persons. From the sinner’s point of view, justification is unmerited by Christ’s blood, which includes both forgiveness and acceptance. Either alone would be incomplete justification. The law requires satisfaction for past sins and for imperfect obedience of the saved elect. The law does not say to chosen sinners, “If you suffer the penalty, you need not render obedience.” Sinners are under a double obligation: (1) Their sins must be paid for (punished). (2) They themselves must be accepted by God. The One who justifies chosen sinners must provide deliverance from the penalty of sin due to disobedience of the redeemed who have been regenerated. Therefore, Christ provided for them the equivalent to personal obedience before and subsequent to regeneration. In order to place chosen sinners in a situation where they are right before the holy law of God, One must necessarily fulfill the law for them in both penalty and precept. These were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Surety on behalf of God’s chosen ones. God justifies the elect by imputing to them the obedience and satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Therefore, righteous persons’ justification is merited by what the Son of God did on their behalf, not by what they have done. That leaves Christians under a single obedience—obedience to the Son of God. Failure in obedience by Christians has been taken care of by Christ (I John 1:7), but not without penalizing them for disobedience (II John 8). This involves the important Biblical principle of imputation.

There are three major imputations: (1) the imputation of the Adamic sin to the human race, (2) the imputation of the sins of the elect to the Divine Substitute, Jesus Christ, and (3) the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the elect. Distinctions must be made between real and judicial imputation and immediate and mediate imputation. An immature judgment of the subject of imputation may lead one to conclude that each of the three major imputations is judicial in character, but that is not the case.

The imputation of Adam’s sin rests on a different kind of union from that of Christ’s righteousness. There is no race unity in redemption. All men without exception were in Adam when he disobeyed, but all men without exception were not in Christ when He obeyed (Rom. 5:15-19).

Mediate imputation is the theory that the inherent corruption derived from Adam is the reason all die. It means that all became corrupt by generation. Immediate imputation takes place immediately and is not mediated by hereditary corruption. This is the only view that harmonizes with Romans 5:12-21 and other Scriptures. Judicial imputation is reckoning to one that which is not antecedently his. The imputation of a person’s sins to Christ does not mean that Christ was corrupted by the infusion of his corrupt nature into His holy nature. Christ was not involved with the sins of men except to pay the penalty of their crime.

A passing reference to any doctrinal subject is insufficient. For a few examples, consider such often quoted verses as John 3:16, Matthew 7:1, Romans 5:1, Romans 10:13, etc. A part of anything is never equivalent to the whole. Therefore, all the Biblical material on any subject must be classified into the various categories into which they fall.

For instance, the subject of justification must be viewed from (1) God’s sovereignty: “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies” (Rom. 8:33 NASB); (2) God’s free grace: “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5 NASB); (3) God’s meritorious provision in Christ’s blood: “For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:7, 8 NASB); (4) God’s authoritative manifestation: “He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification” (Rom. 4:25 NASB); (5) God’s efficacious bestowment: “And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God” (I Cor. 6:11 NASB); (6) faith’s experiential knowledge: “THEREFORE having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1 NASB); and (7) works as manifestation before men: “You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone” (James 2:24 NASB).

Israel’s position in Leviticus was one of worship followed by service. Passover, which was history to Israel (Ex. 12), has a threefold significance: (1) God passed over the blood sprinkled houses (Ex. 12:13). (2) God passed over or set apart to Himself all the firstborn (Ex. 13:12). (3) God made Israel to pass over the Red Sea (Ex. 15:16). Four thoughts connected with Passover are shelter, food, instruction, and all this in view of the holy habitation (Ex. 15:13).

Leviticus 12 revealed the sinless human nature of Christ in His incarnation. This is why the uncleanness of the woman is mentioned here and in Luke 2:22. Israel had to learn her own uncleanness, even though she gave birth to the human nature of Christ (John 4:22). The coming of Christ manifested the uncleanness that already existed.

Leprosy represents the breaking out of sin in the flesh. Sins are the fruit of the nature of sin. Leprosy was discovered in Leviticus 13 and cleansed in chapter 14. Many things appear in the flesh that resemble leprosy, but they are found to be superficial. On the other hand, some things that seem superficial might prove to be deeper than the surface of the skin.

The threefold cleansing taught in Leviticus 14 restored the leper who was unfit to occupy his tent or to partake in the privileges of the tent of meeting. Discipline is not because leprosy was in the flesh. Sin is in all Christians. However, when sin becomes a deep-seated desire to fulfill the will of the flesh at all costs, the sinner must be disciplined. Miriam (name means rebellion) exemplifies this (Num. 12:1-15). When a Christian thinks he is correctly judging others, God is often judging his own state. That was true in the case of Miriam. Works of evil in her that she did not judge hindered her from perceiving the truth concerning Moses. Furthermore, the same flesh that murmured against Divine order no longer desired manna, and the lust of the flesh became a desire for a place of service insubordinate to God. Satan will always try to discredit God’s servants, even by stirring up the flesh in true saints.

God does not immediately relieve from discipline His people in whom the flesh has worked in such a sorrowful way. Miriam had to be shamed seven days. The seven days deepened her conviction of what she had already admitted before God. A work of evil may be truly judged and owned in confession, but a moral work may require perfection in the soul. Time is not required for God to forgive, but it is necessary for the saint to prove through moral exercises that he is ready to be received back into fellowship (II Cor. 2:6-8).

The healing of the leper was entirely of God. It was not the priest’s work to heal him. However, when the leper was healed, the priest had something to do with his cleansing. When there is pronounced activity of the flesh, God alone can bring an individual to judge it. The leper had to realize his condition, acknowledge it publicly, and accept the fact that he was unfit for fellowship. He found himself, like the fornicator in the Corinthian assembly (I Cor. 5:1-13), removed from among the people of God, but not forgotten by them. Leviticus 13-14 will ever be the reminder to Israel and God’s people in every age that sinning Christians will be healed and cleansed.

There are seven references to atonement in Leviticus 14. The atonement was a ceremonial affair (Lev. 16). It pointed to blood that has been poured out on earth, which turned the throne of judgment into the throne of grace on behalf of God’s chosen ones. Atonement is distinctly an Old Testament thought, and it is used in relation to the Israelites. The word “atonement” is not a New Testament word in the Greek text. The Greek noun katallage means reconciliation (Rom. 5:11; 11:15; II Cor. 5:18, 19). The verb form katallasso means to reconcile someone to someone (Rom. 5:10—twice; I Cor. 7:11; II Cor. 5:18-20).

Sins were covered but not put away in Old Testament times (Rom. 3:24-26). Covering and putting away differ (Heb. 9:24-26). No one but Christ could perform the latter because He is the High Priest. Therefore, the blessing of the present time is Christ’s finished work, which fulfilled the Old Testament types and shadows.

The difference between atonement and reconciliation is the difference between Old and New Testament saints: (1) Sins were covered in atonement. They are canceled in reconciliation. (2) The heart could rest for one year in atonement. The soul is brought before God in unclouded acceptance in reconciliation. (3) The priest entered the presence of God, but the worshippers stood outside in atonement. The prodigal is brought within the Father’s house in reconciliation. (4) The sin was covered but the conscience was not perfected in atonement. The conscience is purified in reconciliation.

Faith healers use Leviticus 14 to prove their view of healing in the atonement. They claim this was a type of healing through the death and resurrection of Christ. For the interest of the undeceived who are capable of understanding spiritual things (I Cor. 2:6-16)—(1) leprosy is a type of sin, not infirmity of the body; (2) people are excluded from the assembly because of sin, not because of sickness (Lev. 13:46; I Cor. 5); (3) pain, childbirth, diseases, and death were all imposed penalties. God willed physical death as a penal consequence of Adam’s sin (Gen. 3:19), “…it is appointed for men to die once…” (Heb. 9:27 NASB). The body was included in Christ’s redemptive work, but that does not mean that believers have the full fruits of Christ’s redemption in the present life (Rom. 8:23). If Jesus Christ stood in the place of the sick as He stood in the place of chosen sinners, their sicknesses would be as far removed from them as their sins.