Clothed for His Glory

Introduction

As we begin this morning I would like to briefly recall your thoughts back to our time together last week and the seriousness and weightiness of what was revealed to us in God’s word. We need to recall this truth firstly because it has bearing on our message today and secondly because it informs our time together in God’s presence this and every Lord’s day that we gather. This truth, which can only be comprehended when we begin to have a right understanding of the full holiness of God, is that even though we have been justified by Christ’s righteousness we are still sinners and that sinful flesh that continues to cling to us taints even the things are set apart as holy, such as our worship and our participation in each of the elements. The beauty of the gospel is that because of continual work of Christ as our Great High Priest then we can enter into the presence of God, bringing our imperfect worship, our imperfect prayer, our imperfect study and it is deemed acceptable in the eyes of God.

Now, if you will recall, back at the beginning of Chapter 28 we read these words in verse 1 Exodus 28:1 ““Now as for you, bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priests to Me—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.” Coming out of this verse and the verses to follow we get two images. The first is that of the garments of the high priest and how each one points us forward to the time when the temporal priesthood instituted by God here in Exodus would give way to the Great High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The second image that we see here in verse 1 is that the priesthood consisted of both a high priest and other priests. These other priests, identified in verse 1 as the sons of Aaron, were also called by God to minister to him in the tabernacle but in a different way than that of the high priest. Although the roles were different it was the high priest together with the other priests that made up the Aaronical, and later Levitical, priesthood.

Even though the way in which they served was different than that of the high priest, they were still called and set apart by God for His Glory. In our study for today we will take a look at the clothing of these priests, the types and shadows that we see in them and then we will also look at one final garment that the text describes. Turn with me now to Exodus chapter 28 as we look at the final four verses, beginning in verse 40 and reading down through verse 43…

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s Holy, Inerrant, Infallible, Complete, Authoritative and Sufficient Word:

Exodus 28:40–43 LSB

“For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics; you shall also make sashes for them, and you shall make caps for them, for glory and for beauty. “You shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall anoint them and ordain them and set them apart as holy, that they may minister to Me as priests. “You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh; they shall reach from the loins even to the thighs. “They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not incur guilt and die. It shall be a perpetual statute to him and to his seed after him.

Most Gracious and Holy Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for Your word by which we gain knowledge and understanding of You. As we study the truths that we find in Your word together this morning we ask that Your Spirit would testify with ours revealing to us our desperate need for our great Savior. As we come together in worship of You may we bring both gory and honor to Your name. Lord we are thankful that because of Christ’s work we can enter into Your presence with our praise and thanksgiving. Let those with ears to hear do so, we pray these things in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Proper Worship

We have spent much time of late, both as we have worked through the book of Exodus and especially in our Wednesday night study discussing worship and it would be remiss if we did not take notice now of God’s instructions that we find and how they inform our worship. John Currid writes:

A Study Commentary on Exodus: Volume 2: Exodus 19–40 Application

Again we are struck by the highly detailed nature of God’s commands to Israel regarding the tabernacle and the priesthood. There are even statutes about the type of underwear that the priests are to wear! We have already commented on how those details reflect the character of God. However, they also have much to teach us regarding the way man is to act towards God. When it comes to worship (and, indeed, this is true in all areas of life) we are to surrender to God and to his ways. J. Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, once said, ‘Let us give up our work, our thoughts, our plans, ourselves, our lives, our loved ones, our influence, our all, right into His hand, and then, when we have given all over to Him, there will be nothing left for us to be troubled about, or to make trouble about.’ God knows well the human heart, and that, given freedom in worship, it would devise all sorts of aberrant practices. God protects his people by laying out, in detail, the means by which he will be worshipped and obeyed.

Notice here verse 43, Exodus 28:43 “It shall be a perpetual statute to him and to his seed after him.” Although this statement follows the instructions to fabricate and wear the undergarments, and the command certainly includes them, it is not limited to just verse 42 but applies to all of the articles of clothing that have been mentioned. In a similar fashion the command given to Moses in verse 41 also applies to the all of the clothing with the exception of the linen undergarments, since it was given prior to the command to create them. What this tells us however, is that each of these articles of clothing are absolutely necessary for the proper worship of God.

In addition to this command, we also see the command given to Moses by God in the final clause of verse 41 where Moses is commanded to “anoint them and ordain them and set them apart”. These actions, which will be seen in much more detail in the coming weeks as we step into chapter 29 are also part of the commands given by God for the proper worship of Himself. Each of these statements help us deepen our understanding of what it means to worship God rightly. Although the clothing of the priesthood is no longer a necessity since that priesthood has been replaced, the principle of right worship remains. To worship rightly is to worship according to the manner in which God PRESCRIBES in His word.

The Priestly Garments

Returning up to verse 40 we read the commands regarding the fabrication of the clothing to be worn by the ordinary priesthood. When I use the term ordinary priesthood we need to ensure that we do not take that as a slight but rather as a was to help us define and separate the high priests from the rest of the priest within the priesthood. Ordinary in this sense simply means customary or usual. Similarly we talk in within the church of the ordinary means of grace, proclamation of the word, prayer, ordinances, etc. In no sense or way are we detracting from those items, we are simply using the term to define the difference between that which is usual and customary and that which is extra-ordinary.

What we have been dealing with over the past weeks when we have discussed the role of the high priest, we are looking at the work of God that is extra-ordinary. For us, this is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we read verse 40, it becomes clear, not just with the statement that this is being done for Aaron’s sons, but also with the lack of detail regarding the fabrication of these three items, that we have moved from the extra-ordinary, to the ordinary, that is, the priest who would still labor before God on behalf of the people, who still carried responsibilities that were part of their calling and role to serve God according to His commands, but did not carry the same weighty responsibility of bearing the burden of the entire people in the presence of God.

Although we have little description of these three items, we do know two very important facts, that they were made for the purpose of beauty and glory or dignity and honor. These clothes would make the wearer acceptable for service in the eyes of God. Although they were not the high priest, they still performed the daily work of ministering before Him and as we see in the last verse of this chapter, there is still danger if they do not perform their duties rightly.

We have two types set before us in the clothing of the ordinary priest and these two types are interconnected in such a way as that they should not be indistinguishable from one another. The first of these two types is the righteousness of Christ. The clothing, put on by the ordinary priests, represents the imputed righteousness of Christ given to believers. Notice in verse 43, again, that they are to wear these articles of clothing when at all times when they come into the holy place or even approach the altar, so that they do not incur iniquity. Without the clothes in the presence of almighty God, their iniquity would be exposed.

Our understanding of the second of these types depends on understanding that the ordinary priest together with the high priest, represent the unity of Christ with His church. As we look at verse one of this chapter we see that Aaron and his sons are called into the priesthood, here we see that Aaron and his sons are commanded to wear the clothing in the presence of God. The high priest, taking on the responsibilities for the sins of all of the people and the ordinary priests who labor daily for the kingdom.

Let us labor here for a moment so that we do not misunderstand this truth. Often times we as Christians walk around with the impression that God could not and would not do His work without us. We have talked previously about the sovereignty of God in salvation, the Holy Spirit moves in their life to create in them a new being. This new being now has a new desire, one towards God, enabling us, at the hearing of the proclamation of the gospel to have faith. This faith, given to us by God through grace leads to our salvation. As the redeemed of God we are given the righteousness of Christ, enter into the process of sanctification and by His power and His power alone, sustained to the very end. There are those camps who would vehemently disagree with us on one or more of these truths, even though they disagree not with us but with the word of God, and would place the responsibility for salvation back on the shoulders of the individual.

When we place this responsibility squarely on the shoulders of people, then the effect in the church is one of, what I will call, forceful evangelism. To be clear, we as the people of God, are called to proclaim the gospel, to share the truth of scripture, to evangelize, but there is a difference between being obedient and sharing the gospel and forceful evangelism. Forceful evangelism actually shifts the purpose of Christians. Let me explain. If we were to ask the question what is our purpose, and we were to devote serious study and time to pouring over the Word of God seeking this answer intently, honestly, humbly and allow God’s word to provide the answer what we would find there is that our purpose, our existence, the reason that you and I and every other person is now, has ever or will ever inhabit this earth is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, that is our purpose. Forceful evangelism switches that focus away from bringing glory to God and enjoying Him forever, and places it on a singular task purpose.

I can remember it being phrased to me this way, what if you were the one who was supposed to tell little Suzie about Jesus and you failed to do that? Think through with me for a moment the implications of that statement. Now, my singular purpose, at lease for this illustration, is to tell little Suzie the gospel, and the one thing I was put on earth to do, according to this view, I utterly failed at, which, although not spoken, ultimately says that I am now responsible not only for my own salvation but now I am also responsible for Suzie’s salvation and if she did not hear the gospel from me, she will never hear it, will die in her sins and spend eternity in hell… how’s that for a guilt trip… this is NOT what scripture teaches.

So where does that bring us, back to understanding what this type means when we say that the clothing of the ordinary priest demonstrates the righteousness of Christ as it is given to the people of God and the effect that it has on us. We are told in Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” When we take a look at what scripture teaches us in regards to this we see that as we put on Christ there are three things that happen in our lives.

Our Hearts Engage with His

Multiple times in the New Testament we, believers, are told that we are ALL now “priests” meaning that we have been set apart to and for divine service. Consider these passages:

Revelation 1:6 “and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.”

1 Peter 2:5 “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

Hebrews 10:22 “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Hebrews 10:19 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,”

Hebrews 13:10 “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no authority to eat.”

Hebrews 13:15 “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name.”

Each of these verses speak either directly of believers being priest or speak of us entering places where only priests can enter, and only after they are appropriately clothed in the garments of the priest or in our case, the righteous robes of Christ.

When we are properly clothed, the first thing that happens in our lives is that our hearts engage with His, His mission becomes our mission, His desire to glorify and honor the Father, becomes our desire. As this happens we understand that we are to walk as He walked, 1 Peter 2:21 “For to this you have been called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps,” Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” The model is Christ, Paul did not say imitate me because I am awesome, he said imitate me because I imitate Christ.

This is not a new saying in churches, I have heard it since I was little, be Christlike, but I often wonder if we have ever stopped and thought for a moment of just what that truly means.

Paul points our for us that Christ was obedient, even unto death, how many of us are willing to be obedient unto death. We have the blessing and fortune to live in the United States of America where we are, at the moment, free to worship, believe, and serve God without threat of death. Although the persecution of Christians by the general public is increasing it is no where close to the level that other parts of the world see where that claim can, and often does, cost you your life.

Physical death is one thing, the death the we struggle with more here in this country and in the church is death to self. Jesus says in Matthew 16:24-26

Matthew 16:24–26 LSB

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

deny self, what a contradiction to society, which encourages you to be yourself, be who you are, live how you want, it is after all your life…

Active Service, Faithful Testimony

A second mark or evidence of one who has put on Christ is that our service will be active and our testimony will be faithful. The second article of clothing mentioned in verse 40 is the sash, which can also be translated girdle. This particular item of clothing is one that is designed so that the wearer can perform the functions of their job with relative ease. If you will recall back to the first passover, God commands them to eat it with their loins girded. In that place it was to gather up the bottom of the long robes that they wore, pull it up and tuck it into their belt or sash or girdle. The effect would be similar to wearing a pair of pants and would allow the wearer to move about more freely.

In Luke’s gospel we find: Luke 12:35-36

Luke 12:35–36 LSB

“Gird up your loins, and keep your lamps lit. “And be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.

These are the words that Christ spoke to His followers regarding their readiness for His return, one commentator writes:

Gleanings in Exodus 2. Their Girdles

“The hope of our Lord’s return will not really abide in the heart unless we keep our loins girded, as engaged in the Master’s work, and unless our light shines out before men. An inactive believer is sure to become a worldly-minded one. He will have companionship with men of the world, whose intoxicating pursuits of avarice, ambition, and pleasure deaden their hearts and consciences to all the truth of God. ‘Occupy till I come’ is another precept of the same kind as ‘let your loins be girded.’ ”

Later, Peter would also refer to girding when he writes: 1 Peter 1:13

1 Peter 1:13 LSB

Therefore, having girded your minds for action, being sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Here, we see our minds needing to be prepared for service to Him, Pink writes:

Gleanings in Exodus 2. Their Girdles

Two great motives are presented to them: the sufferings of Christ and the glory that shall follow (v. 1). Thus, in order to be constantly pressing onwards we must stay our minds upon Christ, ever contemplating Him in His two characters as the Victim and as the Victor. A man who fails to use the “girdle,” allowing his garments to hang loose, is impeded in his movements and progress. Loose thoughts and wandering imaginations must be gathered in, and our hearts and understandings set upon the death, resurrection, and return of Christ, if we would pursue our journey with less distraction.

The strength of our service depends heavily on the faithfulness of our testimony. We can labor as diligently as we can, serving in every manner, striving for the kingdom but if our testimony is not faithful, in other words if we do not believe that which we proclaim and live in such as way as to fully demonstrate that belief, then our service is for naught.

Ephesians 6:10–20 LSB

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. In addition to all, having taken up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, also receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, as well as on my behalf, that words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel— for which I am an ambassador in chains—so that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Notice, after we are told to take up the armor and stand firm, the first thing that we have to have in place is that our loins are girded, not with our opinions, feelings, etc, but with TRUTH. Without truth our testimony is false and our service is rendered useless.

Exalted with Christ

One final mark of one who has put on Christ is demonstrated in the wearing of the cap. In scripture the wearing of a headpiece signifies submission to headship. We see an image of this in scripture when we read regarding the wearing of head covering that is defined in 1 Corinthians 11 as woman is defined as the glory of man. Now, of course these verses are difficult to understand and are often taken as offensive when seen through human eyes, but not when seen by and through the eyes of God. Consider the words of Peter in 1 Peter 3:3–5 “Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on garments; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible quality of a lowly and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being subject to their own husbands,” The wearing of this and the submission to the order that is given by God is glorifying to Him as Peter continues later in verse 8 which reads 1 Peter 3:8–9 “Now to sum up, all of you be like-minded, sympathetic, brotherly, tender-hearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but giving a blessing instead, for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”

That blessing is to be ultimately lifted upward in Christ to the glory of God

Linen Undergarments

This brings us now to the final garment and the close of Chapter 28. Notice first that this garment, as commanded in verse 43, shall be worn by Aaron and his sons, so this garment is given to both the high priest and the ordinary priest and, unlike the other garments, is to be fabricated in the same way for both. This tells us firstly that this does article of clothing does not prefigure Christ but it does still send a message to us here today. To understand that message let us begin with looking at Genesis 3:7 “And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.” The first result of disobedience to God was to recognize their nakedness as something to be ashamed of and their first response was to hide that shame by creating a covering.

This action also occurs outside of an interaction with God, notice the man and woman were together, ate and came to this realization and covered themselves, not from God first, but from each other. Pink writes:

Gleanings in Exodus 4. Their Breeches

The feeling of shame, a guilty feeling, crept over his soul; and his attention was immediately directed to some mode of quieting his confidence in this respect, that he might appear unabashed in the presence of his fellow. No thought of his fall as it regarded God, or of his inability to stand in His presence, occurred to him.

The change in the desires of the heart of men was instantaneous, they were no longer concerned with the things of God but with that which affected them personally. So we seek to make ourselves comfortable in the presence of other men, even when that means to compromising on the gospel. I am reminded of a great statement that I read this week from a fellow brother in Christ, Virgil Walker. Virgil writes, “we tiptoe around sin like it might sue us. We’ve traded the Lion of Judah for a therapy dog...” This is our interaction with each other, we can hide our shame, but in the presence of the One who is Holy, the Almighty God, our sin cannot stay hidden, our flesh is revealed, our conscience is convicted and we stand fully exposed… “but God, being rich in mercy because of His great lover with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ” Soltau writes:

Gleanings in Exodus 4. Their Breeches

“It is here that a righteousness not our own becomes unspeakably precious to the soul. A covering that both blots out all sin, and forever clothes the sinner with spotless purity, which conceals from the searching eye of God all iniquity, and in so doing completely justifies the sinner before Him:

Psalm 33:1–2 “Sing for joy in Yahweh, O righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright. Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.”

Their are times when the simplest statement carries the greatest weight. J Vernon McGee wrote, regarding the purpose of these undergarments “God wanted no display of the flesh”. Pink adds:

Gleanings in Exodus 4. Their Breeches

all that is of the flesh must be kept out of sight in our priestly activities. As another has said, “That which is of the flesh is bad anywhere, but it is most of all out of place in the holy service of God. What could be more dreadful than for such things as vanity, jealousy, emulation, or desire to make something of oneself, to come into what should be spiritual service? All that would be, indeed, ‘the flesh of nakedness’: it is not to be seen” (C. A. Coates)

Conclusion

As we draw our time in God’s Word to a close this morning, let us not leave lightly the truths we have seen displayed in the garments of the priesthood. Each piece—the tunic, the sash, the cap, and even the undergarments—was not arbitrary or ceremonial fluff. They were divinely designed reminders that to serve a holy God, one must be set apart, cleansed, and clothed in righteousness. This, beloved, is not just history—it is typology. It is truth. It is Christ.

You and I, as those who have been united to Christ by faith, have been made a royal priesthood, called not to self-expression, but to submission; not to casual worship, but to consecrated service. We have been clothed not in our own merit, but in the pure and spotless righteousness of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

But that robe of righteousness is not merely for our justification—it is the garment for our sanctification as well. We are called to gird up our loins with truth, to be ready in active service, to carry forth a faithful testimony, and to live under the headship of Christ in humble submission. All flesh must be covered. All pride must be hidden. All worship must be ordered according to His Word.

So I ask you: Are you clothed in Christ alone, or are you still stitching fig leaves, hoping your own garments will be enough? Will you lay aside the garments of flesh and be found robed in Him?

Closing Prayer

Our Gracious and Holy Father,

We come before You now in humility and reverence, giving thanks for the clarity and depth of Your Word. Thank You for revealing to us, through the garments of the priests, the weight and wonder of serving a holy God. We praise You that in Christ, our Great High Priest, we are clothed with righteousness not our own, and that by His work we may draw near without fear.

Lord, forgive us for the times when we have brought flesh into what is meant to be holy. Cleanse us from pride, vanity, and self-reliance. Help us to remember that proper worship is not dictated by preference, but by Your perfect prescription.

Remind us anew each day of Christ—His humility, His truth, His obedience. May we walk in His steps, girded with truth, ready for service, our testimony faithful, and our hearts submitted to You in all things. Let us be a people whose worship is pure and whose lives reflect the glory of the One who has called us out of darkness into marvelous light.

Seal these truths to our hearts now, we pray, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is our righteousness and in whom alone we find our redemption.

Amen.