We are all called to offer ourselves wholly to God. “All of me to all of you, O God, because of Jesus.” Total surrender. Each of us is an ascension offering, daily giving ourselves to God, renewing our minds by his truth, and presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice. This is our spiritual worship. Following the apostle’s example, though, each of us is also called to be a drink offering for others. We’re called to be poured out as a glorifying accompaniment to their lives of sacrificial service.

Leviticus is the book where many Bible-reading plans go to die. Those who begin well in Genesis and Exodus find themselves, like the people of Israel, stumbling through the wilderness in Leviticus and Numbers, desperate to find their way to the story of David or the letters of Paul. For many, they stumble because they haven’t been taught the ABCs of the sacrificial system. The instructions about arranging animal parts, sprinkling blood, and bodily emissions are incomprehensible until they learn the basic grammar of the Levitical world.
Once we’ve grasped some of the basics, however, we find that we’re not only able to read Leviticus with more understanding; we’re also able to see depths in the rest of Scripture, including Paul’s letters, that were hidden before. Consider the following sentences, tucked away in his exhortation to the Philippians to do all that they do without grumbling or complaining:
Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (Philippians 2:17–18)
The language here is Levitical and layered. We are invited to consider the Christian life, and ministry to others, through the lens of Leviticus. Paul assumes that his readers would be familiar with the various sacrifices and offerings, and therefore able to comprehend the aim of his ministry and the aim of their lives.
All of Me to All of You
Paul references two offerings — the drink offering and the sacrificial offering (literally, “the sacrifice and service of your faith”). The latter is most likely a reference to the ascension offering, sometimes called “the whole burnt offering.”
The whole burnt offering is the baseline offering in the Old Testament, in which the worshiper lays hands on the unblemished animal so that the spotless animal now represents the sinful worshiper. The animal is killed, its blood drained and then sprinkled on the altar by the priest. After this, the priest arranges the dismembered body parts on the altar, with a particular focus on the head and the fat portions. Finally, the priest burns up the whole animal so that the animal, as the representative of the worshiper, ascends to God in the smoke as a pleasing aroma.
This offering is a fitting image of total surrender, of our heartfelt desire to draw near to the living and holy God despite our sinfulness. In it, the worshiper confesses, in essence, “All of me to all of you, O God.” Paul draws out this element of the sacrificial system in Romans 12:1–2:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
In the new covenant, rather than offering an animal through fire and smoke, we offer ourselves — our bodies and our minds — as our spiritual service and worship to God. We present the members of our bodies to God as his instruments, and we submit our minds and hearts to the truth of his word. And as Paul makes clear in Philippians, we do all of this by faith. Every Christian is now a living ascension offering, daily presenting ourselves to God through faith in Christ.
Read More
Related Posts:

Whatever ruling power and prevailing culture exists in a given locale, the people of God have their directions from His hand and we are to do our best, by His grace and help, to obey him, no matter the cost (and it could be very costly).  If our influence has diminished in this American empire, maybe it will be of help to build back from the rubble that seems inevitable.

One of the most difficult eras for the people of God in the Old Testament is when they found themselves in exile many miles away from their homeland. A succession of world powers culminated with a vast Babylonian empire engulfing a weakened Israel. For the faithful of Israel, those who loved God and trusted Him, the time in Babylonian challenged their ability to follow God’s standards. The pressures to assimilate into the godless Babylonian culture was constant.
In some sense, American Christians are increasingly finding themselves in a modern Babylon. Modern American culture has taken a stark turn away from biblical views and practices and in many cases stands in total opposition. What are Christians to do in such a time and place? Here is the prophet Jeremiah’s timeless counsel to faithful Israelites (those seeking to honor God’s Word) who found themselves in a pagan land that was antagonistic to their faith in the true and living God:
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.  Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.  But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Jeremiah 29:4–7
Generally, we (Christians) are to do our best to settle in and be productive citizens where God has placed us. This does not mean we should be passive in our actions to impact the culture for Christ. Frankly, I think those kinds of efforts have been happening for years. At this point, it has not seemed to be God’s will that our efforts drastically influence the way people act and think in America. So what do we do when things seem to be sliding against us?
Back to Jeremiah’s counsel to faithful Israelites living in Babylon: We are to honor God’s order for life and family, generation to generation, no matter what madness surrounds us culturally. Also, we should be crying out to the Lord for him to rescue “the city” from godless leadership and an increasingly blind and foolish citizenry. We seem to be living in a society that is in free fall toward some kind of collapse. I might be wrong. I hope I am wrong.
The history of earthly empires is repetitive. Nations that perceive themselves as great and above God’s Law are eventually humbled by a nation or nations that are “greater.” It seems like our country thinks itself above God’s wise rule. The kinds of actions taken recently at a legislative level reveal an arrogance about our societal autonomy. There is a notion that “we” can decide for ourselves what is ethical and right.
The ultimate slap in the face of biblical ethics was the naming of a recent wicked piece of legislation, “The Respect for Marriage Act.”  This legislation elevates a rebellious society’s desired practice over God’s designed foundational order for civilization. There is no doubt, America is an empire in serious decline. Our national fate will be no different than the godless empires of the past if there is not a sweeping turn from evil soon.
Assyria was “great” until Babylon became greater.  Babylon was “great” until Persia was greater. Persia was “great” until Greece was greater. Greece was “great” until Rome was greater, etc., etc.
Whatever ruling power and prevailing culture exists in a given locale, the people of God have their directions from His hand and we are to do our best, by His grace and help, to obey him, no matter the cost (and it could be very costly).  If our influence has diminished in this American empire, maybe it will be of help to build back from the rubble that seems inevitable.
How will we build back? By continuing to refer to the essence of Jeremiah 29 again.
Dr. Tony Felich is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and serves as the Pastor of Redeemer PCA in Overland Park, Kansas.
Related Posts:

My fear and concern about so many of today’s debates is that even if we win many battles, we may still lose the war. We may protect truth, but what have we gained if our triumph comes through scorched-earth battles that treat other believers as the enemy and grind them under foot? 

Sin has made our vision opaque and our minds dull. We do not see God for who he really is and ourselves for who we really are. We think far too little of God and far too highly of ourselves. On our own we are doomed to look blindly and think badly.
But as our inner nature is renewed by the Word, our vision becomes progressively clearer. Our minds become sharp. We put aside the ugly lies we once believed and embrace the beautiful truths. Thinking well—seeing and understanding the world as it truly is—is a privilege and obligation of every believer.
God’s desire is not merely that we reflect his truth in our conclusions, but that we reflect his character in our deliberations.

But the privilege and obligation upon us is not merely to believe the right things. We also need to come to those beliefs in the right way. It’s not enough to arrive at theological conclusions that reflect the mind of God; it’s also important to reach those conclusions in a way that reflects the character of God. God’s desire is not merely that we reflect his truth in our conclusions, but that we reflect his character in our deliberations.
Read More
Related Posts: