First Quarter 2005 Adult Sabbath School Lessons:
"His Wondrous Cross"
The Story of Our Redemption

Insights to Lesson 3:
Jesus and the Sanctuary
January 8-14

(Produced by the Editorial Board of the 1888 Message Study Committee)

Irrespective of W. H. Auden’s somber quotation in the Quarterly concerning mankind who “have never been happy or good,” there is good news for both the hopeless and the hopeful. “Christ is the Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9. As through Christ every human being has life, so also through Him every soul receives some ray of divine light. Not only intellectual but spiritual power, a perception of right, a desire for goodness, exists in every heart. But against these principles there is struggling an antagonistic power. The result of the eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is manifest in every man’s experience. There is in his nature a bent to evil, a force which, unaided, he cannot resist. To withstand this force, to attain that ideal which in his inmost soul he accepts as alone worthy, he can find help in but one power. That power is Christ” (Education, p. 29).

The sanctuary service was God’s ordained means, from the very inception of sin, to point the struggling sinner to the power that would enable him to resist his inherent bent toward evil. The focal point of that service in the Garden was the Lamb that was slain. Wherever an altar was erected there stood the sanctuary ready for the slain lamb. The sanctuary service was rooted in the everlasting covenant spoken in Genesis 3:15 in hearing of the fallen pair.

It is impossible to separate the sanctuary from that which it is derived, namely, the covenant. The new covenant was the central truth that the Holy Spirit impressed on the minds of the two 1888 “messengers” at Minneapolis and in years following. The central feature of the covenant was the promised Seed. Whether it is the covenant given to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or David, or the Sinatic covenant, each one revolves around the SEED, the One who united His divine nature with our fallen human nature. And ultimately the power of the covenant would reside in the blood shed by the Seed of the woman.

The Covenant from Eternity and Faith

The sanctuary was a storybook illustrating how the sinner could enter into God’s covenant. But we must always remember that the ownership of the everlasting covenant resides with God. It is His covenant. “I will establish My covenant with you” (Gen. 6:18; 9:9, 11; 17:7, etc.). The everlasting covenant was conceived in eternity past between the Father and the Son who made an agreement in which they clasped hands.

“Christ was not alone in making this great sacrifice. It was the fulfillment of the covenant made between the Father and the Son before the foundation of the earth was laid. With clasped hands they entered into the solemn pledge that Christ would become the substitute and surety for the human race if they were overcome by Satan’s sophistry. The compact was now being fully consummated. The climax was reached. Christ had the consciousness that He had fulfilled to the letter the pledge He had made. In death He was more than conqueror. The redemption price has been paid” (MS 111, 1897; Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1149).

The everlasting covenant is an exclusive compact between the Father and the Son. Furthermore it was carried out and consummated exclusively by the Father and Son. It’s a “done deal.” God established His covenant through the Seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. This same covenant is given as a gift in Christ to wretched human beings. We have the privilege of entering into God’s (My) covenant solely by faith working through love, just as Abraham entered into His covenant and it was accounted to Him for righteousness. E. J. Waggoner says it beautifully:

“After the Flood God made a ‘covenant’ with every beast of the earth, and with every fowl; but the beasts and the birds did not promise anything in return. Genesis 9:9-16. They simply received the favor at the hand of God. That is all we can do—receive. God promises us everything that we need, and more than we ask or think, as a gift. We give Him ourselves, that is, nothing. And He gives us Himself, that is, everything. That which makes all the trouble is that even when men are willing to recognize the Lord at all they want to make bargains with Him They want it to be an equal, ‘mutual’ affair—a transaction in which they can consider themselves on a par with God. But whoever deals with God must deal with Him on His own terms, that is, on a basis of fact—that we have nothing and are nothing, and He has everything and is everything and gives everything” (The Glad Tidings, p. 71).

What Ellen White says reinforces the idea of entering into God’s covenant by faith:

“If man could appreciate this great blessing, what an advantage it would be to him! He is given the privilege of being a laborer together with God in the saving of his soul. Receiving and believing is his part of the contract. He is to receive Christ as his personal Saviour, and is to continue to believe in him. This means abiding in Christ, showing in him, at all times and under all circumstances, a faith that is a representation of his character—a faith that works by love, and purifies the soul from all defilement. Christ is the author of this faith, and he demands that it be constantly exercised. Thus we receive a continuous supply of grace” (Review and Herald, April 24, 1900).

Sin and Forgiveness

The Quarterly addresses the issue of sinners bearing guilt and sin. The Bible is clear, “the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Condemnation will come at last to those who persistently resist the much more abounding grace of God in Christ (John 3:17-19). Those who resist and spurn the blood of the everlasting covenant will bear their own sin and guilt at last. Nevertheless the gift of forgiveness is just that, a gift that has been given to mankind and sealed with Christ’s own blood.

That same forgiveness and salvation is often spoken of as an “offer,” which appears to pose a conundrum. Christ is the gift given to every man (John 3:16). In Him is forgiveness through His blood and eternal life. Those who have the Son have life; he who does not have the Son does not have life. Read how the pen of inspiration articulates the distinction between the corporate gift of forgiveness and the personal offer of forgiveness:

“The pardon granted by this king represents a divine forgiveness of all sin. Christ is represented by the king, who, moved with compassion, forgave the debt of his servant. Man was under the condemnation of the broken law. He could not save himself, and for this reason Christ came to this world, clothed His divinity with humanity, and gave His life, the just for the unjust. He gave Himself for our sins, and to every soul He freely offers the blood-bought pardon. ‘With the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.’” Ps. 130:7 (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 244).

Power in the Blood

The blood of the covenant was the central feature and power of the sanctuary service. It simply pointed the penitent sinner to the Promised Seed who would bear the sins of the world by taking our fallen sinful nature upon His sinless divine nature. He would be the propitiation not only for our sins but for the sins of the whole world. And only through that shed blood, every sin ever committed would be forgiven by the One who would taste death for all men. But only those who believed and appreciated how their sins were forgiven through the blood and repented would receive power to become the sons of God. That same power continuously received by faith would enable the believer to resist or surmount every obstacle of Satan and every besetting sin.

It is only the blood of the everlasting covenant willingly applied to our hearts daily that is able to make us complete for every good work to do His will. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever” (Heb. 13:20). Amen.

—John W. Peters

Read the study notes for lesson 4