OFFICE OF ADVOCATE AND MEDIATOR CONTRASTED
THE fact that the Church is "the Mystery of God" has become more clear within the last twenty years. We know that Christ and the Church are separate and distinct from the world in every particular. They are neither under the old Law Covenant nor under the New Law Covenant, but are a peculiar people, called, sanctified, developed, under a special Covenant by themselves, in which none of the world will ever participate. This the Scripture styles the Covenant of Sacrifice: "Gather My saints [holy ones] together unto Me [saith the Lord]; those that have made a Covenant with Me by sacrifice." (Psalm 50:5.) This special class of saints, or holy ones, who make the Covenant of Sacrifice have as their Head the Lord Jesus Himself. When this company shall have completed their Covenant by Sacrifice, this present Age will end. Moses of the Law Covenant given to Israel represented specially the Law Covenant which will be given to the world through the antitype of Moses—The Christ. In other words, the Mediator of the Law Covenant was one man; but the Mediator of the New Law Covenant of the Millennial Age is the new Man, of which Jesus is the Head—and the Apostle declares that the members are made up of those elected both from Jews and Gentiles.
From the time of Jesus down, the Mediator of the New Covenant has been in process of selection, and the "better sacrifices," as the basis for the New Covenant have been in process of offering. During this Gospel Age Jesus has not exercised His office as Mediator for the world; and the world has no relationship with God, but still lies in the Wicked One. The Mediator Himself has been in process of development. As the Apostle declares, God raised up Jesus first and since has been raising up the Church, and soon will finish the raising up. It is this Mediator or Prophet of whom St. Peter speaks in Acts 3:22,23. (See also 1 Timothy 2:5,6.) No mediating can be done until the Mediator of "many members" has qualified for the office. His qualification consists of His sacrificing, according to His Covenant of Sacrifice. The Christ, Head and Body, are, therefore, the Mediator for the world in a prospective sense—in the same sense as Jesus, the Babe, could be spoken of as the Savior and the King. He is only now becoming the King and has yet saved only a few of His people.
There is a wide distinction between the work of a mediator and the work of an advocate. The Great Mediator between God and man—The Christ of glory—will fill His mediatorial office for a thousand years and complete it only by the end of that time, when He will deliver over to the Father, fully reconciled, all who can be brought into harmony with the Divine arrangement. The work of an advocate is different, and according to the Bible, relates only to the work which Jesus accomplishes on behalf of the Church during this Age. The Church will need no advocate in the future. The world has no advocate now. "We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." It is Jesus individually who is the Advocate for us—"the Church, His Body." He advocates our cause—first of all by imputing to us the merit of His sacrifice, thus making us presentable in the Father's presence and acceptable as sons of God. Because of this Advocacy, we have received the Holy Spirit and are New Creatures in Christ. As New Creatures we still need our Advocate, because we cannot do the things that we would—perfectly. We have imperfections of the flesh, which, as New Creatures, we cannot fully control. Hence we need a Throne of Grace and an Advocate through whom we may maintain our present relationship with the Father, and thus not be condemned with the world.