”And they handed the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the alter.”  Lev. 9:13

I learned as a child that the burnt offering foreshadowed Christ in His complete giving Himself up as a sacrifice to the Father “piece by piece”, more so than giving Himself for us and our sins (which is also true, of course).  “He offered Himself without blemish to God.”  Hebr. 9:14.  I have never had any good reason to correct that teaching.

Piece by piece, every bit of Him, was offered to God as a “fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2).  The whole of Him.

Now, the world, including the religious world, tears down to pieces the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Piece by piece it makes Him something else.  We have theologians who unblushingly take the lead in doing that, piece by piece till very little is left.

The challenge for you and me as His followers is to make as much of that unique Person as God wants us to do, especially as Christ crucified and glorified.  As a young man in the U.S. an older preacher once said to me, “Speak well of Christ!”  I never forgot those words.  But they are not static words, but must be renewed and revived constantly by His Spirit.

To present Christ right is the safe way of being kept from wrong doctrines.  False teachers try to seduce us piece by piece.  We counteract them by holding forth the word of God, piece by piece, knowing that His word is as good as His person.

-jn- 


Febr. 20, 2010