The bullock having been slain, its body was taken outside the camp and burned with fire; representing that when Jesus died for our sins, his flesh life was counted as though sinful and consumed. “His flesh saw not corruption” yet his flesh life was destroyed. “He took upon him the form of a servant for the suffering of death. There that form of life (his perfect human life) ended, and though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him (so) no more.”

He was quickened, or made alive by the Spirit (begotten of the spirit) and that which is born (or begotten) of the Spirit is (when resurrected, born) Spirit (a spirit being); and since he was the first (so) born from the dead, he was a spiritual body. He was sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body.

As in the type, Aaron who took the blood of the bullock into the tabernacle, was a higher form of life than the actual bullock slain, so Jesus the spiritual body who enters the true Holy of Holies with his own blood is possessed of a higher life than the man Christ Jesus who actually died.

As in the type, the life and body of the sin offering are kept separate from the higher life and body of the High Priest, so we find that Jesus our sacrifice both in life and body is kept separate and distinct from the life and body of our Great High Priest who entered the heavens. He gave this natural life and the natural or fleshly body for our sins according to the type, “A body hast thou prepared me.”

But the slaying of the sacrifice did not make the at-one-ment; the Priest must present before God, the blood as the evidence of its accomplishment, before the Priests and Levites could be at-one with God. So, with our sacrifice; the death of Jesus brought no change to the condition of the Apostles until he had gone into the Most Holy and presented before God the evidence (40 days after his resurrection) that he had “paid it all” – that he had “poured out his soul (natural life) unto death” – had “made his soul an offering for sin.” It was accepted.

God sent forth his Spirit on the day of Pentecost as the evidence of its acceptance. Thus, he made atonement for us and by him, says Paul, we have received the atonement (the at-one-ment, reconciliation). Now we who were aliens and enemies to God and who never could have worked our way back to a condition of harmony with him, are justified in God’s sight from all things through the blood of Jesus, and because at-one, God hath sent forth his Spirit into our hearts whereby we can call him Our Father.

This feature of the work of atonement viz., the sacrifice for his body and his house was completed over 2000 years ago, and the mark of its acceptance and completeness is “the Holy Spirit given unto us.”

But another sacrifice is pointed to in the type, another sin-offering, not again for his body and house. No, that was finished, but this time it is “for the people” (Israel) typifying the world.

Two goats are used in making the atonement for the world, as the bullock had been for the house.

The first, The Lord’s goat is made a sin offering, and Aaron did with it exactly what he did with the bullock. Lev 16: 8, 15,18,27. The sin-offering of the bullock and goat were really one, and yet there are these two parts.

What do these goats typify, has been asked by many bible students, and we have asked the same and never until now have been able to find an answer to our satisfaction. We believe the two goats to be types of the two classes of true believers in Christ constituting his church.

The first, the “Lord’s goat” represents the “little flock,” “who count not their lives dear unto them.”

The second, the “scape-goat” representing “the great company” who through fear of death, were all their life time subject to bondage.

As these goats were taken from the people, as it were, to be representatives of them, so the church has been taken “from among men.” “God did visit the Gentiles to take out a people for his name.” The work of taking out goes on during the gospel dispensation, and each one as soon as taken presents himself before the Lord (i.e., makes a covenant or full consecration to the LORD), as the goats stood at the door of the tabernacle waiting.

The lot is cast (Lev 16:8). indicating to us that God does not arbitrarily elect which shall be part of the little flock or the great company class; all who believe are part of his house and are alike justified by his blood, but whether he shall be least or greatest depends largely upon his own use of the opportunities placed thus within his reach. Thus considered the church in its two companies – “The Lord’s goat (Christ’s body – the under priest) and the scapegoat (his house – believers in general, typified by Levites) have existed since the church began at Pentecost and have continued ever since. One party follows the example of the head and crucifies the flesh with its affections and lusts, reckoning themselves dead indeed unto sin. As Jesus renounced the world, flesh and devil, so do those actuated by the same spirit, remembering the promise of Jesus – “To him that overcomes, I will give to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame, and etc.”

The sufferings of Jesus were not the price of our ransom, but his death – his shed blood or life given.

Continued with next post.