For love of the Lamb…

“Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.” (Gen 22:7-8 NASB)

Readers,

In Bible hermeneutics (Bible interpretation) there is a rule that is called ‘the law of first mention.’ This rule has to do with doctrinal studies or Bible teachings. The emphasis of this rule is that when a doctrine or Bible teaching first appears in the Bible, the fundamental meaning in that occurrence will carry through to its greatest fulfillment in Christ Jesus.

A good example for the law of first mention is where we find the term righteousness first used in the Old Testament. The first time the word righteousness appears has to do with the Lord appearing to Abraham. Here are snippets of that meet as found in Genesis 15:

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great … And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look towards the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’

“Then he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Notice that Abraham’s right standing with God depended on one thing alone, that he truly believed in the Lord. How then does this find its fulfilling in the new covenant? Listen to Paul:

“Therefore [Abraham’s believing in the Lord] was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (Rom4:23,24)

And so the fact of how a a believer attains righteousness before God never changes. Righteousness has always been a matter of faith. It is now perfectly fulfilled in a person’s faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul again draws attention to this faith cause by calling it ‘the law of faith’.

“Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified [declared righteous before God] by faith apart from works of the Law.” (Rom 3:27-28 NASB)

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This doctrine of the Lamb

There are many other new covenant doctrines that can be found in embryo form in the Old Testament. The one I want to draw special attention to has to do with the term ‘Lamb.’

The very first time the word Lamb is used in the Scriptures also has to do with Abraham. It is where Abraham says to Isaac,

“‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

The doctrine of the Lamb is at the very heart of the Christian experience. What makes a Christian a Christian has to do with an intrinsic love factor. This love factor encompasses itself around Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

The doctrine of the Lamb is the underlying truth of what redemption entails. This doctrine speaks to the faith of the Old Testament saints, to the spiritual freedom of the new covenant children of God, and to a redemption love that becomes the outflow in a believer’s heart.

The Lamb becomes the whole of our life. Love for the Lamb fills out the heart of that one who has come to personally know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The apostle said,

“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1Cor 6:17).

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The Lamb is called the Father’s glory.

Not only is the doctrine of the Lamb a doctrine of progressive revelation, but the doctrine of the Lamb is also about the people of the Lamb. The doctrine of the Lamb is about  ‘beholding.’

The apostle John wrote,

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Joh 6:40 NASB) — Beholding Jesus is an activity of the heart. We behold Him with our heart.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:10).

To discover life is to discover the Lamb.

To discover the Lamb means that you belong to the Lamb. To discover the Lamb is to fall deeply in love with Him. But it isn’t a love that is common to man. It is actually the Father’s love filling out our hearts.

The discovery element is a key issue in the Christian walk. This is why Paul said that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

In another place he says that as we gaze upon the glory of Christ through the Scriptures, our inward man experiences spiritual transformations. It is the glory of Christ that fills our hearts. While this may sound mystical, it is a spiritual reality to those who are partakers of the new covenant.

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The testimony of the blood.

The clearest picture of the redemption Lamb in Genesis is when God directs Abraham to the mountains of Moriah. The ‘testing’ of Abraham was to show God’s real purpose in the test. The test was about the Lamb. On the Mountains of Moriah we are given our first composite picture of God’s redeeming program.

When it came time for Israel to be formed as a nation there were two particular sacrifices to be offered. The Lord’s instruction to Moses was,

“The one lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.” (Exo 29:39)

The lamb offerings were to be perpetuated throughout their generations. Their minds were to think on the lamb offering every morning and every evening.

In the minds of the Old Testament saints the picture of God’s Lamb was being painted, or, as our metaphor goes, they were seeing the sculpture as it was being sculptured.

The Exodus out of Egypt was based upon the lamb sacrifice and its blood placed upon the homes. Moses wrote his song, which is referred to in Revelation as, “The song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.”

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A voice crying in the wilderness.

Then we hear a voice crying in the wilderness,

“Make way the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.”

The cry gets louder, and the people come by thousands to be baptized by John. Then one day, they hear him shout,

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (Cf. Rev 15:3; John 1:29)

Listen! Do you hear the voice still crying in the wilderness. The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world is with us.

The apostle Peter said it this way,

“For He [the Lamb] was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God.” (1 Pet 1:20,21)

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The Lamb upon the throne.

But just who is this Lamb of God? No less that twenty-nine times the phrase ‘the Lamb’ is used in the book of Revelation. In all these references the Lamb is directly associated with God. As Revelation begins its closure we are looking at a picture of God fully manifest as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It says,

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life (Holy Spirit), clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God (the Father) and of the Lamb (Son of God).”

John is using archetypal images found through the Old Testament to describe God in His awesomeness. Notice carefully that there is only one throne.

The Father’s throne has become the Son’s throne.

John’s gospel draws attention to the vision of Isaiah, where the prophet writes,

“In the year of King Ussiah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with His robe filling the temple.”

John tells us that Isaiah actually saw King Messiah, that is, the Lord Jesus Himself. (Cf. Isa 6:1; John 12:41)

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For love of the Lamb

And so to love the Father unseen, is to love Jesus the only begotten Son. He is called the image of the invisible God. In fact Jesus was very plain in saying to one group,

“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” (John 8:42)

But how can we possibly love someone we have never seen? When we embraced the cross, that is, when we truly believed in Jesus Christ, it was then that the Father pours His own love into our hearts. Jesus simply said,

“The Father loves the Son.”

Here it gets quite mystical. We love the Son with the Father’s love. Jesus said,

“So that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

The mystery doesn’t stop here. Out of this we can actually call God our very own Father because the Spirit of His Son cries in us, ‘Abba! Father!’ Thus all believers carry in themselves a Father consciousness. Jesus said,

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:1)

It is the Lamb of God who gives us our freedom.

Every person born from above is made alive in the Lamb. And because our lives have been perfectly joined to God’s Christ, this allows our hearts to overflow with themes of life. (By the way, this is what the Spirit filled life is really all about.)

The Spirit-filled life is about the power to show ourselves as a testimony to Christ. We witness to Him by our love. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, they would become His witnesses. He wasn’t simply speaking of them giving verbal testimony. He was speaking of what they would become. They would become the people of the Lamb, out of whose hearts would flow a love that was not common to man. It would be God’s love.

This love for the Lamb is so powerfully felt in believers that Christians through the ages have literally given their lives for Him. The Scriptures take note of this, in saying,

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” (Rev 12:11)

How about you – Do you love the Lamb? Would you really like to behold the Lamb? You can, you know. Just open your Bible. The Holy Scriptures wrap themselves around the Lamb of God.

Take time to listen to ‘Ancient Words’ by Michael W. Smith. 

Much love coming your way in Jesus,

Buddy

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