Jesus Christ our Mercy Seat

Believers, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:7-8 -"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?"

The only part of the law that was written and engraved on stones is the Ten Commandments. Paul calls this the ministry of death! Believers in Christ, we are not given this ministry! Verse 4 of the same chapter says the Lord has "...also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Living life under the law (keeping the Ten Commandments and doing "righteous things" to get right with God) only brings death. Trying to keep the law to get right with God has the effect of cutting one off from Christ "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." Galatians 5:4.

Grace is higher than law. To go back to the law is to fall from Grace, personified by our Saviour Jesus Christ. We see this represented in the way the Lord God ordained the construction of Ark of the Covenant. Inside the Ark were the tablets of stone (Ten Commandments representing man's rebellion against God's law;) Aaron's rod which budded (representing man's rejection of God's appointed leadership;) and the golden pot of manna (representing man's rejection of God's provision,) all representing man's rebellion against God.

All of these were put inside the Ark and covered with the mercy seat. As long as God's eyes saw the mercy seat with blood that the high priest sprinkled on it to make atonement for Israel, He did not execute well-deserved judgment on the Israelites. Remove the mercy seat or stop the sprinkling with blood and God's eyes would see the items of man's rebellion against Him and remember their sins (even the tiniest one and "all have sinned.") Judgment must follow. The mercy seat, sprinkled with blood was what stood between God's judgment and the people.

In the Greek Old Testament, the word for “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5 is "hilasterion," which means “propitiation” in English. In the New Testament Christ is designated as our “propitiation” in Romans 3:25- "God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed." Jesus Christ is our Mercy Seat. In Him, we are not under law but under the new covenant of Grace where the Holy Spirit testifies to us in Hebrews 10:17-

“And their sins and their lawless deeds

I will remember no more.”

To get to the Ten Commandments and the other items of man's rebellion against God that are inside the Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat (a picture of Jesus Christ) needs to be removed. Today, we remove the mercy seat when we look to the law - relying on our own obedience to gain right-standing with God, instead of looking to Jesus by whose obedience we are made righteous. Romans 5:19 says "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."

Looking to the law gives one liberty to boast in the flesh (human effort.) This is why, in many places of worship, we hear things like "God blessed me financially because I fasted/paid tithes/washed church toilet/gave to the poor, etc." Notice there is no mercy seat (Jesus Christ) in the equation. For such, the blessing comes because of what THEY did and not what CHRIST has done. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich."

In Christ, we don't GIVE to GET; we GET to GIVE. We get filled with blessings so much that we are so filled to overflowing that we cannot help being a blessing to others. We get to flow with the unforced rhythms of Grace. At all times, we know that we are presentable in and out before God because of Christ's blood.

Boasting in tithes paid and one's ability to keep the Ten Commandments shows that one does not believe that they are made right with God and blessed because Christ paid. Such believe that it is their works that does it all, hence the propensity to boast in fasts and tithes. Believers, let's not be found here. Christ did it all.

Removing the mercy seat and beholding the law has direct repercussions as seen in 1 Samuel 6:19 which tells us what happened when the people of Beth Shemesh looked inside the ark of the covenant:

"Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter."

Believers, the letter (law) kills but the Spirit gives life. In order to get to the law inside the ark of the Lord, the mercy seat (Christ) has to be moved out of the way. Just looking in was what killed so many Beth Shemesh men in one fell swoop! They moved the mercy seat away and the law cried out against them because none can be made righteous by law-keeping! No wonder Paul said in Galatians 5:4 -"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." Fallen from the higher ground of the mercy seat (Christ) and into the law.

We can't mix law and grace. By His grace, keep your eyes on Christ to make you righteous and not your own ability to keep the law. This way, you will not continue to sin, "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under Law but under Grace." Sin rules over those who are trying to keep the law in order to get right with God.

The letter kills but the Spirit gives life. Those who try to keep the law in order to be right with God have no idea how much God hates sin, so much that even the tiniest sin is enough to undo an entire lifetime of keeping the Ten Commandments! These ones that He loves have been cut off from Christ and are subject to the full wrath of the law. No wonder many believers still live in oppression and in fear of judgment; a judgment that Christ took for us at the cross.

There is a better way to get right standing with God, enjoy His rewards and do His will. A new and living way freely given to all who believe- the blood of Jesus. See Hebrews 10 19-25(MSG)

"So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of His sacrifice, acting as our Priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is His body.

22-25 So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps His word."

Romans 5:17 tells us that "those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." This "reign in life" covers reigning over sin, acts of sin and addictions, sickness, shame, disgrace, oppression, all earthly ills and death.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.