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B. THE NATURE OF CHRIST’S INTERCESSORY WORK.
It is evident that this work of Christ may not be dissociated from His atoning sacrifice, which
forms its necessary basis. It is but the continuation of the priestly work of Christ, carrying it to
completion. Compared with the sacrificial work of Christ His ministry of intercession receives
but little attention. Even in evangelical circles the impression is often given, though perhaps
without intending it, that the work accomplished by the Saviour on earth was far more
important than the services which He now renders in heaven. It seems to be little understood
that in the Old Testament the daily ministration at the temple culminated in the burning of
incense, which symbolized the ministry of intercession; and that the annual ritual on the great
Day of Atonement reached its highest point, when the high priest passed beyond the veil with
the atoning blood. Neither can it be said that the ministry of intercession is sufficiently
understood. This may be the cause, but may also be the result, of the widespread failure of
Christians to rivet the attention on it. The prevailing idea is that the intercession of Christ
consists exclusively in the prayers which He offers for His people. Now it cannot be denied that
these form an important part of the intercessory work of Christ, but they are not the whole of
it. The fundamental point to remember is that the ministry of intercession should not be
dissociated from the atonement, since they are but two aspects of the same redemptive work
of Christ, and the two may be said to merge into one. Martin finds that the two constantly
appear in juxtaposition and are so closely related in Scripture, that he feels justified in making
the following statement: “The essence of the Intercession is Atonement; and the Atonement is
essentially an Intercession. Or, perhaps, to put the paradox more mildly: The Atonement is real,
— real sacrifice and offering, and not mere passive endurance, — because it is in its very nature
an active and infallible intercession; while, on the other hand, the Intercession is real
intercession, — judicial, representative, and priestly intercession, and not a mere exercise of
influence, — because it is essentially an Atonement or substitutionary oblation, once perfected
on Calvary, now perpetually presented and undergoing perpetual acceptance in heaven.”[The
Atonement, p. 115.] Analyzing it, we find the following elements in the intercession of Christ:
1. Just as the high priest on the great Day of Atonement entered the Holy of Holies with the
completed sacrifice, to present it to God, so Christ entered the heavenly Holy Place with His
completed, perfect, and all-sufficient sacrifice, and offered it to the Father. And just as the high
priest, on entering the Holy Place, came into the presence of God, symbolically bearing the
tribes of Israel on His breast, so Christ appeared before God as the representative of His people,
and thus reinstated humanity in the presence of God. It is to this fact that the writer of
Hebrews refers when he says: “For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in
pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us,” Heb.
9:24. Reformed theologians often directed attention to it that the perpetual presence of the