Leviticus 8:14-30

"And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it. And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar. But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder: And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder: And he put all upon Aaron’s hands, and upon his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD. And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the LORD: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses’ part; as the LORD commanded Moses. And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him." — Leviticus 8:14-30 KJV.

14. Sin offering — See Leviticus 4:3, note, and concluding notes of chap. 4. Note the order of the sacrifices in this service of consecration; first, sin must be expiated, and, secondly, the surrender of self unto Jehovah must be set forth by the whole burnt offering; then the bread offering is presented, symbolizing joyful communion with the Lord through the fruits of holiness. See The Order of the Levitical Sacrifices.  Hands upon the head — See Leviticus 1:4, note.

15. Blood… horns — Leviticus 4:7, note. Purified the altar — The altar, the work of the hands of sinful men, is viewed as sinful. In verse 11 it is sanctified, and now it is expiated with blood. A holy life cannot be maintained on the earth without the blood of atonement being constantly sprinkled upon it. 1 John 1:7. Sanctified — The sanctification by oil is a setting apart, the blood sanctification is a thorough purgation of the very nature. To make reconciliation upon it — The Hebrew is capable of this construction. But precisely the same words in Leviticus 1:4, are rendered to make atonement for him. The personified altar needs an atonement as much as its imperfect minister.

18. Burnt offering — Leviticus 1:3, note. Laid their hands upon the head — This act cannot here signify the transmission of sin to the victim, for this had already been done in the sin offering. Verse 14. It is rather a typical ascription of glory to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. Whether the Hebrew confessed his sins, consecrated self, or gave thanks, he laid his hand upon the head of the victim. Thus, both in prayers and praises to God the Father, the believer lays his hand upon Jesus, the great Sacrifice. He is the medium through whom all acceptable worship is offered. “He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father.” See Leviticus 1:4, note.

19. And Moses sprinkled the blood — In this consecration Moses performs all the functions of the priesthood. The first high priest was ordained by Moses as “mediator.” “In the history of the Church of Christ priests have often corrupted it, and laymen have often purified it. It is a melancholy fact that the great introducers of errors have not generally been the laity — they have had their share — but the priests, or the ministry, so called, have introduced far more errors, and said more subtle things to defend them, in one century, than all the laity have said for eighteen. The ministry of the Gospel is so very prone to magnify itself that it needs the diluting presence of other and resistant elements to keep it in order.”

21. In the sweet savour offerings the Hebrew came to present an offering which, as a sweet feast to God, was consumed upon his altar. In the sin offerings (verse 14) he came as a sinner, and his offering, as charged with sin, was cast out and burnt, not on the altar, but on the ground without the camp. Verse 17. In the one the offerer came as an accepted worshipper; in the other as a condemned sinner. Both parties may meet in Christ.

22. Consecration — This literally signifies filling; as meeting all requirements. Verses 27, 28; Numbers 3:3.

23. Blood… upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear — The consecration was not only general, but specific. The ear must be dedicated that it may be open to the divine voice; the hand and foot, that they may be efficient in sacred services. Eminent saints have practised self consecration by the enumeration of all their faculties and capacities in detail. See the Life of Dr. Payson.

“Welcome, welcome, dear Redeemer,
Welcome to this heart of mine;
Lord, I make a full surrender;
Every power and thought be thine,
Thine entirely, through eternal ages thine.”

25. The fat — The suet, Leviticus 3:3. The rump — The tail, Leviticus 3:9, note. The two kidneys — Leviticus 3:4, note. The burnt offering is evidently an object lesson inculcating the first great commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,” etc. Hence the enumeration of all the parts: the head as an emblem of the thoughts; the legs, an emblem of the walk; the kidneys and the inwards, the constant and familiar symbol of the affections. The meaning of the fat may not be quite so obvious, but it doubtless represents the energy not of one limb or faculty, but the general health and vigour of the whole. 

 26. Oiled bread — Here are all the elements of the מִנְחָה (mincha), meat offering, or meal offering, (R.V.,) except the frankincense. Leviticus 2:1.

27, 29. He put all upon Aaron’s hands — By this symbolism the priestly office was handed over to the candidates. Numbers 3:3, note. Wave offering — Leviticus 7:30, note. Moses’s part — The ram of consecration is treated as a peace offering. As Moses is acting in the capacity of a priest, the priestly portion belongs to him. This was the right shoulder. Leviticus 7:33, note.

30. The anointing oil — For its elements see Exodus 30:23, 24. These spices beautifully typify the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, which impart no acerbity of disposition, no acid tempers, but only gentle qualities and benevolent affections. And of the blood — Since both oil and blood prefigure, the first the consecration and the second the purifying of the soul, their union typifies the blending of the office of the atoning Saviour, who hath redeemed us by his blood, with that of the Holy Spirit, who transforms and sanctifies by his cleansing power. Hence, since under the Gospel all believers are dignified as priests, we are exhorted to “draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,” by the blood of the Lamb, “and our bodies washed with pure water,” the symbol of purification by the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 10:22; see Leviticus 14:5, note. Sacrifice for sin alone does not suffice; there must be an inward cleansing by the Spirit. To pardon sin is to leave the house swept and garnished but unoccupied; to fill with the Holy Ghost is to put in a keeper. Upon Aaron, and upon his garments — The person and the garments were sprinkled to prefigure both inward and outward purification, holiness of heart and of life. When the blood and the oil could be connected together, then Aaron and his sons could be anointed and sanctified together. Thus Jesus set himself apart as a bleeding sacrifice for the purchase of the holy unction for all believers, made priests unto God. This explains John 17:19.

The Consecration of the Aaronic Priest-hood: Leviticus 8:1-13

Jehovah having drawn near to his people by taking up his residence among them, now invites them to draw near unto him by the appointed sacrifices. But these must be offered in the manner which he has prescribed. This comprises a ritual so minute and elaborate that it requires for its proper performance the institution of a professional order. As sacrifices had existed before the promulgation of the Law so had priests, such as Melchizedek and Jethro, existed without the sanction of positive enactments. Now, however, for the first time, the priestly office is brought under the strict ordinance of law as a distinct order in the Hebrew commonwealth.

Since the patriarchs were accustomed to perform sacerdotal functions, Aaron, the great grandson of Levi, would naturally be the priest of his tribe. The consecration of this entire tribe to sacred duties would point out Aaron as the head of the hierarchy, the high priest of the nation. The last public act of Aaron in permitting the abomination of the golden calf, only a few days before, followed so soon by his consecration to the high priesthood, strikingly exemplifies the truth declared to Moses: “The Lord,… merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,… forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Exodus 34:6, 7. The choice, moreover, fell upon one who could “have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.” Hebrews 5:2. Fluent in speech, but, like many eloquent men, unstable, impulsive, and unfitted for the burden of administration for which his younger brother, of slow speech, was so admirably adapted, and on whom he leaned in times of fiery trial, Aaron was ever afterward earnest in his devotion to Jehovah and his people, and worthy of the high trust confided to him. This ordinance was altogether a most impressive scene. “In the background was seen Mount Sinai, silent and shrouded, as if it had never burned with fire or echoed along its gorges a solemn decalogue; around were the rich pastures of its slopes, stretching away far before their desert march. In the holy tabernacle, raised by the people’s liberality, was Aaron consecrated the first high priest, and clothed with the robes of beauty and glory in presence of all the people!”

This chapter is a record of the investment and anointing of Aaron and his sons, and the anointing of the tabernacle, (1-13,) and the consecration of the priest, (14-36,) including the sin offering, (14-17,) the whole burnt offering, (18-21,) and the ram of consecration, (22-36.)

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done. And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses." — Leviticus 8:1-13 KJV.

THE INVESTMENT AND UNCTION, 1-36.

2. Aaron and his sons — They had been previously designated to this office, and their official garments had been appointed, (Exodus 28,) and the anointing oil had been compounded, (Exodus 30:23,) and the consecratory service had been minutely described. Exodus 29. Sin offering — So encompassed are the best men with infirmities, and so liable to sins of ignorance (Hebrews 9:7) and inadvertence, that they need the efficacy of a perpetual expiatory sacrifice to keep them in a state of acceptance before a holy God. 1 John 1:7. Hence Aaron and his sons are treated as presumptive sinners for whom atonement must be made before their induction into the priestly office. Christ commissions only pardoned and regenerate men to preach his glorious Gospel, though they may be called, as were Aaron and his sons, before they are sprinkled with the blood of atonement. Two rams — One was for a burnt offering and the other was the ram of consecration, the flesh of which was treated as a peace offering. Verses 29-32. Unleavened bread — This was for a meat or bread offering. Thus, with the exception of the trespass offering, all the great sacrifices were combined in a prescribed order in this consecratory service. The order of the offerings is important as a key to their significance. See The Order of the Sacrifices.

3. Gather… all the congregation — The elders representing the people gathered in front of the tabernacle; behind them stood the congregation occupying all the heights around. No ordination of a minister should be in the presence of ministers only, but before the laity, who are deeply interested in the character and qualifications of those who stand before them as God’s representatives.

6. Washed them with water — Physical purity is desirable in itself. Cleanliness is next to godliness. But this washing of the outer man symbolizes the purgation of the inner man from all filthiness of the spirit, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Nearly all pagan nations employ water as an indication of a moral cleansing, either borrowing the practice from the Hebrews or because the symbolism is naturally suggested to the mind. The Egyptian priests bathed in cold water twice each day and twice each night. Exodus 2:5. The supposition that this washing of the priests in the wilderness was by the immersion of the entire person is too violent to be entertained. Nevertheless the Hebrew word כָּבַר here used is the same as that found in 2 Kings 5:10, “Go wash in Jordan.” For its bearing on the meaning of βάπτω see Methodist Quarterly, January, 1874, and January, 1875, p. 67.

7. The coat — This is the כֻּתֹּ֗נֶת (cethoneth), corresponding to the Greek χιτών, a closely-fitting garment in form and use like our shirt, by which term it should be translated. A person wearing this alone was described as naked. 1 Samuel 19:24; Isaiah 20:2; John 21:7. The girdle — The אַבְנֵט (abhnet) was an ornamental belt or sash, worn only by priests and state officers. Aaron’s was of fine twilled linen, tri-coloured, blue, purple, and scarlet, embroidered with flowers of needlework. Exodus 39:29. It was tied in a knot, so that the ends hung down in front nearly to the feet, and were thrown over the left shoulder in time of sacrifice. The length, according to Maimonides, was thirty-two cubits, and it was wrapped several times round the body, just below the armpits; its breadth was three fingers. The robe — The מְּעִ֔יל  (me’il). This was a cloak worn over the כֻּתֹּ֗נֶת, and under the girdle, reaching down to the feet. The ephod — The term is transferred from the Hebrew אֵפֹ֔ד. This sacred vestment was originally for the high priest, but it was afterwards worn by ordinary priests, (1 Samuel 22:18,) and deemed characteristic of the office. Hosea 3:4. It was divided below the armpits into two parts, one covering the front, to which the breastplate was attached, and the other the back, the two parts being united on the shoulders by clasps of gold or precious stones. It reached down to the middle of the thighs, and was worn over the robe. Much gold was used in making it. Exodus 39:2-21. To make a new style of ephod implied the introduction of a new system of worship. The curious girdle of the ephod — “Curious” is an adjective not found in the original. What is meant is, the band for the two parts of the ephod, which was of the same material and of one piece with it. Exodus 28:8.

8. The breastplate — The חֹ֑שֶׁן (choshen) was an ornamental bag or four-cornered gorget, with twelve precious stones set in gold, arranged in four rows. The Seventy call it λογειον, or λογιον, the speaking place, and in the Vulgate it is styled rationale, in reference to its use as an oracle. As the term breastplate is descriptive of armour it is an unfortunate translation. Within this bag were deposited the Urim and the Thummim. It is evident from this verse that these things which Moses put into the חֹ֑שֶׁן at the consecration of Aaron are different from the precious stones previously set by the jeweller. Exodus 28:15-21. “The sculptures of Thebes and Beni-Hassan afford testimony to the skill of the Egyptian goldsmiths; and numerous gold and silver vases, inlaid work and jewelry, represented in common use, show the great advancement they had already made, at a remote period, in this branch. The engraving of gold, the mode of casting it, and inlaying it with stones, were evidently known at the same time; numerous specimens of this kind of work have been found in Egypt.” — Wilkinson. The Urim and Thummim — lights and perfections; in the Seventy δηλωσῖ και αληθεια, manifestation and truth; in the Vulgate, doctrina et veritas — are, in their nature and manner of use, the greatest puzzle to be found in the whole range of Jewish antiquities. Opinions are various: 1.) Some physical effect indicated the divine will; or, 2.) Their presence excited a prophetic gift in the high priest; or, 3.) They were a contrivance for casting lots.

9. The mitre — This was a turban, since its Hebrew name is from a verb signifying to wind about. This was a very splendid head-covering, worn only by pontiffs and kings, (Ezekiel 21:26,) as an emblem of dignity, styled in Ecclus. 45:12, “an ornament of honour, a costly work, the desire of the eyes.” The holy crown — It was called holy because it had the tetragrammaton — the four-lettered Hebrew word for Jehovah — inscribed upon it. Exodus 28:36. It was of fine linen, with a fillet of blue lace, symbolizing heaven, and over it a golden diadem, “on which,” says Josephus, “blossomed a golden calyx like the flower of the henbane.” The engraved golden plate was a gold band, two fingers broad, tied behind with blue lace embroidered with flowers. It bore the inscription, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

10. Anointed… sanctified — The first verb is the act of setting apart, the second expresses the state of objects thus set apart or consecrated to a religious use. The anointing of the Holy Ghost introduces the soul into that marvellous light, full assurance, and perfect love, which constitute evangelical perfection. 1 John 2:27; 2 Corinthians 3:8-18. 11. Seven times — This number indicates perfection. See Leviticus 4:6, note. The perfect consecration of Aaron is alluded to in Hebrews 7:28, in connection with our High Priest, “who is consecrated (τετελειωμενον, perfected) forever.” In the Seventy the term “consecration” is translated τελειωσις, making perfect. Verse 33. Hence Jesus is spoken of as fully prepared for his priestly office when he is said to have been made perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10; 5:8, 9. In his personal relation to the moral law he was always perfect.

12. He poured… the… oil — This expresses a copious unction. See Psalm 133:2. The same Hebrew word is used in Isaiah 44:3, to indicate the copious effusion of the Spirit in the latter days. Aaron’s sons were only sprinkled with oil and blood, (ver. 30,) but in Leviticus 7:35, they are spoken of as anointed. The fact that Aaron alone was arrayed in his robes of office, and anointed before the blood was shed, beautifully typifies Christ in his peerless excellency and dignity anointed by the Holy Spirit before he accomplished his atoning work. Before the anointing of the sons of Aaron (verse 30) all the acts recorded in verses 13-29 were performed — the blood is shed, the breast waved before Jehovah, and the fat is consumed on the altar, its sweet odour ascending as a type of the ascension of Jesus, who was slain as a victim, and who ascended as a priest to appear in the holy place for us.

13. Bonnets — This word is still used by the Scotch to signify a cap for the head of a man. Hence Walter Scott sings, “And plaids and bonnets waving high.” But its general modern use is restricted to the head covering of a female. The Hebrew means hill shaped, suggesting the conical form of this linen cap. According to Josephus it was a helmet of linen, one wreath being plaited and folded over another, and a thin cap, suited to its shape, put over all to prevent its unfolding.

Leviticus 7:35-38 with Concluding Note

 "This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest’s office; Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations. This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai." — Leviticus 7:35-38 KJV.

SUMMARY OF PRECEDING LAWS, 35-38.

35. This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron — This is the provision made for those who are anointed priests — the perquisite by virtue of the holy office. The abstract anointing is put for the concrete, the anointed.

36. In the day that he anointed them — The command given on that day extends over the whole period of the Aaronic priesthood. A statute for ever — See Leviticus 3:17, note.

37. Burnt offering — Chap. 1, notes, and Leviticus 6:8-13, notes. Meat offering — Chap. 2, and Leviticus 6:14-18, notes. Sin offering — Chap. 4, notes, and Leviticus 6:25-30. Trespass offering — Chapter 5-6:7; 7:1-7, notes. The consecrations — This consisted in filling the hands of the priests with the things which they were to offer. See Numbers 3:3, note. It is an expressive mode of inducting them into office. This ordinance is not distinctly spoken of in the previous chapters except in part in Leviticus 6:19-23, but the offerings of which the consecration is made up have been already detailed, as will be seen in chap. 8. Peace offerings — Chaps. 3, 7:11-34. notes. “The sacrificial law, therefore, with the five species of sacrifices which it enjoins, embraces every aspect in which Israel was to manifest its true relation to the Lord its God. While the expiatory sacrifices furnished the means of removing the barrier which sins and trespasses had set up between the sinner and the holy God, and procured the forgiveness of sin and guilt, so that the sinner could attain once more to the unrestricted enjoyment of the covenanted grace, the sanctification of the whole man in self-surrender to the Lord was shadowed forth in the burnt offerings, the fruits of this sanctification in the meat offerings, and the blessedness of the possession and enjoyment of saving grace in the peace offerings. Nevertheless the sacrifices could not make those who drew near to God with them and in them “perfect as pertaining to the conscience,” (Hebrews 9:9; 10:1,) because the blood of bulls and of goats could not possibly take away sin. Hebrews 10:4. The forgiveness of sin which the atoning sacrifices procured was only a paresiv (a passing by) of past sins through the forbearance of God, (Romans 3:25, 26,) in anticipation of the true sacrifice of Christ, of which the animal sacrifices were only a type, and by which the justice of God is satisfied, and the way opened for full forgiveness of sin and complete reconciliation to God.” — Keil. See Introduction, 5, 6, 7.

CONCLUDING NOTE.

That this sacrificial code was burdensome will not be denied by those who have enjoyed the more glorious dispensation of the Spirit. There is a striking contrast between the sacrificial law and “the law of liberty” in Christ Jesus our Lord. The great purpose of the first was the ushering in of the second. In this regard not only the moral law but the ceremonial, also, was our paidagwgov, child-leader, to bring us to Christ. All the shadows adumbrate him; all the types prefigure him in his various mediatorial offices. This will account for the variety of the sacrifices containing an expiatory element. A subordinate purpose of this variety may have been to prevent that tedium which would have attended one invariable form of sacrifice. Rationalism suggests that this complicated and elaborate system was devised simply to keep the Israelites so busily employed that they would have no inclination to adopt the idolatries of the surrounding nations, especially the religious rites with which they had become familiar in Egypt. But the suggestion that God has created any thing for the sole purpose of filling a vacuum is not only a reflection on his wisdom, but a glaring indication of a lack, on the part of Rationalism, of that true spirit of philosophy which is satisfied only with the discovery of worthy final causes of things. “These rites and ceremonies were minute, in order to impress upon the Jewish mind, and upon the mind of humanity itself, the great ideas of substitution, atonement, vicarious sacrifice; till this idea became so familiarized to the hearts of mankind that they should be able not only to appreciate, but to hail with joy and gratitude that perfect atonement of which these were the shadows, saying, each of them, ‘We are voices crying in the wilderness, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!’” — Dr. Cummings.

Overcoming a Hazy Christian Experince

Andrew Murray writes:

It is because the presence of the Spirit as the indwelling teacher in every believer is so little known and recognized in the Church, and because, as the result of this, the workings of the Spirit are greatly limited, and, there is so much difficulty and doubt, so much fear and hesitation about the recognition of the virtues of the Spirit.

This spiritual incertitude, these hazy Christian experiences and weakening and distressing doubts in respect to fundamentals — the truth of Christ and personal salvation through Him — are the natural product of nebulous preaching on the subject of the offices of the Holy Spirit. This defective preaching comes from a negative experience of the fulness of the Spirit.

Conversions take the type of doctrines. The Wesleys, after a long and painful search, received the direct witness of the Spirit to the forgiveness of sins. They immediately began to preach this doctrine, strange to that era of spiritual death, though shining in the New Testament as clearly as the midday sun. People were converted by thousands, of whom John Wesley testified that ninety-nine out of every hundred could tell the exact time of their saving acceptance of Christ.

This is not the ratio of clear-cut conversions with a date among modern Methodists, because the offices of the Holy Spirit are not now so prominently and constantly held up before the people in the ministrations of the pulpit. What is the remedy? Let the pulpit be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Let preacher and layman who desire to know the promised Paraclete and to realize His indwelling, study the teaching of the Bible on this theme, especially the promises in the fourth Gospel. Gather these promises together and study them earnestly, and then turn to the Pentecostal fulfillment in the Acts, and to the full development and application of this doctrine by the apostolic writers, especially John and Paul. Approach these epistles athirst to find the artesian well of "waters springing up unto everlasting life," and to drink evermore therefrom. Study prayerfully and with faith all that the Spirit of inspiration has put on record respecting Himself and His indwelling and blessed work in your heart. Study in dependence on the Spirit, who alone can unlock the Word that He has inspired. Study with a will to follow whither the Spirit may lead, and with a complete self-surrender to God and that perfect self-effacement which Paul describes as a double crucifixion, "the world has been crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. vi. 14). Consecration is indispensable to the successful study in this high theme. It clarifies the intellect, dispels prejudices and misconceptions, and unifies and strengthens all the faculties.

In this attitude of hearty consent to the leading of the Spirit, obedience to Christ and crucifixion of the flesh, the persevering believer will soon find the Spirit working in him, first as a search-light revealing impurities and mixed motives never discovered before. Then, if the will consents to their removal, the Spirit will entirely cleanse the temple of the heart and permanently fill it with His glorious presence. He will beautify His sanctuary with the entire galaxy of Christian virtues. He will strengthen its walls and make them impregnable to all assaults from without, and He will insure loyalty within by His constant indwelling "who yearneth for us even jealously" (James iv. 5, Revised Version, margin). We must remember that in both the natural and the spiritual world knowledge is preceded by faith. We must believe the Holy Ghost before we can know Him. Every altitude of higher knowledge must be the result of a stronger trust. Faith must be the habit of the soul that aspires after constant growth. Faith ever has to do with the invisible and the seemingly unreal. The Paraclete is unseen to the natural eye, and the inner eye of reason does not recognize His existence. Hence faith is the only door for the Spirit to enter and the only atmosphere in which He can dwell. There is no way of knowing the Holy Spirit but by possessing Him and being possessed by Him, just as there is no way of knowing life but by living. In fact the Holy Spirit is the life of the believing human spirit. The spiritual life is as real to consciousness as the natural life.

— from The Gospel of the Comforter, Chapter 22.

Righteousness Among Those Ignorant of Christ

That righteousness may exist without conscious assurance of acceptance and peace and without even a knowledge of the historical Christ, is no new and strange doctrine, as may be seen in the introduction of Peter's sermon at Cæsarea: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him." Cornelius was in a state of acceptance as a servant, in doubt and fear without the Spirit of adoption, because he was ignorant of the giver, Jesus Christ. Says Paul: "When the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness."

On this ground the pagans need no probation after death. They who by living up to their best light have put on the elements of Christ's character have the essential Christ, though ignorant of the historical Christ.

Trust and Consecration

Some writers on advanced Christian experience magnify the will, and say to inquirers, Yield, bow, submit, to the law of Christ. While the evangelist of the Wesleyan type says, Believe, believe Christ's every word. Both are right. Perfect trust cannot exist without perfect consecration. Nor can we make over all our interests into Christ's hands without the utmost confidence in his word.

Hence, crucifixion with Christ implies perfect faith in him, not only when he is riding in triumph into Jerusalem amid the huzzas of enthusiastic men and the hosannas of willing children, but when the fickle multitude are crying, "Crucify him." From the beginning Jesus intimated that discipleship must be grounded on an acceptance of himself, stripped of all the attractions of riches or honor. To know him after the flesh, from some selfish and worldly motive, is to fail to know him in that way which insures eternal life. To an enthusiastic scribe who had just seen the glorious display of power in the healing of Peter's wife's mother and the casting out of demons, and who was taking only a romantic, rose-colored view of discipleship prompting the thoughtless promise, "I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest," Jesus replied, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." "Let him who follows me know that he is following a pauper, fed at the tables of friends, and soon to be buried as a beggar at their expense." "If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me."

Here over the very gateway of the kingdom of Christ, stand chiseled the stoney words "Crucifixion of self." Hence, it is no stern requirement of the so-called higher Christian life; it is the condition of the lowest degree of spiritual life. The higher the degree of life the higher the required consecration.

— Half-Hours with St. Paul Chapter 10.

Let Yourself Go

Some teach that consecration must be a perfect and distinct act, preceding faith as a distinct act. But we can never surrender to a person whom we do not trust. So that faith, simple faith, lies at the bottom of every step God-ward. We have recently seen a beautiful illustration of the need of trust in order to complete consecration. A glass-worker makes a beautiful, yet exceedingly frail, ornament, and brings it to his friend as a gift. He says, "This is yours; it is very delicate, and must be touched with the greatest care.

"But," says the friend, whose hand has been out stretched for several minutes, "why do you not let go your grasp and give it to me?"

"O, because I am afraid that you will take hold of it so strongly as to break it, and all my labour will be lost," replies the giver.

"But you say that it is mine; let it go, then, and if it is shattered in the transfer, the loss will be mine and not yours."

If your gift of yourself to Christ is in good faith, let yourself go; and if you break all in pieces, you have lost nothing; it is His loss. Perhaps He can make a better use of you, thus shattered, than He could with your wholeness. In His service a broken heart is a thousand times more efficient for good than a whole one.

— Mile-Stone Papers, Part 1, Chapter 15.

Consecration and Trust

There are but two steps down into the pool which makes whole — consecration and trust. Difficulties attend both steps. Some are in doubt whether they surrender all to the disposal of Christ. To such we say, Consecrate all you know, and then all you do not know. This includes all your assets. God asks no more than this. At this point many fail, through fear that they are to become paupers, when God means to endow them with untold wealth. What, let Christ become my Lord indeed! Is it safe to give Him complete control over my heart, to be the Sovereign of my will, the Owner of all my property, while I sink down to a mere stewardship under Him. Will He not take some cruel advantage of me? Will He not command me to hard service? Will not reproaches be heaped up on me, if I avow before men and angels that I am wholly Christ's? Very likely He will honour you by entrusting to you some difficult labour. If you go into partnership with Him, you must share all the reproach which comes upon the firm. You are advised beforehand that Jesus is an unpopular character in what is called the best society. "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of His household?" "The world will hate you, because it hateth Me: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Hence there can be no perfect consecration without an accompanying perfect trust.

— Mile-Stone Papers, Part 1, Chapter 15.

An Unconditional Consecration

When the will gladly makes [an] unconditional consecration, it is easy to trust unwaveringly in Christ as the uttermost Saviour. In fact, when the self-life expires, the fulness of the Spirit comes in as naturally as the air rushes into a vacuum. Faith then becomes as natural as breathing. We create the vacuum by dethroning our idols.

The whole question relating to the faith that leads the believer into full salvation is simply whether he will sell all to buy this pearl of great price. Nearly all the delay, difficulty, and danger lies at this point, a reluctance to part with all things. Self can assert itself just as effectually in a little as in a great thing. If self has life and strength enough to cling to a straw, it has power to bar the gate to perfect soul-rest.

It is said that a traveller by night fell into a dry well. His cry for help attracted a neighbour, who let down a rope and attempted to draw him up, but did not succeed, because the rope kept slipping through his hands. At length the rescuer, suspecting that the man's grip was feeble because of his having something in his hands besides the rope, called out to him, "Have you not something in your hands?" "Yes," replied the man at the bottom, "I have a few precious parcels which I should like to save as well as myself." When at last he became willing to drop his parcels, there was muscular power enough in his hands to hold fast the rope till he was drawn up.

— Mile-Stone Papers, Part 1, Chapter 10.

How Do We Consecrate Our Possessions to the Lord?

How may I consecrate all to the Lord, and yet retain the control over all? How, for instance, can I surrender all my property to God and still retain some of it for life's uses?

The question is pertinent. No man can live without appropriating something to his own personality. Property is one of the great natural rights with which we have been invested by our Creator. We could not exist without it.

What are we to do when we consecrate possessions to the Lord? Not to shovel our money into the streets, or to pour it indiscriminately into the treasuries of the nearest institutions, but to become Christ's stewards for the faithful custody and expenditure of this property, making it accomplish the greatest possible good in the well-being of men and the glory of Christ. So much as we can spare from our business and the proper maintenance of our families we must make immediately productive for good in some department of Christ's service, for the Lord at all times condescends to use consecrated substance. But so much as is requisite for the conduct of our business and decent support of those dependent on us may be retained and administered solely for the glory of Him who gave himself for us. Here we must depend each on his own Judgment under the illumination of the word and the Spirit of God.

How may I know that I have laid all on the altar? Self generally rallies on some one point — defends itself in some last ditch. When that is surrendered, the struggle is felt to be over. We know that we have yielded and hung out the white flag, the token of our capitulation. Besides, with all honest souls God is under covenant to reveal to them the state of their hearts. It is the office of the Holy Spirit to hold up a mirror and to furnish a lamp with which we may see our exact visage.

— Love Enthroned, Chapter 17.