Turn with me to Leviticus, chapter 11. We would like to cover five chapters this morning, so we will read only a few portions.
Leviticus 11 begins with the distinction between clean and unclean animals.
And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these shall ye eat.
Verse 13 speaks of the birds that are an abomination and not to be eaten—the eagle and so on and so forth.
At the end of the chapter, the Lord says:
Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy.
Neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moveth upon the earth.
For I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
—Leviticus 11:43–45
As we have mentioned time and again, the book of Leviticus is very precious. As we come to the Lord, we are as living stones being built up into a spiritual house. It is a spiritual house; it is not a physical building, but here is God’s house.
At the same time, we are a holy priesthood. We are a spiritual house in which God dwells, and we are a spiritual priesthood to serve God in that house. Every believer is a priest.
Every believer is set apart by God. This is our profession; we have no other profession. Our whole life is for this purpose—that is, to serve Him.
In the first seven chapters of Leviticus, we find the sacrifices. The very basis of priesthood is upon these sacrifices, and all these sacrifices speak of our Lord Jesus in His many and various aspects.
We need to appreciate and appropriate our Lord Jesus as the burnt offering for our acceptance. We need to appreciate and appropriate our Lord Jesus as the meal offering for our nourishment and sanctification. We need to appropriate our Lord Jesus as the peace offering for our fellowship. We need to appreciate and appropriate our Lord Jesus as the sin offering for our forgiveness, and as the trespass offering for our restoration.
In other words, knowing the Lord Jesus in all these various aspects enables us to increase and gives us the substance of our priesthood. How do we serve God? We are called to serve with the Lord Jesus as our offering.
As we come to the Father, presenting to Him His Son, our Lord Jesus, Whom we have known and experienced, these are spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Him.
Last night, we mentioned the consecration of the priests. We are called to be priests, but before we can function as priests in God’s house, we need to be consecrated.
In Romans 12, we find:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
—Romans 12:1
Only after that, in Romans 12, do you find the members of the body of Christ beginning to function together. So consecration is something on our part. As we are constrained by the love of Christ, we need to present ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice. As we do that, He sanctifies us and sets us apart.
This morning, we would like to continue from chapter 11 to chapter 15. The subject is a holy life. We are called not only to be a holy nation; we are called to be holy, because this is a holy priesthood. Therefore, it requires holiness.
We are not able to serve as priests if we do not live a holy life. Oftentimes, when God’s people come together, we find that we should function as priests, as a priesthood, in the house of God to satisfy God. But oftentimes, when God’s people come together, many are unable to function.
One reason is this: serving God is not a Sunday business. It is not just that, when God’s people come together on Sunday, we can then function as a holy priesthood. You cannot do that unless you live a holy life throughout the week.
We are not able simply to come together and try to function as holy priests. This holy priesthood has to be backed up by a holy life. Therefore, you find the demand upon the priests that they should live a life holy unto the Lord.
With the children of Israel, there was a distinction between the priests and the people. The instructions from Leviticus 11 through 15 govern the children of Israel, and the priests were supposed to teach them all these things. But you cannot teach it if you do not live it yourself. You have to practice it yourself.
In our case, of course, there is no distinction between a believer and a priest. Every believer is a priest unto God. Therefore, all these things concerning how to live a holy life are applicable to every one of us. If we want to serve God as holy priests, we have to live a holy life.
Brothers and sisters, oftentimes when we think of a holy life, we have only a certain concept of what it means to live a holy life. Perhaps we think of the life of a monk or a nun—living away from the world in a separate order, cut off from communication with the world, devoting one’s whole life to prayer, dressing in a certain way, and so on. We call that a holy life.
But how can we live such a holy life? In Scripture, you find that every believer-priest is required to live holy. What is holiness? What is the meaning of sanctification?
Whenever we think of sanctification, we think of holiness. But what does the Bible mean by holy? Why holiness? Why sanctify, or sanctification?
The word holy, or sanctification, in the original simply means “set apart for.” In the New Testament, it means that we are set apart for the living God. That is what holiness and sanctification really mean.
God has set us apart, but not merely set us apart. It is to be set apart for something, or for Someone. Actually, it is the Someone Who is emphasized. We are being set apart unto God. That is the meaning of holiness; that is the meaning of sanctification.
The opposite of holiness is not sin. The opposite of righteousness is sin; the opposite of holy is common. Anything that is common is unholy. To be holy is to be separated unto God.
God is different. God is unique. God is not common. Because the Lord is so different, so unique, and so special, He requires that we should not be common. We should be different, and we should be special.
When Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, do you remember how he addressed them? In 1 Corinthians 1, he said:
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
unto the church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.
—1 Corinthians 1:1–2
Paul wrote to the assembly of God which was in Corinth—the church of God which was in Corinth—and he called them those who were sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints.
Not called to become saints, but saints by calling. Oftentimes, we say, “This is Saint Augustine,” or “This is Saint Peter,” or “This is Saint Paul.” We think these are special people, canonized and sanctified, and that they are saints while we are nothing.
If I should say, “Brother, you are a saint,” you might say, “Oh no, I am not. I am not that holy. I do not deserve it.” Yes, of course, humanly speaking, that is true.
Even these Corinthian believers, who were so carnal, were called saints—sanctified in Christ Jesus. How can you call these Corinthian believers saints? They were not very spiritual at all. Nevertheless, the whole point is that these Corinthian believers were sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints.
When they believed in the Lord Jesus, the Lord set them apart from the world. So far as the work of redemption is concerned, you are saved and your sins are forgiven. But so far as the work of Christ is concerned, He has set you apart positionally.
You are not of the world, because He has called you out of every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation. He has set you apart from all that is of Adam—with all the Adamic lusts, passions, and things that belong to Adam—and He has put you in Christ.
That is sanctification. Sanctification means to be set apart unto God, so that you may be partakers of the divine nature. God takes us apart from Adam and the fallen nature, and He puts us in Christ that we may be partakers of His divine nature.
Positionally, this is true. Because this is positionally true, the Holy Spirit is working in our lives every day to sanctify us. That is to say, the Holy Spirit is working every day to incorporate Christ into us and to make that divine nature manifest in our lives.
Thus, we are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit day after day. In 1 Thessalonians 5, we find:
And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
—1 Thessalonians 5:23
At the coming of the Lord, we shall see Him as He is, and we shall be like Him. We shall be completely sanctified.
As you read the Word of God, you find that when you believe in the Lord Jesus, He has set you apart unto God. He has given you His life, and with His life, the divine nature. The Holy Spirit is working in our lives day by day to make us partakers of that divine nature, which is holiness.
Every believer is a sanctified person. Because he is a sanctified person, he has to live a sanctified life. The only reason we should be holy is because God is holy. It is not because we want to be somebody; it is because God is holy, and we are unto God. Therefore, we must be holy.
This is repeated again and again in the book of Leviticus: “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Why? Because God is holy.
How do we live a holy life? In what different respects are we expected to live in a practical way? Here in Leviticus 11, you have a whole chapter on the matter of eating—what is clean, what is unclean, what you can eat, and what you should not eat: all the animals on the ground, the fowls in the air, and the fishes in the sea.
What we eat has much to do with what we are. Why? Because what you eat becomes you. This may be partially true physically, but it is wholly true spiritually. In the spiritual life, what you eat will be what you are. Therefore, to live a holy life, you must be careful as to what you eat.
Of course, this eleventh chapter of Leviticus is not merely a hygienic lesson for us. It is a spiritual lesson. The children of Israel had to choose what to eat and what not to eat, what was clean and what was unclean, physically, because they were the earthly people of God.
But with us, who are the heavenly people of God, it is the spiritual principle of eating that is important. Chapter 11 was not given merely to teach us hygiene. There is spiritual significance in it.
You remember one day Peter was hungry. It was time for lunch, but the host or hostess was still preparing the meal. Peter, being a very diligent person, did not want simply to stand there and wait and waste time. So he went up on the housetop to spend some time in prayer.
While he was praying, he saw a vision. Oftentimes, God gives us a vision in connection with what we are going through. Peter was hungry, so God gave him a vision of food.
A great sheet came down from heaven, with all kinds of things in it—clean and unclean, all mixed together. Peter heard the voice, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
Peter looked into the sheet and saw all these unclean things. He said, “No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean.” He was a good Jew. He kept the Levitical law carefully. He never touched anything unclean, because he wanted to be holy.
But the Lord said, “What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.” In other words, the Lord had already cleansed these formerly unclean things. This happened three times.
The application is clear. The Jews would not eat with Gentiles because the Gentiles were regarded as unclean. The Jews ate only kosher food. One thing that separated the Jews from the Gentiles was their eating. Because they ate differently, they separated themselves from the Gentiles in order to keep themselves holy as the people of God.
Peter looked upon the Gentiles as unclean people. He would have nothing to do with them. But thank God, in the gospel of Jesus Christ, He has cleansed even the unclean. Therefore, we are no longer common, and there should be fellowship.
Eating in Scripture always speaks of fellowship and association. It is very important for us to maintain a holy life by seeing how we associate ourselves. If we associate ourselves and have fellowship with that which is unclean, then we become unclean. If we associate and fellowship with that which is clean, then we are helped to live a holy life.
The whole concept of food is a matter of association.
What are the clean animals that can be eaten? Any animal that has cloven hoofs and chews the cud. These animals are clean, and you can eat them; that is, you can associate with them.
If an animal has cloven hoofs but does not chew the cud, it is unclean. Or if it chews the cud but does not have parted hoofs, it is unclean.
Now, brothers and sisters, what do these things mean? Consider chewing the cud. You know, cattle eat the grass, and then later they lie down and bring up what they have taken in and chew it again. As they ruminate, it becomes digested and finally becomes nourishment.
In Scripture, chewing the cud means meditation. When you meditate on the Word of God, you become nourished by it. Remember Psalm 1:
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor standeth in the way of sinners,
Nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers:
But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
And on his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water,
That bringeth forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also doth not wither;
And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
—Psalm 1:1–3
How we need to meditate upon the Word. As we meditate upon the Word of God, it becomes nourishment to us.
Think of Mary, the mother of Jesus. When something happened that she did not understand, she pondered it. She pondered these things in her heart. So, brothers and sisters, if we want to live a holy life, we need to cultivate the habit of chewing the cud. We need to ponder and meditate upon the Word.
Modern man does not meditate. Modern man does not ponder. But as we meditate upon the Word of God, as David pondered before God, as we commune with God in such a way, we find that it helps us to lead a holy life.
Meditation is meditation upon the Word—not merely meditating vaguely or abstractly. We are meditating upon the Word of God. We are thinking of the Lord.
In Philippians 4, we find the same thing:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
—Philippians 4:8–9
How we need to think on the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and of good report—anything of virtue and anything worthy of praise. We need to think on these things and do these things.
Not only are we to meditate upon the Word, but we are also to associate ourselves with those who meditate upon the Word, who think upon what is good, and who commune with the Lord. We should cultivate a habit of considering Him, thinking upon Him, communing with Him, and meditating upon His life.
Together with chewing the cud, there are cloven hoofs. What do cloven hoofs mean? These animals have their feet firmly planted; they do not slip.
It is not merely a matter of meditating. On the one hand, we need to meditate; on the other hand, we need to walk firmly. That is, we need to do what we have learned.
Some people think many things, but they never practice them. Because of that, they are only philosophizing or theorizing. If you learn something of the Lord and do not practice it, there is no firm walk.
Because we meditate upon the Word, therefore we do it. This makes our steps firm and steady. Paul says to the Corinthians:
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.
—1 Corinthians 15:58
We are not merely to be a meditating people who do nothing. We are to meditate upon the Word, and then we are to be firm, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain.
There must be a steady and firm walk. Holiness is not merely in the mind; it has to be expressed in life. We need to walk with the Lord in a firm and immovable way. That is to say, we need to do the living Word. This makes us clean.
Then, in the case of the fishes, what are the clean fishes that can be eaten? Fishes with fins and scales. If a fish does not have fins or does not have scales, it is unclean.
Spiritually, what are fins? What is the use of fins in a fish? The fish has fins because with them it can swim, turn, and go in a certain direction. Fins are used for direction.
A fish swims against the current. Because there is life in it and because it has fins, the fish is able to swim against the current toward a certain direction and goal. It does not merely drift.
If we are to be clean, we must have fins. There must be purpose in our life. We have to serve God with purpose of heart. We are not to be drifting Christians.
“Be not conformed to this world.” Do not drift with the current of this age. In Ephesians 2, we are warned not to walk according to the course of this world. That is to say, do not simply go along with the current.
We have to swim against the current. We know where we are going. We have a goal; we have a direction. There must be a purpose of heart, so that we can press on toward that goal.
As Paul says:
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 3:14
People in the world have no purpose in life and no direction; they simply drift. But we who are the Lord’s serve God with purpose of heart. We know where our goal is. We are pressing on to apprehend Christ as we have been apprehended by Christ Jesus.
Otherwise, we will be unclean. We should also have fellowship with others who serve the Lord with the same purpose.
What are scales? Scales are for protection. The scales of fish protect them from injury. Oh, how we need to put on the whole armor of God.
In 1 John 5, there is a beautiful verse:
We know that whosoever is begotten of God sinneth not; but he that was begotten of God keepeth him, and the evil one toucheth him not.
—1 John 5:18
There is a life of Christ in us, and that life of Christ is like a scale. It keeps us from sin and from evil. The life of Christ becomes our protection.
To put on the whole armor of God is simply to put on Christ. The whole armor of God is Christ. As we live in Christ and abide in Christ, we put on Christ, and He serves as the protection from sin and from evil.
Then there are the fowls of the air. It seems that Scripture gives us mainly the unclean birds, rather than a description of the clean. The eagle and similar birds represent, in a general way, the evil spirits.
The birds are there, and the creeping things represent those who are used by the evil one. In the first place, in the garden of Eden, the serpent was used. Anything that speaks of the evil one, or gives itself to the evil one to be used by him, is something with which we should have no fellowship.
The Lord Jesus said toward the end of His earthly life:
The prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me.
—John 14:30
When the Lord Jesus was born, Satan tried to kill Him. King Herod gave the command to kill every male child under two years old. Later, Satan tried to get a hold on the life of the Lord Jesus, but he could find no place in Christ. Satan could not find any ground in Him.
The same thing is true with us. We who are the Lord’s should not give any ground to the enemy. We should have nothing to do with that which is used by the enemy. We are to be completely devoted to the Lord.
Generally speaking, God gave the children of Israel a number of statutes concerning what was clean and what was unclean in their eating. By eating, they were to be a holy people.
Spiritually speaking, it means that we should be careful in our association and fellowship. If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Our habits and our fellowship have much to do with us. This is the first point.
The second point is in chapter 12. In chapter 12, you find regulations concerning childbirth. When a woman gave birth to a male child, she was unclean for seven days and then continued in the blood of her purifying for thirty-three days. After that, she brought her sin offering and burnt offering to God so that she might be purified.
If it was a female child, she was unclean for fourteen days and continued for sixty-six days. Then she brought her offerings, and she was clean. When we read this, it probably does not make much sense to us. But if you see the spiritual principle in it, it is tremendous.
How can we be clean people unless we know what we are by nature? You remember David. After he had sinned and repented, he wrote Psalm 51. What did he learn?
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity;
And in sin did my mother conceive me.
—Psalm 51:5
How many times we think we are all right? We think we are holy. Sometimes we do not know ourselves. Because we have such confidence in our flesh and such confidence in ourselves, we fall.
People are very careful in dangerous places, but they fall in places that are smooth and easy because they become overconfident. One reason why we fall is that we do not know ourselves. We think too highly of ourselves, and we trust in ourselves.
David learned one lesson: he was born in iniquity and conceived in sin. In other words, sin was in his very constitution.
Job asked the question:
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
—Job 14:4
How can anything clean come out of the unclean? If we are born in iniquity and conceived in sin, how can we be clean? It is impossible—impossible.
If we want to live a holy life, we need to know ourselves. Or, to use the theological term, we have original sin. Adam sinned, and sin came to rule over his life. As we all know, we find sin in our flesh.
We are born in iniquity and conceived in sin. Therefore, John says in 1 John that if anyone says he has no sin, he is lying, and the truth is not in him.
We often think of sin as merely something that we do. But, brothers and sisters, if that is the way you look at sin, you will never be delivered from it. We have to realize that sin is not merely something that happens. Sin is like a king that rules over our flesh.
We do not sin merely because we commit individual sins; we sin because we are born sinners. It is natural for us to sin. Sin rules in us, and we are unclean.
What does this have to do with the Christian? Remember Romans 7. Here is a man who knows the law of God. Here is a man who wants to do the will of God and wants to live a holy life.
The law says, “Thou shalt not covet.” This man perhaps had never really coveted anything before. But after he learned the law—“Thou shalt not covet”—he began to tell himself, “Now, do not covet; do not covet; do not covet.”
But the more he reminded himself not to covet, the more he found covetousness rising in him. He did not understand it.
So he made up his will. Early in the morning, he exercised his will and said, “Today I will not covet.” But the more he willed, the more he failed. Finally, he discovered that sin was in his flesh like a king ruling over him.
If I try to live by myself, I can never overcome, because sin dwells in me. “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me out of the body of this death?” Thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, we do not live a holy life because we do not know how sinful we are. We do not know that in us dwells sin. It is impossible for us to live a holy life by ourselves.
If we want to live a holy life, we have to live by another life. That is the only way. But you will not accept that other life until you are finished with your own life.
That is why, after all these experiences, Paul could say:
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
—Galatians 2:20
Paul came to the end of himself. It was not merely a matter of a mistake, a fault, a shortcoming, or a failure. He finally found that this whole old man had no way of pleasing God. But through death and resurrection, the life of Christ begins to live.
God’s deliverance is not by eradicating the root of sin. I was raised among the holiness people, and if you know anything about them, you know that they have a doctrine called the second blessing. It is a central doctrine among them.
They say that after you are saved, you need to receive the second blessing, and that this second blessing eradicates the root of sin. Then you are holy and perfect; you will not sin anymore.
I was among those holiness people, and I witnessed some of the most unholy scenes. Why? At one time, I saw the founder of that holiness denomination lose her temper in the midst of a conversation. The explanation was, “This is not sin. This is just something of the body.”
God’s deliverance is not by eradicating the root of sin. The root of sin will be in us until we die. But deliverance is wonderful.
Sin dwells in us, and sin works upon the old man—our own life. As the old man is enslaved, whatever sin dictates, the old man passes on to the body, and the body obeys.
But God has dealt with sin by putting away the old man. The old man is in the middle, with the body of sin around it, and God isolates sin by putting away the old man in Christ. Our old man was crucified with Christ.
Sin is still there, but sin is in prison. It cannot reach out to the body anymore. Therefore, this body of sin is rendered unemployed.
But the body cannot remain unemployed. What do you do? You yield your body to righteousness and to God. Instead of being used by sin, you present your body as a living sacrifice and let Christ use your body.
Then you become an instrument of righteousness and holiness. You are under new management, and how much better that is than being under the old management.
This is the way God delivers us. Chapter 12 shows us that we are born unclean, but it is only through Christ Jesus that we can live in cleanness.
In chapters 13 and 14, you have the matter of leprosy and how a leper is cleansed. Leprosy, in Scripture, is a tremendous figure. Today, perhaps we may compare it to cancer. In the old days, leprosy was incurable, and people were terrified of it.
Leprosy may be hidden in the body for many years, and then it may come out anywhere in life. It may come out on the hair, the beard, the head, the face—anywhere. It weakens the whole constitution and eats away at a person.
According to Leviticus, whenever a person was suspected of having leprosy, he had to go to the priest. The priest was to discern whether it was leprosy. If it went deeper than the skin and the hair in it had turned yellowish, the priest shut the man up for seven days. Then, after seven days, he examined him again.
When a person was stricken with leprosy, he was put out of the camp. He had to live all by himself. Whenever anyone came near him, he had to rend his garments, cover his upper lip, and cry, “Unclean, unclean! Stay away from me!”
It was one of the most terrible things that could happen to a child of Israel. He was completely cut off from the congregation, from the commonwealth of Israel. He was not allowed to go into the tent of meeting. He was outside.
No one could cure a leper except God. Therefore, when a leper was healed, he had to go through a process of cleansing.
In the process of cleansing, the leper appeared before the priest to be examined. If he was clean, he shaved off all his hair, washed himself, put on new garments, and stayed outside his tent for seven days.
After seven days, if he was still clean, he offered sacrifices—a sin offering, a burnt offering, and so on. But there was something special. After the sacrifice was killed, blood was put upon the right ear, the right thumb, and the right great toe of the cleansed leper.
This was just as they did to the priests at their consecration. First the blood was applied, and then the oil was applied. The leper was restored to the congregation and restored to fellowship.
What do these chapters teach us? If the uncleanness in birth speaks of the root of sin, leprosy speaks of the works of the flesh. Because we have sin dwelling in us, sooner or later the works of the flesh will be manifested.
According to Galatians 5, the works of the flesh are manifested in many ways:
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.
—Galatians 5:19–21
Oh, how the works of the flesh can appear in so many different ways. If you read on in Galatians 5, you find the way of cleansing:
And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.
If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk.
—Galatians 5:24–25
One day we realize how much we live in the flesh. We realize all these works of the flesh. Then we come to understand that they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
This is different from Romans 6. In Romans 6, it says, “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him.” When Christ was crucified on the cross two thousand years ago, our old man was crucified with Him.
In the Bible, the old man is always singular because it is collective. Who is the old man? All that we are in Adam—that is the old man. When Christ died on the cross, our old man was crucified with Christ.
Christ was the last Adam. In Himself, He included all that was of Adam. This is what God has done. You do not need to do anything. Our old man was crucified with Christ two thousand years ago. The only thing you need to do is know it. That is all you need.
But there is also a subjective side. The subjective side is this: they that are of Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. The flesh refers to the subjective side—to our experience.
Our old man was crucified objectively. But how about our flesh? How about our experience? Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
To have crucified means that it is continuous. It means that you have to do something; you have to decide. When you realize these manifestations, the works of the flesh, you do not want to live in the flesh. You do not want to walk in the flesh anymore.
Therefore, by faith, you deliver your flesh to the cross. You say, “Lord, I know that the flesh, with all its lusts and passions, should be crucified. Therefore, I reckon it crucified.” You yield yourself to the cross, and then you begin to live by the Spirit.
In the cleansing of the leper, the blood was put upon the ear, the thumb, and the toe. In other words, because you have lived in the flesh, you have been out of fellowship with God. Now you come back. You deliver your flesh to the cross, and the blood is applied to your ear, your hand, and your foot.
Then the oil, representing the power of the Holy Spirit, is applied. You begin to live a new life. You begin to walk according to a new strength, and there is restoration of fellowship.
Brothers and sisters, if we want to live a holy life, we must deliver the flesh, with its lusts and passions, to the cross and live by His life and in the power of the Holy Spirit. These are represented by chapters 13 and 14.
Chapter 15 concerns issues or discharges—the flowing out of the natural life. Whenever that happened, the person was considered unclean and had to be cleansed.
Simply put, it speaks of anything that comes out of us from the natural man. You remember our Lord Jesus in Matthew 15. He said that what goes into the mouth does not defile a man; it is what comes out that defiles him.
The Pharisees criticized the disciples because they ate without washing their hands. It was the habit of that day that before they ate anything, they washed their hands. If they came from the market and did not wash, they considered themselves unclean.
But the Lord said that what enters the mouth goes into the body and passes away. What comes out comes from the heart. In the heart are all kinds of evil things.
An issue speaks of something coming out. Anything that comes out of the natural man is unclean. The natural man has nothing clean in himself.
Remember the woman with the issue of blood. When the Lord Jesus was passing by and the crowd pressed upon Him, this woman tried to get near Him and touched the hem of His garment. Immediately, power went out from the Lord Jesus, and she was healed.
We need to realize that anything coming out of the natural man—our natural energy, natural cleverness, natural efforts, anything coming from ourselves—is unclean. We need to touch the Lord and let the power of His life flow out.
We serve Him not in our natural strength, but in His resurrection life. When you put all these things together, you find that this is the meaning of being holy.
God is holy. For us to serve as a holy priesthood, nothing can come from the flesh, from the old man, or from the natural life. Everything has to come from the Spirit.
That is the only way we can live a holy life and serve God. These things in the book of Leviticus teach us that, in order to be priests—a holy priesthood—we need to live a holy life.
Oh, Heavenly Father, Your Word is so clear and definite. We do desire that, by Your grace, we may be sanctified; that truly we may live a holy life; that we may be a holy priesthood.
Oh, Lord, we praise and thank You, because nothing of ourselves is acceptable. It is only Christ in us.
Oh, Lord, teach us how to live by Your life, to walk by Your life, and to serve by Your life. Teach us how to deny ourselves and take up the cross.
We do want to serve You in a holy manner, that You may be satisfied. We commit one another to You again. We ask You to keep us and show these things to us, that we may walk in them. In the name of the Lord Jesus, amen.
Thank you. Stay around if you can. They have had a few hours for me in here, and we are planning that they will be able to return next month, probably a week earlier.
So that will be November 1st and 2nd. Please enjoy fellowship, and then be able to talk together.