In this chapter we will consider the Divine Trinity as revealed in the types of the five basic offerings in the first part of Leviticus. Although I began to study Leviticus decades ago, I did not realize until recently how much of the Divine Trinity is revealed and applied to us in the types of the offerings. By the Lord’s mercy we are receiving much revelation in this study of the Divine Trinity in the holy Word.
Leviticus 1:3 says, “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd...he shall present it at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Jehovah.” Verses 8 through 9 say, “Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar; but its inward parts and its legs he shall wash with water. Then the priest shall burn the whole on the altar, as a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a satisfying fragrance to Jehovah.” The crucial items revealing the Divine Trinity in these verses are the burnt offering, the Tent of Meeting, Jehovah, the priest, the fire, and the water. We need to know the interpretation of these items in order to understand the type of the burnt offering.
In Numbers 28:2 Jehovah said, “My offering, My food for My offerings by fire of a satisfying fragrance to Me.” Thus, the burnt offering typifies Christ the Son as the food for God’s satisfaction. It is difficult to understand how Christ could be God’s food, since Christ as the Son is part of the Triune God. However, this revelation is not according to the traditional, doctrinal teachings concerning the Trinity. We need to study the entire Bible to discover all the verses concerning the Trinity, but if we try to systematize the Trinity, we will become spiritually dead. The healthiest persons are not those who know the most but those who breathe, eat, sleep, and exercise properly. In our knowledge of the Trinity, we need to be simple and brief. We even need to learn to sometimes say, “I do not know.” Then we will be at peace. Martin Luther said that anyone who claims to understand the Trinity is a teacher of God. No one can fully understand the Trinity. Every illustration used to describe the Trinity falls short in certain aspects and may even be misleading. We must beware of heresies such as modalism, which denies that the three of the Trinity coexist and coinhere, and tritheism, which denies the oneness of God. In order to properly understand the Divine Trinity, we must see that God is one and yet also three who eternally coexist and coinhere. We cannot adequately illustrate or explain the Trinity, because the Trinity is beyond our comprehension. Most people have some knowledge about the Trinity, but we need to leave our knowledge aside and keep a clear mind as we consider the revelation of the Trinity in the holy Word.
The Tent of Meeting in Leviticus 1:3 typifies Christ the Son as the place of offering. The offerings were offered at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. In order for an offering to be legitimate, it could not be offered anywhere else. Similarly, in order to offer anything to God, we must take Christ as the ground for our offering. If we do this, God will accept our offering. In Deuteronomy 12:5-14 God charged the Israelites not to offer anything outside of this place. If anyone offered something to God apart from this place, it was a great sin. To offer something to God in the wrong way is a sin. Cain’s offering was rejected because he offered something to God without taking Christ as the base for his offering (Gen. 4:3, 5).
We have seen that Jesus is Jehovah in the New Testament, because the name Jesus means “Jehovah the Savior.” However, we have also seen that in Exodus 3:6, as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Jehovah is the Triune God. Here in Leviticus 1, because Christ the Son is offered to Jehovah, Jehovah refers to the Father as the Receiver of the offering. This shows that the Divine Trinity cannot be systematized according to the doctrines of traditional theology.
In verses 8 and 9 the priest typifies Christ the Son as the serving One. The priest served the offering. In Hebrews Paul writes that Christ is our great High Priest (4:14-15; 5:5) and a Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek (v. 6; 7:17). Thus, as typified by the burnt offering, the Tent of Meeting, and the priest, Christ the Son is simultaneously the offering, the place of the offering, and the One who serves the offering. Logically speaking, this is incomprehensible. It is as if a restaurant, the food, and the waiter were all one. This shows that traditional teachings concerning the Trinity are inadequate and that the Trinity cannot be fully understood according to the human mentality.
The fire in Leviticus 1:8-9 signifies God as the accepting agent. Fire consumes and devours. We accept food by our mouth. Similarly, God accepted the offering by burning it. Therefore, strictly speaking, the fire was Jehovah’s mouth. However, we do not say, “My mouth eats.” Instead, we say, “I eat.” Thus, in the matter of eating, our mouth is our person. Accordingly, the fire that burned the burnt offering was God Himself. Hebrews 12:29 says, “Our God is also a consuming fire.” The divine fire may function for judging or for accepting. The fire that consumed the burnt offering was not for judgment but for acceptance by God. The burning of the burnt offering was the divine eating.
The water that washed the inward parts and legs of the burnt offering signifies the Spirit as the washing agent. This does not imply that Christ is unclean; rather, it indicates that Christ’s inward parts and His daily walk were continually being washed by the Holy Spirit, signified by the water (John 7:38-39), to keep Him from becoming defiled by His contact with earthly things.
We have seen that the burnt offering signifies Christ as food to satisfy God. We have also seen that the entire Trinity is involved in the burnt offering. God the Father is the Receiver; God the Son is the offering, the place of the offering, and the serving One; and God the Spirit is the washing One. The accepting fire refers to the entire Godhead. Some may think that it is wrong to consider the Son as part of the fire, since the Son as the offering is burned by the fire. Especially when studying the Old Testament types, traditional, systematic teachings concerning the Trinity are altogether inadequate. Systematic teachings concerning the Trinity open the door for endless debate, because the Trinity is a mystery that we cannot completely understand.