L esson 6 *May 3–9

(page 46 of Standard Edition)

Understanding Sacrifice

Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 1:2–15, Heb. 10:3–10,
Exod. 12:1–11, 1 Cor. 5:7, Hag. 2:7–9, Isa. 6:1–5, Rev. 4:7–11.

Memory Text: “And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy
to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have
redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and
people and nation’ ” (Revelation 5:9, NKJV).

W
hen Jesus came toward him, John the Baptist declared: “ ‘Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” (John
1:29, NKJV). This was an unmistakable reference to the idea of
animal sacrifice, all of which pointed to Christ’s substitutionary death in
behalf of all humanity.
In the Bible, we cannot escape the theme of animal sacrifice; it runs
like a scarlet thread throughout its pages and plays a central role in the
grand scene in Revelation, where John is escorted into God’s throne
room (Revelation 4 and 5). The fact that Jesus appears in this pivotal
scene, looking like a slain lamb (Rev. 5:6), is an important key to under-
standing the entire prophetic episode.
This week we will look at some of the themes of sacrifice that inform
our understanding of Jesus, the slain Lamb, the clear protagonist of the
throne room scene. He is accepted as worthy, where no one else is, and
His unique worthiness speaks volumes about what the Lord was doing
through the sacrificial system. It reveals Him as a God of infinite love
who made the ultimate sacrifice, an act that we, and the other intel-
ligences in the universe, will marvel at for eternity.

* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 10.

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 S unday May 4
(page 47 of Standard Edition)

Futile Sacrifices?
Sometimes contrasting two ideas can be very instructive. Much can
be learned about the nature of sacrifice in the biblical perspective from
when God actually rejected the sacrifices of His people.

Compare Isaiah 1:2–15 with Isaiah 56:6, 7 and Psalm 51:17. What
important lessons about sacrifice are taught here?

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This tragic episode in Israel’s history was not the first time that God
rejected a sacrifice; something similar happened near the beginning
of salvation history, when Abel’s sacrifice was approved and acknowl-
edged by God, and Cain’s was not. That early episode gives us another
opportunity to contrast acceptable and unacceptable sacrifices. (See
Gen. 4:3–7 and Heb. 11:4.)
In Isaiah’s time, Israel was going through the motions, mentally check-
ing off religious boxes in a minimal attempt to appease God, all while
living as they pleased. Their sacrifices were anchored in self, just as
Cain’s were, and not in an attitude of surrender and submission to God.
It is the same spirit that animates the kingdoms of this world: the
spirit of self-sufficiency. Cain would live as he pleased and render mere
ritual to God on his own terms. One can only assume that he viewed
God as an inconvenience, a roadblock to setting his own course, but he
feared God just enough to go through the motions.
Abel, however, offered the sacrifice God had requested, the sacrifice
that exhibited the promise God had made of a coming Messiah (Gen.
3:15): a lamb, pointing forward to the saving act of Christ at Calvary.
“Abel grasped the great principles of redemption. He saw himself
a sinner, and he saw sin and its penalty, death, standing between his
soul and communion with God. He brought the slain victim, the sac-
rificed life, thus acknowledging the claims of the law that had been
transgressed. Through the shed blood he looked to the future sacrifice,
Christ dying on the cross of Calvary; and trusting in the atonement that
was there to be made, he had the witness that he was righteous, and his
offering accepted.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 72.

How crucial that we protect ourselves from simply going through

the motions! How can each one of us experience what it means
to depend totally upon the death of Jesus as our only hope of
salvation?

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 M onday May 5
(page 48 of Standard Edition)

The Blood of Bulls and Goats

Some have criticized the entire concept of sacrifice, claiming
that it is cruel, harsh, and, in a sense, unfair. Yet, that’s precisely
the point. Christ’s death was cruel, harsh, and unfair—the innocent
dying for the guilty. That’s what it took to solve the sin problem.
And Christ's death was what all these harsh, cruel, and unfair sac-
rifices pointed to.

Read Hebrews 10:3–10. What does this passage teach us about the sac-
rifices God’s people offered in the Old Testament? If sinners could
not actually be saved by them, why offer them at all?

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The lambs and other sacrificial animals were mere symbols pointing
forward to the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God. They were acts
of faith, giving sinners a tangible way to express faith in the work of
the coming Messiah. We often refer to these kinds of symbols as types,
which are fulfilled by an antitype, or the appearance of the thing or
event they foreshadowed. Some have even described the sacrifices as
“mini-prophecies” of the death of Jesus on the cross.
The rituals associated with sacrifice were a little like paying for a
trip. When you purchase a train, bus, or airplane ticket, you do not
immediately receive the journey you paid for. Instead, you are given a
ticket or boarding pass, a symbol or promise of the journey to come.
You can sit on that piece of paper all you want, but it will not convey
you to any destination. Once you have boarded and the journey begins,
however, you have received what you paid for, and the paper ticket
becomes unnecessary.
So it was with the sacrificial animals. They had an important role to
play, but once the real sacrifice was made, they became meaningless—
a reality depicted when the veil between the Holy Place and the Most
Holy Place in the earthly sanctuary was rent asunder at the death of
Jesus. “Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bot-
tom” (Mark 15:38, NKJV). The whole sacrificial system, temple and
all, pointed forward to the death of Jesus on the cross. Once Jesus
fulfilled His promise at the cross and rose victorious over death, the
types became unnecessary.

Think about just how bad sin must be that only the death of
Jesus, the incarnate Word (see John 1:1–3, 14), could atone for
it. What should this tell us about what our attitude toward sin
must be?

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 T uesday May 6
(page 49 of Standard Edition)

The Passover Lamb

The book of Revelation refers to Jesus as “the Lamb” nearly 30
times. From the earliest days in the plan of redemption, God’s people
have used lambs as a symbol of the coming Messiah. Abel offered
“the firstborn of his flock” (Gen. 4:4, NKJV), and before the Israelites
departed Egypt for the land of promise, they were instructed to redeem
every firstborn person or animal with a one-year-old lamb (Exod. 12:5).

Read Exodus 12:1–11; Isaiah 53:7, 8; 1 Corinthians 5:7; and

Revelation 5:6. What do these verses teach us about Jesus as the
Passover sacrifice? What does that mean for each of us?

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Years after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, Peter
reflected on what had transpired, and he wrote, “Knowing that you were
ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with
perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of
Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19, ESV).
Jesus lived the one human life that satisfied the holiness of God; the
rest of us have sinned, and the way we live our sinful lives quite literally
tells lies about the nature of our Maker.
Jesus, however, became the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45). Where we
had failed, He lived perfectly. In His humanity, He was everything the
human race was supposed to be. He reflected God’s glory perfectly. “If
you have seen me,” He told Philip, “you have seen the Father” (John
14:9, CEV).
Jesus, meanwhile, was crucified on Passover, further demonstrating
that He is the antitypical Lamb. In John 18:19, 20, Jesus said that He
“spoke openly” (NKJV) of His doctrine. In a parallel way, regarding the
Passover lamb in Exodus 12:5, 6, the children of Israel were instructed
to choose a lamb for Passover, and “keep it,” or put it on display during
the days leading up to the sacrifice. When the high priest questioned
Jesus about His teachings, Jesus made reference to the fact that He
Himself had been on open display in the temple for everybody to con-
sider. His life, His works, His teaching—all revealed who He really
was. He is the Lamb without blemish, the most powerful expression of
God’s righteousness and glory.
How can we better reflect the perfect character of Jesus in our
own lives?

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 W ednesday May 7
(page 50 of Standard Edition)

Jesus at the Temple

There is tension throughout the entire story of salvation. God wishes
to restore the communion that we once enjoyed with Him and longs to
draw close to us. But bringing sinners into His presence would destroy
them. “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,” David
writes, “nor shall evil dwell with You” (Ps. 5:4, NKJV). At the same
time, David also writes, “But as for me, I will come into Your house in
the multitude of Your mercy; in fear of You I will worship toward Your
holy temple” (Ps. 5:7, NKJV).

Read Haggai 2:7–9. As the second temple was being constructed, the
prophet Haggai made an astonishing promise: the new temple
would be more glorious than the previous one. What was meant by
that prophecy?

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When the first temple was dedicated by Solomon, the Shekinah
glory—the presence of God that had accompanied the children of
Israel en route to Canaan—filled the temple, and so the priests could not
remain to complete their work of ministry (1 Kings 8:10, 11). When the
second temple was dedicated, the ark of the covenant, representing God’s
throne, was missing because some faithful men, upset at the nation's sins,
had hidden it. The literal presence of God did not fill the temple this time.
It was heartbreaking. How could Haggai’s promise possibly come true?
It was in the second temple that Jesus, the incarnation of God,
appeared in Person, in flesh and blood. God Himself had stepped out
from behind the veil to become one of us and to join us in this broken
world. Because the Son of God was now the Son of man, we could see
His face, hear His voice, and witness, for example, when He touched an
unclean leper and made him whole (Matt. 8:3). Instead of bringing us
closer in His direction, God brought us closer to Him by moving in our
direction. He came down, personally, to us. No wonder the Bible said
about Jesus: “ ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son,
and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with
us’ ” (Matt. 1:23, NKJV). Think about what this means: the Creator of
the cosmos condescended not only to live among us but to die for us.

The Cross is by far the greatest manifestation of God’s love. What

are other ways we can see and experience the reality of God’s
love?

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 T hursday May 8
(page 51 of Standard Edition)

For You Created All Things!

On a handful of occasions, prophets have been brought close enough
to God in vision that they were permitted to see God’s throne. Ezekiel
saw it above the firmament (Ezek. 1:26); Isaiah visited the temple in
heaven to see it (Isa. 6:1); and in one of the most explicit descriptions
provided to us, John was escorted there in vision in Revelation 4 and 5.
The Old Testament types in the sanctuary service indicated that there
was only one path by which humanity could enter God’s presence: the
blood of Christ. (See Lev. 16:2, 14, for example.)

Read Isaiah 6:1–5 and Revelation 4:7–11. What elements of these two
visions are similar? Pay attention to the order of events: What sub-
ject is presented first? What comes next? What truth about God is
being stressed in these visions?

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In each of these throne room visions, the first thing that happens is
that heavenly beings underscore the holiness of God. In Isaiah’s vision,
the scene is impressive: the temple is filled with smoke, and the “posts
of the door” were shaken as seraphim proclaim the holiness of God.
In John’s vision, cherubim make the same announcement, “Holy, holy,
holy.” (See Ezekiel 10:14, 15 to find the living creatures described as
cherubim.) Each prophet was shown a dazzling scene of God’s glory.
Then we are shown the prophet’s reaction to the scene. Isaiah cries
out that he is a man of unclean lips (Isa. 6:5), and John weeps because
he is faced with the tragic truth that no one worthy can be found (Rev.
5:4). When we are directly presented with the worthiness of God, we
then finally begin to comprehend the human situation: we are utterly
unworthy, and we need Christ as our Redeemer.
Satan has hurled many accusations against God, arguing that He is
arbitrary, selfish, and severe, but even a brief moment in God’s throne
room exposes Satan’s lies. It is in seeing Christ for who He truly is,
“ ‘the Lamb who was slain’ ” (Rev. 5:12, NKJV), that enables us to see
the Father as He truly is. How comforting to know that by seeing Jesus,
we see what the Father is like (John 14:9). And the greatest revelation
of what the Father is like is seen in Jesus dying on the cross for us.
The cross, then, should show us two things: first, just how much God
loves us that He would sacrifice Himself for us; second, it should show
us just how sinful and fallen we are that only through the cross could
we be saved.

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 F riday May 9
(page 52 of Standard Edition)

Further Thought: The Scriptures make it clear that Christ is the

only One worthy to secure our salvation. His life was the only sinless
human life, the only example of a life that rendered perfect satisfaction
to the glory of the Father. He is the spotless Lamb of God, and now
He stands at the head of the human race as our eternal security. At the
same time, He took our guilt on Himself, satisfying the judgment that is
God’s response to wickedness. As John witnesses the incredible scene of
heavenly beings gathered around God’s throne, he is told to stop weep-
ing because “ ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah . . . has prevailed’ ” (Rev.
5:5, NKJV).
Think, too, just how bad sin is, and just how fallen the human race
really is, that only the death of Jesus, God Himself, would suffice to
solve the problem of sin. No doubt, if there were some other way that
God could have saved us, without violating the principles of His divine
government, surely He would have done it.
“The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In all the
universe there was but one who could, in behalf of man, satisfy its
claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only one
equal with God could make atonement for its transgression. None but
Christ could redeem fallen man from the curse of the law and bring
him again into harmony with Heaven. Christ would take upon Himself
the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must
separate the Father and His Son. Christ would reach to the depths of
misery to rescue the ruined race.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and
Prophets, p. 63.

Discussion Questions:
Ê John sees the Lamb enter the throne room looking as though
He had been “slain.” Revelation 13:8 informs us that Jesus has
been “slain” since the foundation of the world. What can we learn
about God through the fact that the plan of salvation was already
in place before we needed it?

Ë Many atheists believe that we are alone in a cold, uncaring

universe. In contrast, the Bible talks not only about God but about
how He loved the world so much that He came down to it and even
died for it. How differently should we view the world and our place
in it, in contrast to those who don’t believe in God at all? In other
words, how should the reality of the Cross impact all that we do?

Ì Why was the life, death, and resurrection of Christ the only
means by which the human race could be saved? Again, what does
such a cost tell us about how bad sin must really be?

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 i n s i d e
Story
Part 2: A Cry for Help
By Andrew McChesney
Diana’s party lifestyle began taking a heavy toll on her by the end of the
summer after her high school graduation. One day, alone in a park in Monte
Vista, Colorado, Diana looked up into the leaves of the trees and saw sun-
light gleaming through. At that moment, she heard a voice say, “If you don’t
leave here, you will die here.” Diana knew that the voice was saying that her
way of living would lead to an early death and that she needed to get away
if she wanted to live.
She spoke with her mother about the future, and her mother asked, “Have
you ever thought about the Navy?” Diana was annoyed at what she thought
was a silly question, but, three months later, she was enlisted and training in
Orlando, Florida. After that, she sailed the world. She saw many things that
repulsed her. Every seaport had prostitution, gambling, and worse.
In rapid succession, Diana met and married a sailor, was honorably dis-
charged from the Navy, and gave birth to three sons. They moved to Monte
Vista, Colorado, but Diana’s husband wasn’t happy with family life.
Diana became depressed and began idolizing death. At first, she wished
to fall ill and die. Then she thought about taking her own life. In desperation,
she prayed, “God, I believe You are real, but I don’t know where You are.”
Strangely, over the next week, she had conversations with people from
four different faith groups. First, two young missionaries came to her door.
When she let them in, one missionary opened a book and read a text that
said people with dark skin could not enter the highest heaven because they
were cursed. Diana was offended. As a child, she had been the only white
student in her class during a period of desegregation in Virginia. She knew
God loved everyone and told the missionaries, “You have to leave.” She
wondered, “Why did they read that text to me?”
The next day, three women came to her house. During their visit, Diana
asked them about the Sabbath. “We worship God every day,” a woman said.
Diana thought that made sense, and she agreed to see them again.
Then a tiny old woman knocked on her door on a stormy Friday night.
She was collecting funds for a disaster-relief charity. Although the family
had very little, Diana gave her the money that she was saving in a tip jar
from her job at Pizza Hut. She never saw the woman again.
That same weekend, Diana was invited by a friend to another church. She
felt an evil presence upon entering, and she fled after the service.
This mission story offers an inside look at how God miraculously worked in the life
of Diana Fish, development director of the US-based Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist
Indian School, which received the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in 2021. Thank you for
supporting the spread of the gospel with this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering on
June 28. Read more about Diana next week.

Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School
mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at AdventistMission.org. 79
 teachers comments

Part I: Overview
Key Text: Revelation 5:9
Study Focus: Gen. 4:1-8, Isa. 53:1–12.
The ritual of sacrifice was current practice among most of the peoples
of the ancient Near East (ANE). In the ANE, sacrifice was considered
to be a gift to one’s god, providing food for the deity in exchange for
help.
The Bible, however, gives a radically different meaning to the ritual
of sacrifice; in fact, it reversed its purpose. While in the ANE, sacrifice
signified an upward movement from the human condition to the divine
sphere. In the Bible, sacrifice signified a downward movement from
God to men. In the ANE, the god created humans in order to have slaves
who would serve him or her and provide him or her with food. In con-
trast, the God of the Bible creates humans and gives them food.
In this lesson, we will study the biblical significance of the sacrifices.
The biblical meaning of the sacrifices depends on the literary context
in which they appear. Historical and legislative texts tend to report the
events of the sacrifices as rituals, and thus provide the religious and ethi-
cal significance of the sacrifices as they are lived by the people. On the
other hand, the prophetic and poetic texts tend to focus on their spiritual
and prophetic significance. We have chosen one typical text of each
category: the historical sacrifices of Cain and Abel, in Genesis 4, and
the prophetic sacrifice of the Suffering Servant, in Isaiah 53, in order to
better understand their respective significance.

Part II: Commentary

The Religious and Ethical Significance of the Sacrifices
The first explicit event of sacrifice highlights the diametric opposition
between Cain and Abel. While Cain takes his offering only from “the
fruit of the ground” (Gen. 4:3, NKJV), Abel, on the other hand, brings
“also,” or “in addition” to, the non-animal offering “the firstborn of
his flock” (Gen. 4:4, NKJV). The sacrifice of Abel, therefore, is in
conformity with biblical instruction, which required that “in addition
to” a vegetable offering, a sacrificial animal be presented for the burnt

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 teachers comments

offering (Exod. 29:39–41). Considering the fact that Abel was “a

keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground” (Gen. 4:2), Cain,
the elder brother, was confronted with a problem: he needed the help
of his little brother. Cain’s pride may have played a role in his choice
of sacrifice and in his subsequent actions.
The biblical story tells us, then, that “the Lord respected Abel and
his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering” (Gen. 4:4,
5, NKJV). The biblical text does not explain why Abel’s sacrifice was
accepted and Cain’s offering not. However, a number of clues in the text
suggest the following:
1. God’s first concern is the person who makes the offering, as the
following literal translation suggests: “God looked with interest at Abel,
therefore [waw] at his offering; but He did not look with interest at
Cain, therefore [waw] at his offering.” This translation indicates that the
reason for God’s rejection or acceptance of the offering lies primarily in
the spiritual condition of the person and not in his offering, per se (Mic.
6:7, 8; Isa. 1:11).
2. While Cain offers “to God,” Abel just offers. The phrase “to God”
is absent in conjunction with Abel. While Cain thinks of his offering as
his gift to God, Abel’s attention essentially concerns the meaning of the
sacrifice itself, namely, God’s gift to him. While Cain views his religion
as an upward movement to God, Abel understands it as a downward move-
ment from God.
3. Whereas Abel chose from the bekorot, the “ ‘firstfruits,’ ” the
most precious produce of the season, according to the Mosaic legisla-
tion (Exod. 23:19, NKJV), Cain took any fruit from the land. Cain’s
offering was the expression of human effort toward God, whereas
Abel’s offering was the expression of humanity’s need for God’s salva-
tion.
4. Abel’s offering was related to the promise of the Messianic Lamb
of Genesis 3:15, who would be sacrificed to save the world, whereas
Cain’s offering was an empty and unsignificant ritual. Note that the same
contrast appears between the human clothing and God’s clothing (Gen.
3:7). Whereas Adam and Eve used the plant that was available to them
to cover themselves, God used clothing that implied an animal sacrifice
(see Gen. 3:21).
5. Ultimately, Cain’s lack of the right religious connection reaches
its climax in the act of murder. Because Cain disconnects from God the
Father, he loses his connection with his brother.
Fratricide illustrates how sin works. Sin toward one’s brother derives
from sin toward God. God perceives this relation between the religious
and the ethical when He warns Cain: “ ‘If you do well, will you not be
accepted?’ ” (Gen. 4:7, NKJV). The phrase “ ‘do well’ ” concerns, first
of all, the right sacrifice, which Cain is required to offer; but it also
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 teachers comments

refers to Cain’s personal struggle against evil and, more particularly,

to his relationship with his brother. The Hebrew verb teytib, “do well,”
has a strong ethical connotation. The same verb is used by Jeremiah to
describe the desired relationship between “ ‘a man and his neighbor’ ”
(Jer. 7:5, NKJV).
It is interesting to note that Jeremiah’s address to Israel connects the
same issue of religious life to ethics. After a long list of ethical crimes
(stealing, lying, adultery, etc.), the prophet confronts his people, who then
“ ‘come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name’ ”
(Jer. 7:10, NKJV). This call has resonated with many other prophets who
have emphasized God’s rejection of these sacrifices. Micah, in particular,
eloquently insists on the worthlessness of such a religion: “Will the Lord
be pleased with thousands of rams? . . . He has shown you, O man, what
is good . . . to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God”
(Mic. 6:7, 8, NKJV).

The Prophetic Significance of the Sacrifices

One of the most powerful biblical passages on the prophetic significance
of the sacrifices is Isaiah’s song of the Suffering Servant. The Suffering
Servant is identified as a sacrifice, thus predicting the sacrificial ministry
of Jesus Christ. In fact, the central idea of the passage is the suffering and
dying of the Servant for atoning purposes. This idea appears in eight out
of the 12 verses (Isa. 53:4–8,10–12).
It is also intensified in the central section of Isaiah 53:4–6 and
described with terms and motifs directly borrowed from the Levitical
world. The Servant is compared to a lamb ready for slaughter (Isa.
53:7; compare with Lev. 4:32; Lev. 5:6; Lev. 14:13, 21; etc.). The pas-
sive form, one of the most characteristic features of the Levitical style,
is most prominent in Isaiah 53. It is used 16 times in the text; 12 of
them are in the Niphal, the technical form of the priestly “declaratory
verdict,” which is normally used in connection with the sacrifices. This
religious-cultic intention is further confirmed by the seven references to
“sin,” covering all three technical terms (pesha‘, ‘awon, khet’): “He was
wounded for our transgressions [pesha‘], He was bruised for our iniqui-
ties [‘awon]; . . . And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity [‘awon] of
us all. . . . He shall bear their iniquities [‘awon]. He bore the sin [khet’]
of many” (Isa. 53:5, 6, 11, 12, NKJV).
One verse in particular reveals the Levitical process of atonement:
“By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He
shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:11, NKJV). The word “knowledge”
(beda‘to) points to verse 3, where the same root word “to know”

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 teachers comments

(Yadu‘a) is used to characterize the Servant as a man who “knows” grief.

The verse explains that it is through this knowledge, or this experience, of
suffering that the Servant will “justify.” The following phrase explains the
operation implied in the verb “justify”: “For He shall bear their iniquities”
(Isa. 53:11). It is by bearing their iniquities that the Servant will be able to
make many just. The next verse again uses the word “many” and confirms
this interpretation which makes “many” the object of the verb “justify”:
hence, the Servant “bore the sin of many” (Isa. 53:12, NKJV).
This language and its association of ideas are quite familiar in the biblical
context, suggesting that the Servant is like the sacrificial offering, which in the
Levitical system bore the sin and hence permitted justification and forgiveness
from God: “ ‘If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, . . . he shall lay his hand
on the head of the sin offering. . . . So the priest shall make atonement for his
sin [khet’] that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him’ ” (Lev. 4:32–35,
NKJV). The strong cultic accent in this text upholds the idea that the Suffering
Servant plays the role of a vicarious sacrifice, taking the place of the sinner to
provide forgiveness.

Part III: Life Application

God’s Sacrifice for Your Salvation. Read Philippians 2:7. Reflect on
the expression “emptied Himself ” (ESV). How does God’s willingness to
become “nothing” apply to your relationship with your fellow neighbors
or your relatives? How ready are you to become nothing, to “empty”
yourself for the advancement of your colleague or the growth of your
child?

Notes

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84