As the ram was killed on the altar instead of Isaac, so Christ, the Lamb of God, was crucified on the cross for us (2 Cor. 5:14). We all should have gone to the cross, but God replaced us with the Lamb of God. Christ as the Lamb of God lived in the world as a man absolutely for God. He offered Himself as a sacrifice without blemish to God for the carrying out of God’s will, and He became a sweet savor to satisfy the requirements of God’s holiness, righteousness, and glory. We are also accepted in Him by God through our union with Him (Heb. 10:5-8).
In His resurrection, Christ, who died on the cross for us, is now in us living on our behalf to satisfy God’s desire. In Galatians 2:20 Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” We have died in Christ through His death, but now He lives in us through His resurrection. On the one hand, we have been terminated, but on the other hand, we still exist. However, we do not exist apart from Christ; rather, we live because of Him and we live with Him (John 14:19). Hence, we have one life and one living with Him. Christ lives in us as our life; we live Christ without as His expression (Phil. 1:21a) for the satisfaction of God’s desire.
First Peter 2:24 says, “That we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness.” Righteousness is a matter of God’s government. Christ died for us that we might live to righteousness, that is, that we might live rightly under the government of God. This means that, governmentally, we are right with both God and men according to God’s righteous and strict requirements, that is, that we live in a way that matches the righteous requirements of His government.
Christ died for us not only that we might live to righteousness but also that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Christ was made sin for us by becoming one with us through His incarnation. Through His death He was condemned in the flesh as sin for us by God that we might be one with Him in His resurrection to be God’s righteousness. By this righteousness we are accepted by God and live a life that satisfies God’s righteous requirements as God’s burnt offering in Christ to satisfy God’s heart.
God wanted Abraham to offer his son Isaac, who would inherit God’s promised inheritance, as a burnt offering to God. When Abraham acted according to God’s command and offered up Isaac, God provided a ram as a burnt offering for his son Isaac, and Abraham took the ram as a Substitute for his son. This typifies that Christ replaces God’s chosen people, who would inherit God’s promised inheritance, as the burnt offering to satisfy God’s desire. A male typifies Christ as the strong One, and a sheep typifies Christ as One who is meek, gentle, and perfect. The ram was provided by Jehovah God, and it was caught in a thicket by its horns, typifying that Christ was provided by God and, having left the freedom of His divinity, His fighting power was caught in His humanity that we might meet Him in His humanity and receive Him as our Substitute. On the one hand, He died for us to satisfy the requirements of God’s holiness, righteousness, and glory, that we may also be accepted in Him by God through our union with Him. On the other hand, He lives for us to satisfy God’s desire that we may live to righteousness and become the righteousness of God. By this righteousness we are accepted by God and live a life that satisfies God’s righteous requirements as God’s burnt offering in Christ to satisfy God’s heart.