Aug 1977 - Q & A

"It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens

should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these" (Heb. 9:23). What is the meaning of this verse?

"The first covenant had ordinances of divine service, and its sanctuary, a sanctuary of this world" (Heb. 9:1). Men and women constructed that sanctuary from materials found in this world. These men and women were endued with divine wisdom and worked in complete subjection to the authority of the Lord expressed in His commandments and embodied in the pattern given by the Lord to Moses. In this sanctuary, which was His house and temple, God dwelt among His people. The sanctuary had two sections, the holy place and the holy of holies. Separating these two compartments was a beautiful veil. The holy of holies was the place of the divine Presence and in it was the holy throne of Him who dwelt between the cherubim. The approach of the people to their God was governed by strict conditions laid down by the Lord and it involved the elaborate ritual of defined ordinances. The people could enter into the court of the Tabernacle to offer sacrifices at the altar of burnt offering, as the law of the Lord instructed them. But direct approach into the holy place was not permitted to them. It was experienced representatively in the persons and service of the priests who continually entered through the screen to fulfil the requirements of the Lord in the holy place which housed the lampstand, the altar of incense and the table of shewbread. Approach into the holy of holies was much more restricted. The sole entrant into that sacred area was the high priest. Only once a year did he enter through the veil into the place of the divine Presence. He entered alone, but he was the representative of the whole people, whose names he carried on his shoulders and on his heart.

His was the work of making comprehensive atonement for himself and his house and for all the assembly of Israel. This atonement was necessary because of the claims of the absolute purity of the infinite holiness of God relative to the "uncleannesses of the children of Israel". Atonement was secured by the sacrifice of indicated animal victims and the application of their blood. But we observe that not only was atonement made for the people but also for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar which carried the sacrifices. The extent of this atoning work is tersely conveyed in the words of Heb. 9:21, "Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner with the blood".

Something of the significance of this statement is seen clearly in what we read about the altar of burnt offering, "He shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel" (Lev. 16:19). We may readily concede the necessity for atonement and cleansing to cover and to cleanse the people of God who, though they were a holy people because of their covenant relationship with the Lord, were an erring people who through their personal sins and transgressions incurred guilt and defilement. But the material sanctuary and the vessels of its service could not commit sin and transgression. Why did these things need cleansing? Part of the answer to this is found in Lev. 16:16, "he shall make atonement-for the holy place, because of the uncleannesses of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins: and so shall he do for the tent of meeting, that dwelleth with them in the midst of their uncleannesses". The consequences of the wrong-doing of the people affected the Tabernacle in their midst.

The tabernacle with its two parts and its ordinances of divine service were earthly copies of heavenly realities. "There are those who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as M6ses is warned of God when he is about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was shewed thee in the mount" (Heb. 8:4,5). It is in association with these heavenly realities that Christ in resurrection entered into His priestly service. He approached as High Pries~ of the good things of which the law and its ordinances contained the shadow. The sphere of Christ's high priestly activities is the holies not made with hands, the true holies, the heavenly substance of the earthly

shadow. There He took His place as great Priest over the house of God to offer on behalf of God's people their gifts and sacrifices. To this office He brought the embellishment of the glory of His own Person and character, and the efficacy of His own work. Into this holy place (the holies) God's people in this dispensation enter in their holy priesthood capacity to worship God. We emphasize that we are now speaking of collective approach to God, the drawing near of a people. Today God's people are His house, "whose house are we" (Heb. 3:6), and the people who are His house constitute the holy priesthood "to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). The house of God is on earth and finds expression in the aggregate of the churches of God. The place of their priesthood service as a worshipping people is in heaven, the holies where is Christ the High Priest.

God's people are a holy priesthood, brought into a collective relationship with God which answers to His holiness, that attribute of the divine Being which necessarily excludes from His Presence everything that has been defiled. But the men and women who constitute God's house and priesthood are persons living on earth in mortal bodies in which the evil principle of the flesh produces many kinds of defilement. How then can such persons approach God and worship in His holy sanctuary? It is true that our entrance into the holies is a spiritual movement. We do not enter physically, but organs of our physical bodies are used in our service.

Considering, then, who they are that enter the heavenly holies to worship, it will be apparent that there must be some means by which the absolute purity of God is protected. That protection is guaranteed by the blood of Christ. The efficacy of His Sacrifice extends to the holy sanctuary wherein as great Priest He officiates, and its cleansing power secures in perpetuity the purity of the place of worship. "It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these (animal sacrifices); but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these". We emphasize that the one Sacrifice of Christ has once and for ever wrought this cleansing of the holies. There is no repetition of offering as was necessary under the Old Covenant. The blood of Christ has removed for ever the possibility of the heavenly sanctuary being defiled by the failures of the worshipping priesthood. This assurance gives boldness of approach and service. Who is there that has engaged in the service in the holies and has not experienced the sorrow of wandering, and even unworthy, thoughts? Why does not the righteous judgement of the holy God summarily fall upon us? The answer is that not only are we personally "cleansed and clothed as priests" to "bring in His name thank-offering" but the place also in which we worship enjoys the abiding cleansing of the precious blood. Our High Priest who by the presentation of His sacrificial work makes continuing "propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17) by the efficacy of that same work accomplishes the continuous cleansing or purification of the sanctuary in heaven in which they worship.

The cleansing of the copies of the things in the heavens necessitated the sacrifice of several different animals. This plurality taught in type the varied needs of the people which had to be met. The one Sacrifice of Christ answers to all that the plurality emphasized, but the implications of that plurality are fittingly recognized in the expression, "But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these".

unknown | Aug 1977
Question And Answer