THE NEED OF CHRIST AS THE OFFERINGS
Christ has brought God down to the earth by being the tabernacle, but without Christ as the offerings, we simply cannot meet the requirements of God. Hallelujah, Christ is all kinds of offerings! In all these offerings, Christ meets the requirements of the white linen, the gold, and the cherubim. Christ as the offerings is capable, qualified, and equipped to meet all the requirements of the divine righteousness, holiness, and glory. Praise the Lord that we have Christ! And who is Christ? Christ is the righteousness of God, Christ is the holiness of God, and Christ is the glory of God. When we have Christ, we have these three attributes of God. Then we are able to meet all of God’s requirements. But it is not in ourselves; it is in Christ and by Christ. Hallelujah, Christ is our righteousness! Christ is our holiness! Christ is our glory! Whatever God requires, we have, because we have Christ. Therefore, we can walk into the tent of meeting with peace and joy to meet God.
On the one hand Christ is the tabernacle for God to come to us, and on the other hand Christ is the offerings for us to go to God. He is the way for God to come to man, and He is also the way for man to go to God. Eventually, He is the very tent of meeting. Here we meet not only with one another, but also with God. This is because Christ has brought God to us, and Christ brings us to God.
OUR FIRST SITUATION BEFORE GOD
The Burnt Offering
In the book of Leviticus, we see that Christ is typified by many different kinds of offerings. If we read through the first six or seven chapters of this book, we see at least five main offerings: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. Accompanying these five, there are the wave offering and the heave offering. Why do we need so many kinds of offerings? It is because we are in a situation of at least five to seven aspects before God.
Our first situation is that we are not for God. Of course, before we were saved, we were absolutely not for God. Now that we are saved, in a sense we are for God, but in another sense, we are still not for God. Are you absolutely for God? This is the first aspect of our situation. Whether we are good or whether we are bad, whether we are doing right or doing wrong, the pitiful thing is that we are not really for God. You may be doing good and still not be for God, just as others may be doing bad and not be for God. Regardless of whether we are good or bad, we are altogether not for God. One person may be a bank robber, and another may be a gentleman, but both are not for God. Therefore, in a sense, all are the same, whether they are robbers or college professors. Sometimes even the Christian teachers, preachers, and pastors are not for God. Your reading of the Bible may not be for God, just as reading a magazine may not be for God.
A Man for God
Do you really care absolutely for God? Can you say that whatever you do, whatever you say, and whatever you are is one hundred percent for God? No, none of us can honestly say this. Then what shall we do? We must take Christ! We need Him as our burnt offering. The burnt offering signifies that Christ is the One who is absolutely for God. If you would read the four Gospels again, you would see a Man living on the earth who was one hundred percent for God. Whatever He was, whatever He spoke, and whatever He did was absolutely for God. On the contrary, we are not for God. We are for our own interests and our own choices. But Christ as our burnt offering is completely for God.
In the past, my realization was that we need Christ first of all as our trespass offering. But today my realization has changed. We need Christ first as our burnt offering, because our first problem with God is not a matter of trespasses, but a matter of not being for God. Whether we have trespassed or not, we are still not much for God. We may have done nothing amiss, but we are still not for God. Though I may not be wrong with this person or that person, I am wrong with God because I am still not absolutely for Him. So our first need is Christ as the burnt offering.
(Christ as the Reality, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee)
