Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20000621.htm

LEVITICUS: GOD'S CALL FOR A SEPARATED WITNESS
Part I: The Path To Gaining Fellowship With God (Leviticus 1-10)
C. The Peace Offering's Revelation Of Having Peace With God And Others In Christ
(Leviticus 3:1-17)
  1. Introduction
    1. Unity with others and with God is supposed to be the experience of all of God's people, Ephesians 4:3.
    2. However, in our experience, such a peace is revealed as a goal in Ephesians 4:12-13a, meaning it is possible for us not to experience fellowship one with another and with God according to 1 John 1:7a.
    3. To understand the way to gain and then experience sustained peace with God and others, we view the Levitical peace offering that presents the basis and experience of such a real peace as follows:
  2. The Peace Offering's Revelation Of Having Peace With God And Others In Christ, Lev. 3:1-17.
    1. The Levitical peace offering, similar to the burnt offering, required the substitutionary death of an animal without blemish upon the altar of God, Leviticus 3:1-2 with 1:1-5.
      1. As in the case of the burnt offering, the peace offering demanded the offerer lay his hand upon the head of the unblemished animal, identitying with it as his own substitute for his sin, Lev. 3:1-2a; 1:1-4.
      2. As in the case of the burnt offering, the peace offering was slain by the offerer, and the blood was sprinkled about the base of the altar, signifying the substitutionary death of the sacrifice, 3:2b; 1:5.
    2. However, at this point the peace offering differed significantly from the burnt offering, revealing the basis of unity the believer has in Christ Jesus with God and other believers as follows:
      1. The substitutionary nature of the peace offering speaks of Christ's death in the sinner's place to satisfy the wrath of God against him, Isa. 53:10, 5; 1 Cor. 5:21. Thus, the death of Christ is the basis of peace between the sinner and God, Romans 5:1, and is pictured in the peace offering as follows:
        1. Though the burnt offering required the entire animal to be burned up on the altar to the Lord (1:8-9), only the prized portions were burned up in the peace offering: the peace offering parts burned up on the altar were the fat portions covering the animal's intestines, both kidneys with the fat portions on them and the long lobe of the liver, cf. Lev. 3:3-4 with Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 179.
        2. The "fat" was considered the best of the animal (Gen. 4:4; 45:18), so this part of the offering signaled the significance of reconciliation with God for the sinner to have true peace.
      2. However, besides communion with God, this sacrifice symbolically pictured communion with all others who partook by faith with the offerer of the peace offering:
        1. We learn from Leviticus 7:15 that the peace offering signaled fellowship with other humans, for the offerer was to consume the sacrifice along with his family, Ibid., p. 185.
        2. We know from Deut. 12:12, 18-19 that a Levite from the worshipper's community and the poor who could not afford their own fellowship offerings could also be included, revealing the grace of God involved in unifying all believers in Christ's fellowship based on the cross, cf. Gal. 3:26-28.
        3. Additionally, the priests offering the sacrifice on the altar were to receive the right shoulder and the breast, prized parts of what remained, Leviticus 7:32-34. This revealed the significance of human spiritual leaders along with the rest of the congregation being united in fellowship before God!
Lesson: As the offerer was to give God the BEST of the sacrifice that died in his place, we (1) START toward true unity by accepting Christ by faith in regards to SIN, for SIN is the BARRIER with God as well as with other humans (cf. Gen. 3:6-7) that must be handled by Christ's death so that we might have true unity with God and with others. (2) Once WE AND OTHERS have come to faith in Christ, the GROUNDS for mutual unity are established. (3) However, to have EXPERIENTIAL unity with God and other believers, we BELIEVERS involved must ALL ORDER our LIVES in accord with God's WORD, what John calls "WALKING in the light" in 1 John 1:7 in view of Isaiah 8:20; 9:2,6.

Application: (1) It takes faith in the finished substitutionary atonement of Christ to have a basis for true unity with God and with others. (2) It then takes a mutual commitment to heed God's will as it is revealed in Scripture to EXPERIENCE that peace. (3) If we believers sin, we cease to experience such unity, and must confess our sin and OBEY God's Word to have that unity renewed, 1 Jn. 1:8-10!