The Perfection Of Forgiveness
Sections In This Study:
Introduction
Part One - Forgiven Seventy Times Seven
Part Two - The Name Of Jesus
Part Three - Sevenfold Covenants And The New Covenant
Part Four - The Spotless Lamb Of God
Part Five - The Perfection Of Christ
Part Six - We Are Spotless In The Eyes Of God (See below)
Part Seven - Sevenfold Forgiveness
Part
Six - We Are Spotless In The Eyes Of God
We are
the bride of Christ, redeemed by the Lamb of God without blemish and without
spot, redeemed by His precious blood. The Father sees us in Christ, in His
Beloved, with whom He is well pleased. In fact, He is pleased with us when we
are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Read the first three chapters of Ephesians and
notice the many times it states we are placed in Jesus Christ – that is our
identification before God the Father, placed in the Lord Jesus Christ the
moment we put our faith in Him as our Saviour, trusting in His finished work on
the cross of Calvary.
In the first three
chapters of Ephesians, it states 21 times that we are in Christ:
Ephesians 1:1, 3, 4, 6,
7, 9, 10, 11, 13; 2:6, 10, 13, 15, 21, 22; 3:6, 11, 12
Notice the seven ways Ephesians
states we are in Jesus:
1) in
Christ Jesus
2) in
Christ
3) in
Him
4) in
whom
5) in
Himself
6) in
the Beloved
7) in
the Lord
One of
the most profound pictures of us being put in Christ is found in Exodus
chapters 33-34. Moses asked to see God’s glory, which no man could see and
still live. God’s glory was pure righteousness, blazing holiness, overwhelming
majesty. Sinful man could not live or dwell in God’s presence until his sin was
dealt with – until it was covered in the eyes of the Lord (atonement) and borne
away (remission).
In these two chapters,
there are seven verses that mention grace/gracious, being given grace
in God’s sight (5x’s):
Exodus 33:12, 13, 16,
17, 19; 34:6, 9
Exodus 33:18 And he
said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
Moses asked the Lord
God to show him His glory, and God’s reply was as follows:
Exodus 33:20-23 And
he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a
rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put
thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face
shall not be seen.
The only way Moses
could see the glory of God and dwell in His presence was if he was put in the
cleft of the rock. One of the recurring themes of the Old Testament is the
type of the Lord Jesus Christ being pictured as a Rock.
There are multiple
passages where God is referred to as a rock throughout the Bible, but there are
seven specific verses where He is called the Rock:
Deuteronomy 32:4, 15,
18, 30, 31
2 Samuel 23:3
And the following
verse:
1 Corinthians 10:4 And
did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock
that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
We first see this type portrayed
in Exodus 17:1-7. Israel was on their way to Mount Sinai, and they began to
complain about their thirst. God decided to teach them a great spiritual lesson
about the Saviour.
Exodus 17:6 Behold,
I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the
rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And
Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Moses smote the rock,
he broke it, bruised it – in various different ways this is illustrated in the
Scriptures. The rock had to be split or broken, stricken, in order for the
water to flow forth. Jesus had to be stricken by the Father for our sins in
order for the blessings of salvation to flow forth from Him to us.
Isaiah 53:4-5, 8, 10 Surely
he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed... He was taken from
prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut
off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he
stricken… Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to
grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his
seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in
his hand.
John 12:24 Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it
abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 For
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord
Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given
thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken
for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took
the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood:
this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
Now that the Rock was
broken for us, all that we needed in this life, physically and spiritually, would
be met as we walked with Him. See Romans 8:32.
All that is necessary now
is to speak to the Rock (ie. pray to the Lord). Notice, how this lesson is
marred by Moses in the following passage:
Numbers 20:7-11 And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly
together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before
their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to
them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their
beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he
said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the
water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
Moses was commanded now
to only speak to the Rock, but this time he struck it again, contrary to God’s
Word and the lesson He was teaching His people. (This disobedience is what led
to Moses and Aaron not being permitted at that time to go into the Promised
Land. See Numbers 20:12.)
Jesus only needed to be
smitten once for our sins – and now all who believe on Him are saved eternally.
Being put in the cleft
of the Rock pictures us being put in Christ solely by God’s grace.
There are seven times
the cleft/clift of the rock is mentioned directly in the Bible:
Exodus 33:22
Job 30:6
Song of Songs 2:14
Isaiah 2:21; 57:5
Jeremiah 49:16
Obadiah 1:3
Song of Songs 2:14 O
my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the
stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy
voice, and thy countenance is comely.
While
beyond the scope of this study, it is interesting to note that most of the
passages referring to the cleft of the rock are literally
speaking about Bozrah/Petra, the city carved out of the rock, where God’s
people will be hidden from the wrath of the Antichrist during the final half of
the tribulation. (See Revelation 12:6, 14-16; 14:18-10; Isaiah 63:1-6; Micah
2:12-13.) This passage in the Song of Songs is actually a two-fold picture –
ie. the believer being hidden in Christ for salvation, and the nation of Israel
being hidden in the end times in the place the Lord has prepared for them.
There is
something else that completes this particular picture in Exodus:
Exodus 31:18 And he
gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount
Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of
God.
Exodus 32:15-20 And
Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony
were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side
and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and
the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua
heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a
noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout
for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but
the noise of them that sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the
calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out
of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they
had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it
upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
God had given Moses the
ten commandments on tablets of stone that God has carved out with His finger.
Moses was to bring these commandments down to the people, but before he could
do so, it was discovered that the people were involved in gross idolatry and
immorality. In Moses’ anger and shock, he threw down the two tables of
testimony, broke the tablets on the ground, and after dealing with this
situation, he had to go back up on the mountain to carve out anew two tables
like the first.
Exodus 34:1, 4 And
the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and
I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which
thou brakest… And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses
rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had
commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
Exodus 34:27-28 And
the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these
words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there with
the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink
water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten
commandments.
Deuteronomy 9:15-17 So
I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the
two tables of the covenant were in my two hands. And I looked, and, behold, ye
had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had
turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you. And I
took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before
your eyes.
Deuteronomy 10:1-5 At
that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the
first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I
will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou
brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. And I made an ark of shittim wood,
and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount,
having the two tables in mine hand. And he wrote on the tables, according to
the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the
mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD
gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put
the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD
commanded me.
The first two tablets
containing the ten commandments were meant to be given to the people, but
because of THEIR sin, these tablets were broken – just as God’s Law was broken
by the people in His sight. Moses was then commanded to carve out the
commandments again and to present them to the people; then he was to put these
unbroken tablets in the ark of the covenant.
The first tables of
commandments represented the Law which men have broken countless times
throughout the ages, and the wages of sin is death and judgement by God.
However, the second tablets were put unbroken into the ark and then covered
with the mercy seat, both of which represent the Lord Jesus Christ (as does ALL
of the tabernacle materials and its furnishings). When the tabernacle was
completed, the ark of the covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies within the
veil, where the presence of God and His glory rested above it. Once a year, on
the Day of Atonement, the blood of the slain goat was sprinkled upon the mercy
seat to cover the sin of God’s people.
Picture this: Man has
broken God’s laws, sinned against His holiness, and deserves wrath and
judgement – that is all the Law could bring us, as we have all broken His
commandments. YET, the unbroken Law was put inside the ark – Jesus fulfilled
all the commandments of God, He had not sinned once; therefore, the Law was
complete in Him. When the Father looks down from Heaven upon mankind, He sees
the broken Law – BUT when He looks down from His throne and sees the believer
that is put in Christ, covered by the blood of atonement, the blood of His Son,
He sees the fulfilled Law, not the broken Law. We are complete in Jesus, we are
righteous in the Father’s sight, we are holy and set apart in Christ – we are
accepted in the Beloved.
The broken tablets
picture our sin; but the unbroken tablets, covered by the blood of the Lamb
without blemish and without spot, picture our redemption in Christ, hidden in
the cleft of the Rock.
For further information
about being in Christ, please read these two studies:
Without Blemish In
Christ - Part One
The Glory Of The New
Testament (Covenant) – Part Two
Consider the following
verses about being in Christ:
Romans 8:1-4 There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what
the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his
own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto
the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ
Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name
of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
1 Corinthians 1:30 But
of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1 Corinthians 15:22 For
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
2 Corinthians 1:20-22 For
all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God
by us. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed
us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our
hearts.
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us
the word of reconciliation.
Ephesians 1:4-5 According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good
pleasure of his will,
Ephesians 2:11-13 Wherefore
remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called
Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by
hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no
hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Colossians 1:28 Whom
we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
One of my favourite kinds
of sevens in the Bible is when I find seven people (and only seven) that are alike
in a certain way – such as seven barren women who were given a child by the Lord,
seven people named by God before their birth, seven people whom God changed their
names because of their faith in Him.
Another intriguing one is
seven brides who portray the bride of Christ:
1. Eve
2. Rebekah
3. Rachel
4. Ruth
5. Abigail
6. The Shulamite
7. Gomer
Examining all seven of
these women indepth is a study in itself, so I am only going to present highlights
here.
1.
Eve
– created by the LORD God to be a help meet for the first man, Adam. While Adam
was asleep, Eve was formed from a rib taken from his side and she was presented
to him to be his wife. In a similar manner, the church was formed from the blood
of Christ that flowed from His side, formed as a result of Him dying upon the cross
(ie. the sleep of death). We are made of His flesh and of His bones. See Genesis
2:21-23; John 19:34 and Ephesians 5:30.
2.
Rebekah
– the pure virgin bride chosen by Abraham’s servant to be the wife of Isaac, Abraham’s
son of promise. This Gentile woman is a picture of the church, chosen by the Holy
Spirit to be the pure, spotless bride of Christ. See Genesis 24. See also: She
Was A Virgin – The Law Of First Mention
3.
Rachel
– the beloved Gentile bride of Jacob, whom he tirelessly worked 14 years for. He
was originally told he only needed to work seven years for his bride, but as
the circumstances bore out, he paid double the price to marry the woman he loved
and longed for. Rachel pictures the church in that we are doubly redeemed in His
sight. We are God’s property by right of creation, and also God’s own people by
right of redemption. Jesus paid the complete price that was needed to save us from
our sins and to make us His bride. See Genesis 29.
4.
Ruth
– the Gentile woman who left her own gods to become part of the line of Christ.
She married Boaz, her kinsman Redeemer who willingly paid the price to redeem
her. This is such a beautiful type, and is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ who
became a man to buy back humanity from the slave market of sin, to restore all
that was lost in the fall, and to give us an inheritance in Him. See the book
of Ruth and Revelation 5.
5.
Abigail
– once married to Nabal (a fool) who was against God, but then married David (the
beloved). She was released from her old husband and then married to a man that loved
and served God, a man after God’s own heart. In a similar manner, we have died
to our old husband and are married to the Lord Jesus Christ, to the Beloved. See
1 Samuel 25; 1 Corinthians 7:39; and Romans 6:5-11.
6.
The
Shulamite – she is the woman we see King Solomon courting throughout the Song of
Solomon, a picture of the true child of God. She is perfect in Solomon’s sight,
and grows in her delight and likeness to her king throughout that book. Much
like the true believer grows closer to their King, the Lord Jesus Christ, the
more we spend time with Him and in His Word. It is interesting to note that the
word Shulamite is the feminine form of Solomon (which means peaceful)
– much like we are named after our Saviour: Christ and Christian.
We are to be like Him in this world. Songs of Songs (the whole book, but
especially Song of Songs 2:1-2) and 1 John 3:1-3; 4:17.
7.
Gomer
– the impure woman that Hosea was told to pursue and marry, to redeem back from
her slavery to her sin and her adultery. At first she was unfaithful – like all
of mankind, running after our idols and worldly pleasure – but Hosea was still told
to pay the purchase price to buy her back. (See Hosea 3:2.) The Lord Jesus Christ
bought us back from our life of sin, paid the penalty to do so, and kept pursuing
us until He found us. Now we are His. See the book of Hosea, especially the first
three chapters.
There are so many more
things we can say about these seven brides. Three of their stories focus specifically
on the price paid to redeem them – just like Jesus paid the complete pride of redemption
for us. It is also interesting to note that five of these brides who portray
the bride of Christ are described as very (all) fair, a virgin, neither had
any man known her, beautiful (of a beautiful countenance), well favoured,
virtuous, there is no spot in her. That is how the Lord sees us when we are
united to Christ.
1) Rebekah - Genesis
24:15-16, 43
2) Rachel - Genesis
29:17
3) Ruth - Ruth 3:11
4) Abigail - 1 Samuel
25:3
5) The Shulamite - Song
of Songs 1:15; 2:10, 13; 4:1, 7
Five is the number of
grace, and we are redeemed by God’s grace In five verses, we see the Lord saying
we are fair to Him. Seven times in five verses, but notice the seventh time
this is stated:
Song of Songs 4:7 Thou
art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
If you have trusted in
the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, you were placed in His Beloved Son. In the
eyes of your Heavenly Father, you are clothed with the righteousness of Christ,
you are declared to be justified, you are pure and spotless in His sight. Not only
are you fair, you are ALL FAIR, not only are your sins washed
away, there is NO SPOT in you. You are undefiled in the eyes of the Lord.
See Song of Songs 6:9.
Psalms 45:13 The
king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought
gold.
If you can recall Part
Four of this study, there I mentioned that the fine linen used in the tabernacle
curtains and in the making of the priests’ clothing represents the righteousness
of Christ. Seven times in Exodus 28, it is mentioned
that the priests were clothed in fine
linen as they served in the
presence of the Lord. Exodus 28:5, 6, 8, 15, 39 (x2), 42. Notice the seventh
time this fine linen is mentioned:
Exodus 28:40-43 And
for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles,
and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt
put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them,
and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the
priest's office. And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their
nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: And they
shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle
of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the
holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for
ever unto him and his seed after him.
Genesis 2:25 And
they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Before sin entered the universe,
Adam and Eve were naked and were not ashamed, but once Adam and Eve sinned in the
Garden of Eden, their nakedness was revealed to them and they sought to cover
it their own way, by sewing fig leaves together. From that point in time on, man’s
sin leaves him ashamed before God. Any covering of our own making is inadequate
in His sight, and will fail us on judgement day.
Genesis 3:7 And the
eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they
sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Isaiah 64:6 But we
are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and
we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away.
Isaiah 59:5-6 They
hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web:
he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into
a viper. Their webs shall not become
garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are
works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
Revelation 3:17-18 Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be
rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of
thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou
mayest see.
When Adam and Eve were
restored to God, we read the following statement:
Genesis 3:21 Unto
Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed
them.
All our sin is put on
our Substitute, the Saviour who died in our place, and in return His
righteousness was credited to our account.
Isaiah 53:6 All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the
LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Romans 4:1-8 What
shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath
found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but
not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was
counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not
reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the
blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Praise the Lord that when
we are placed in Christ by faith, we are clothed with His righteousness, often
pictured as a robe of fine linen, clean and white.
Romans 3:21-26 But
now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is
no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he
might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him.
Isaiah 61:10 I will
greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath
clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of
righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a
bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Jeremiah 23:6 In his
days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name
whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Ezekiel
16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy
beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee,
saith the Lord GOD.
Ephesians 6:14-15 Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the
breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace;
Notice, the first three
parts of the armour of God are past tense. We are already wearing them the
moment we come to Christ for salvation – that includes the breastplate of
righteousness, ie. the righteousness of Christ covering us.
Revelation 7:13-14 And
one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in
white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which
came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:7-8 Let
us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is
come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the
righteousness of saints.
Luke 15:22-24 But
the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on
him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither
the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was
dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be
merry.
The
Father’s reception of the Prodigal Son is sevenfold:
1) Had
compassion - mercy and grace (Exodus 34:6; Ephesians 2:8-9)
2) Fell
on his neck (embraced him) - Accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6)
3) Kissed
him - the kiss of reconciliation (Genesis 33:4; Psalm 2:12, Song of Songs
1:2)
4) The
best robe (Luke 15:22) - the righteousness of Christ (Isaiah 61:10; 2
Corinthians 5:21; Revelation 3:5, 18; 19:7-8)
5) Ring
on his hand - seal of sonship, adoption (Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:13)
6) Shoes
on his feet - feet shod with the Gospel of peace (Song of Songs 7:1; Isaiah
52:7; Ephesians 6:15)
7) Fatted
calf slain (Luke 15:23) - the burnt offering; Christ’s sacrifice for our
sins (Leviticus 1:3-4; 1 Corinthians 5:7)
An
8th aspect of salvation: he was dead and is alive again (Luke 15:24) -
being made alive in Christ, regeneration. (Ephesians 2:1) 8 represents a new
beginning.
A
9th aspect of salvation - he was lost, and is found (Luke 15:6, 9, 32;
19:10; John 3:16; 9:25 - Amazing Grace). 9 represents fruitfulness.
One final consideration
before we finish this part of our study:
Isaiah 1:18 Come
now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool.
Biblically, our sins
are as scarlet, red like crimson. They are a red blot upon our account. Red
stains in the eyes of God… YET:
When we trust in Jesus
Christ and are placed in Him, placed securely in the Ark of our salvation,
covered by His shed blood on the mercy seat, then the Father looks down on us
from Heaven, and He is looking at us through scarlet-coloured glasses (red due
to the blood of Christ). I don’t know if you ever looked through red cellophane
or translucent red plastic and tried to read or see something that was the same
colour. You cannot. I remember an art project in elementary school where we
wrote words in red ink on white paper, then looked through the red cellophane.
All we could see was the white of the paper, not the red markings upon it. The
scarlet-coloured glasses that our Heavenly Father looks at us through removes
the red stain of the sins on our account, and all that the Father can then see in
light of eternity is the righteousness of Christ credited to us.
Colossians 2:10-15 And
ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In
whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in
putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the
faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you,
being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and
took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled
principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them
in it.
Psalms 51:7 Purge
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Hyssop was the branch
that was dipped in the blood of the sacrifice and was used to sprinkle that
same blood upon those believers that were in a covenant relationship with the
Lord God.
Are You Washed In The Blood?
(Hymn by Elisha Hoffman)
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow'r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Chorus:
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you walking daily by the Savior's side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be
white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions
bright,
and be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Lay aside the garments that are stained with
sin.
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul
unclean.
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!
June 25th,
2026
Jerry Bouey
The Perfection Of Forgiveness
Sections In This Study:
Introduction
Part One - Forgiven Seventy Times Seven
Part Two - The Name Of Jesus
Part Three - Sevenfold Covenants And The New Covenant
Part Four - The Spotless Lamb Of God
Part Five - The Perfection Of Christ
Part Six - We Are Spotless In The Eyes Of God (See above)
Part Seven - Sevenfold Forgiveness
