The blood of that which dies of itself signifies the blood of one who sacrifices himself for the good of others, which blood cannot redeem us from our sins. Only the blood of Jesus Christ, whom God bruised (Isa. 53:10) on the cross, can cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
Throughout history a number of heroes have shed their blood for others. But this kind of blood cannot redeem us. Therefore, we must reject it.
The blood of that which is torn by beasts signifies the blood of one who is martyred by wild people, who are like beasts, which blood also is unable to redeem us from our sins. Only the blood of Jesus Christ, whom God judged on the cross (Isa. 53:8), is able to wash us from our sins (Rev. 1:5). On the cross, God bruised Christ and judged Him for us. Thus Christ’s blood is the unique redeeming blood. Only His blood can redeem us from all our sins.
The religions in the world today are formed mainly with one of the two things typified in Leviticus 17:15a as the basis. They are based either on one who sacrificed himself for the good of others, or on one who was martyred. In the United States there are many different religions that are based upon persons. To form a religion on such a basis is to receive a different blood. For example, those who form a religion based on Buddha drink the blood of Buddha. Likewise, those who base their religion on Mohammed drink the blood of Mohammed. From this we see that different beliefs, different religions, are based on different persons, that is, on different bloods.
“Every person who eats that which dies of itself or is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or an alien, shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean” (Lev. 17:15). This signifies that the one who takes any blood, that is, any belief, other than the blood of the Lord Jesus is unclean until the matter is cleared up and brought to a complete ending.
If you study the statistics concerning the increase of religion, you will discover that in the United States it is very difficult to bring one who is a real pagan to the Lord. The reason is that nearly everyone is occupied with some kind of belief or religion. Speaking according to typology, nearly all the people have drunk a blood other than the blood of the Lord Jesus. It is not an easy thing to remove that blood and to replace it with the blood of Jesus Christ.
God has ordained that there be only one blood that we should drink, one belief that we should receive. The one blood is the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross. The one belief is the belief in the Christ who died on the cross for us. However, the modernists preach a Christ other than the Christ who died on the cross for our redemption. This means that they have another belief. Furthermore, today the sacrifices are offered everywhere, according to one’s choice.
In the Lord’s recovery we are offering Christ in the place chosen by God, because we are standing on the unique ground of the oneness of the Body of Christ for the church life. We do not have any other standing. We do not take anything or anyone as our standing other than the oneness of the Body of Christ. Meeting on this ground, the place chosen by God, we apply Christ. This is to offer the sacrifices, to apply Christ, according to God’s choice.
If we applied Christ elsewhere, we would be prostituting ourselves, making ourselves into a prostitute who does not have a definite husband. That would be spiritual fornication.
In the past, we drank different bloods. Now in the church life in the Lord’s recovery, we are drinking one blood. This is practiced in particular at the Lord’s table. We drink the unique blood, the blood of Jesus Christ. We apply Christ according to God’s choice.
The Lord’s recovery is a matter of caring for Christ in His person and in His redemptive work. Today we are practicing the church life in taking care of Christ in these two aspects. We take care of His unique person and of His unique work. We do not have any other person or any other work. We are here for Christ with His redemptive work.
After making a careful study of this chapter, I have the full peace to say that here we have a type showing us how we should take care of Christ in His person and redemptive work. This type indicates that we should offer Christ only in the place that is according to God’s choice and that we should believe only in Christ’s redemptive work, not in anything that replaces it.
Leviticus 17:15 tells us that the one who ate that which died of itself or was torn by beasts was to wash his clothes and bathe in water. Verse 16 continues, “But if he does not wash them and bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.” This signifies that the one who takes any blood other than the blood of the Lord Jesus should deal with his former behavior and with what he was in the past concerning religion, and should purge himself. Otherwise, he will be condemned.
This aspect of the type in the divine revelation is crucial in relation to the people who live in a world like today’s, a world full of confusion in the matter of religion. Every sinner should believe only in Jesus Christ and take His blood for his redemption that he might be saved before God. All other beliefs and religions should be abandoned and buried.
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