1912 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

Law perfectly in every particular. This great Mediator,Messiah, will for a thousand years carry on this greatwork.This Mediator is not yet completed. The Head haspassed into glory centuries ago, but the Body, the Church,awaits a completeness of membership and resurrectionchange--to be made "like Him and see Him as He is"and share His glory and His work.Meantime the Law Covenant is still in force uponevery Jew; but it is not in force upon any but Jews, asit never has been in force upon any other people. Duringthese eighteen centuries, between the death of Christ andthe inauguration of the New Covenant, Jesus, as the greatHigh Priest, is offering the "better sacrifices" mentionedby St. Paul (Hebrews 9:23) and described in type inLeviticus 16. The first part of the great High Priest'ssacrifice was the offering of the human body which Hetook for the purpose when He was made flesh--"a bodyhast thou prepared Me" "for the suffering of death."(Heb. 9:5; 2:9.) The second part of His "better sacrifices"is the offering of His Mystical Body--the Church.This work has been in progress since Pentecost. To theconsecrated ones who approach the Father through HimHe becomes the Advocate. He accepts them as His memberson the earth; and their sufferings thenceforth are Hissufferings so fully that He could say of them to Saul ofTarsus, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" "I amJesus whom thou persecutest." These, accepted as Hisrepresentatives in the flesh, their blemishes covered bytheir Advocate's merit, are begotten, by the HeavenlyFather, of the Holy Spirit to be members of the NewCreation--the spiritual Body of Christ, of which He isthe Head.We remarked that the Sabbath Day, still in full forceand its observance obligatory upon the Jew, is not uponother nationalities. We should modify this statement bythe remark that there are some who mistakenly endeavorto be Jews and try to get under the Law Covenant provisionsas Sabbath-keepers, etc. St. Paul recognized thistendency in his day. Note his words to the Christians ofGalatia, who were not by nature Jews but Gentiles. Hesays, "Ye that desire to be under the Law, do ye not hearthe Law?" "Oh, foolish Galatians, who hath bewitchedyou?" He proceeds to show them that the Jews are inbondage to their Law and can never get eternal life underit until the Mosaic Law Covenant shall ultimately bemerged into the Messianic New Law Covenant. Hisargument then is that if the Jew cannot get life in keepingthe Law, it would be foolish for Gentiles to think thatthey could secure Divine favor and everlasting life bykeeping that Law. He declares, "By the deeds of theLaw shall no flesh be justified in God's sight." The onlyway to obtain justification in God's sight is by the acceptanceof Christ and by a full consecration to be His disciplesand to join with Him in His Covenant of sacrifice--as it is written, "Gather together My saints unto Me,