FIRSTBORN SONSHIP OF CHRIST

THE NEW BIRTH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
May 2004
Article 47 (Continued)

THE TRESPASS OFFERING

      A trespass is: "An unlawful act causing injury to the person, property, or rights of another, committed with force or violence, actual or implied." Webster also gives more details.
      On a broad consideration, all sins are trespasses, and all trespasses are sins. All sins are against God, against all mankind, and against all righteousness, truth, and goodness. More directly: 1) Any violation of God's laws is a trespass against God, and 2) any lack of good moral conduct toward another person is a trespass against that person, as well as against God.

TRESPASS AGAINST GOD

      1 "If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter - if he does not tell it, he bears guilt.
      2 "Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and guilty.
      3 "Or if he touches human uncleanness -- whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is unaware of it - when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty.
      4 "Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it - when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters.
      5 "And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing;
      6 "and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin,"
Lev 5:1-6.
      The emphasis here is on sins that are unknown, and what they had to do when they became aware of them. We all commit sins of which we are not aware, or are not fully aware, but they are still sin, and we will be judged for them. Also (in verse one above) any person who witnesses the sin, or hears of it, is to report it. We are not told to whom he would report it, but first it would be proper to pray to the Lord about it, second perhaps talk to the individual who sinned, third perhaps talk to the person who was wronged, fourth bear witness if it came to court, but be sure not to be a tale bearer, Pro 16:28; 18:8; 26:20,22.
      Every sin is against God, in that it is a breach of God's righteous laws: to break the least of God's laws is to be guilty of all of them. "For whoever shall keep the whole Law, and shall stumble in one point, he hath become guilty of all," Ja 2:10.

TRESPASS AGAINST MAN

      1 "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
      2 "If a person sins and commits a trespass against the LORD by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor,
      3 "Or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely - in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins,"
Lev 6:1-3.
      Again we will point out that any sin we commit or wrong that we do is also a sin against God. The scriptural standard is that we be perfect in all our life toward both God and man. Everything short of perfection is a sin against God and against man, because every sin of commission or omission affects the effectiveness of the working of the Holy Spirit in and through us, both in relation to God and man.
      Here the emphasis is upon doing wrong to one's neighbor or fellow man, particularly in defrauding someone in some way. Whether against God or man or both, retribution must be made to God and to any human who has been defrauded.

THE SACRIFICE

      6 "And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.
      7 "If he is not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD, for his trespass which he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons: one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering."
Lev 5:6-7.
      11 "But if he is not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring for his offering one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering," Lev 6:11.
      The cost factor is lowered appropriately for the poor, but the animal was killed, its blood sprinkled on the altar, and God's part of the animal was burned to ashes on the altar to portray God's righteous judgment against the trespass sin and the person who committed the trespass. The whole redemption cycle from virgin birth to divine resurrection out of the grave were clearly portrayed in all these sacrifices. However, God concealed the obvious meaning in many ways with types, figures, symbols, etc., in such a way that the proud, stubborn, and unbelieving of the world cannot properly understand the true counsel of God.
      The "clean" animal or fowl pointed to the virgin birth and sinless life of the promised Messiah. The Messiah had to have a virgin birth to begin His sinless life. Furthermore, the Messiah had to be judged by a fiery death for man's sins, had to die to experience death, and had to rise out of the grave to gain victory over death. And, in His resurrection, He had to be born again into a divine body in the precise image and likeness of God. This is clear throughout the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.       The redemption cycle permeates all the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, and is still in process, as prophesied. For the new last will and testament people – see Hebrews 7 through 13, and the whole book of Hebrews. Christ created the new man in His resurrection, and we are to be constantly putting off the old man and putting on the new man, in order to qualify for the divine resurrection into the firstborn sonship, Rom 6 and 8; Eph 4; Col 3.
      Job testified that though the worms would devour his flesh body, yet in his divinely resurrected flesh he would see His Redeemer in all His glory, Job 19:25-27. The tabernacle constantly bore witness that no one will enter into God's presence in a sinful state of being. There must be a resurrection into the image and likeness of God – into the fullness of God's divine nature, Col 2:9-20; 2Pe 1:4. God has always, from Adam on, revealed His last will and testament to His faithful testament people:
      14 "The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant," Ps 25:14.
      15 "As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness (in God's righteousness); I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness," Ps 17:15.
      9 "And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the Law, but that which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is from God by the faith," Phi 3:9.
      The faith here is "the" faith "of" Christ which we have by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, Gal 3:14-29. Being the body of Christ, and by the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ (1Co 2:16): not merely in the metaphor, but by the Holy Spirit in real experience, and to the extent of our faith obedience, 1Co 2:10-16. We therefore have the faith of Christ by the indwelling and New Testament ministry of the Holy Spirit.

THE RETRIBUTION

      16 "And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him," Lev 5:16.
      4 "Then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found,
      5 "Or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering,"
Lev 6:4-5.
      In a sin against the Lord, the offender was to add a fifth part of the priest's estimated value of the sacrifice, and it was given to the priest. In the case of a sin against a man, the offender would add a fifth part of whatever was taken from the other person. It appears this would vary, depending on what was wrongly taken away. In the case of a horse, for instance, the fifth part would likely be of the estimated value of a stolen horse, in addition to returning the stolen horse; and likewise with a stolen garment, or other such things, Lev 5:18; 6:6. This would appear to be the case with any damage done to the stolen property.

GOD'S PART

      17 "And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,'" Mt 3:17.
      5 "While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!'" Mt 17:4.
      8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples," Jn 15:8.        God's part, or, the Father's part, was 1) His will was being obeyed – the whole sacrificial ceremony testified that the will of the Father was being done, 2) God's justice and righteousness in judgment against sin was demonstrated in the death and burning of the sacrifice into ashes, 3) the priests eating of the sacrifice represented the sinner or the covenant people eating of the sacrifice and therefore being forgiven of his or their trespasses, 4) the resurrection to the divine life of the tree of life, initially offered, was portrayed by the priests eating of the trespass sacrifice (Jn 6:27-68), 5) the priests eating of the sacrifice testified that the Messiah would rise from the dead and wrest the keys of death and hell from Satan and crush Satan's head (Gen 3:15; Isa 53; Rev 1:18),6)Christ, in His person, has accomplished the redemption, and is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, and 7) Christ will return at the appointed time to glorify (deify) His faithful testament people of all ages, and usher in the millennium of "rest."       This is only the beginning of God's part, as well as the part of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the firstborn sons, and their ministering angels. Even the nations will benefit under perfect divine rule and freedom from sin in the ages to come.

THE PRIESTS' PART

      6 "Every male among the priests may eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy.
      7 "The trespass offering is like the sin offering; there is one law for them both: the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it,"
Lev 7:6-7.
      We must keep in mind that the priests (Aaron's sons only) represented the whole covenant nation, under the Law Covenant, Ex 28; 29; Lev 8; Num 3. God predestined that Israel be a kingdom of priests above all other nations, Ex 19:1-6; Isa 61:6. In this age, the true local church has been grafted into Israel's firstborn covenant position, yet a repenting and believing Israel will be grafted back into that position when Christ returns, Rom 11:11-36.
      Again, the priests in Israel represented the whole covenant nation, which is currently represented by the faithful in true churches, each church representing the temple of God and the body of Christ, 1Pe 2:4-9; Eph 2:10–22. These faithful believers are qualifying to be firstborn sons of God (Gal 4:21 thru 5:5), while the unfaithful believers will be servant sons in the nations on the new earth, Rev 21:23-26.
      The faithful of the covenant people will be born of God, possessing the fullness of God's divine attributes, (Eph 1:22-23; 4:22-24; 5:31-32; Col 1:19; 2:9-17; 2Pe 1:4-10; Jn 10:30-36; 14:8-11; 17;21-23; et al), while the unfaithful saved will never share the divine nature of God. The priests in Israel represented the whole nation as firstborn sons (Ex 22-23), while those in true local churches now represent the same divine nation of firstborn sons, Heb 12:23; Gal 4:21 thru 5:5.

THE TRESPASSER'S PART

      16 "And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him," Lev 5:16.
      When the covenant person who trespassed had offered the ram, made retribution, and atonement was made for him, he then stood fully and freely in the grace of God, and may continue qualifying for the firstborn sonship. The faithful last will and testament people will qualify for the testament inheritance, which is inheriting the divine nature, 2Pe 1:4.
      3 "As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
      4 By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust,"
2Pe 1:3-4.

DRINK OFFERING

      14 "Their drink offering shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, one-third of a hin for a ram, and one-fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering for each month throughout the months of the year," Num 28:14.
      One hin is one gallon, half of one him is a half gallon, and a fourth of a hin in one quart. The drink offering was wine, which represented the blood of the sacrifice, therefore representing the blood of Christ.
      9 "Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering," Lev 5:9.
      53 "Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no (divine) life in you,'" Jo 6:53.

FROM A JEWISH SOURCE

"QUESTION: ‘Was the ‘drink offering' poured over the animal while it was burning on the altar? Was it poured on the base of the altar? Did the ‘drink offering' represent the blood of the sacrifice? How was the animal secured on the altar? How often were the ashes removed? How did the blood drain away?
ANSWER: The ‘drink offering,' –– i.e., wine – was poured into a special drain at the corner of the altar which emptied into a large hollow space below the altar. The wine did not represent the blood of the sacrifice since the blood itself was offered as part of the sacrifice ritual.
      "The altar was quite large and could easily hold a 1200 pound animal that had already been slaughtered. The blood was dashed against the corner(s) of the altar. The ashes were ceremoniously removed each morning."

      Wine did represent the blood because Jesus used the Pascal Wine when He observed the first Lord's Supper with the disciples just before His crucifixion. The blood of all animal sacrifices represented the blood of the body of Christ's human body when He was crucified. The wine (blood) of the Passover represented the same blood of the body of Christ, as in the Lord's Supper.
      26 "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.'
      27 "Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you.
      28 ‘"For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins,"
Mt 26:26-28.
      Jesus and the disciples had just observed the Passover, after which Jesus took the wine of the Passover and instituted the first Lord's Supper. It is clear then that the wine of the Passover represented the blood of Christ, as well as the fruit of the vine in the Lord's Supper representing to the blood of Christ. See the following passages also:
      11 "Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes," Gen 49:11.
      14 "Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs; and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the choicest wheat; And you drank wine, the blood of the grapes," Deu 32:14.
      Both the blood of the sacrifices and the drink offerings were poured out at the base of the burnt altar, with some exceptions.