[Heb. 1:2 ]
The Son
Appointed Heir
Intro: Find your way to Hebrews 1 and prepare to
read verses 1 and 2 one remaining time:
(Heb 1:1-2 KJV) God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, {2} Hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds;
In a former church a man reaching
retirement age shared an incident from his childhood school days. The class
had just begun to examine the works of Shakespeare when one of the rather
backward young men from the hill country began to question the worth of it
all. He wanted to know why anyone would bother with such stuff, and what good
would the knowledge of Shakespeare do for anyone anyway. His teacher had one
response and it was to the point. Her words were “May God have mercy on you if
you never live to understand the answer to your question.”
That same remark is appropriate when it
comes to understanding the difference between a Son and a prophet. There is
such a gap, such an ocean, such an infinite distance between Jesus Christ and
all who ever came before Him or after Him that no simple pastor or teacher
could ever express it. But, we catch a glimpse, a small glimpse, in the very
words which we have just read. And we must look one final time at these
words before we move on. Mull over these words “…hath in these last days spoken
unto us by His [or a] son.”
What does it mean to us when we learn that
God has spoken to us by a Son? Let’s line up some key words.
John Owen wrote so beautifully: “The Lord
Jesus Christ, by virtue of the union of His Person, was from the womb filled
with a perfection of gracious light, and knowledge of God and His will.” This
instructor agrees with Owen, but only to a point. We must never think that
the Lord Jesus Christ knew everything there was to know at any given point in
time. As God, He was omniscient. But when Christ came as the Son of God He
laid aside the independent use of His divine privileges and, submitting Himself
totally to the will of the Father, only exercised those divine privileges and
powers which were appropriate at the time to doing the Father’s will.
So, while we must not say on the one hand
that Christ was born with instantaneous knowledge of all things we must
understand that as surely as an earthly son has access to his father in a way
which no others have there was a relationship between Christ and the Father
which no prophet could ever experience. The closest prophet to come to this,
we will see in our study of Hebrews, was Moses, but not even Moses could approach
at will the living God. That privilege to approach a father at will is
reserved for sons.
During the Clinton Administration we had a
lot of media talk about access. Lincoln's White House bedroom was unofficially
renamed the Lincoln Bed and Breakfast. The Chinese Central Committee contributed
openly to the Democratic Central Committee, all in the name of access. Jesus
Christ, however does not need to purchase such influence. He is a son and has
full access to the Father.
Secondly:
We hear from Owen once again:
“The commission, mission, and furnishings of the Son
as incarnate and Mediator, with abilities for the declaration of the mind and
will of God unto the Church, were particularly from the Father…”
God spoke to and through His Son in a way
we find nowhere else. We preachers are death on red-letter editions of the
Bible. We are death on them because they create the impression that the words
written in red are more inspired than the words written in black because Jesus
spoke them. Those of us who know God’s Word know that is not true. We know
that every word of the Bible is inspired of God and we know that every word of
the Bible is equally inspired. We know that, in the final analysis, every word
in the Bible IS the Word of Christ. Even so, when we read those red letters
we have only one response, “…Never a man spake like this man.” And our
minds return quickly to the words of Christ Himself, as He spoke of Himself through
the prophet Isaiah “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned,”
Isa. 50:4.
Was there ever a tongue like this? Was
there ever speech like this? What are we saying? We are saying that
the sonship of Christ is reflected in His very words, and we would roll
in uncontrollable laughter at the ignorance of those imposters who claim any
share of His glory, especially when they think to mimic or improve upon His
Words!
If the reader will endure a little humor, it was
reported to me recently that one medical finding has just revealed that, on the
average, the area of the female brain which involves communication skills has
been found to be 20% larger than on their male counterparts. The report went
on to say that this is why women excel in certain professions more than men. Not
to be undone, the male radio personality posed a question to his female partner
wondering that, if the brain were 20% larger in the communication area, what
other portion of the brain had to shrink proportionately in order to
accommodate it? He went on to say that, perhaps, it was the logical
portion of the brain which suffered the loss. At this point the broadcast cut,
wisely, to a commercial.
`
But, consider this. All of this time we
have been announcing that no man or woman has ever used even 10% of his
or her brain capacity. We have wondered if maybe Adam did before the fall.
But, here is another wildly different thought. Maybe this extra capacity was reserved
for the One person who would need to take on an earthly body, the One person
who was the Son of God, who was so unique in every way that no one has ever
come near Him. In any case, this Son of God has an ability which the
prophets never had.
There is another implication of sonship:
It is an issue of nature. Owen notes:
“That Jesus Christ in His Divine nature as he was the
eternal Word and Wisdom of the Father, not by a voluntary communication, but
eternal generation, had an omnisciency of the whole nature and will of God as
the Father Himself hath, their will and wisdom being the same.”
I have purposed to settle for the beauty
and not to delve too deeply into the theological implications of that
statement, but it bears reading again. This time, perk up when we come to the
term eternal generation.
“That Jesus Christ in His Divine nature as he was the
eternal Word and Wisdom of the Father, not by a voluntary communication, but
eternal generation, had an omnisciency of the whole nature and will of God as
the Father Himself hath, their will and wisdom being the same.”
One must never get on the bandwagon with
some Johnny-come-lately who, in his own inimitable scholarship comes up with
the idea that Jesus Christ was never God’s Son in eternity past. Such a
teacher stands very much alone in the train of great biblical teachers who have
grappled with these wonderful and inexplicable truths.
These teachers could not find words to
describe what little the scriptures have to say about the eternal nature of the
trinity, but they clung firmly to the doctrine of eternal generation.
Jesus Christ was ETERNALLY a Son, eternally proceeding from the Father.
In a word, it is the nature of the second person of the trinity, not
just some earthly role He assumed.
But there is more to this matter of
adaptation. It is not just that He is adapted to the nature of God. It is
that this One who “tabernacled” among us, (John 1:14) was also adapted to our
natures. That is, He has become the bridge between two natures,
the nature of God and the nature of man. He was one of us in every way. Jesus
Christ does not represent a mix of two natures; He is the conjunctive
expression of them. The evidence of this follows in the next phrase.
“…whom he hath appointed heir of all things”
With the insertion of this phrase, “…whom
he hath appointed heir of all things” the human nature and the messianic
nature of Christ come into play. The prophets did not have this advantage.
They could only glance upon the nature of God from their human perspective.
With this discussion, all the tension
between true Christianity and the cults comes into play. You see, we are all
confronted with the dilemma, with the ultimate question, is Jesus Christ God or
is He man? The answer is that He is both and both truths are equally
important to us. Because this union of two natures is seamless, pervasive, and
conjunctive in every way it is virtually impossible to reduce the discussion
to textbook terms. But, if you will just remember these simple thoughts you
can be spared from a lot of difficulty:
1. First, remember that Jesus Christ is completely
God and therefore, as the son, has the nature of God. He has God’s nature.
2. Secondly, Jesus Christ is completely man
and therefore has a human nature.
3.Finally, you must never associate man’s fallen
nature with His human nature. The Adventists, for example, fall into a
terrible error here. Some Adventists assume that because Jesus had a human
nature it had to be a fallen nature. Ellen White said that Jesus had a
mean and sinful spirit. But Jesus was not fallen man. He was not in
Adam as you and I were. He was born of a virgin, conceived of the Holy
Spirit. We have one final thought before we leave the discussion of heirship:
Keep this distinction in mind, it is the
Son who is appointed heir, not the heir who is appointed Son. Jesus
Christ is never appointed a Son. That position is never given to Him.
He was only declared to be the Son of God, and that declaration
was made on several occasions. It was made in the Old Testament as we will see
momentarily. It was made at His baptism, and it was made in the context
of His resurrection. The Sonship of Christ is always declared in scripture.
It was never given to Christ as a title.
But heirship? That is a different issue. It
is an appointment, and it is one that He receives as a Son. So let’s ask
ourselves a few critical questions.
# 1. What is an heir? An heir is
one who receives the possessions of someone else, usually a near relative. It
is as simple as that.
#2. If Jesus Christ is an heir, doesn’t
that mean He must wait until the father’s death before He can claim his
possession? The answer is, in our culture this is common but not
necessarily in biblical culture. Any parent can opt to give any of his possessions
to his heir, prior to his own death. In fact, it is wise to do so when
it is practical in order to avoid probate. But there is more to the discussion
than this.
In Roman times a father normally adopted
a child who came of age. That is, a child was declared to be a son for legal
purposes. Was he a son before this? Yes, but when the legal declaration was
made he became a legal son and a full heir. Under Roman law that son became
full co-possessor of his father’s goods.
The story of the prodigal comes to mind.
Have you ever noticed the arrogance of this son who demands that his share of
the inheritance be given to him before his father’s death? So, keep
this thought firmly in your mind: While a will cannot be executed before the
death of the testator, a possession can be turned over to a son at any time.
But let’s ask an even more important question.
#3. Doesn’t the fact that the father
declares the Son to be His heir mean that the Son is in some way inferior to
the Father? The answer is no. The Son is no more inferior to the Father
than my wife is inferior to me. Jesus Christ came to do the Father’s perfect
will. It is therefore important for the world in general, and the Jews in
particular to see that the Father approved and acknowledged the sonship
of Christ.
#4. Just exactly what did Jesus Christ
inherit?
a. First, as a son of Abraham he inherited
all of the promises made to David. In the course of our study of Hebrews we
will learn about the laws of God’s promises. We will learn that Jesus
Christ is the rightful curator of all of God’s promises and that He is
the inheritor of these promises.
b. Secondly, he is the inheritor of the
nations. In Psalm 2 we read these words spoken by the Father to the Son:
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
#5. What else does He inherit as the
Son? According to the text before our eyes he has inherited all things!
And that is exactly the point of our author. No prophet ever received such
authority. No prophet ever received such possessions. In a word, a prophet
could only speak the words of God. His authority began and ended with the
words “Thus saith the Lord…” That was the limit of his authority.
That is not how it is with this Jesus
Christ. He is the one who said ”Ye have heard that it was said of old… but
I say….” (Mat. 5:21,22) No man spoke with such authority as this
Christ.
That authority was asserted over the
religious world. We read in Matthew 7:28 and 29:
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these
sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not
as the scribes.
That authority was asserted over
the demon world. We read in Mark 1:27:
27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they
questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is
this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do
obey him.
That authority will ultimately be
consummated in ultimate victory. As Paul noted, speaking of our resurrection
in 1 Corinthians 15:24:
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up
the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and
all authority and power.
Christ’s authority is directly
linked to His heirship, and His heirship is directly linked to
His sonship.
I want to close this section, not from
Hebrews, but from a passage in Galatians. Notice Galatians 3:26-29. It is
important to do this because we need to be reminded just exactly where
we fit in this great picture:
(Gal 3:26-28 KJV) For ye are all the children of God by
faith in Christ Jesus. {27} For as many of you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ. {28} There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus. (29) And if ye be Christ's, then are
ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Did you catch all those key words? You
are sons. You are heirs. The day you were baptized into Christ all
of this became yours, sonship and heirship according to the promise! Yes,
in Christ you (who know Christ as Savior) share in the benefits and blessings
of these positions.
[1:2 – Primacy of the Son]
The
Primacy of the Son
Intro: In a word, we have been considering the
primacy or superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ. To this point, we have considered
all but the last phrase of verse two as we have taken our first childish steps
on our journey into the heart and character of God as represented in His Son.
We read concerning this God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in
times past unto the fathers by the prophets, that He:
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
The first announcement is that God has
spoken to us. This simple statement does away with all those who
accuse God of injustice for His silence. He has spoken in a clear,
identifiable, and undeniable way. And when God spoke through His Son He spoke
in a way unlike any of His past revelations to men. When God speaks it
obligates us to listen. When God speaks to us we would be fools to shut His message
out.
The second announcement is that God has
spoken to us by a Son. We have bathed, though only momentarily, in the
rich glow of the Sonship of Christ as we have sought to extend the distance in
our thinking between being a son or being one of those times past
prophets. When God speaks it obligates us to listen. When God speaks through
His Son we would be fools to shut His message out.
The third announcement is that, by
virtue of His Sonship this son is also the heir of all things.
And, by virtue of his heirship, this Son has both title to all things,
and authority over all things. When God speaks it obligates us to
listen. When God speaks through His Son we would be fools to shut His message
out. When God speaks through His Son who is the heir of all things we
would be insane to turn a deaf ear.
We may say that we have seen primacy
through agency. God spoke through Christ. We have seen primacy through
sonship. We have seen primacy through his heirship. We come to
the fourth announcement which follows logically, not incidentally, after the
third.
…by whom also he made the worlds;
In these words that open the door to our
present study we are going to consider the primacy of this Christ who is over
and above all things. We are going to see:
Because of our proximity to the English
terminology we would make the immediate assumption that God created the
universe through this Son. And that is correct. That is what is
being taught in this verse. But the truth of the matter is that far more is
being taught here than the simple fact that Jesus Christ was the agency through
whom the physical universe came into existence. Much more is being taught.
The actual Greek words read:
δι
ου και τους
αιωνας
εποιησεν
by
whom also the worlds he made
And the Greek word aiona" (.aion, ahee-ohn') or worlds is
a very inclusive word. It not only includes creation itself, but
it includes the creative order. It includes the biological orders and kingdoms
and as you know, there are many. It includes the spiritual orders and kingdoms.
It even includes the historical march of the ages. Jesus Christ is the originator
of it all. In short, all of the meanings which are normally attached to the
Greek word cosmos (kosmo"), are
included and in this word aiona" or
worlds. All orders of existence, both material and living were
created by Jesus Christ. If it exists physically, biologically, or
spiritually, He made it.
The Son has primacy because He is
the source of the creative order. He is the source of the creation and all of
its kingdoms and spheres. He is first. There is no one ahead of Him.
1. Order is important to God. There was,
as one might suspect, an ancient heresy that arose insisting that Christ must
be inferior because He was the agent through which God created the world. We
have already countered that in other contexts.
a. We have explained that a son is not
inferior to his father any more than a wife is inferior to her husband and
that, in fact, the very opposite is true. There is order in equality. We
expect orderliness in the mind of a God of order. Simple order never implies
inequality. Agency never implies inferiority.
b. And there is another reason why
we know that the creative agency of Christ does not make Him inferior. It has
to do with the how of the matter. How did God make the worlds
through His Son? The Bible tells us that God spoke the worlds into existence.
In the beginning was the Word, the logos, and it was the Word which was with
God and the Word which was God, and it was the Word which became flesh
and “tablernacled” among us according to John 1:14. Thus, to assign Christ
responsibility for creation is to argue His equality, not his inferiority.
2. The creation itself is important
to God. There is more to this discussion. There is something so basic, so
systemic, that we dare not pass it by even though it may seem incidental. It
is a point so obvious that we can waltz right past it in ignorance. When
God created the heavens and the earth, through the Word, the living Word,
Jesus Christ, God pronounced it good, not bad. God does not make junk. We
make junk. It is a fundamental Gnostic error to assume that either matter or
flesh is intrinsically evil. God created both. Giant trees from little acorns
grow. When we get it in our minds that matter or flesh is evil we will
ultimately have a problem with who Jesus Christ is because God became flesh
through Jesus Christ.
3. The creation was made perfect,
reflecting the perfections of Christ in it. Please let me insert just one more
supplemental thought. Consider the Second Law of Thermodynamics. That
law teaches us that everything in creation is going from a state of complexity
to a state of simplicity or equilibrium. . But it is not
reverting to a disorderly state, as you will often hear scientists and
philosophers speculate. It is not returning to a disorderly state. The
creation began in an orderly state. The second law was imposed upon
the orderly state when Adam sinned. Do not blame the disorder you
see in creation, on the inefficiency of Christ. [Note, the very definition of
this Law of Entropy is debated. The reader should “Google in” the Second Law
of Thermodynamics for full exposure to this discussion.]
Let’s get back to the mainstream. We have
seen that the primacy of Jesus Christ is seen in the creative order.
He is not the first created as the so called Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints would have us believe, He is the first
and only creator. John 1:3 says:
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not
any thing made that was made.
Joseph Smith did not create anything
but trouble. Muhammad did not create anything but trouble. Buddha
did not create anything but trouble. There was nothing left for them to
create! Jesus Christ had created all things.
We must move to the second thought. It is
locked up in the first phrase of verse 3.
3 Who being the brightness of his glory,
Here we see:
Again, it is extremely important that we
look very carefully at the Greek where we find these actual words:
o" wn apaugasma th" doxh"
who
being [the] effulgence of [his] glory
The word which interests us is 541. apaugasma (apaugasma, ap-ow'-gas-mah) from a
comp. of G575 and G826; an off-flash, i.e. effulgence:--brightness.
It should never be rendered reflection,
as it often is. Jesus Christ is the effulgence, the radiance, the brightness
of God’s glory.
There is no possible way that we can divert
to this whole discussion of the Shekinah glory at this time in order to tell
you how important God’s glory is to Him and to tell you how critical this whole
discussion of God’s glory is and how much a part it plays in all of the
Old and New Testament scriptures. The discussion of the glory of God is
everywhere, and we do mean everywhere, in our Bibles.
We will avoid that digression for now, but
we urge you to remember one biblical concept which stands above all others when
discussing God’s glory: The glory of God is always associated inseparably with
the presence of God. They are inseparable. The presence of the divine glory
signifies the presence of the divine Person. Period. No exceptions. God’s
glory never went where HIS PRESENCE did not go.
Thus, when we read: “And we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth” we are reading a confession that Jesus Christ is God.
Concerning you and I who know Jesus Christ
as Savior, we are comforted with the benediction of Jude 24
Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from
falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
What do we see Jude doing in these verses?
First, we see him associating the glory of God with the presence of God, and
secondly, we see Him praying to the only wise God our Savior, offering glory, majesty,
dominion, and power both now and forever to Him. So, who is the only wise
God who has this glory? Is it the Father or the Son? Clearly, they are both
included!
Rest assured that Satan hates this truth
concerning the radiant glory of Christ and that the ancient heretics also tried
to detract from Christ by suggesting, once again, that this was an expression
of Christ’s inferiority. The false teacher would like you to think that Christ
is only a reflection of God’s glory, and if Christ reflected the
Father’s glory and not His own glory, then, surely the Father must be
more glorious.
These ancient heretics missed the boat
completely. For, the scriptures clearly tell us that God is very defensive
about His glory. In Isaiah He declares:
Isaiah 48:11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake,
will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory
unto another.
That verse stands in direct contradiction
to John 17:24 where our Savior says to the Father..
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given
me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
We cannot have our cake and eat it too. Either
the Father has contradicted Himself or the glory given to Messiah, the Father’s
glory radiating from Messiah, is evidence that they are One.
Again, at the risk of sounding redundant,
no prophet, no great man of earth, has ever manifested the glory of God. The
glory was manifested solely by that one to whom it rightfully belongs, Jesus
Christ. And it belongs to Him because He is God. The glory of God
always represents the presence of God.
Let’s move to our final consideration. We
have seen the primacy of Christ in the creative order as evidenced in the words
by whom He also made the ages. We have seen the primacy of Christ in
His Shekinah glory as evidenced in the words who being the effulgence of His
glory.
A final phrase:
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person,
While our cultist friends may express
disdain at our insistence that Christ was not created, and while they express
even more dislike when we show that Christ is the effulgence of the Father’s
glory, there are no words that the cultists hate more than the words we now
come upon.
III. The Primacy of Christ in the Expression of God’s Substance.
Jesus Christ is the very expression
of the living God.
The issue relates to this term express
image. It is the word from which we get character. It is the idea of an
engraving or an exact stamped copy.
What the author is saying is that Jesus
Christ bears the very stamp of God’s person or essence. When
there is an exact expression it means that there are no dissimilarities.
It means that Jesus Christ, in no way falls short of the character or
nature or essence of God the Father. All of the glorious perfections that
belong to God belong to Christ and vice versa. He is exactly the same in every
way. There is nothing unique to the Father that is not unique to Christ. We cannot
say that the Father is more wrathful and the Son is more loving. We cannot say
that the Father stronger and the Son is tenderer. There are no differences,
not one shred, not one hair, not one tiny little speck of difference, period.
There could be no stronger argument for the deity of Christ found anywhere in
our Bibles.
The reader is clearly aware how
embarrassing this is for Mormons who believe that Jesus Christ has not yet arrived
at the level of God’s perfection. In truth, there are two groups of Mormons
regarding this issue. Those Mormons who follow Brigham Young’s Adam God discourse
hold that Adam is superior to Christ and that Adam physically cohabited with
Mary in order to produce Christ. The other group believes that God the Father
physically cohabited with Mary in order to produce Christ. The one group makes
Christ inferior to both Adam and the Father. The other group makes Him
inferior only to the father. But, if Jesus Christ has not arrived at the same
level of Godhood that Elohim has arrived at then how can the Bible say that He
bears the exact stamp, the exact image of the Father? .
Jesus Christ can only be the exact
essence of God if He is God. Do you know what the whole purpose of
the gospel is? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:6.
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the perfect expression of
God the Father. When we saw the face of Christ we saw the face of God (though,
of course, He is a spirit). When we saw the compassion of Christ we saw the
compassion of the Father. When we heard the words of Christ they were the very
words of the Father.
You and I are being changed into the image
of Christ by beholding His glory. We are in “char-ak-tar” training. He, on
the other hand, is and always was in the Father’s image.
What does this all mean to us?
If we believe in the Primacy of Christ in
the creative order we are even happy with who we are, when we were born,
what our lot in life is, and what God’s purpose is for us. If we truly believe
that Jesus Christ is the head of creation we willingly submit to Him as our
creator. We accept our place in His order.
If we believe that Jesus Christ is
the glory of God we will court His presence in our daily walk and activities. We
will want His lordship at every point in our lives so that His glory will shine
through us. We will not seek our glory. We will seek His.
If we believe that Jesus Christ is
very essence and image of the Father we will not love one Person of the
trinity more than another. We will attribute to each person the glory and
honor and authority that belongs to Him.
And, most of all, we will understand that
when one already has the best there is nowhere else to go. There are no other
alternatives. If salvation cannot be found in Christ there is no salvation. If
hope cannot be found in Christ there is no hope! If truth cannot be found in
Christ there is no truth!
One is not a fanatic when he makes this
Christ the center of his life. He is simply following the pattern God set out
for us. So, when you carry Him into the classroom and workplace this week
carry Him forward with pride. No one can hold a candle to the treasure which
you bear about in your body, the treasure of the glory of God, reflected in the
face of Jesus Christ.
[Heb. 1:2 ]
The
Primacy of the Son. Part II
Intro: We have been speaking about the primacy or
superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have seen:
- Christ’s Primacy Through Agency. He is the spoken
Word.
- Christ’s Primacy Through Sonship. He is a son.
- Christ’s Primacy Through Heirship. He is the heir.
- Christ’s Primacy Through The Creative Order. He made
it.
- Christ’s Primacy Through The Shekinah Glory. He is
it, not a reflection of it.
- Christ’s Primacy Through The Expression of God’s
Essence. There is no difference between Christ and the Father.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
Reading all of verse 3 we will continue with the next
statement made in the verse:
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he
had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high;
When we read the words upholding all
things by the word of his power we are seeing the primacy of Christ
asserted in still another way. We are seeing:
The word upholding represents the
action that is taking place. It is from the Greek ferwn (phero, fer'-o;) and it means, “to bear”.
But it means more than just to bear something up. It
carries with it the thought of driving something forward. It is not
enough simply to label this the doctrine of preservation or sustenance. Christ
does sustain the universe. He does preserve it. Colossians 1 adds to the
weight of this whole passage that we’re looking at and it would be good for us
to turn there:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even
the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones,
or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and
for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things
consist.
Notice verse 17 again, "…And he is
before all things, and by him all things consist."
The word consist means to stand
together. And that is the doctrine of preservation. Jesus
Christ holds everything together. But in the verse that is before us, we have
something even more than just preservation. We have direction. Christ,
not only bears up the creative order, He drives it forward. That
argues control. Preservation argues power, but bearing
forward argues control and direction.
When noting that Christ upholds all
things, commentators invariably suggest that this means the physical
creation. And it does. But it speaks to more than just the physical universe.
The term all things refers to the whole creative order. This is
no minor technicality. This means that Jesus Christ drives forward all
things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:
all things were created by him, and for him and He drives all things
forward.
This Savior is no Atlas, bearing the world on His shoulders
while standing on a turtle in the midst of a cosmic sea. He is the first
everything. He drove forward your last breath. He drove forward the machinations
of the world’s monarchs this past week. He drove forward the march of the
stars and the comets:
He drove forward Hale Bop.
I saw a scientist on national television explaining how a comet works. He had
a big bowl of ice, a bowl of dry ice, some water, some dirt, and some syrup. He
threw them all together blew a fan over the fog he had created and announced
that he had formed an authentic comet. Predictably, he couldn’t miss his lick
against Christ. He said, “Now, do you see this syrup I am pouring on this?
That represents the organic materials we know to exist in comets. Scientists
believe that this organic material could be the substance which spread the
seeds of life throughout the universe.” Wrong. That is not how it
happened. Jesus Christ created and organized life and the details of the
process are found in Genesis 1, not in Hale Bop.
What have we stressed? We are stressing the primacy of
Christ, not only in the creative order, but also in the creative progression of
all things. He caused the daffodils to pop up this spring. He
caused the underground caverns to burst forth their lava.
I’m sorry Joseph Smith. I’m sorry Buddha. I’m sorry
Muhammad. There’s nothing left for you to do. There is no glory left for you
to steal. Jesus Christ has it all. You are all hopeless, helpless impostors.
Christ upholds, or drives forward, all things, not just
material but immaterial - all processes. And He does so by the Word of His
power.
Notice what the verse does not say. It does not say that He
upholds all things by the power of his word. Rather, it is the word
of His power. Once again, the Spirit of God takes us directly to this matter
of the Word.
It is the Greek ρημα –
rhema - {hray'-mah}. It is translated word just like the Greek logos (logo") in John 1:1 where we read in
the beginning was the Word. But it carries a different intonation. The
rhema is the spoken word, that which is actually going forth from
the mouth or from the lips.
As a result of misunderstanding this word
rhema, Kenneth Hagan, a new age “Christian” teaching old lies, has misused and
abused this Greek word. We will not be detailed, except to say that, in the
final analysis, Hagan teaches that there is actual power in the literal words
spoken by God. In other words, he teaches that even God Himself submits to the
laws governing words, and that the power does not necessarily lie within God
Himself but within the words which God speaks. [Note: It has not
occurred to Hagan that this is essential pantheism. God is transcendent from
His creation and subject in no way to it.] Subsequently, when we learn how to
properly confess the proper words we can unlock their power;
thus, confession theology. Remember this important fact: The power of
God does not lie in the words which God uses. There is no power intrinsic in
any word or language. There are no chants, no mystical spells which can be
cast simply by the use of words. Part of the grand satanic scheme is to
detract from Jesus Christ, the living Word and the spoken Word of God. Its
roots lie in Gnosticism and can be traced back to Babel.
Please remember, we are reading about the
word of Christ’s power, not the power of His words. In the Greek
this is an argument of instrumentality. Christ is asserting His
power through the instrumentality of His Word. The power is not
intrinsic in the word. The power of CHRIST is applied through the WORD He
speaks. Christians understand each other when we speak of the power of the
Word of God, and the power of prayer, but we must be extremely careful that we
understand the source of that power is not in the words or in some prayer that
we speak. The source of the power is always God Himself. Prayer simply
releases the promises of God on our behalf. There is no power in prayer
itself. The power lies in the God who hears it.
Examine that last phrase, the last words of verse 3:
…when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high;
A. The Argument
Has Not Shifted
We know the author is still arguing the primacy of Christ,
because the emphasis here is on the words by himself. Salvation,
redemption, deliverance and cleansing from sin – these are all the properties
of Jesus Christ. Not even the most scholarly Jews understood the full implications
of what it took for God to forgive sin.
One of the most shocking revelations that Jesus Christ made
was that He could forgive sin – and the Jews hated Him for it. We read about
their response in Mark 2, beginning with verse 5:
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of
the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there,
and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can
forgive sins but God only?
But they missed the most important question. The question
isn’t how can Christ forgive sin? They question is, how could God the Father forgive
sin? How could any just God forgive sin? The truth of the matter is
that God the Father could never have forgiven one sin of mankind if it
had not been for the finished work of Jesus Christ, who by Himself purged our
sins. To repeat, not even God the Father could have forgiven sins. God could
not forgive sin until the death penalty for sin was exacted.
So, all of you would be Saviors, you are
too late, you are too impotent and you are two twisted and small and sinful to
ever take on such a task. Only Jesus Christ could purge sin, and He did so by
Himself. Others need not apply.
Though it is not the thrust of this
particular passage, please note: Because Christ purged our sins does not mean
he applied that purging on behalf of all men everywhere. He did not
universally apply the benefits of this marvelous salvation as Barclay, and so
many others have erroneously taught. One must come to Christ, and by faith,
ask to have that shed blood applied on his or her behalf.
Christ not only by Himself purged our sins,
but, when He was finished, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on High.
In that act, by sitting down
He signified that His work was complete. The purging was once and for all.
When we read here that He purged our sins the action took place once and for
all at a single point in time. We will see, as we proceed into Hebrews that
the Bible clearly eliminates two all too familiar errors concerning Christ’s redemption.
It eliminates the error that Christ is continually being sacrificed at every
mass as the bread and wine are mysteriously turned into His blood and body. It
also eliminates the doctrine that the Lord Jesus Christ, (as Adventism teaches)
may have only died once, but is propitiously sprinkling His blood upon us,
based upon our conformity to the laws of God. Jesus Christ, by Himself, once
and for all, purged our sins and sat down as evidence that it had been
completed. Please do not miss the whole point of all this: Jesus Christ was
acting as high priest!
When we look closer at the words sat
down we discover another precious truth. The words sat down do not
merely mean that he pulled up a chair, as such, next to the throne. A.T.
Robertson stresses an important nuance here. In summary, he says that the
first aorist active of kathizoi (took his seat) indicates a formal and
dignified act. Jesus Christ was also resuming his original dignity and glory.
So, we are seeing the primacy of Christ in
the marvelous provision of our redemption and in the purging of our sins. And
while we’re at it, please notice Who Christ sat down next to. He did
not sit down next to The Man Upstairs. The next time someone makes some
passing reference to you about the Man Upstairs you might consider asking,
“What Man? Are you talking about the Majesty on High? “
We have now completed the author’s formal
introduction. Our discussion will soon shift as we focus on the superiority of
Christ over the angels of God. But, for the moment, consider what the author
of Hebrews has done for us.
In four short verses the author of Hebrews
has predisposed us to everything else that is going to be said in this book.
In four short verses we have seen that, before the starting gun could ever be
fired, Jesus Christ finished the race. In four short verses we have seen our Savior
set out so far ahead of runners up that they cannot even be considered. They
are all disqualified at the starting line. He is prophet. He is priest. He
is king. He is the source of all things. He is the ongoing momentum in all
things.
I once sat down to play chess with an expert who insisted
I play with him in spite of my confessed ignorance. After making only two or
three moves, He rose up in indignation and said “I cannot play chess with you.
You are ruining my game!” I was so ignorant and so far behind he could not
even tolerate me in a game. This is the way it is with our great Savior. He
has no players with whom to compete. There is no one else to play the game
with. There are no equal. There are no competitors, only impostors.
We will marvel through all eternity at the
glories of our great Savior! Do not be confused by the world’s imaging and
packaging of Christ. Do not be misled by the cultists who rob Him of the glory
that belongs only to Him. This Jesus Christ took up His rightful place and resumed
His rightful dignity and glory at the right hand of the Majesty on High. He is
the One with whom we have to do.
[Heb.
1:4-11]
What’s
In a Name?
The passage that we now confront, namely,
verses 4-14 of chapter one, marks the beginning of a new section in Hebrews. The
first four verses served as the prologue or introduction to the book and, as we
have noted, prepared us for much of the material yet to come.
Viewing these four verses as a group we
would entitle them The Primacy of Christ, or Jesus Christ, the Superior Revelation. (For folks who like to “dig down deeper and come up drier,"
we are about to address the subject of God's transcendence.)
Entering our second section, we are going
to strike right at the heart of the Jewish “sacred cows,” so to speak as our
author presents Jesus Christ as The Superior Intermediary. Three dominant
intermediary themes are going to surface. These dominant intermediaries of the
Old Covenant are 1.) Angels (in general), 2.) Moses, and; 3.) Aaron. Anyone
having even the slightest feel for Old Testament Judaism can begin to
understand that the author of Hebrews has just taken a master step in his
effort to reveal Christ to us.
At present we talk only of angels as we
focus on verse 4.
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath
by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
First the CLAIM: Becoming so much
better, so much more superior, than the angels.
Then the supporting EVIDENCE: We know this
to be true because he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent
or superior name than they.
The question immediately occurs to us:
Why? Why was it important to stress the superiority of Christ to angels? It
seems to us to be such a moot question. Who, in his right mind would place
Christ on or below the level of an angel? The answer is: more
folks than we’ve ever dreamed of. The most obvious in our time would be
the Jehovah’s Witnesses who see Jesus Christ as none other than Michael the Archangel, specially created, no doubt, but nonetheless, an angel.
In the time of the writing of Hebrews,
however, it does not take long for us to assume some very good reasons
for this very important declaration of Christ’s supremacy over angels.
Consider just a few possibilities.
1.) For one, remember that the Jews did
see angels as revelators of the will and Word of God. During the
intertestamentary period, however, the Jews interest in angels had become more
and more of an obsession. The more silent the heavens became the more interest
Jews had in apparitions of all sorts. "Fiddler on the Roof" is a
classic example of the Jewish mindset concerning the netherworld. It was considered
healthy to be focused on apparitions in general and focus on angels in particular.
It is a personal opinion that wherever a
vacuum exists, Satan will do his best to fill it and whether it be in the form
of extra terrestrials (our term) or angels, the Jewish term, you may be assured
they will always have an audience. Those demons who could no longer express
themselves in the pagan idolatry which obsessed the Jewish people for so many
centuries have now offered the Jews a new form of idolatry in the voluntary
worship of angels. For a thorough study of the history of the Jews in this
respect, be sure to research the works of Alfred Edersheim as well as the
Jewish Encyclopedia.
If Jesus Christ is seen only as a
man, or even if He is seen on the level of an angel, then His Word is
only the word of another man or angel.
2.) Other reasons for Hebrews emphasis on
Christ’s superiority can be found in Gentile origins. The eastern religions
with their heavy focus on Gnosticism were obsessed with the higher scientific
knowledge that came from preoccupation with what they called angels. We know
that demons are angels.
3.) And then, there was kind of a mix of
Jewish and Gentile thinking which was also occupied with angels. They are
represented in the Qumran cult, the place of the origin of the Dead Sea scrolls. These folks had a prophetic system that called for the coming of two
messiahs, (a common misunderstanding of the time) two messiahs who,
interestingly, would both be subordinated to Michael the Archangel. Let’s make our point: The Holy Spirit had good purpose in showing these Jewish
readers that Jesus Christ is superior to all angels.
The question is this: How is He going to
do it? How are we going to show that Jesus Christ is superior to the
angels? How can we show that Jesus Christ is superior to Michael the Archangel? We have already seen it. The evidence is provided in this verse:
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath
by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
His name indicates His superiority
over any and all angels. Look at Ephesians 1:18 and following:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to
us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from
the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in
that which is to come:
Philippians 2:9 Speaks of the self
emptying of Christ who took upon Himself the form of a servant becoming obedient
to the death of the cross:
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[Note: A study of the Apostle’s use of the
name of Jesus in Acts will reveal many Old and New Testament truths about this
wonderful Person.]
God has given Christ a supreme name to help
us see the supreme honor and dignity to which He has been elevated.
God has given Christ this name that
is above every name. What is the name? Is it Jesus, as noted in verse 10? Is
it Christ or Lord, as noted in verse 11? Yes, surely these names belong to our
Savior, but that is not the argument in front of us here in Hebrews.
In this case, it is not Jesus. The
specific name that is superior to the angels is revealed for us in verse 5.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou
art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a
Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
Thou art my Son. That is the supreme
name. That is the name that bespeaks His great dignity and honor. Oh yes, He
is called many names in scripture. Many of us have seen posters that list
nothing but the names of Christ from top to bottom. But the supreme name is
Son.
If you were a Jew you would see the
contrast here with ordinary angels for angels were also nicknamed sons of
God. But that was only given to them in a general sense. By naming
Christ the Son of God, as we have already explained in this study, Jesus Christ
is in the position of the firstborn inheritor. In other words, the key
qualifier for the word son is inheritor. That is Christ, by inheritance hath
obtained a better name than did they.
You have probably also noted that our
writer has begun quoting from the Old Testament --- not once, but seven times.
We are going to assemble seven strong Old Testament references that will distance
Christ from the venerated angels. We will complete our study in this section
by making simple and brief references to each of these seven quotes.
[Note: There is a supplemental insert in
the appendix entitled Seven Old
Testament Quotes that Distance Christ from the Angels.]
1. The first is the quote we are looking at
is “Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee…”
This quote comes from Psalm 2, the Psalm of
the Son:
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
This Psalm was readily accepted in both
Jewish and Christian circles as a messianic psalm. It is important
to notice that the Son receives the inheritance. You and I,
take note, the heathen, the Gentiles, are His inheritance.
Augustine suggested that the today
in this verse was in reference to the day of God’s eternity. He said,
effectively, that the Son was the Son for all eternity and that what we have in
these earthly events is a reaffirmation of an eternal fact. I happen to
believe that Augustine is correct, but not in reference to this verse. Others
associate the today in this verse with the day of Christ’s birth. Still
others associate it with His baptism. I believe, however, that we are
witnessing a declaration made at the resurrection of Christ.
Keep one finger in Psalm 2 and turn to
Hebrews 1 and look at verses 4 and 5 one more time:
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath
by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou
art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a
Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
The Son has, by inheritance,
received a better name by virtue of the declaration of His sonship.
Now look at Psalm 2: 7 and 8:
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Can we sum it up in a few simple sentences?
a.) The SONSHIP which Hebrews is declaring
is the same sonship which Psalm 2 is declaring.
b.) This SONSHIP is not in reference to his
position as the eternal son and it is not in reference to His birth, or
His baptism, where He is also declared to be the Son. No inheritance is
mentioned in those contexts.
c.) The SONSHIP of Psalm 2 is linked to his
inheritance, which is his by virtue of his assumption of the position of
firstborn ( protokos) the first in position. In this
regard we read that Jesus Christ is the firstborn among many brethren. That
is, he is first in position. It is the heir who is first in position in
the home. In Bible times he usually received the inheritance.
d.) It is the resurrection of Christ which
guarantees the inheritance of the nations and His millennial reign. Neither
of these two feats can be accomplished without the resurrection. He had to
assume the position of firstborn to receive this inheritance.
Look at the six remaining quotes from the
Old Testament. The second quote is from 5b:
2.) “Or again, ‘I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son'”
This comes from 2 Samuel 7:14 and is, strangely, taken from a quote by Nathan to David promising him that a son in his line would
take up the task of building God’s house.
14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he
commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes
of the children of men:
We know that this imperfect man Solomon would
be chastised. But we also know that the Jews saw more in this prophecy and in
associated passages, and that they saw beyond Solomon to another David, a
Messiah. Huges notes:
“That this Hebrew expectation based on the promise
of 2 Samuel 7:12 ff was still alive at the end of the four-hundred year
inter-testamentary period is evident…from the Midrash on the passage discovered
among the Dead Sea Scrolls which specifically interprets it as relating to the
messianic “Branch of David.” Pg 57
3.) The third quote is in verse 6.
And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into
the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Setting the details aside just note that
this quote is from the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:43. Suffice it to
notice that angels do not worship angels, and this firstbegotten
will be worshipped by all the angels of God. This was, evidenced at the
manger. Clearly, then He is higher.
4.) The fourth quote is in verse 7:
7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels
spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
The author is quoting from Psalm 104:4.
Setting aside interpretive issues surrounding winds and fire, and
so forth, let’s just point out the fact that angels are not generally
allowed to walk among us with bodies making themselves known. They may have
made specific appearances, but no angel has spent more than a few minutes or
possibly hours (in the case of Sodom) in the presence of men. They are
ministering spirits and do not carry out their program in bodies as did
Jesus Christ. There is also a status issue intoned here in the fact that
they are servants sent from God, not the Son sent from God.
5.) Moving to the fifth quote we recognize
it as coming from Psalm 45:6 and following:
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for
ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above
thy fellows.
Jesus Christ is here clearly identified as
Elohim. It is true, that there has been some mistranslation offered here.
There are some who say that this verse should be rendered “…God is thy
throne forever and ever.” but don’t you believe it, even for a heartbeat:
Notice the Greek interlinear form:
ο θρονος
σου ο θεος εις
τον αιωνα του
αιωνος
the throne, thy the God
is forever and ever
And, remember, you are not only picking
your fight with the Greek but with the Hebrew. For Psalm 45:6 says: thy
throne, O GOD is forever and ever! One cannot get around it. Why would
the Greek be translated differently from the Hebrew?
Jesus Christ is here called God, the
equivalent of the Hebrew Myhla (elohiym el-o-heem).
No angel is called God. Regardless of our position on the rendering of the
verse the Hebrew clearly links Christ with the Messiah and the Old Testament
clearly links Messiah with God.
6.) Verses 10-12. Remember these words are
speaking of Christ.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the
foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all
shall wax old as doth a garment;
12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they
shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
And what is the point? The point is that
our author is quoting from Psalm 102:24-27. That is the point. And to whom is
the Psalmist talking to in Psalm 102? He is talking to God. He is
talking to Elohim. Jesus Christ is being called Elohim. No angel is ever
called God. All the works of creation are, again, being attributed to Him.
And, we might note interchangeably that He
is being called Jehovah in verse 21. Jesus Christ is Jehovah God,
period. That is a far distance above the angels!
Finally, the 7th quote:
7.) Taken from Psalm 110 we read in verses
13 and 14 of Hebrews 1:
13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit
on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to
minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
There was no debate whatsoever that Psalm
110 was a messianic psalm. It is quoted numerous times in the New
Testament, including Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, Corinthians, and Ephesians, Colossians
and 1 Peter. In those passages the superiority of Christ is seen not only as
the Son and as the Lord, but he is also shown to be our High Priest and
Redeemer.
Each of the seven quotations represents the
stuff of an entire study. There are great stores of truth that we have left
unexplored. But I hope you have grasped the big picture, the overall
argument. I hope you have seen Jesus Christ declared to what He was throughout
all eternity, the eternal Son. And as the firstbegotten Son, He is the heir
of the nations and the ruler of the world; firstbegotten because of
the resurrection we celebrate each Lord’s Day.
We have just undergone some spectacular
biblical canon fire. We have had this whole issue of the deity of Christ
wrapped up and put to bed for us – in one fell swoop. If there was ever a
passage in the Word of God on which the Jehovah’s Witnesses will be judged, it
could well be this passage. They simply cannot dance on the heads of all seven
of these pins! It is hopeless to try to argue your way out!
[Hebrews 2:1-5]
A
Warning Worth Heeding
Let's refresh our memories. While we have been arguing the
superiority of Christ, we have been specifically emphasizing the deity of
Christ. We have examined the seven Old Testament quotes which associate Jesus
with Elohim and Jehovah of the Old Testament. This author wants us to know
that the Son is completely God and, clearly, by nature Jesus Christ is superior
to angels. Nor is our author at all finished with his argument. He is
going to continue on in chapter two, but he's going to stop long enough to make
an application and provide us with an important warning.
As we read through Hebrews we will begin to get a feel for
this style of writing. He will lay some foundations, build to a point, and
they burst forth with an urgent warning. Read the first four verses. Please
look for the operative words as you read.
(Heb 2:1-4 KJV) Therefore we ought to give the more earnest
heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them
slip. {2} For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; {3} How
shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to
be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; {4}
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
There are warnings and there are warnings. This is one of
the six major admonitory passages in the book. There are warnings that we take
and warnings that, when we read them we know they really mean business.
The warning we have in front of us is very serious because it concerns our
eternal destinies. There is simply no way we can construe this warning to be
directed toward saved folks. This is directed to each of us who have yet to
get serious about this matter of our personal salvation.
In this respect, the Jewish mentality is very much like the South Dakota mentality and the western mentality in general. Unless someone is under the
influence, he usually does everything he can to avoid a serious confrontation.
We are as indirect as we can be to get the job done. If a man hires someone to
do a little construction and the contractor starts the job and doesn't finish
it, a Californian might call him up and say, "Be here tomorrow or I'm
taking you to court!" A South Dakotan is more likely to cozy up to the
guy, call him by his first name, and jaw awhile about his family or grandkids,
and then get around to letting him know the job needs to be finished. We gain
what we want through non-confrontational friendship. That's the cowboy way.
That was the way things were in Jewish times. Things were accomplished through
relational motivation. They were not task oriented. In this respect we have
no idea how out-of-character these warnings are to the fabric of Jewish
mentality. These really firm warnings are almost seen as impolite. So, even
here, we see a writer who is couching his terms. We ought to give the more earnest
heed. You can see the tension in there, but you can also see him holding
back a little bit. This is not the picture of two guys on a football field
telling each other the way it is. The strong grip of courtesy remains, even
though the admonition is severe.
What are the things we have heard? In a most general sense,
we are talking about the word spoken by angel. This first word carried
a severe penalty if disobeyed. We are now to pay even more earnest heed
to the words of Christ who is superior to the angels. Follow the argument.
Follow the context. The author is not suggesting, at this point, that we
should not pay attention to the law, but he is telling the Hebrews that
they should pay the most attention to the words of Christ. His words carry a
higher authority.
This is a profound assertion to make to the Jews. It's
going to take some doing to convince any self-respecting, Bible loving Jew that
he is to pay more attention to the words of Christ than to the words of the law
which were administered by angels. But our author is up to the task! We will
see that in his argument here.
Why must we do this? Look at the verse and find the
answer. Lest we let them slip. Where is the risk? In slipping.
This instructor is operating under the assumption that these Hebrews have heard
the words of Christ. They are not that offended by the words of Christ. They
are agreeing with much of Christ has said, though they haven't integrated it
and appropriated it.
A while back my wife and I were at the Shoshone
Falls in Idaho. These falls are actually higher than the Niagara Falls. We
were there a few days after a young man lost his life. He did not lose his
life because he was being foolish. He lost his life because he was not aware
of the danger. He stepped on the edge of the cliff. The soil was moist
from the mist from the falls, the grass was slippery, he miss-stepped, and he
dropped like a rock into the water. As we stood at the sight we were surprised
at the Park Service for not at least putting up a warning sign! We
could have stood on the very same soil and experienced the same fate. The
greatest danger that we face is the danger of letting this gospel slip, by not
attaching the right importance to it.
Actually, the picture here is, in some ways, more of drifting
than slipping. One can lie on his back on a raft or in a boat and have
absolutely no sensation that the boat is moving. A few minutes later he can be
a half-mile from his first location and not even notice. It is in our natures
to drift. We are given a marvelous truth. We put that truth in a can, so to
speak and label it as a great truth. Then we empty the truth from the can
until the label is meaningless. It is in the way of man to drift. We could
easily devote one chapter to listing the great truths that the evangelical
culture is letting slip. And, dispensationalists who have been entrusted with
the greatest truths of all, are the greatest offenders.
In our context, remember, we are talking about letting the
truth of the gospel drift away without acting upon it. Essentially, you can
mix much of what Christ taught into the Jewish batter and get along just fine.
But you can still miss the message of Christ that saves. Exactly what occasion
prompts this warning at this time in Hebrews? Why are these particular Jews
being warned? These Hebrews are likely getting careless with the content of
the gospel. They are probably moving into a live-and-let-live posture. They
are hearing the claims of Christ. While some are opposing the gospel, many are
simply not opposing it. But they are all drifting farther and farther away
from the day they heard the gospel. And, they are drifting fast toward a great
cataclysmic day (their own destruction) that will be upon them in a few years
from this writing. There is no luxury of indecision. We too, are living in a
day when we have let too much slip. We have less time than we may think. The
hour for warning is here. Our fathers became too soft spoken. We must proclaim
these warnings once again.
Two answers are provided.
We may well ask, if the entire Bible is equally inspired is
one word more inspired than another word? No! But are some words more
important? Yes! The Bible does not contradict itself in any place, but there
are some words we are to pay far more earnest heed to or we will not properly
understand other words! The Jews saw the Ten Commandments as the most important
part of the Bible. They paid more earnest heed to those commandments
than anything else. They had good reason. Until Christ, no truth had ever
been revealed in the way the commandments were and no truth was authenticated
so dramatically or thoroughly. Study the events of the giving of the Law at
Sinai and understand that that day was burned permanently and indelibly
into the collective mind and memory of Israel!
But here's a curious point. While we don't read it in
Exodus, here is what the author of Hebrews knows. Angels were the prime
ministers of the Old Covenant. This is one reason why Jews so venerated (to a
disobedient extreme) the angels. You ask, where do we learn this? Both
Testaments clearly affirm this point. Galatians 3:19 tells us the law was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. God gave the law. Moses received the
law for Israel. He was the mediator. The angels ordained the law. According
to Stephen in Acts 7 the angels delivered the law. They instituted the Old
Covenant under the hand of God. Notice also Psalm 68. Thousands upon
thousands of angels effected this event at Sinai. It is no wonder these people
had such respect for both the law and the angels.
If the reader begins to let his mind drift at this point he
may risk misunderstanding Pentecost and what is going on there! If one does
not understand Sinai he becomes susceptible to the errors of Pentecostal
theology and misses the purpose of this great event. Angels, not the Holy
Spirit, were the prime administrators of the Old Covenant (though the Spirit
surely participated).
Now Hebrews 2:2 makes sense. Did God keep His word
concerning the enforcement of the Old Testament law? He surely did. When the
nation obeyed did God bless? When they disobeyed did He dispossess them? He
surely did. The just recompense of reward associated with law established
the authenticity of that law! The modern Jew cannot get away from this
point, no matter how angry with God he is. He knows that God predicted
they would go into captivity and God even told them the exact amount of years.
His recompense was just and exact. The blessings and the cursings remain in
tact to this very day! Get the point. The authenticity of this law
(administered by angels) was proven by God's consistent enforcement of it.
Now, if God was that thorough enforcing what the angels administered, how much
more are we at risk who disobey the authority of His Son!
While this is primarily an evangelistic argument, the
believer needs to see the warning which rests here for him as well. Grace is
no excuse for disobedience. God will just as surely execute the demands of
grace as He executes the demands of law. The laws of sowing and reaping
remain. In fact, we are even more accountable than the Jews whose
administration was put in place by angels. Jesus Christ Himself put our
ministration in place!
Now the question arises, did God confirm the words of Christ
in a way in which the Jews could be absolutely certain? Look at verse 4 again:
(Heb 2:4 KJV) God also bearing
them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts
of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
God Himself bears these apostles witness with signs,
wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost. We are tiptoeing on a
monumental picture. The argument is from lesser to greater. Our
accountability is far greater. A higher truth has been put in place and it is
being confirmed by a higher authority. Why do we have Pentecost? What were
those signs and wonders about? This is why it was necessary. It was there to
confirm to the Jewish mind that a higher order was now being imposed. Pentecost
upstages Sinai. There were voices at Sinai, there were voices at
Pentecost. The purpose for Pentecost was not to prove to unbelievers that
there is a God. The purpose of Pentecost is to prove, once and for all, that
what is now being put in place is far more important that what was put in place
at Sinai.
Furthermore, it has never been God's purpose that we seek to
replicate Pentecost over and over throughout this age anymore than Sinai was
replicated over and over. We do not need to return to first grade. Obsession
with Pentecostal phenomena is impertinent. We who are not Pentecostal are
firm believers in spiritual gifts, but we are convinced that the sign gifts
relate to propagating the message of Pentecost to the then known Jewish world. As
the knowledge of God's Pentecostal affirmation of the New Covenant became
universally known among the Jewish people, those sign gifts dropped off.
As an aside, it will be noted later that the Mormons see the
Book of Mormon as a third Testament. But it is a testament without authority
or authentication! We are required to receive Joseph Smith's word about a
revelation given to him in private! The best the Mormons can do is produce a
few sea gulls! Not much behind that covenant!
There is another point that should not be ignored. The book
of Hebrews was written late in the parade of New Testament books. Notice that
the author of Hebrews treats these signs and wonders as something which took
place in the past. There is very good reason to believe that they were not
occurring while he was writing Hebrews or he would have alluded to them as a
continuing affirmation. This would have been the perfect time to use those
signs as current evidence. These signs that were exercised primarily by the
Apostles (2 Cor. 12:12) had served their purpose. God was in the past
bearing witness to those who were affirming this New Covenant. It appears that
the process has stopped.
To what are we to pay the more earnest heed? We heed
the words of Christ in preference to the words of angels.
What is the danger of not paying that heed? The
danger is slipping away and losing this.
Why should I be expected to place more importance
on these words? We have provided the first of two answers 1.) Because of
the One who affirms the words, the Holy Spirit directly, not the angels.
Now the final reason:
(Heb 2:5-9 KJV) For unto the angels hath he not put in
subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. {6} But one in a certain place
testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of
man, that thou visitest him? {7} Thou madest him a little lower than the angels;
thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of
thy hands: {8} Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in
that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under
him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. {9} But we see Jesus, who
was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every
man.
Take note for a second, of the words in verse 7 repeated in
verse 9: thou madest him a little lower than the angels. Commentators
in general agree that we would be most honest and accurate if we would render
these words as follows:
thou madest him, a little while,
lower than the angels.
Be sure to read Luke 22:58 and Psalm 37:10 when considering
this. There is no doubt that these words can be translated more than one way
but context suggests that this is the best and strongest rendering.
Grasp the power of this. We see Jesus, who was made a
little while lower than the angels – for what purpose? The suffering of death.
That was the purpose. How do we see Him now? Crowned with glory and honor.
This was done so that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every
man. This resolves the apparent contradiction which surrounds the manhood of
Christ. There is so much to say about these verses, but we restrict ourselves
to this single thought at this time. We see Jesus. We
s-e-e Jesus.
He was made a little lower than the angels. The word made
is not in reference to creation or generation by birth. The word here means to
lessen. He was lowered for a little while a little lower
than the angels. But He was higher before he was lowered. He was not made
lower in the sense that that's where He began. That was Arius's error. He
thought there was a time when Christ was not.
Again, we point to the Mormons who think they have a newer
covenant than the New Covenant (Look at the title of the Book of Mormon – Another
Testament of Jesus Christ). They want us to think their newer covenant was also
affirmed with signs and wonders. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were mere men.
They were not even angels. So here we have God affirming His first covenant
through angels, His second covenant directly through Jesus Christ, and His
third covenant through men. The Mormon wants us to believe he has a higher message
than the New Covenant even though it is revealed through a lower order. This requires
us to believe that Jesus Christ has rescinded the second covenant in order to
institute the third – and He has done so in spite of the fact that it is called
an everlasting covenant. Of course this foolishness becomes even more obvious
as we delve into Hebrews and compare the priesthoods of the Old and New
Covenants, and then look with disdain on the imagined Mormon priesthoods that
administer exactly nothing.
The argument of Hebrews (for the Jew and the Mormon)
is this. How are you going to escape if there is no other covenant maker and
there is no other sacrifice? How shall we escape if we neglect such a great
salvation that was so miraculously affirmed? How are you going to escape the
consequence? There was a consequence when you disobeyed the first covenant.
How will you escape the consequence of disobeying the second?
For you and I who live in modern times, we must be quick to
set aside a modern preconception. We must never present the gospel offer as an
option. It is not an option it is a mandate. When one rejects this covenant
he does not go to a Christless eternity simply because he is a sinner. He goes
because He has rejected so great a salvation. He is guilty of despising and
profaning the glorious gospel of Christ. The gospel offer is far more than an
offer, it is an obligation that God places upon all men every-where who are
commanded to repent and embrace it. The New Covenant is not merely in a
Person, it is a Person. To reject this covenant is to reject not merely
a great salvation, but a great Savior!
You can come under this New Covenant at this very moment by
embracing the Christ of this covenant who is Himself, the sacrifice, and the
satisfaction for God's wrath. He is the giver of resurrection life.
[Heb. 2:5 – 6]
It
Became Him. Part I
Intro: In the
broadest of terms, we have been studying the superiority of Christ in contrast
to the angels. This Christ speaks with greater authority than the angels who
ordained the first covenant. He does so, because His message was also affirmed
with signs and wonders and miracles, but greater ones than those associated
with Sinai. These signs and wonders were the work of the sovereign Holy Spirit.
His message was also greater because He spoke it personally.
And why, was it important to make
this point? Do you understand? The Jew placed all his hopes on the message of
that covenant delivered to Moses at Sinai. That was his covenant. This is why
the New Covenant, delivered by Jesus Himself had to be shown to be
superior before any Jew would listen. That is the first objection which
must be overcome when witnessing to the Jew, but there was another objection,
another source of confusion concerning this person of Christ.
We now address the greatest
confusion that the seeking Jew would face when confronted with the claims
of Jesus Christ. It concerns just exactly who this Jesus is and why it
was appropriate for this Jesus, more than anyone else in the
universe, to be the source of the New Covenant.
Listen in as the author throws
down his challenge to the Jewish mind. See if you can tune in on his
message. We will take his reasoning one step at a time and, if we have
listened carefully, we will understand some amazing truths.
Remember the big picture. We are
comparing the ministry of Christ with the ministry of angels. Initially,
we saw that:
1.The Ministry of Christ was
affirmed by a higher authority. The message of Pentecost equaled and then
exceeded the message of Sinai. Now we see,
2. The Ministry of Christ has
a higher purpose. Verse 5:
5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the
world to come, whereof we speak.
No promise has ever been made that the
world to come will be ruled by angels. If anything, it seems as though we have
seen fewer and fewer angelic manifestations since the time of Christ. Angels,
some of us think, seem to have served a great purpose in Old Testament times,
but much of the ministry that angels assumed under the covenant is not required
in the same manner under the ministry of the New Covenant. Angels clearly have
a diminished role, at least at this moment.
We'll organize our thoughts with five
"Whats?"
What do we mean? Under the Old
Covenant these ministering spirits were sent forth from God to confirm
His word. Under the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit does this. Under the Old
Covenant these wonderful beings were sent alongside to at times to direct or
redirect the saints. Under the New Covenant, the indwelling Holy Spirit
performs this function. He, very clearly, is the messenger. So, it is
not likely that we are going to notice so much of them in this age. They
would be supplanting the ministry of the Spirit.
But what about the world concerning
which our author speaks, namely, the world to come? What about the age
to come? Clearly, and indisputably, they will have an apocalyptic
role in administering the instruments of execution when that great and
terrible scroll is opened. But that is essentially as far as they will go. No
promise has ever been made that the world to come will be ruled by angels.
Again, no promise has ever been made that the world to come will be ruled by
angels. In fact, what we find, we find the opposite. They will be
ruled. The angel class will be ruled. Thus, the question of the moment is, why
or how could a higher genre be ruled by a lower genre? What about this
administrative “oikoumene”, [oy-kou-men'-ay], this coming world empire, the
final and greatest of all empires?
As an aside, we are saddened when
unbelievers talk about their new world order. All of our greatest leaders
in the last fifty years have been advocates of the new world order to one
extent or another. Our key leaders in congress, in commerce, in education, in
every American institution are working fervently for this day. I could tell
you hair-raising stories of our present surrender to the United Nations, our financial
system, etc., etc. But you already know all that. You know you are sitting
right on top of it and already, virtually under its control. You also know
that the world government toward which mankind works will be short lived and
will end in utter failure.
But stay with the argument of Hebrews
momentarily, for our author has chosen to quote one of the least likely
passages in all of God’s Word in order to make his point. He says in
verses 6:
6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is
man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
The author is quoting from Psalm 8. Originally,
Psalm 8 was not considered at all to be a messianic psalm. It is not until we
begin reading the apostles that we discover the marvelous secret. Psalm 8 was
never recognized by the rabbi’s to be speaking of Christ. Nor should we
have expected them to recognize it, much less to be prepared for this amazing
argument that is now being laid before us. Follow along closely now and enjoy
this masterful, masterful presentation (always keeping in your mind the number
one objection of the Jewish people, the objection being that Jesus was merely a
man).
What is man? That thou art
mindful of him? That is why those planets and stars are plastered all over the
night sky. They are there in such mind-boggling abundance and in such
unprecedented sizes and shapes to bring glory to God, yes. But God could outdo
that little parade of lights any time He chooses. They are not there just
to bring glory to Him. They are also there to bring humility to man. When
we look at the heavens we ask two questions, who is this GOD that can finger
paint with the stars? And equally as important, who is man that
He even bothers with Him? Man doesn’t even rank angel status.
The author of Hebrews continues in verse 7
and 8:
7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou
crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy
hands:
8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.
For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put
under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
Every now and then I encounter one of these
pictures that everyone else in the whole world can understand but me. When you
first glance at them you only see the picture on the surface. But if you relax
your eyes and shift your focus slightly you see an entirely hidden image. I
have never, even once, discerned those images. In his inimitably Jewish style,
our author has done something with Psalm 8 akin to one of those pictures. He
is pointing out the Person in the picture who has been there all along. Jesus
Christ is the man. Jesus Christ is the One who gives dignity and worth
to this wretched, deprived, depraved mannish race. How did He do this? Jesus
Christ has elevated manhood by His own descent into manhood. Jesus
Christ provides the answer to the rhetorical question of Psalm 8, What
is man that thou art mindful of Him? Hughes says in this respect:
“…our author…marks the
point of transition from the concept of [now listen] … from the concept
of man-in-general, which was in the Psalmist’s mind, to the distinctively Christian
concept of man-in-particular, namely, the incarnate Redeemer who in a unique
sense is designated the Son of man.”
The key at this moment is not in
understanding the term, Son of God. That is always a statement of
Christ’s God nature. The key is in understanding the term son of man. All
men are sons of men. Rightfully, the whole human race may be designated the
son of man. But, Jesus Christ took this special title upon Himself. It was
one of His own favorite designations of Himself. Over and over and over again
– dozens and dozens of times this Savior calls Himself the Son of Man. Why?
Because Jesus Christ is the consummate man. But more specifically:
Jesus Christ is the source and reason
for the elevation of mankind to a position higher than the angels. He is the
answer to the Psalmist’s logical question, How could God be mindful of men? Jesus
Christ dignifies humanity. The lower genre has now been raised to the higher
genre.
Now the puzzle is solved. Now we discover how
mankind can see any dignity in himself. The atheist hates this, and the evolutionist
is culpable. If there is any thing which evolution robs from us it is
our dignity. One of these days, I’ll contain myself no longer and be
forced to devote an entire study to this matter of human dignity in order to
argue how it is being robbed from us and from our children at every level.
I am repeatedly amazed how that when the
subject of human dignity comes up everyone rushes to Genesis 1. We lay stake
to the claim of human dignity because we were made in the image of God. I have
no argument with that. James uses that same logic in the New Testament. But,
Christian, it is Jesus Christ who consummates and culminates that dignity.
Come back to the argument of the text. We
are absorbing ourselves in a most remarkable truth. We have said that Christ’s
ministry has a higher purpose than the ministry of angels. Its purpose
will be to rule the world to come. This declaration is bold and undeniable. Christians
are not opposed to world government. We are all for it. Our contention is
that there is only One rightful world leader. Where is that contention made?
Where do we get this idea that Christ is the rightful ruler of men?
For starters we have verse 7 where we see
the legality of His rule:
7 Thou madest him a little {that is, a little while]
lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set
him over the works of thy hands:
He was sent by the right Person. He was
crowned by the right Person. He was commissioned by the right Person. All of
the works of the Father’s hands are under Him. So, Jesus Christ has the legal
authority to rule.
Notice verse 8. Here we see the extent of
His rule:
8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.
For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put
under him.
We also see an important clarification as
we read the last phrase of verse 8 and verse 9. We are going to see the justification
for His rule:
But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9 But
we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of
death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man.
Here's a technical question. When was
David anointed King? Was it before, or after the death of Saul? Clearly, he
was anointed king long before Saul died. In God’s eyes, (not in David’s eyes
but in God’s eyes) who was king? From the time of the anointing of David He
was king instead of Saul. But clearly, God was very weak, wasn’t He? He was
not able to dethrone Saul and seat David. God had to bide His time. We know
better.
Our author reminds us, But now we see
not yet all things put under him and for good purpose. This Savior for the
suffering of death was to taste death for every man.
Our coming world leader did just that. And
He did not just taste His own death – He tasted death for every man. Is
there anyone here who can fathom that statement or explain it to us? Are there
any great leaders or teachers among us who can fathom those words He tasted
death for every man. Are there any library books or any great works of
theology which can open our childish eyes and give us the meaning of this
phrase He tasted death for every man? Can any tell how it felt for
Christ to do this? Can any lead us, blind flailing children, down the path of
understanding?
This is one path we could never follow. I
have often said concerning myself that I dare not think too much on the horrors
of hell for I would go insane. I fear the discussion of the flames of hell
like I fear holding my own hand over a fire. It is not because I am going
there; it is because the thought is too much for me to bear. I cannot bear the
thought of the eternal suffering of one soul in that fearful pit, much
less untold masses. I cannot bear it.
But there is a thought, which properly
understood, would drive us to a far greater insanity. That is not the thought
of one man going to hell. It is rather, the thought of One Man, tasting the
death and hell of all men everywhere. One Man did this.
So observe Mr. Righteous Bigot who points
His finger at God proudly announcing that he can’t imagine how a loving God
could send even one soul to hell. Why has he never criticized God even once
for His greater crime? Why has he not criticized this God for laying
the sins of the entire world at the feet of His son making Him taste death for
every man?? He was an innocent, sinless, spotless Son. Is there a more
horrible thought that the thought that God sends men to hell? Yes there is,
the most horrible thought of all, is the thought that one man tasted death
for every man who ever lived or ever will live. One man. It is a horrendous
sin to turn our backs on so great salvation.
And, allow me to point out that Jesus
Christ did not just taste death for every elect man. He tasted death
for every man. Every man.
And, in fact, our text may even be leading us further. He not only
tasted the death of all men but the Greek construction in this phrase intimates
that He tasted death for all things (pa").
This is in keeping with the fact that both man and the cursed creation
will ultimately experience redemption. Perhaps that is so, but I am sufficiently
exhausted wondering, pondering, mulling and meditating over what it meant for
Him to taste death for every man. What does death taste like?
This is the justification for His
rule. Every four years America has an election. Do you know why? We have an
election every four years because we know that no man will serve us well. No
perfect leader will ever arise. Elections are a compromise with our humanity.
The best we can do is to try to find the best among us and we are disappointed
election after election. That is because these men are only interim rulers,
temporary stand-ins, while we bide our time waiting for the perfect Leader in
that coming day.
Jesus Christ has been rightfully crowned
with glory and honor not the glory and honor which He had with the
Father before the world began, (though that is His as well) but another
glory, another honor. This is the glory which was earned through suffering
and the honor which was earned through suffering.
We have seen the legality of His rule. God
who created all handed it to Him.
We have seen the extent of His rule. He
will rule over anything God has created.
We have seen the justification for His
rule. For the suffering of death this son of man is crowned with glory and
honor because He tasted death for every man.
In our next study we will see the
most compelling argument of all, the one which will permanently change the
worldview of any self respecting Jew who follows the reasoning of this
passage. But we have come far enough for now. In fact, it is too much to
think upon as we contemplate the tasting of that death, and the wonderful
provision of our salvation.
Christ has for
sin atonement made.
What a wonderful
Savior!
We are redeemed;
the price is paid.
What a wonderful
Savior.
What a wonderful
Savior is Jesus, my Jesus
What a wonderful
Savior is Jesus, my Lord.
[Heb. 2:9-15]
It
Became Him. Part II
Intro: You understand
now, the mind of the Jew considering Christ. Two elemental questions must be
answered.
First, Why
should I take the word of this Christ over the word of the 1st
Covenant? We have, of course, answered that in the first few verses of
chapter two. This New Covenant is affirmed by the Holy Spirit and does not
need angelic mediators. It is spoken directly by the giver of the covenant.
Secondly, (the
source of our previous study), such a Jew would likely ask Why did this
Jesus appear as a man? Men are inferior to both angels and God. Of
course, you and I know that Jesus Christ IS God and that he is superior to the
angels. But that does not necessarily satisfy all our questions about His
“mannishness”. So, we will labor a while longer on this thought.
What purpose
does it serve? I have already explained to you that I believe the first reason
is found in verses 5-8.
By becoming man, the answer to
the Psalmist’s question is provided: What is man that thou art mindful of
Him? Until Christ blended His nature with the nature of man there was no
answer to this piercing question.
My son brought some interesting
light on this discussion as he was explaining a secular philosophical question
that seems to be under current discussion. It relates to what philosophers
call Anthropic Ontology. Stated succinctly, and in the words of one
philosopher grappling with this issue, the question of anthropic ontology is
properly worded: What is man that the universe is mindful of him?
Yes, that is a direct quote.
The point which the philosophers
are making is that when one looks at our galaxy in general and our earth in
particular there are so many cosmic and environmental variables which
come together making life for man possible, that the odds of this happening
under the so-called laws of probability are stretched beyond all recognition. In
their own words, it is almost as though the universe itself has moved
over, so to speak, and made room for the existence and survival of man in this
one small corner.
That is a valid question. But,
if you truly believe in God there is an even more perplexing question. Why is He
mindful of us? Why did He move over, so to speak, and make room for this
miserable race? The ultimate answer is this: His Son is now a part of this
race of ours. His Son has dignified this miserable race by becoming part of it.
This is a most glorious truth. Without the entry of Christ into the race of
mankind the existential depression of the philosophers is more than merited.
Christ became man in order to elevate manhood. It is not enough that we were
created in His image. That likeness was perverted at the fall.
Notice the second reason why
Christ became man. Verse 9:
That was in verses 5-8. We saw
the legality of His rule, the extent of His rule, and the justification for His
rule. This process is not complete but it is the ultimate goal. Thirdly,
In a God's words, For since by
man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. Man brought
his sinful condition upon himself and that sinful condition could only be
resolved through a man, so Christ became man.
We need to ask that question again, only
placing the emphasis on another word. We asked: Why was it necessary for
Christ to become a man? We want to ask:
Why Christ? Verse ten continues as an
explanation of verse 9:
10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by
whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of
their salvation perfect through sufferings.
It became Him – it was fitting
for Christ to do this. In fact, only Christ could be the one to do this.
That is the statement. Here are the reasons.
It is no one else’s. Our author says all
things are for Christ and all things are by Christ. It is His
plan and His program. He is the initiator and the executor of
the plan. One responds, Oh that is so elementary, so basic. Yes it is,
but it is absolutely foundational.
I heard a test pilot talk about the
military planes that his company had produced for the government. When asked
whether he had broken any speed records he replied: I have probably flown
faster than any of the military pilots who hold the records but they hold
the official records. You see, the military took oversight on the design
of the plane; the military financed the plane, the military flies the plane –
that plane is in the domain of the military. It is only appropriate that one
of the military holds the speed record. That is appropriate.
But there is more than the mere argument of
propriety. It is also a matter of glory and honor. The Jehovah’s
Witness says that Jesus Christ is none other than Michael the Archangel. He is
only an exalted angel. Do you understand what that means? It means that this
whole domain of mankind is of and for an angel! That’s right. The glory
belongs to an angel! And worse yet, it means than an angel became man.
And what is wrong with that? If it was only an angel who elevated man, man
will never have nature any higher than the nature of angels.
Can you really, now, bask in the great
sacrificial love of Michael the Archangel? I don’t think so.
Or take another matter under consideration.
Think about the Virgin Mary. The Catholic Church calls Mary the
Co-Redemptrix. That is right, she is considered a co-redeemer with Jesus Christ.
But she could not be such a person. Because this domain was not of her
and it was not for her and she did not descend into humanity.
She was born a human and she did not taste of death for every man. All
she did was carry a baby. As wonderful as that is that is still all she did.
Are you getting the point? The glory
belongs to Christ alone, not to an angel, not to a saintly mother, but to
Christ alone.
Have we finished with verse 10?
We have said it was appropriate for Christ to do this because it was His
domain. It was both appropriate that he do it and it was a matter of honor
and glory. Are there any other reasons why Christ was the one to
carry out this remarkable task? I think yes. Look again. We have
yet another surprise awaiting us.
10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by
whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Let me also add verse 11 and 12.
11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are
sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
brethren,
12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in
the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
I believe embedded in these verses another
reason why it was fitting for Christ to do this, a reason so sweet and precious
that it dare not be passed. It is, at the same time, like the strawberry
hiding under the leaf. If you do not truly want to find it you will miss it.
We are too quick to discuss the matter of
our salvation only in legal terms. We see the holiness of God satisfied
through the blood offering of a holy Savior who became a man in order to make
that sacrifice infinitely efficacious for all men. I have no contest with that
truth. It is correct. But there is more than legality and technicality
associated with our salvation.
There is new life, restoration,
revitalization, regeneration of our very natures and our very selves. And
there is more, more than just restoration to our original condition before the
fall. That was not good enough. For if we are only restored to our pre-fall
condition there is nothing to keep us from falling again. There must be a systemic
change that comes about in us, a change in our natures, so to speak.
How is this to be done? The answer is so
amazing, so beyond us, that it is beyond genius. Here is how the problem is to
be resolved. There are two facets on this precious jewel.
1. The first facet: If the nature of man
is to be essentially changed it must be mixed or blended with another nature.
The recipe must change. Clearly, to mix the nature of man with the nature of
angels is not adequate because the angels are capable of being deceived. They
too, are capable of falling. While my wife is quick to say I am an angel she
never specifies what kind of angel I am. It cannot be the nature of angels.
It was fitting for Christ to do
this. Why? Because His is the only nature sufficient to resolve the ongoing
problems of our human natures. But, how is this to come about? How am I to
become a new creation? We have already used the operative word.
2. The second facet. If Christ is going to
blend or mix His divine nature with us it means that our nature must be mixed
with His. He must take on the nature of man, not the nature of angels. The nature
of angels is not enough. Notice verse 16.
16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels;
but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
So, what will happen to Christ when he
takes on the nature of man? What essential changes will we notice in Him?
a. Does this mean He will have a fallen and
sinful nature? That is what Ellen White taught us. She said Jesus had a mean
and sinful nature even though he was tempted and yet without sin. The answer
to that question is no. Man was not created sinful. Man was not created
fallen. When Jesus took on the nature of man He took on the nature man had
before the fall. He was born of a virgin and for good reason, because, to
redeem man there must be a second Adam who was not in the first Adam.
b. But we have not answered the question how
did it essentially affect Christ to take upon Him the human nature? Could
He be tempted then, as Adam was, and fall into sin? Could there have been
another fall, so to speak? The answer is no. Because Christ was both
God and man He could not have fallen. We have the record of the
temptation to prove that fact (and set our consciences at ease). We
can trust this Christ, this second Adam, not to fall. He will not fail us
as our first Adam did. Mankind then, needs a change in natures if man is to be
the ultimate victor over sin. Angelic nature would not be enough.
But we still have not answered the question
how did this essentially affect Christ to take upon Him the human
nature? The answer is right under our noses. Among other things, it pleased
Him, the Bible says:
to make the captain of their salvation perfect
through sufferings.
We must not bask in the fact that Christ
took on human nature – and then shun the consequences of that decision. If
Christ is to take on the nature of man He must experience the nature of
man. He must be essentially changed. In other words, it is a
reciprocal blending of our natures that occurs at the cross.
What if, as a man, you
were told that all the women in the world had a virus and the only way they
could be saved was if you were willing to be injected with a drug that would
change you into a woman. Imagine how it would feel to wake up, men,
responding to life through the nature of a woman (or vice versa, you women,
imagine the opposite). I could just see myself being pulled over by a police
officer, bursting into tears, or expecting my mate to protect me; or wanting to
goochy-goo every little baby that comes along. That would come as quite a
shock to me.
Imagine the Son of God taking on the human
nature and being forever changed. That was love!
We do not stop simply at this hypostatic
union of the natures of God and man. We learn that Christ must also share
the human experience in every way. That is why we read that our
Savior was made perfect or matured through suffering. Was He
not already perfect? Was He not already mature? As God He certainly
was. As human flesh, flesh and blood, He certainly was not. This is the price
He paid, the price of the human experience.
And look at verse 11. This precious Savior
was not in any way ashamed to call us brethren. He did not see
it as a step down. He saw it as a privilege and pleasure. He saw it as a
joy. We cannot fathom these things. We cannot imagine them. We can exclaim,
what a Savior!
Remember the ones to whom we speak.
We are talking to this Jew who has shrunk away from Christ because He came as
a man, because He suffered. And now, this author of Hebrews is explaining that
the manhood of Christ is proof of His greatness, not His weakness. And
just to set the biblical record straight he starts quoting from the Old
Testament Scriptures:
Verse 12:
12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in
the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Verse 12 is a quote from Psalm 22:2, and
verse 13 is a quote from Isaiah 8:18. We will not examine the respective
passages, but will settle for the point only. By becoming man Christ became
our brother. He took on our natures. He was not ashamed to do so.
Verses 14 and 15 are sweet and succinct:
14 Forasmuch then as the children [remember, these are
the children God gave to Messiah as noted in verse 13.] are partakers of flesh
and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death
he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all
their lifetime subject to bondage.
Here is final reason why it was befitting
for Christ to take on our natures:
He could not die if He did not do so. He
could not experience and then destroy death. He could not destroy the one who
had the power of death, the devil (not the death angel) He could not deliver
those who, through the fear of death, lived all their lives in bondage.
Satan’s power of death is a secondary
power, allowed to him by God. It may be because Satan was the first to die
that he qualifies as the father of death. We set that issue aside for another
study. Most importantly, we need to know that He will be destroyed along with
death and all of its arbitrary power.
Secondly, do we know anyone who is living
all of his or her life in bondage, right now, because of the fear of death? Of
course we do. Have you seen all the tricks which men use to help men deny the
reality of this grim reaper? Can you remember anymore the silent horror under
which you lived until Christ changed all that, the unspoken agonies, the
uncertainty of not knowing? Do you remember fearing, yes, knowing the worst? We
must never forget that we have the Savior who alone is the fitting one to solve
all of those problems. We have the answer and it is in a Person. We have the
keys. Pray, by God’s grace, that we will be able to use them this very week!
[Heb. 3:1-6]
Faithful
Servant, Faithful Son
Intro: A special lecturer
came to our Bible institute to teach on the Thessalonian letters. As a young
student in Bible school, it would be an understatement to say that my gentile
senses were offended by this old roaring fundamentalist lion, the likes of whom
I had never seen or heard. This lion slew more of the enemy with his
jawbone than Samson ever did with the jawbone of that ass. There was not much
about this arrogant outspoken preacher that I liked at all, except that, even
then, I conceded he handled the scriptures with great accuracy and authority
and he did speak the truth.
Years later I was to meet this
same man again. This time I saw him through different eyes. This time I saw
him as my father, and his wife as my mother. This time he did not offend me in
any way, but rather, I was attracted to him. And the closer I looked, the
better he looked. Eventually we even worked together under the same yoke in
Christian ministry.
What changed my perspective? In
a word, it was love. I had fallen in love with his daughter. Because I loved
her I loved everything about her, and any family that could produce her must
have been a great family indeed. I not only loved my wife, I grew to love all
that was hers. I had become part of her household, just as she had become part
of mine, and it changed my worldview.
The stuff of Hebrews three
is the stuff of households. And the more we read these remarkable verses that
present themselves to us, the more precious they too, become. They are
precious because they are about Christ, the One whom we love dearly.
And not only do we love Christ, we love all that is about Him. We want
to peer under every nook and cranny in order to uncover some new hidden secret
about His character, some old picture in the family album that will endear Him
even more to us. One who loves Christ must love Hebrews for Jesus Christ is
theme of this book.
This third chapter falls into two
distinct divisions. The truth concerning Christ is presented in the
first six verses. The warning against ignoring this truth completes the
chapter. We might call them the argument and the admonition. Read the first
six verses and consider the challenge which presents itself.
(Heb 3:1-6 KJV) Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of
the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession,
Christ Jesus; {2} Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was
faithful in all his house. {3} For this man was counted worthy of more glory
than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the
house. {4} For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things
is God. {5} And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a
testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; {6} But Christ as a
son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and
the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Can you think of any
questions that you would like to ask about these verses? I can only think of a
hundred or two, but I suggest only three:
1. Why is the word wherefore
here? In other words, why does this relate to the context? And why are we
comparing Christ to Moses in these 6 verses?
2. Who are these holy
brethren? Are they believers? Are they saved? If they are saved, then why
the stern warning? Why is the suggestion made that they risk not entering
in as verse 19 intimates? Can believers lose their salvation? Must we
endure to the end in order to be saved?
3. And what about this household
business anyway? Why would this argument carry any weight with our readers?
Hopefully, prayerfully, these
questions will be clearly answered. You may encounter a thing or two you have
not considered before. I do ask you to apply both your mind and your heart so
that you may enjoy Christ. At times we will look at the big picture and
at times we will look at parts of the picture.
Verse 1. Examine the assertion one more
time.
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly
calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus
…Wherefore … Let’s look and see what
it’s therefore
…holy brethren, partakers… To whom
are we speaking? Let’s set that aside for just a minute.
…consider the Apostle and High Priest of
our profession… Let’s look at the offices.
1. "Wherefore"
What have we just finished doing? Since the day we started Hebrews we
have been showing the superiority of Christ. In chapter one we see
that He is the superior Son because this Son is the Son of God and the Son of
Man. He is superior as the Son.
We have also seen that the Son is
superior to the angels. No angel could have saved men. Jehovah’s false
Witnesses tell us that Jesus Christ is Michael the Archangel. If this is true
then the best we can have with the blending of our natures is the nature of
angels. Angels are susceptible to the fall. Christ, on the other hand, took
not on Himself the nature of angels. He is superior to them, and thankfully,
our new natures are superior to the angelic nature, as wonderful as it is.
But, the author of Hebrews is by no means finished dismantling Jewish
preconceptions.
2. "…holy brethren,
partakers," To whom are we speaking? Let’s set that aside for
just a minute and look at the next words:
3. "…consider" the
Apostle and High Priest of our profession.
We are about to see a superior
Apostle and High Priest.
When our author tells his readers
to consider this Apostle and High priest of our profession, he wants
them to fix their eyes and their mind on Him once and for all. HE is
to be their focus. He is not one of many as the world presents Him, He is
the one and only, as the scriptures present him.
And, what is it in particular
that we are to notice about this Apostle and High Priest? To whom are we to
compare Him? We shall be comparing Him to Moses. Vs. 2:
Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses
was faithful in all his house
Ponder for a minute. Why
are the terms APOSTLE and HIGH PRIEST associated with faithful Moses? Was
Moses an apostle? Was Moses a high priest? There is a touch of curiosity in
this because the greatest hero of the Jewish faith bears another title.
He is a prophet. However, there was a sense in which the Jews
saw Moses as an Apostle and as a priest.
Concerning the word apostle
the Hebrews had a similar word to the Greek apostolos. Hughes notes
that the word shaliach is a Hebrew term synonymous with the Greek apostolos
but with the special connotation of an envoy. In a word, this term was also
associated with the high priests. Rabbinical history (not biblical history)
tells us that the Rabbis regarded God’s priests as shaliachs,
God’s special apostles or envoys, and this history also tells us that
these Rabbis considered Moses to be a high priest. Moses was, of course, a
sent one according to Exodus 3:10.
Why did the Jews see Moses as a
high priest? It was not because of his sacerdotal duties. That would be
Aaron’s role. Rather, Moses was seen as a high priest because of his great intercessory
role.
So, for Hebrews to speak of
Christ in terms of Moses as an apostle (or envoy) and high priest would not
surprise the Jewish readers at all. But there is more, and it is very
important.
What is the real point of
comparison between Christ and Moses? What is the issue over? The issue is
over faithfulness.
When we think of Moses we ask
ourselves, what was the primary character trait of this man? We are likely to
think of meekness. Moses truly was the meekest man who ever lived.
But that is not the trait for which the Jews remembered and commemorated him.
They commemorated Moses for his faithfulness in leading this recalcitrant pack
of rebellious ingrates for a term of forty years. Moses’ claim to fame was
faithfulness.
We must not be expected to trust
those who are not trustworthy. The Israelites trusted Moses because Moses
himself was trustworthy. He was faithful. There are numerous Old Testament
passages to which we could turn in order to defend Moses right to the title of
being faithful but I have selected only one, Numbers 12:6-8:
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet
among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will
speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all
mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently,
and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold:
wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
This was a high honor. This places Moses
at the top of the prophets’ list. He is the prophet to beat. He was faithful
in God’s entire house.
1. About Houses and Households
Looking again at the Hebrews passage, let’s
narrow the discussion of this faithfulness by noting that Moses is commended
specifically for being faithful in all of God’s house. Whatever do we
mean by this?
a. Israel was seen as God’s household. The
word house is the Greek oiko" (oikos).
It can mean a physical house, or it can mean the household all of those
who live under one authority. For example, Acts 16:31: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” or oikos. Israel was also seen in God’s eyes as a household or a house. Jesus commanded the
disciples in Mt 10:6: "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel.” Moses was faithful in this house.
b. The temple was also called the house
of God. For an example notice Matthew 12:4.
c. But most importantly for you and me, as
members of Christ’s church we are seen as God’s temple and God’s house. Paul
told Timothy his reason for writing to him:
1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how
thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the
living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. {ground: or, stay}
This is, of course, why no man may lead in
the church who cannot lead his own household according to 1Ti 3:5 (For
if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
But please notice 1 peter 2:5:
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual
house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ.
You and I as living rocks are built up (oikodomeo)
a spiritual house, (oikos) a holy priesthood.
2. How Christ’s Domain is Contrasted With Moses?
a. So, that is the word, oikos, and
it refers to the word household. And what are we seeing? We are
seeing that the natures of the houses are different. Moses was over the
House of Israel an earthly house as an earthly apostle ministering as an
earthly priest. Jesus Christ was over a spiritual house as a heavenly
apostle with a heavenly calling.
In New Testament times you already know
that stewards commonly ran households. These were the oikonomos - the
faithful household servants. These were highly educated, highly motivated,
highly trusted slaves who literally ran the household. In 1 Corinthians 4:1 we
learn that the servant of Christ postures himself as a faithful steward of the
mysteries of God. Do you remember the discussion of the faithful steward in
Luke 12? Jesus said in verse 42:
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise
steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their
portion of meat in due season?
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh
shall find so doing.
We must not limit our discussion to the
faithfulness of Moses and Christ. We must consider our own faithfulness in
these matters.
b. The argument does not rest here. We
read in verses 3 through 6 that this Person was counted worthy of more glory
than Moses because Moses only wore one hat. Moses was a faithful
servant, a faithful steward over the household. But Jesus Christ is worthy of
more glory because He built the household. And lest there should be
any doubt in anyone’s mind about what this means the author spells it out in no
uncertain terms:
Vs. 4. This builder is God. This Jesus
Christ is the builder. This builder is God. This Jesus Christ is,
therefore God.
Vs. 5. The record of Moses’ servanthood
was put there as a testimony of things that were to be spoken after. In
other words, Moses' example was intended to point us to another. Moses said it
best in his own words. Moses said:
15 The LORD thy God will raise
up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like
unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Like unto me? How would this prophet be
like unto Moses? He would be like unto Moses in that He was faithful in his
entire household. But He is greater than Moses because he built the
household.
We noted earlier that there were a group of
Jewish cultists who taught that Messiah would come as an angel. It interests
us to know that one of the secrets revealed by the Dead Sea scrolls is that
there were also those who taught that Moses himself would return as Messiah. And
frankly, if Messiah were to be a man, who better than Moses?
But this Son is better. He is the faithful
servant (the faithful servant of choice) in verse 5. And in conclusion,
according to verse 6 He is the Son, not just the servant. He is the Son over
His own house.
I believe that Jesus Christ has come to us
as the Messiah, first as the faithful, suffering servant, and then, as the
reigning Messiah. I further believe that we who are in Christ inherit
those tasks and that the faithful servants who are faithful over His household
now will later rule His household. It is required of a steward that he is
found faithful, faithful, faithful! You and I are not Christ like when
we are not faithful.
If I were to ask you Who is the greatest ball
player who ever lived? Who do you think it would be? Would you say
Babe? Would you point to a hitter? Or would you point to a pitcher? Good
pitchers are rarely good hitters, you know. How would you determine the
greatest? But what if I could show you a ball player who was a perfect
hitter who never missed, a perfect pitcher who never lost a game or even walked
a batte, the fastest base runner who ever ran the diamond, the best catcher
who ever stooped behind the plate, and then, in addition to all that I could
show you that he was also the coach of the team and had never lost a game. And
then,for good measure I showed you he was the creator and owner of the team?
Would you agree that He was the greatest ball player of all time? Of course
you would.
This is what our author is doing.
He is matching this Jesus Christ up against all comers, all the heroes and the
greatest offices of Judaism. Moses, the greatest icon of all in the Jewish
mind, as wonderful as he was, pales in the light of our Savior. And Moses, of
all men, would have wanted it this way, in fact, he told us it would be this
way.
This makes it a very dangerous
and risky thing to ignore the claims of this great and glorious Savior!
[Heb. 3:7-19]
Stern
Warnings
Intro: We have
explained that the stuff of Hebrews 3 is the stuff of households. We
began with the Argument and left the Application for this session.
The Argument, which is
found in verses 1-6, consists of an admonition to consider, to observe
carefully, this Jesus Christ, the Apostle and High Priest of our profession who
is more faithful in His household than Moses was in his entire
household.
In showing the superiority of
Christ we learn that it is not that Moses' unfaithfulness which makes
Christ superior (After all, Moses' claim to fame was exactly that,
his faithfulness) but rather, Christ is superior because that is all
that Moses was, a faithful servant, household steward. Christ, on the other
hand, was a faithful steward, a faithful son, and the builder of
the house.
That is the Argument. Beginning with verse
7 we turn our attention to:
How are we to respond to
all this? And, just as importantly, from our point of view – why
would this argument carry so much weight with the Hebrews? I think we have
some keys, which, if properly applied, will not only help us understand these
questions they should also make US very nervous!
In order to control our time and
thoughts, let’s place our emphasis on two areas. First, look briefly at the
warning, and then look a little more closely at the ones receiving the
warning. In so doing we will see why the warning was so relevant.
Notice that two days are
being compared:
Read verses 7 – 19:
(Heb 3:7-19 KJV) Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To
day if ye will hear his voice, {8} Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation,
in the day of temptation in the wilderness: {9} When your fathers tempted me,
proved me, and saw my works forty years. {10} Wherefore I was grieved with that
generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known
my ways. {11} So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) {12} Take
heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in
departing from the living God. {13} But exhort one another daily, while it is
called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
{14} For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our
confidence stedfast unto the end; {15} While it is said, To day if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. {16} For some, when
they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. {17} But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned,
whose carcases fell in the wilderness? {18} And to whom sware he that they should
not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? {19} So we see that
they could not enter in because of unbelief.
What, then, is the warning?
·
We are not to harden our hearts as Israel did in the day of testing. Vs. 8
·
We are to “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an
evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” Vs. 12
·
We are to “… exhort one another daily, while it is called To day;
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Vs. 13
·
We are to remember those who did not enter into His rest
because of unbelief.
This is serious business. In a
word, Jesus Christ is not an option. He is not an alternative. He is an imperative.
The issue is a high stakes issue. We must not lose our confidence
in Christ. We are not talking about works here. We are talking about faith.
The verses focus on our hearts, not our hands. We are not to harden our hearts
through unbelief. Unbelief is ultimately the sin for which all men are condemned
to a lost eternity. The failure to place our confidence in Christ is the
greatest failure a man can experience. It is unbelief.
Every word of this warning
applies to you, reader, if you do not know Christ as Savior. I have had, in
virtually all of my churches, a group of folks I have called salvation
holdouts. They are not just those who have rejected Christ, they are those
who take great pleasure in being the holdouts. They are the unconverted
among the converted. In some cases, I have seen them come to Christ. In most
cases they go blithely to their graves. It is because they do not know they
had hardening of the arteries. They do not sense or feel the cholesterol of
unbelief building up in their veins. One must understand that every rejection
of the gospel places him at greater risk of having the spiritual coronary which
will take him to Hell.
But let’s look a little more
closely by considering:
1. To whom is our author speaking? First, consider
some facts we can gain from the text itself.
According to verse 1 we are
talking to holy brethren, partakers (or participants) of the
heavenly calling. While it is true that the Jews also called themselves brethren,
the term holy brethren seems to be a term reserved for
believers. These participants in the heavenly invitation may well have
been God’s elect.
But then, as we absorb ourselves
into the heart of this severe warning we read statements such as verse 12.
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an
evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
We ask, can a true believer have in
him an evil heart of unbelief? Can the elect harden his heart
in such a manner that would cause him to lose his salvation?
The answer is, of course, no.
That cannot happen. We will learn why this cannot happen a little
later in Hebrews. Our problem, as we examine these verses, is that we are
asking ourselves the wrong question.
Never ask yourself, when reading
Hebrews, Is the author writing to saved or unsaved? Numerous
commentaries devote large portions of their prologues to this issue. Any
reader can tell when the emphasis is being placed on one group or the other, on
the believers or the unbelievers. For example, in this lesson, I have already
addressed both saved and unsaved. That was no problem for the
listener or reader. Sometimes I even do this when I am absolutely certain
everyone in the congregation is saved. Why do I do it? I do it because
I do not know when or where particular tape will go and I never want to miss
that opportunity to address both groups.
But, let’s think for a minute
about these Hebrews, because I truly believe that as we understand
them we will see why these verses that seem so enigmatic to you and me
who live in the church age were very relevant to them.
2. Consider some facts we know about the Jewish mind in
general.
In the Jewish way of thinking a
Jew could not separate his nationality from his religion. He saw
the world as a mix of two groups, Jews and Gentiles. If you were a Jew you
were one of God’s people. You were the chosen race.
Many Jews, regretfully,
associated their personal salvation with their national position. In our terms
(a term they would never use) they were saved because they were Jews.
Those Jews who knew God,
however, knew better. They knew that inside the household of God there
were two groups of Jews, those who were the sons of Abraham by birth and those
who were the inheritors of the promise to Abraham by faith. But they were all
Jews.
So, Moses' household
consisted of both believers and non-believers.
We must not think so with the
household of Christ. These Hebrews must not make the same mistake their
forefathers made. One is not a partaker of Christ because he is a fellow
traveler with Christians any more than the mixed multitude who came out of Egypt were saved because they walked with Joshua and Moses.
This is why the severe warning
is necessary. Take heed, our author says, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
The problem is not dissimilar to the
problem we have today. We have, in our culture, tens of thousands of men and
women who call themselves CHRISTIANS or Christ ones. We have Baptists,
Methodists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Presbyterians, Church of Christ, Lutherans, the Russian and Greek Orthodoxies, United Pentecostals and other Jesus Only
groups, along with a wide array of charismatics. This is not to speak of the
cults such as Adventism, Mormons, and Jehovah’s Witnesses who also call themselves
Christians.
Are they all Christians? This is
serious business. If Episcopalians, Orthodox, Catholics, Church of Christ, and United Pentecostals are born again Christians they are so in spite of the
false gospels which each of their respective churches teach. If modern,
and I underscore modern, Presbyterians and Methodists or United Church
of Christ have born again persons in their ranks they are so in spite of
the great apostasy which their denominations endorse. If Mormons, Adventists,
and Witnesses are born again, they are so in spite of their leaders who
clearly teach salvation by law keeping and works. Yet these folks all call
themselves Christians!
So, what is our point? Just as
there were many who saw themselves as a part of the household of God in Bible
times, there are tens of thousands, no, millions, who see themselves as part of
Christ’s household who are not.
How do we win them? Do we win
them by gathering them all together as Promise Keepers does (for the most part)
and then, proclaiming them all to be Christians breaking down the so-called
denominational barriers? Or, do we warn them as the author of Hebrews does?
And how do we warn
them? Do we say, Oh, you are a Catholic, you could not possibly be saved!!! Of
course not. Interestingly, we approach every one of them the same way. We
effectively say to them, where is your confidence?
Look
at verse 14.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the
beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
Where is your confidence?
Is it in Christ and Christ alone? Where is your faith? Is it in Christ and in
Christ alone? On what do you rest? Is it on Christ and Christ alone? Where
is your hope? Is it based on Christ and Christ alone?
Those groups either teach us that man is
saved by grace through faith in the work of Christ alone, or they teach in one
way or another that man must earn his way. If they have not held fast their
confidence in Christ alone they have departed from the living God.
Getting back to the text, try to
understand the point. Try to understand the Jewish mind. Try to understand
that these Jews, many of whom, thought they were saved because of their birth
had to be warned that they had to place their personal confidence in
Christ. Their own history showed the results, the results of Jews who had not
placed personal faith in God but relied only on their national identity.
These Israelites, instead of moving forward with confidence in God chose,
instead, to put Him to the test. Consider one more thing.
3. Consider some historical facts we discovered more
recently.
When I first studied Hebrews we
did not have the advantage that we have since the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls. In those days I had already concluded that both the elect and the non
elect, the mixed multitude, were being addressed in Hebrews. But we did not
know so much about Jewish sects as we know now. And we certainly did not
know about the Qumran sect.
a. One of the interesting facts about the Qumran sect is that they were very zealous, but very confused. They were confused about
true Judaism and confused about true Christianity. Their doctrines were a terrible
mix of fact and fantasy.
b. Another
interesting fact which we learn about them is that they had retreated into the
wilderness from the corruption of mainline Judaism and the Roman Empire in the
hopes of regaining the spiritual purity of Judaism.
c. Another
interesting fact is that many of these “Qumranese” (which you already know) believed
Moses himself would return as the Messiah. Thus, we see the necessity of
showing Christ superior to Moses.
d. But the plot
thickens when we begin wondering just exactly how they were able to
construe Moses as the coming Messiah. Remember, Jesus (the suffering
Messiah) had already come, and died, been raised from the dead, and
ascended. The answer is found in their allegorical and metaphorical system of
interpretation.
These folks actually
saw themselves as having their own Exodus from Apostate Judaism. They
are already seeing themselves as having a parallel experience with their
forefathers who came out of Egypt. They are going through their own
wilderness wanderings. Keep in mind just exactly how long those wanderings
were. They were 40 years.
Let me read a quote from Hughes
which will shed a little light.
“Is there some special thrust in the mention of the
‘forty years’ in the quotation from Psalm 95? … F.F. Bruce draws attention to
the evidence in the Qumran literature ‘of a belief that God’s dealings with Israel, which began with a probationary period of 40 years, would be rounded off at the
end-time by a probationary period of like duration.’ He points out, that
assuming this epistle to have been written shortly before A.D. 70, it was now
almost forty years since Jesus had accomplished His ‘exodus’ at Jerusalem (see
Luke 9:31, Greek exodos - exodus - ex'-od-os), ‘hence the urgency of the
present appeal to the readers to take heed’ so long as it is called ‘today’
(verse 13)’ IF INDEED the recipients of this letter were in some measure
disposed to view with favor doctrines distinctive of or similar to those held
by the Dead Sea Sect, then the mention of this period of forty years, so
significant in the past and now again significant in the reckoning of this
community who had returned to the wilderness existence, and the solemn lessons
drawn from the history of the Israelites could well have come to them with
particular force.”
Did you grasp that? TODAY! Is
there not a touch of irony in that? Just as Israel wandered 40 years after her
rebellion, so Israel remained 40 years after her rebellion against Christ.
And that grouping of 40 years is the TODAY grouping.
As I thought about that and I
thought about how important it was for these Hebrews readers to place their
confidence in Christ I could not help but think about our today. For
over and over in my mind comes the reminder of what the Lord Jesus said about
the fig tree sprouting her leaves indicating the coming of summer in Matthew
24:
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch
is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things,
know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not
pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Consider that this prophecy likely relates
to the conclusion of the tribulation and the establishment of Israel in her kingdom. As we observe the stirrings of Israel it is difficult not to conclude that
the end time events of the Day of the Lord may well be upon us. The day of salvation,
this day today, may well be at an end. Today, if ye will hear his
voice, harden not your hearts! Today is the day of salvation.
[Heb 4:1-9]
REST EASY
Intro: We are discussing the concept of biblical
rest in general and entering into the Sabbath rest discussed in Hebrews 4. I
would like to vary our format for these nine verses and speak in the persona of
four different persons, a lawyer, a detective, an interpreter, and a preacher.
For this reason, you will not find a typical “outline” of these verses.
I. As Lawyer
Good lawyers begin and end everything with a disclaimer, and
I shall follow in their paths. These nine verses are worthy of an entire study
in themselves and a thorough treatment would require many pages and we will not
do justice to them here. The commentary which we provide serves only as a
brief treatment of a few major truths. Students who desire to involve themselves
completely and thoroughly in the entire Sabbath discussion are encouraged to
read Dale Ratzlaff’s Sabbath in Christ. While this book seems to be written
especially in the context of clarifying sabbatarian issues between the cultists
and ourselves, Ratzlaff’s pursuit of the truth has also led him into a good
understanding of the New Covenant. In chapter nineteen, The Rest that Remains,
the reader will find a thorough treatment of the issues we do not address in
this study.
To view these verses we must paint with three brushes, the
broad overview, the immediate context, and the actual verses. In order to gain
a broad perspective of the theme of biblical rest, you will want to look at the
inserted graphic entitled Rest Easy – Seven Biblical Rests. It is important
for the student to notice each of the seven rests mentioned while looking up
the appropriate scriptures. Each of these rests represent worthy studies. I
would also like to mention that I have seen several such charts in the past and
I sincerely hope I have not plagiarized this chart. If I have I will be
pleased to give proper credit. The truths in the chart, however, are
elementary and generally agreed upon by all.
The chart clearly indicates that Hebrews 4:10 is dealing
primarily with redemptive rest. The operative word in this context is, primarily,
as you will see when I move to the role of interpreter.
It is important for the reader to notice that the subject of
rest does not begin with Hebrews 4:1. The author has already salted our oats I
chapter three. Notice 3:11, and 3:18:
Heb 3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter
into my rest.)
Heb 3:18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter
into his rest, but to them that believed not?
Because
we have already covered these facts in chapter three the reader should already
have the events of Israel’s failure to enter the promised land clearly in
mind. It is vitally important to understand that this style of building on Israel’s historic past as a nation is a key trait of our author. It was a logical and
consistent way to approach the Jewish people. In this case, his picture of Israel’s past failure would paint a thousand words for our author who wants to confront his
readers with their present obligation to take a step of the same gargantuan importance.
He does not want his readers to fail to enter into this Sabbath rest. Even a
cursory reading of the above verses makes it very clear that this subject is
very important to God, (He sware in His wrath,) this subject is very important
to the listener, (One can fail to enter into this rest.) It is also
clear that this rest is entered into through the exercise of faith or belief.
Because we have already read the whole of chapter three we know we must believe
specifically in the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Jesus Christ.
Please
read Hebrews 4:1-8 in a block:
Heb 4:1-8 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being
left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
(2) For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word
preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it. (3) For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have
sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were
finished from the foundation of the world. (4) For he spake in a certain place
of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his
works. (5) And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. (6)
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it
was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: (7) Again, he limiteth
a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To
day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (8) For if Jesus had
given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Again,
notice the salient points are summarized on the graphic insert. There was a “Canaan” rest, verses 1-4. This rest foretold a deeper truth, verse 4. Not all enter into
this rest, verses 5 and 6. God is clearly speaking of a salvific rest
which may only be entered by ceasing from our works, verse 8 and
following.
We are
immediately reminded of Ephesians 2:8-9:
Eph 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man
should boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We
become God’s workmanship first; then God works in and through us.
We are not saved by our own works of righteousness (Titus 3:5) but by
appropriating by faith what Christ did for us. We can make a dangerous
oversight at this point which can destroy our souls. As surely as the
Israelites had to take a conscious step of faith, so too we must consciously
appropriate what Christ has done on our behalf. A generic belief in the
goodness of God, and even a belief that Christ died for our sins is
insufficient to save our souls. We simply are not saved until we rest
our hope in that truth.
In the
above interpretation of Hebrews 4, we have made it abundantly clear that the
message of the text is geared toward a group of Israelites who need to
appropriate the sacrifice of their great Apostle and High Priest, Jesus
Christ. Further, they need to appropriate this as a singular action and rest
in the Christ who is our Sabbath.
At the
same time, a careful Bible student will notice that theme precedes detail,
though it never contradicts detail. Details descend from themes. While this
is an advanced concept that needs to be grasped in a dedicated study, it is
still illustrated here. As next study begins by stressing, there remains a
rest for the people of God as well. What we note here will bear repeating
then. The Christian walk functions on the same restful dynamic. Our
daily rest is the result of our ongoing appropriation of our position in Christ.
There
is also another open point of discussion for serious Bible students who are
beyond the basics in this matter. It is one thing for the believer to
associate the first day of the week with the celebration of the resurrection of
Christ and the new creation that we all are in Christ, in contrast to the old
creation which was commemorated by the seventh day. It is quite another to
argue that there is a Sabbath fulfillment in the resurrection which arbitrarily
allows us to assign Sunday as the new Christian Sabbath. This would, in
effect, equate Sabbath rest with resurrection rest. While this may be a fine
point of distinction, the application of that hermeneutic becomes a portal for
vesting a number of Old Testament concepts, including even dietary laws, into
the realm of the New Covenant. Fruchtenbaum does a masterful job of treating
this on pages 287 and 288 of his work on Israelology. Suffice it to say that
this weak excuse for importing Old Covenant values into the New Covenant, not
only opens a Pandora’s box which inevitably ends in mixing works with grace, it
robs Christ from His rightful title as our Sabbath. In fact, our rest is in
the Person and work of Christ. Christ Himself is our Sabbath rest.
The
reader may have already noted a certain irony in this. One must labor
to enter into this rest, (vs. 11). It goes against the very grain of our
natures to think that we cannot work in order to gain favor from God. This
very reliance upon works is evidence of the deep need we feel within us to make
up for our lack. Many compliant children, for example, work hard to please their
parents in order to make up for their own feelings of insufficiency. They feel
they will find validation in their parents’ commendations. Ironically, that
pattern rarely succeeds and often ends in even more bitter disappointment for
the child. At the core of the believer’s walk with Christ is a fundamental
sense of sufficiency. Because he is in Christ he does not need to seek
that kind of approval. If the work you are seeking to do for the Lord is intended
to gain His favor it will not suffice either for your salvation or for
your walk as a believer. If you have appropriated Christ by faith you already
have that acceptance. That is what it means to labor to enter into rest. It
is labor because it is the hardest thing in the world for a man to do. Are you
enjoying that rest?
[Heb 4:9ff The Sword of God]
The
Sword of God
Intro: We took a broad
look at Hebrews 4 in our last study and it is our intention to finish the chapter
as we take a closer look at what the Bible says about itself, the Word of
God.
Remember the big picture. We are
discussing the superiority of Christ. We have shown Him to be superior over
the prophets, over the angels, over Moses (and to some extent Joshua, as noted
in verse 8.) Before we are through with this chapter, we will begin the
presentation of Jesus Christ as our great high priest. In this regard,
we will see Him superior to Aaron. That is the big picture. Now, narrow your
focus a bit.
Looking a little more closely at
chapter 4, however, our author has paused to provide us with a stern
warning. We dare not pass the discussion of Moses and the children of Israel without pointing out Israel’s horrendous failure. What was that failure? In a word, she
failed to enter into her rest spoken of in chapter 3:19. We learned that the promises
of God demand a response. Then in 4:2 we learned that the promises of God
demand a correct response. They must be appropriated by faith.
2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto
them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in
them that heard it.
It is not enough to believe in the promises
of God. They must be appropriated by faith. We also learned that there is a
promise of God to which we must respond. There is a rest which we must
appropriate. And, most importantly, according to verse 11, we are to labor to
enter into that rest.
11 ¶ Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest,
lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
There is a touch of irony in the fact that
we would have to strive or labor in order to enter into rest. That is because
we are spiritual workaholics, bent on providing our own
solutions. We are bent on offering our own morality to God. We prefer
to trade on our own name. We do not like charity. It goes against the
very grain of our nature to think that we are obeying when we are resting
and that we are disobeying when we are striving to gain our spiritual
inheritance. That is unnatural.
Like combing the back of our heads in the
mirror, it is hard to learn how to think backwards. But that is exactly
what God expects of us. The hardest work we can ever do is resting in the
promises of God instead of resting in our own labors, be that resting in the
finished work of Christ for our salvation or resting on the promises of God for
victory in the Christian walk. Our flesh is always applying for the job.
We cannot emphasis this enough: We
do not LABOR to enter into our salvation in the way in which the Lordship salvation
people teach. They teach us that we must strive and agonize in
order to enter into heaven. One Lordship author tells us that our striving to
enter the kingdom of heaven can become as violent as though we were in physical
warfare. There is not much rest in that. There is no rest in the Sermon on
the Mount. There is no salvation there, though the Lordship people tell us
that it is the pure expression of the gospel. No, we strive to find the
narrow gate and that gate is opened by faith, by resting in the sure
promises of the Word of God.
Nor can we repeat this too often:
The fact that what began in faith continues in faith. Paul told the Galatians:
Ga 3:3 Are ye so foolish?
having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
If you are failing in your Christian walk
today it is probably not because of your direct disobedience to the
scriptures. That is the second failure that occurs in the life. It is
preceded by another failure, the failure to lay hold on God’s promises. If
you are failing in your Christian walk it is because you have failed to lay
hold on and appropriate God’s promises by faith.
Look at verse 12.
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper
than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
Paul has added some sort of parenthetical insertion. That
is not the case at all. Paul is still talking about promises, about claiming
the promises of God. The promises of God are the Word of
God. That is why we are so accountable to them.
I may chose to make a promise to you and
you may chose to ignore it. That is no so with God. His promises are His
Word and we are accountable for responding to His promises because they are
the Word of God. So, the first thing we want to remember as we look at verse
12 is that the promises of God are the Word of God. Notice another
thing:
When we say that God’s Word is quick we do
not mean that it is fast. We are not talking about speed. Rather, we are
talking about the fact that the Word of God is alive. It is animated.
It is living. If we do not understand this we have lost everything.
Our words are not living. God’s
Word is living. Our words have no power to open the eyes of anyone to the gospel.
Our logic, our stories, and even our emotional pleas have no real power.
Faith cometh by hearing, our Bible says, and hearing comes by the Word of
God. This means we should accept no substitutes.
Every Bible teacher will be quick to admit
that sometimes this Word tastes sweeter than honey and the honeycomb while at
other times it tastes like manna. Sometimes it calms us like a glass of warm
milk before bed. Other times it robs us of our sleep like a glass of iced
tea. It cajoles us and convicts us. It thrills us and inspires us. It
angers us and embarrasses us. It challenges us and disciplines us. It encourages
and warns.
We have, on occasion, repeated Corrie Ten
Boom’s woodpecker story about the woodpecker who pecked on the side of the tree
at the exact time when lightning struck. He declared in amazement, “My what
power I have in my beak!” There is no power in our beaks. There are no
powerful preachers. There is only a powerful book. Love this book. Feed on
this book and you will come alive. Get away from this book and you will
shrink up and shrivel up.
This is the Greek energh" – energes - en-er-gace,
the word from which we get energy. God’s Word is effectual and powerful. As
believers we know what the Bible is speaking of here. We have seen it subtly
change our lives. We have seen its presence change our family lines, and we
have seen its absence diminish our family lines. In the words of the old
song: We’ve seen it break the power of canceled sin and set the prisoner
free. We’ve seen it make the vilest clean. We’ve seen it avail for us, ourselves.
We know about the power of this Word for it has touched us.
This is a good time point out two errors
that we often notice when people talk about the Word of God.
a. The first is the error of going too
far with this thought. There is a potential for a great misunderstanding
what we mean when we speak of God’s Word. When we talk about the Word of God
and its great power we must never slip into idolatry. There is nothing magical
or powerful in the words themselves. Christians do not confess some
non-reality to be true and find that we have altered reality by using God’s
Word as some sort of a chant. That is witchcraft, pure and simple. If there
were power in the actual words themselves, we would have read verse 12 this
way: “For the words of God are quick and powerful….” The words
are only the vehicle for communicating the WORD of God. They are canisters,
chosen by God, yes, and chosen specifically for conveying the Word of God. But
the words are merely the vehicles.
If the words themselves were the objects
of the inspiration (and not the vehicles) we would be on the horns of a great
dilemma. The phrase, for instance, “God so loved the world…” is
inspired. Every word is inspired. Every word is equally inspired. But when I
use the same word love and tell my wife I love her, it is not the Word
of God. The word love in that case, is not inspired, only inspirational.
Do not attribute magical powers to the words of God. Attribute spiritual
power to the God of His Word. That is one danger.
b. The other danger is the extreme
opposite. Having concluded that the Word of God is what is inspired, some
have said that the vehicles do not matter. The physical words which God chose
to contain His message do not matter. This is why we have such a
proliferation of Bible translations around today. The New International Version,
for example, does not hold itself accountable to the vehicles, the actual words
themselves, either in the Greek or English. Instead, these translators
based their translation on a new theory of translation which holds that the
real purpose of a Bible translation is to convey, as much as is possible, the actual
thoughts that God intended to be understood. ‘Sounds good to me. What do you
think?
In truth, this theory of translation is
very dangerous. One reason is that we are now left at the translators'
mercy to decide what those thoughts of God really are. In other
words, like allegorical interpreters, we are left to the arbitrary opinions of
men. But there is another reason why this idea is wrong. The words themselves
in the original autographs are inspired. That is, they were
specifically selected and chosen by God himself as the Holy Spirit matched up
the vocabulary and writing style of the writer with the divine truth He was
teaching.
You may not have followed all of these
thoughts, but try to remember this, our duty is first, last and always to hear
and obey the Word of God. We can only do this by protecting the very words
themselves which were chosen and inspired by God. We may not play with them or
adjust them to fit our preconceptions or to make them more readable.
So, we have seen the promises of God are
the Word of God. The Word of God is quick, or alive. The word of God is powerful.
We now come to the fourth concept.
What are we to make of this? It is not
that the Bible is represented only as a sword. It is a lamp unto our
feet. It is a light unto our paths. It is milk and meat. It is honey and
bread and water. It is all this and much more, but it is especially a sword.
Jesus Christ, the Word of God in flesh, is
never called a sword but He wields a sword. He wields this sword, His Father’s
Word. When we encounter the very first image of this Savior that we find in
Revelation 1 we read in verse 16:
16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of
his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the
sun shineth in his strength.
The sword is a symbol of victory, of conquest. Ultimately,
Jesus Christ will conquer and it will by the result of the Holy Spirit
of God applying the Word of the living God.
But we need to bring this a little closer to home for our
own hope of victory. Our only hope of spiritual victory is based on that very
same Word of God. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:17.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Nor is this Word any old sword. It is a
two edged sword. There are no blunt parts to it. It does its task.
There is not a lot we can say about the two edges. Augustine, in his
inimical allegorical style said they represent the two testaments. Others have
other explanations. I do not know. If I were forced to take a position I
would have to share Philip Hughes’ thoughts:
“…it would be preferable
to suggest that the word of God, like a sword with two sharp edges, always cuts
with one side or the other, that is to say, either in a saving or in a judging
manner. Thus, on the one hand, Christ proclaims, "The words that I have
spoken to you are spirit and life.) (Jn 6:36) and on the other hand, He says of
him who rejects him, "The word that I have spoken will be his judge on the
last day." (Jn 14:28)”
In any case, this sword of the living God
is sharp. It is not as sharp as, but sharper than
any two edged sword. Most of us have felt its penetration and all of us
eventually will. But consider what this two edged sword does and consider how
God uses it.
a. First, it penetrates. It
pierces. It strikes at the innermost depths of our minds and hearts.
b. Secondly, it separates.
It pierces even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow.
So, what are the soul and spirit? We shall discuss that issue until the
rapture. I understand the soul to be the life force that exists in all of
God’s creatures, man and animal. I understand the spirit to be that part
which God breathed into us when we became living souls, quite different
from the animals. The spirit is the part of us which returns to our creator.
I believe that man receives his spirit at conception and not after he has
traveled a few inches down a birth canal. But after that, there are few
things I can add to the discussion of the essential natures of soul and
spirit. I certainly cannot distinguish between them on a practical basis. I
do not know where mind and body meet or how they meet. I cannot often even
tell whether a man is physically ill, mentally ill, emotionally ill, or
spiritually ill. I cannot do these things. I cannot discern these things,
but the Word of God can. It goes beyond the dimensions of our natural
perceptions, finds us where we truly live, and weighs the true thoughts and
intents of the heart.
We human beings are masters at
technicalities. We have long since prostituted our courts. They thrive on
technicalities and exceptions. Our Supreme Court recently voted to offer our
children to the fires of Molech rather than risk curbing an adult issue of free
speech. Technicalities! Technicalities! We have come so far that we actually
know more criminals who are free on technicalities than we know of those who
have been successfully charged. Justice in America is not blind, she is
cross-eyed. But not so the Word of God. It can discern through the
finest differences, even to the points where souls and spirits, joints and marrows
meet. There will be no mistrials declared before this Word of God.
We can deceive others. Others can deceive
us. We can deceive ourselves. We cannot hide from this sword. It
penetrates and it separates.
c. Notice, thirdly, it differentiates. It
discerns thoughts and intents, specifically the thoughts and intents of
the heart. What a day that is going to be when the secrets of all men’s
hearts are made known. The day when those who have suffered in obscurity are
vindicated and those who have chosen the path of compromise and popularity are
exposed.
Perhaps this best explains the two edged
sword. You see, if we have been obedient, and if we are in line for
vindication, we have no fear of the cutting work of that sword. It is the
sword of deliverance. If, on the other hand, we have things that we do not
desire to have exposed that sword of the Word does not bode well.
And finally,
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in
his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom
we have to do.
There is something about blind justice
holding her scales which has always seemed ironic to me. I know why she is
blindfolded. She is blindfolded so that she will not be prejudiced. So that
she will make her determinations based upon the facts alone. But, even when I
was a child, pondering her image, I thought to myself, why would I trust my
fate to a blind woman? How does she know what’s on the scale? And
is that not, exactly what we are facing in our justice system today? In our effort
to be blind to injustice we have blinded ourselves to the facts! The criminal
goes free because his rights were not read to him!
It is not so with this God of the Word. All
creatures are exposed and naked before Him. It is possible that the author of
scripture intended us to picture people standing naked before God. Nakedness
speaks of poverty. Job said:
Job 1:21 And said, Naked
came I out of my mother's womb, and naked
shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be
the name of the LORD.
Nakedness also speaks of vulnerability. We are
exposed and seen for what we are. Job also said:
Job 26:6 Hell is naked
before him, and destruction hath no covering.
As I said, there is another real
possibility that that is what the author of Hebrews intends for us to sense in
verse 13. But there is another possibility, especially when we look at his
choice of words in the Greek. The idea of being naked and open is the idea of
having the throat laid bare before the sword, specifically, the two edged sword
which is under discussion here.
We will spare ourselves the Greek
discussion and simply read a line or two from Hugh’s footnote on this participle
“laid bare” (gumnos - gumnos - goom-nos')
“…It has been variously explained as having
originally meant to seize someone by the throat (Philo), to hang by the neck
(Chrysostom), to lay a victim out supine and powerless (Theodoret), and to bend
the neck back to or force the head back so as to expose the throat preparatory
to administering the coup de grace (Ecumenius)…”
In other words, this sword is set to strike.
It is set to pierce and to penetrate. We are in deep trouble, very deep
indeed, when this Word of God exposes us. We need help and we need it quick.
We need a priest. A high priest! And He had better be a good one! The day of
reckoning is coming and this sword takes no prisoners. Can you stand the heat
of that day? If you cannot you had better find a priest now! A good one! The
trial date has been set!
Next, we will learn about this marvelous,
this great high priest!
[Heb. 4:13-16]
Mega Priest
Intro: I have sought to make this particular study relevant to
the Lord’s Table. In our previous chapter, our necks were laid bare by this
penetrating, differentiating, separating, convicting Word of God which exposes all
of God’s creatures and His creation for what we are. There is nothing which is
not manifest before the eyes of this one with whom we have to do. That is the
conclusion of Hebrews 4:12-13. The heat of this unbearable indictment would be to
reduce us all to ashes if it were not for the refreshing and encouraging words
of verse 14.
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is
passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
This high priest, alone is our escape
from the sword. Concerning the contrast between verses 13 and 14 Luther wrote
appropriately:
“After terrifying us, the Apostle now comforts us,
after pouring wine into our wound, he now pours oil.”
Truer
words could not have been spoken, for of all the images of Christ which the
scriptures paint for us it is this image, the image of the high priest, which
bears the greatest weight and substance. It is this image which will now hold
our focus for some time to come in our study of Hebrews. To begin:
While the priesthood of Christ is intimated
in Hebrews 1:3 where we learned that He had by Himself purged our sins,
the first direct discussion of the priesthood of Christ came in 2:17 and 18
where we read:
17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made
like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in
things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted,
he is able to succour them that are tempted.
From these two verses we learn some of the following facts:
1. Christ literally indebted Himself, He took on the obligation to
become like his brethren, that is, to take on human flesh when becoming
our priest so that,
2. He might be a merciful and
faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, and so that,
3. He might make a reconciliation, or better, become a propitiation, a satisfaction
to God for our sins.
So, we see a striking contrast arise
out of verse 17:
1. He becomes like his
brethren so that he
may faithfully fulfill the role of the priest, but unlike
his brethren and other priests:
2. He himself becomes the propitiation. This action occurs in the middle voice and we infer directly
from it that Christ literally became propitious to himself. He was the
satisfaction. He satisfied the Father, but it is not incorrect to say that He
also satisfied Himself. If, I repeat, if Jesus Christ was anyone other
that God Himself this verse would be the absolute height of blasphemy. We
would have Jesus Christ being propitious to Himself, a created being. The
One who is the satisfaction for our sins is, Himself, satisfied.
These principles we have already learned. Now:
As we approach 4:14 we will both expand what we have already learned, and add new information about the
priesthood of Christ. Continuing on, look at verse 14 and 15:
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is
passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin.
A. The next fact we discover is that
this is no ordinary high priest. He is the greatest. Literally, the first phrase reads:
“Having therefore a high priest great," or a great
high priest.
The Hebrew people used synonyms just
as we do. And sometimes, we even use different words to convey the same meaning
in a specific context. For example, you may go home on a Sunday night and
say, “The preacher ate too much ice cream.” Or you may say, “The
pastor ate too much ice cream.” There is a difference in definitions
between the words preacher and pastor but you got your point across.
Sometimes the Jews called their high
priests exactly that, high priests. Sometimes the Jews called their
high priests great priests. Our author has gone one better. He is
calling Jesus Christ the great high priest. That is, He is the greatest
of the great. He is the highest of the high priests. He is at the top of the
pile. He is not just another high priest.
We see that, not only is his stature
greater than an ordinary high priest but we see:
B. This great high priest has a
greater access to God.
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is
passed into the heavens
Of special interest to us is this new
information that our great high priest has passed into the heavens.
1. The first thing you must remember
is what the text actually says.
This is important enough to mark in your Bible. This is no small matter. The
text actually reads that He passed through the heavens, not into,
the heavens.
2. The second thing you must remember
is what the text actually means.
Under the Old Covenant the High Priest, once a year, passed from the sight
of the people where he took the blood of the atonement into the earthly
sanctuary - specifically, what we call the holy of holies. That is the analogy.
Both priests passed through from the sight of the people into the presence
of God.
But here is the contrast. One
of these priests passed through the real sanctuary into the actual
presence of the living God. As we will emphasize later in our study
of Hebrews, God does not dwell in a temple made with hands. When we get to
chapter eight we will learn that there is a literal temple in, or possibly
above, the heavens.
We will not rob ourselves of future
pleasures in our study of Hebrews by fully developing this contrast at this
point, but try to grasp this key concept which we will need in our study:
What I want you to remember has to do
with the ways of God. It has to do with our whole conception of spiritual
realities. Here is the principle: God’s earthly redemptive plan conforms
to heavenly realities, not vice versa. The figures are all on
earth. There are no figures in heaven, only realities. There are no
types in heaven. Redemptively, what happens in heaven does not conform to
what happens on earth. That sounds so deceptively simple, but it is
so critical.
Take, for example, the temple. One
famous Bible teacher teaches us that the purpose for the shedding of Christ’s
blood was primarily to fulfill the Old Testament symbolism associated with the
shedding of the blood of the sacrificial animals. This way the Jews would recognize
Christ. That Bible teacher has it backward. If that were true, the Old
Testament sacrifices would be substance, and Jesus Christ would be the type or
the figure. The truth is, there is a literal temple in heaven. Jesus Christ became
our high priest, propitiated Himself, and offered Himself in a real
sanctuary either in or above the heavens. The Old Testament sacrifices
were simply figures pointing to the coming day when this great high priest
would pass through the heavens.
Remember what has been said for later
study in Hebrews: God’s earthly redemptive plan conforms to heavenly
realities, not vice versa.
We have one more truth to place on the
table and it is found in the next phrase of verse 14.
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is
passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
profession.
We have seen that we have the greatest
of the great high priests. We have seen that He has greater access. He has
passed through the heavens in a real temple to the real throne of the living
God. We now see one more thing about His Greatness:
C. This High Priest Has a Greater
Capacity To Be Our Minister.
“Where do you see that?” You
ask. Why, it’s as plain as the noses on our faces. It is locked up, first,
in his name, right here in verse 14. This is: Jesus, the Son of God.
That is the name of our priest. As Jesus, we see his humanity. As
the Son of God, we see his deity. We see how he can offer Himself, how he can
be propitiated.
In his humanity we find His capacity
for sympathy. Verse 15 revels in this thought:
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin.
On the one hand, we may no longer say
“I’m only human”. On the other hand we may no longer say “But, God,
you really don’t understand.” He understands our weakness, our frailty,
our flesh. There is His capacity for sympathy. He shares that capacity with
the earthly priests.
But, as the Son of God He has an even
greater capacity than the earthly priests. They never could be certain their
sacrifice was accepted. The Son of God could be certain, for this One who was
satisfied with His own offering, knew full well that the Father was also
satisfied.
Jesus, the Son of God!
Do you remember what was just noted
when we gave you that important principle? Do you remember that God’s earthly
redemptive plan conforms to heavenly realities, not vice versa? Well,
that applies here as well. There are Bible teachers who tell us that Jesus
Christ was not the Son of God in eternity past. They say that somehow, he
became the Son of God, either at His birth, or His baptism, or His resurrection
here below! They tell us that, out there in eternity, He was not the Son.
They do not understand that God’s earthly redemptive plan conforms to heavenly
realities! God did not change the name of the Second Person of the
Trinity in order to effect redemption’s plan. Heaven did not conform to
earth! Rather, God constructed redemption’s plan to conform to the realities
which already existed in heaven. The Son of God came down.
To argue otherwise is to rob this
beautiful phrase, Jesus, the Son of God, of its precious meaning. Jesus
is our Great, no, the greatest High Priest. He is greater because He is
the great High Priest. He is greater because He has greater access. He is
greater because He is Jesus, the One who can be touched with our infirmities.
He is the Son of God, the One who alone can know that His sacrifice will be accepted!
Jesus, the Son of God!
That is why we can join with the
admonition of verse 16:
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Consider it. You are not now
approaching the outer courts of an earthly tabernacle. You are now entering
the Holy of Holies where only one priest could go once a year. When you bow
your head in prayer at this very moment you too are passing through the heavens.
You yourself are coming boldly, openly, and without fear before the
throne of grace. And there you will find mercy and grace to help in the time
of need!
[Heb 5:1ff]
This
Position Is Filled
Intro: We are not
only mining gold in this book of Hebrews, but we have struck the mother lode of
the book, the doctrine of the priesthood of Christ. We got our toes in
the water in 1:2, our ankles in the water in 2:17 and 18, and our knees in the water as we concluded chapter four. We are now in for the
full swim.
But, scan over verses 14-16 of
chapter four where we left off, and try to keep at least two significant
thoughts in mind while you nurse the overall argument of our author. We have a
mega high priest here, a superior priest.
In verse 14 the key word that
comes to my mind is reality. This great high priest of ours does not
deal in types and figures as Aaron’s did, but rather, according to verse 14, He
is a priest that is “…passed into (or through) the heavens.” Why
have the picture when you can have the person? Why have the promise when you
can have the fulfillment? That is why He is superior. That is reality.
Beginning in verse 15 we have the
second key word. We will call it empathy. We do
not have a high priest who cannot be touched by our infirmities.
Years ago I had a root
canal done, and after three shots of Novocain I was still in agony. The
dentist piously announced that there was no way I could feel pain and it
had to be all in my head. I felt the urge to bite his hand so that I could
announce the same thing to him. He had no sympathy. The reason he had no
sympathy was because he had no empathy. He did not know that an infection in
the jaw can completely neutralize the effect of Novocain. More importantly, he
had never experienced the pain I was going through.
As a believer there are times
when I can sympathize with others, but there are fewer times when I can empathize
with them. I can only identify with someone if I have had the same experience.
Jesus Christ was tested in all points like as we are. Armed with these two
truths, the reality of Christ’s priesthood and the empathy that
He shares on our behalf we may now come boldly before the throne of grace and
obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.
Mercy in its purest sense is God
withholding from us what we do deserve, and grace is God giving to us what we
do not deserve. Mercy and grace are such beautiful words!
We will see this thought will
re-occur as we look at verses 1-3 of chapter 5, but there is yet another key
word which we will introduce as we group these verses into one reading:
5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is
ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and
sacrifices for sins:
2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them
that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so
also for himself, to offer for sins.
The word I favor for describing
our great priest in this text is quality. He passes muster as a high
priest.
In verse 1 we see that such
priests are ordained, and we will cover that when we get to verse 4.
But, specifically, these priests are ordained for men in things pertaining
to God. Pause right here so that we do not lose our author’s intent:
Look one more time at the first
sentence in verse 1:
For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for
men in things pertaining to God
Based on that phrase alone, what
is the high priest’s role? He is ordained for men on behalf of men
in things pertaining to God.
Recently I was humored about a report I read concerning
the council on women’s affairs in one of our military branches. This council
had mostly men on it and was chaired by a man. There were only one or two
“token women” on the council. It would seem to me that if we are going to have
a council on women’s affairs that women should be allowed to represent
themselves on that council. Management, for example, has never done very well
representing labor at contract meetings.
If Jesus Christ is to be a
priest for men in things pertaining to God He needs to be a man. That
is not a difficult decision to make. We want our priest to be from among men.
Angels will not do. But Jesus Christ is not qualified to represent us because
He is a man, He is also is addressed in things pertaining to God. He
knows both sides. This is a very good trait in a priest.
And speaking of quality,
we see something else in verse 2 as we think on this great priest who is one
of us:
2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them
that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
The more I look at the role of
the Old Testament priest the more convinced I am that I would never have chosen
to be one. It is not because the job was a bloody job. It is not because the
job was often a lonely job. Rather, it was because so much rested on this
priest. He made so many determinations and the outcomes weighed so
heavily. He was between God and Earth and accountable to both. And when it
comes to applying mercy and grace that is no easy task.
There are traits that get you and
me into trouble when we seek to exercise them. Our problem is that we never
know how to apply mercy and grace we never know how much to apply or
withdraw in a given situation. This is painfully obvious as we seek to raise
our children. Thankfully, one parent is usually a little too restrictive and
one is usually a little too permissive and we survive parenthood by working
with each other (Or should we say the children survive by working the parents
against each other?) But the question will haunt us ‘til we die, were we too
strict? Were we too permissive? Did we properly apply mercy and grace? Jesus
Christ is perfectly qualified to properly administer mercy and grace.
And just as importantly He is motivated to do so. We may go boldly,
knowing He represents us to His Father.
What happens when we apply too
much sympathy? The end result is license and disobedience and anarchy. What
happens when we are guilty of too much apathy? Is there anything
crueler than self-righteous indignation? When is it time to frown? When is it
time to smile? Who is to say?
The key is in that word
translated compassion in your Bible. It actually means to be
moderate in passion. It carries with it the imagery of someone who knows just
how much gentleness to apply. It is a quantitative word.
Christ is qualified as a priest because He has the perfect balance of
experience and knowledge. He is one of us. He is God.
We know, as we look at verse 3
that there was one way in which Jesus Christ was not like the earthly
priest. While he was compassed about with infirmity; He himself was
tested, and yet without sin. We know that. But we also know that in the gospels
we have a Savior who was dogged from the beginning to the end of His ministry
with every kind of opposition, every kind of struggle that man can encounter.
And His experience did not end there. They extended to the unthinkable,
indescribable agonies of Gethsemane, the depth of which no man has ever
plumbed. We have an understanding Savior.
Beginning with verse 4 we are required to
add another key word to our list of priestly qualities. I prefer to call it
authority.
4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he
that is called of God, as was Aaron.
One does not wake up in the
morning and decide that he is going to become a priest. This job is by
invitation or by declaration only. There is no employment office where one
may apply. And we might add that nowhere in scripture did God allow either
the church or Israel to choose their own priests. This is a very serious
presumption.
In Old Testament times men like
Korah and his gang paid a very fearful price for presuming on Aaron’s
priesthood as recorded in Numbers 16. The zeal of the Lord destroyed them.
In these New Testament times, men
who claim to be priests commit a far more grievous sin, for they are not merely
presuming on the authority of an earthly priest such as Aaron, they are
presuming on the authority of Jesus Christ, our current high priest who is
doing quite well with His office. He does not need to be relieved yet! There
is only one mediator between God and man! No middlemen are necessary!
No man takes this office on his own.
Search your Bible from cover to cover and you will see that Israel did not and could not select her own priests. And more importantly, the only high priest
which was ever selected in the early church was not Peter or Paul. It was
Jesus Christ.
So, what about Jesus Christ? Did
He take this authority upon Himself? After all, He had a right to. Look at
verses 5 and 6 together as a group:
5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an
high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten
thee.
6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest
for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Christ did not glorify Himself
to be made a high priest. I repeat, He could have, but in so doing,
He would have stepped outside of God’s plan. Jesus said that if He
glorified Himself his glory was nothing; it was His Father who glorified Him. John
8:54.
My diplomas and ordination papers
are hanging on a wall in my home office. Now, I am one to tell you, right up
front that I have never been one for hanging those things up, but I do so
because there are folks who do feel it is our responsibility to do so in order
to make our ministries credible. Folks want to know that, I did not ordain
myself. I did not order my ordination out of a magazine. I was not examined
over the telephone or on the Internet. It was not a farce. Godly men examined
me and acknowledged what I already knew, that God had ordained me to the
ministry. The church that ordained me will always have the right,
incidentally, to annul that ordination if it should become necessary.
But, what about our high priest?
Does He have any ordination papers? The answer is a resounding yes! His
ordination papers are framed in the Old Testament. Specifically, our author
says, Jesus Christ was ordained a high priest on the basis of two Old Testament
declarations.
The first quote is the real surprise:
Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
This quote, taken directly from Psalm 2:7
has already been treated very carefully in our study of Hebrews. It is used as
a very critical New Testament argument. It is critical to us in today’s study
for three reasons:
1. First, it points to Jesus Christ as the
Son of God. In that title are found the rights to His deity, as we have
taught you so often before.
2. Secondly, this is a Messianic verse.
That is, both Jewish and Christian scholars agree that this statement is made
to the Messiah. Jesus Christ is clearly being identified with Messiah.
3. Thirdly, if you will read Psalm 2 you
will see that it emphasizes the royal aspect of Christ’s ministry.
Psalm 2 is a picture of Jesus Christ, the coming King!
Look at the second quote, found in verse 6:
6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest
for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Here, we see the author of
Hebrews establishing the priestly credentials using another tack. If you are a
priest you must be the member of a priestly order. Christ is a member
of the Melchizedekan order, a priestly order which is Superior to Aaron’s
order! We will not develop this now, except to remind you that Melchizedek was
a royal priest, a king-priest. He was not just any priest. Abram paid
tithes to him.
Here is the conclusion of the matter: Our
Savior’s priestly ordination papers are found both with respect to His divine
qualifications as the Son of God, and as the member of a priestly order. And
with respect to His human qualifications He is found as one who was compassed
with infirmities such as we experience.
You may have already been exposed
to the two-messiah theory of the Jews. History tells us that
some rabbis and members of Jewish sects saw two messiahs coming. One
was a suffering messiah and one as a reigning messiah. They saw the suffering
Messiah as one who would be a priest, following in the steps of Aaron.
The kingly messiah would follow in the steps of David. They ever dreamed
that Jesus Christ would be both messiahs in one person.
I want to end our study with this
note: I want to remind you one more time about this gracious priest who is on
duty even as we speak. We must stop thinking of this great salvation of
ours in terms of the day when we received it, always looking to the pastor for
confirmation of our present experience.
Our priest is representing us at
this very hour. The grace is available at this very moment. D.L. Moody once
said:
A man can no more take in
a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough today to last him for
the next 6 months, nor can he inhale sufficient air into his lungs with one
breath to sustain life for a week to come. We are permitted to draw upon God's
store of grace from day to day as we need it.
I would like to add to Moody’s
words. We are permitted to draw upon God’s store of grace from hour to hour,
from minute to minute, as we need it! The fountain is flowing. All we need do
is step up and drink from it!
I saw a documentary that
included the discussion of a Chinese politician. As one might expect, Chinese
politicians are greatly feared by the people. One does not just assert his
opinions to one without careful preparation. One politician, sensing how far
out of touch he was with the people, changed his whole manner of behavior. He
changed his dress, his gestures, and his actions so as to purposely befriend
those who feared him. When he would go into a home, he would take his shoes
off and put them up on the table as the peasants in the home did. He became
so much like the people that they were free to tell him their true feelings.
Jesus Christ has done this
politician one better. He became a peasant. He became one of us. And He did
it so that we could approach God without fear. He did it so that we could tell
Him our true feelings and be our true selves. What kind of God do you
picture when you go before this throne of grace? He understands. He
really does! He says I know! I know! I know! And, He does know. So, stop
imagining this distance between you and Him that Satan wants you to imagine.
You have a priest like no other, a priest full of gentle compassion, mercy, and
grace!
But for Grace, my soul had perished,
Withered as the desert sand;
Gone to shadows, and tormented,
But for Grace's perfect plan!
But for God's unceasing Mercy,
But for Calvary's sacrifice;
I had wandered, blind and thirsting,
Fell to Satan's grim device.
But the blessed blood of Jesus,
Shed upon that cruel tree;
Called me from the ling'ring shadows,
Saved my soul, and rescued me!
But for Grace, O Grace perfected,
But for love's undying flame;
I had never hoped in Jesus,
Ne'er had even known His name!
-- Carlos C. Beam
[Heb 5:5ff]
This
Amazing Priest
Intro: Well over one hundred fifty years
ago a London pastor opened his message with the following words. Though I
have read them to you before they are certainly worthy of one more reading,
especially when you remember that preacher was Charles Haddon Spurgeon and that
he was barely 20 years of age when he penned them. Said Spurgeon:
“It has been said by someone that the ‘proper study
of mankind is man’. I will not oppose this idea, but I believe it is equally
true that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of
the Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation,
the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of the child of
God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, the existence
of the great God whom he calls his Father.
There is something exceedingly improving to the
mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all
our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned by
its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel
a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought ‘Behold I am wise.’
But when we come to this master-science, finding that our plumb-line cannot
sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away
with the thought that vain man would be wise, but he is a wild ass’s colt; and
with solemn exclamation ‘ I am but of yesterday, and know nothing.’ No subject
of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind than the thoughts of God…'”
[Underline, mine.]
Nothing, is so engrossing, and yet
frustrating at the same time as pondering the nature and the ways of God. We
see through the glass so darkly. Even when we get to heaven where we will know
all there is to know we will still be stopped short and abruptly at the
contemplation of this beautiful godhead.
This passage is no exception. We take up
these few verses in Hebrews five and rush headlong into questions so deep, so
penetrating, that they have defied the best of the scholars and theologians as
we see ourselves as mere children who are trifling and toying with things which
are beyond us.
I speak especially concerning this
marvelous person of Jesus Christ, our High Priest, who is by all the rules and
laws of nature and physics, a contradiction. He is the God-Man, and as such,
He claims the full natures, rights, and privileges of both orders. We ask
ourselves how could He be tested as a man and yet remain unable to sin as
God is? Or how could He come as God and die as a man? Who or
what died at the cross? And, whatever do those words mean ‘ ‘My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me?” when we know that He was God? The
secrets, the answers to these questions are locked up in the blending of His
divine and human natures, in the miracle that is above all miracles.
Hebrews 5:5 treats our dim eyes to the
beauties and the marvels of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. The impeccable
logic, the inescapable arguments, which force us to the conclusion that there
can be no other salvation and no other Savior, are beckoning us to consider
them. So, look again at verse 5.
(Heb 5:5 KJV) So also Christ glorified not himself to be
made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I
begotten thee.
Rehearsing what we have already learned
about this priest, notice:
He himself had to be compassed by our
infirmities if He was to represent us to God.
Vs. 4 - 6. He could not take this esteemed
position upon Himself. In this context we last showed you Christ’s ordination
papers, found in the Royal Psalm, Psalm 2. There we see His deity, and then,
in Psalm 110 we see his priestly order, the Melchizekan priesthood.
Again, we emphasize His royalty for Melchizedek was a King-Priest. For
now, remember this Great High Priest was appointed and He is a royal priest
after the throne of David, and He is a royal priest after the order of
Melchizedek. These are the only two royal priests in the Word of God.
As we move to verse 7 we see another
marvelous trait of this Great High Priest:
(Heb 5:7 KJV) Who in the days of his flesh, when he had
offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that
was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
He was a working priest. What surprises
us is where the author of Hebrews places the emphasis. In our thinking
the most important duty of our Great High Priest was the offering of Himself as
the divine sacrifice for our sins. In other words, it is the cross
that holds the lion’s share of our focus and attention. After all, the cross is
the lightening rod where heaven and earth meet.
But that is not the immediate focus of this
verse. This verse, which is emphasizing the priestly work of Christ,
begins with Gethsemane. It is in Gethsemane where we see so many of the
beautiful priestly traits of Christ that we dare not leave in obscurity. In
some ways, it is as important to us as Calvary itself, though our sins were not
atoned for in Gethsemane. Remember, our Savior’s great High Priestly prayer
that is found in John 17 was offered at this very time and that is just the beginning.
Looking carefully at this verse and
understand the following:
First, we are talking about
Gethsemane. You say, didn't Christ offer up prayers and supplications
at other times? The answer is of course, He did. He would oft resort to
the wilderness to pray all night. And, did He not cry with tears on
occasions? The answer again, is of course, He did. He wept for Lazarus.
Look carefully, as I said, at this verse
one more time:
(Heb 5:7 KJV) Who in the days of his flesh, when he had
offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that
was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Notice that He offers up prayers and
supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save
him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
The first question we must ask is was
Christ afraid? Did His humanity actually make Him fear?
The second question, is our author actually
suggesting that Jesus Christ prayed that He would be saved from the death of
the cross?
In answer to the first question: A
resounding No. Jesus Christ was not afraid. Jesus Christ was the most
steadfast and stalwart Man who ever lived. He continuously and repeatedly
announced that He had come to earth specifically to die. He was born
to die. Our problem here is with the English word fear.
Regretfully, it had more than one meaning in 1611. Today, it usually means
terror.
Look at this verse and notice it was this fear
which caused God to hear Christ’s supplications. God did not look down
in sympathy and say, “Oh, my Son is afraid, I will hear Him!” Not
at all. The Greek word for fear (eulabeia - eulabeia - yoo-lab'-i-ah ) means awesome
respect for God. It was Christ’s great integrity, His absolute
worshipful obedience to the Father and His holiness as our high priest that
caused God to accept His prayers on our behalf for us as our priest.
That is the answer to the first question, was Christ afraid?
In our second question we asked, is our
author actually suggesting that Jesus Christ prayed that He would be saved from
the death of the cross? We might be tempted to think that. After all, the
Lord Jesus did pray:
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from
me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
He did want us to know, (He did
want the entire world to know) that there was no other way. And He did
suffer as a man. But the cup is not the cup of death, it is the cup
of sorrows that our Savior bore right there in Gethsemane and the cup of guilt He would bear on the cross. His agony was so severe that
He sweat, as it were, drops of blood. The agony of Gethsemane is one of those
mysteries that perplex us. We know Christ took our judgment on the cross but
we sense and know that in that Garden something so deep, so profound, occurred
that all human and angelic capacity to absorb it at the same time would not be
enough.
Notice, He prays unto him that was able to
save him from death, (Watch it, now,) and was heard in that he feared.
Christ’s prayer was heard in that He
feared. When the Bible says that God heard someone’s prayer it
means, in plain and simple terms, that He answered it. Your prayer has been heard.
It is a common expression. In addition, the word from in this text is
the Greek ek – ek, and it means out
of. What Jesus Christ knew was that the Father was able to save Him out of
death. So, let’s put this together in a common sense statement:
1. Christ’s prayer was heard. 2.
It was heard because Christ, as our high priest, feared God. He
was absolutely holy with perfect integrity. 3. He was consequently saved out
of death. Another way to say this is that He was raised from the dead on
the third day. Had Christ not feared, had He not been holy, he would
not have been raised.
What are we learning about our Great High
Priest in verse 7? We are learning that God accepted His intercession on our behalf.
God heard Him and the proof is that He was saved out of death. That was a
little sticky. Let’s go for one more important concept about the priesthood of
Christ.
(Heb 5:8 KJV) Though he were a Son, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered;
The fact that Jesus Christ was obedient
comes as a surprise to no Christian. He came to do the Father’s will.
He came as the perfect servant of Isaiah 40 - 50. Nor does it surprise
us that earthly priests had to be obedient. Obedience was no easy task
for a priest. His task was difficult and complex. These things do not
surprise us. What surprises us is that Jesus Christ had to learn
obedience. He went through the maturation process. The Bible is
very explicit about the growth of Christ. We learn in Luke 2:52:
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in
favour with God and man.
The word increase means to be driven
forward or to grow. If Christ grew in wisdom it means that
He was matured in it just as you and I are.
The second thing we need to know is that He
went through the maturation process even though He did not need to.
This is the point that the cultists miss. They look piously at this verse
and say, See! He was only a man. He had to grow and develop like any other
man. But look carefully at verse 8 and you will see how wrong the cultist is.
Verse 8 says: “Though he were a Son, yet
learned he obedience…” Stop and think. Why? Why does the Bible say, though
he were a Son, yet learned He obedience? The answer is very
simple. Sons do not need to learn obedience. Children need to learn
obedience. Children are tutored. Once they receive the adoption they are no
longer tutored along with the other slave children. They then become sons.
Read Galatians 3:24-29.
Jesus Christ was never a child in
Heaven. He was always the Son. He came to earth as the Son. Yet, our Bible
says even though He was a son, yet, He learned obedience by the things
that He had suffered. The idea behind the Greek word pascw (pascho - pas'-kho) is
the idea of sensation and is in reference to sensations that are usually
negative and related to as suffering.
Christ could have grown to His full mannish
stature one second after He was born. After all, His childhood didn’t save
us. His teenage years didn’t save us. Or did they? The truth is they
did. This is why the Bible also speaks of the saving life of Christ.
For it was in his life that He qualified Himself to become our priest
by going through the school of human suffering.
Verse 9 is precious:
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of
eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
When does our Savior begin His ministry?
We all know He began His earthly ministry the same year in His life when an
earthly priest would have begun his ministry. He qualified Himself like any
other earthly priest. He ministered as a priest for three years, and then He
interceded as a priest and sacrificed Himself. In so doing He became the author
of eternal salvation unto all that obey him. Have you obeyed the obedient
One? Have you obeyed this priest? He has priestly authority over you. In
fact He is God’s ONLY ordained high priest. One day a group of folks came
alongside the Savior to ask Him a question:
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we
might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work
of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (John 6:28,29)
That is obedience. That is the work of
God. To believe on Him whom He hath sent. You understand, don’t you, that to
reject this Christ is to disobey Him? There is no other, no one else to whom
we could turn. And there is no one else to whom we would turn.
After all, who ever cared so much for you that he offered up prayers and
supplications with strong crying on your behalf? Who else subjected
Himself to this miserable insufferable human experience so that you could be
delivered from death? There is no other.
What have you done with Jesus Christ?
[Heb 5:5 ff]
The
Christians’ Gettysburg
Intro: There has been a civil war,
of sorts, raging among God’s people since the earliest days of post biblical
history. It is the war between Calvinism and Arminianism, whatever those two
positions represent. There are manifest shades and varieties of both Calvinism
and Arminianism, but in practical terms, the issue between them often boils
down to the question of security. Can a believer lose his salvation?
The Calvinists are quick to point out that anyone who understands anything
about the nature of salvation knows that it is impossible. He knows that over
100 things happen to the believer when he is placed in Christ, not the least of
which is that he is a new creation, born into God’s family. The Arminian often
argues that God has done His part in providing our salvation, but we must do
our part in keeping it and securing it.
With respect to this battle, the passage
which is before us in this session, beginning with Hebrews 5:10 and extending into Hebrews 6, may well be called the Gettysburg of Scripture. It is the
hottest spot in Scripture for waging this debate. For this reason we need to
understand it fully and carefully. The closer we look, and the longer we
meditate upon it with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the more secrets it
will give up to us.
What we actually have in the text before us
is a break, a break in the author’s argument concerning the wonderful
high priesthood of Jesus Christ. We have only touched the surface of truths so
rich, so precious, that they literally catch our breath when we peruse them and
try to rehearse them. Only Jesus Christ has the qualifications to be our Great
High Priest, this Son of God and Son of Man. We have talked about His access
in the heavens to the Holy Place; we have talked about His marvelous intercession.
We have talked about His priestly order as a member of the Melchizedekan
priesthood, a rich and marvelous truth.
In fact, it is at this very point
where our author stops - to insert an admonition and a warning for his
readers. Verse 10 reaffirms what we learned in verse 6.
(Heb 5:10 KJV) Called of God an high priest after the
order of Melchisedec.
We are not through with King Melchizedek.
But first, we examine the warning. Teaching is a waste of your time and my ink
if the end result does not make us accountable to the truth we are learning.
With truth comes responsibility.
If you will begin with verse 11 and scan on
down into chapter six you will discover that we are actually admonishing two
kinds of listeners. Both are in great danger. Both are at great risk. Both
kinds typically attend our fellowships. The first group includes the superficial
learners. I call them the never learning. They fill out the verses
in chapter 5. The second group includes the super rational learners. I
call them the ever learning. Consider first:
(Heb 5:11-14 KJV) Of whom we have many things to say,
and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. {12} For when for the
time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be
the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of
milk, and not of strong meat. {13} For every one that useth milk is unskilful
in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. {14} But strong meat belongeth
to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil.
A. It is fairly easy to recognize this
group in our time because they are everywhere around us and
represent most of the body of Christ. This group lives in a world of
recycling-basics.
No way is this group prepared to discuss
the ramifications of the Melchizedekan priesthood of Christ. They can’t even spell
the word Melchizedek, much less pronounce it, and, furthermore, in their minds,
these kinds of esoteric doctrinal discussions are useless. After all, how do
they relate to competing in a modern society? Or, how will this study
contribute to their worship experience? These superficial seekers are
spoiled, childish, fat little babies who think that any message longer than 20
minutes is a waste of time. Home Bible studies to them consist of 20 minutes
of caring and sharing, 20 minutes of questions and answers geared to help us
relate to a basic Bible passage, and 20 minutes of refreshments and
fellowship. And at no point during the one-hour session, should any words
longer than two syllables be used. This is strong language. It is not meant
to hurt, but it is meant to shock those who are careless in Bible study into
considering how far removed they are from what God desires for them.
There’s nothing wrong with being a baby.
Everyone has to be one sometime. Babies are natural, normal, beautiful, and delightful
(especially my grandchildren). Older Christians need to be around spiritual
babies. It keeps us young at heart and full of life and, especially, it keeps
us relevant. Then again, when 10 year olds, are still acting like one year
olds, tragedy has struck. This is what Hebrews is teaching us.
Every ten or fifteen
years a new movement comes into vogue in the body of Christ. Presently, one of
those movements in vogue is what we call the seeker movement. These
churches focus heavily on baby food, spiritual Pabulum (though there are certainly,
some exceptions). The jury is still out on seeker churches, however, because
they seem to be creating a whole generation of believers who aren’t growing
up in Christ! (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Our generation cannot handle things which
are "hard to say and hard to be uttered." They can
barely grasp the first principle. They still need milk when they
should desire the meat of God’s Word. They do not know one end of
their Bible from the other. They do not know how to interpret the Bible for
themselves. They do not feed on it. When they should be teachers they are
still in the nursery feeding on baby bottles filled with worship and praise
choruses. As good as milk is, it is not enough.
This generation, according to our author,
is unskilled in the word of righteousness. Its members cannot discern good
and evil because they have not exercised their spiritual senses. They are the
superficial, the never learning, and the never growing. Christianity has never
carried on its shoulders as many blind, spiritual ignoramuses who are as
shallow as a birdbath as we are carrying about now. If you have any doubt go
read the top ten bestsellers at your local Christian bookstore. Precious few
offer any insight into the Word of God.
Before attending to chapter six, we must
not simply apply this text to our time. We must also ask ourselves:
B. Who represented this group of
unskilled babies in the time of Hebrews? To whom is our author referring?
The people were the same as we are. Human nature is human nature. Only the
issues are different. Some of these people in the time of Hebrews were the
people who were spinning their wheels about very basic and elementary matters.
The key to identifying them is in the fact that our author says:
…ye have need that one teach you again which be the first
principles of the oracles of God
Judaism had become so bankrupt that the
masses of Jews did not even understand the most elementary principles and
oracles of God. Specifically, what principles and oracles are we talking
about? It appears to me that they are clearly stated for us in
chapter six, verses 1 and 2 where these Jews are admonished to leave these
discussions behind. Look at them:
(Heb 6:1-2 KJV) Therefore leaving the principles of the
doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, {2} Of the
doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead,
and of eternal judgment.
If we were to break this out we might talk
about, 1.) The principles of the doctrine of Christ. Transliterated, it
would be read this way: “…having left the of the beginning of the Christ
discourse.” Schoolteachers can especially appreciate this. When you get
someone into Greek 201 you should not have to teach him the Greek alphabet.
When presenting Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the debate concerning the beginning
of the Messiah should have been settled. Regarding the issue of Christ, the
basic facts do not need revisiting.
2.) The same goes with the foundations of
repentance from dead works. These Jews were masters at dead works. They were
always trying to remedy superficially what they knew to be a spiritual problem.
This is so elemental to Christianity. Dead works do not produce live
believers. Two Hail Mary’s and one candle will not do the job. The heart
has to be changed. The basic issue of works does not need revisiting.
3.) Then we encounter the doctrines of
washings, not baptisms, (That word is baptizo, not baptismo) and
laying on of hands. The Jewish ablutions and washings were spiritual reminders
to the Jewish people that they needed an inward cleansing. The washings did
not cleanse anyone. They only spoke of the need for cleansing. The laying on
of hands was for the sake of praying God’s blessing on people. And the
practice had created a whole new cultic mentality that one could go to an external
priest for an external blessing instead of seeking the Lord with all his heart
while God could be found. The basic issues of ritual and practice do not need
revisiting.
4.) Resurrection of the dead and eternal
judgment. I believe that what our author is saying is this: Why in the
world are you still debating issues such as this that are clearly taught in
the Word of God? This is ABC stuff! There are to this very day, Bible
students who suggest that there is not enough information in the Old Testament
about resurrection and eternal punishment to settle the issue. We say
nonsense! Conservative, Bible believing Jews always believed in both
doctrines. The basic elements of the faith do not need revisiting.
Two groups are being discussed. First,
there were the Superficial, never learning. They didn’t even care
enough to address such issues. They would have nothing of the doctrine
of Messiah, much less Melchizedek’s role. But there was also a second group.
These were:
These were the folks who labored forever
over these elementary issues. They loved to pontificate on them. They knew
what everyone had to say about them, but sadly, they were, as our Bibles tell
us: ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth.
Both of these groups are being addressed
here. And what is the ultimate point? Truth demands a response. We
may not ignore it like little spiritual babies. We may not play with
our food like these Jews who thrived on these issues, but who never went on
in applying the things of Christ.
We have seen the offenders identified.
Now, we see the danger identified. It is very serious business, to be
either superficial, ignoring truth, or super-rational, toying with truth like a
child playing with his food. Both attitudes lead to disaster. We must go on.
We must not be like those who trifle with spiritual truth and never commit to
it. So we read in verse 3:
(Heb 6:3-6 KJV) And this will we do, if God permit. {4}
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of
the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, {5} And have
tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, {6} If they
shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
What have we learned?
1. We have learned that there is a group
which cannot be lead again to repentance if they fall away because,
their falling away has effectively been crucifying to themselves the Son of God
afresh, putting Him to an open shame.
2. We have learned just exactly who is
included in this group:
a. They are people who have rejected
Christ. That is for sure because otherwise the charge would not be leveled that
they are effectively crucifying Christ to themselves afresh.
b. They are those who were once (literally
once for all) enlightened.
c. They have both tasted of the
heavenly gift and have been partakers (or companions) of the Holy Spirit.
d. They have tasted of the good word of God
and of the powers of the age to come.
This is where the games begin.
A. Our Arminian brethren say: Sit up and
take notice! This warning is for Christians who have been saved and who
fall away. And they use as their argument some of the following facts:
1. These offenders could not crucify
Christ afresh to themselves if he had not already been crucified unto
them.
2. These offenders have fallen
away and you cannot fall away from something you have not arrived
at.
3. These offenders have been once
and for all enlightened
4. These offenders have been (and
this is most important to the charismatic) partakers of the heavenly gift,
usually interpreted as having received spiritual gifts and the Holy Spirit.
5. Christians are those who have
tasted the Word of God and the powers of the age to come.
Our Calvinist brethren say, Nonsense!
There is nothing in the above terminology which suggests that these folks were
saved. It only suggests that they had a clear understanding of salvation.
They would say:
1. Christ was crucified unto the
whole world, and there are many seekers who do not become believers. They,
truly, are the most dangerous of all because they have a partial knowledge of
Christianity.
2. They could have just as easily
have fallen away from Salvation’s door before they entered it as after.
Falling away proves nothing.
3. And with respect to being
enlightened once and for all, they were enlightened once and for all with a
full view to salvation.
4. Being a partaker and a taster
does not mean that one is a member of the body of Christ.
In fact, the Calvinists say the very choice
of terms chosen here are the last ones one would use if a author was talking
about Christians losing their salvation.
Peter fell away and apostatized and he was
renewed to repentance. Judas, on the other hand, was a “partaker” who
even experienced the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, performed miracles, (read
Matthew 10:1-4) and was a partaker in every way with the other apostles was,
according to Jesus, never saved! (John 17:12) So, what are the Calvinists
saying? They are saying, on the one hand, we can point to Christians who did
fall away and were renewed to repentance, (an experience which Arminians
insist is impossible according to this passage.) And, on the other hand we can
point to an apostate, Judas, who partook of spiritual powers and the
ministry of the Holy Spirit and was never saved! The Calvinist would remind us
that, according to the Arminian, if a Christian becomes caught up in a
false cult there is no hope of even trying to rescue him. He
simply cannot repent.
I believe that anytime we get into this
kind of trouble it is probably because we are asking the wrong questions. When
you ask the wrong questions you get the wrong answer. I do not believe the
passage is directed specifically at either of the above groups carte blanch.
In fact, that is my whole point. If you will look carefully at verses 5
and 6 you will see they are not talking about individuals, they are talking
about a whole group a whole class of individuals. Let me
explain.
I believe, as I have taught many times
before, that the answer to difficult passages can usually be found in the context
of the passage in question, by going back as far as we can into the mind
and thinking of the author and the arguments he has already presented.
Then we know what colors he is using on his canvas. What is our background?
What has the author been thinking about? Right up to the very moment when the
author presented Christ as our great high priest he was making a historical
allusion that his readers knew full well.
Back up a page or so and look at the
allusion that our author has already made. Begin with Hebrews 3:7-19. We
insert a verse or two:
(Heb 3:7-10 KJV) Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To
day if ye will hear his voice, {8} Harden not your hearts, as in the
provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: {9} When your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. {10} Wherefore I was
grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and
they have not known my ways.
What are we dealing with here? We are
dealing with a whole group that came out of Egypt and did not enter the Canaan rest because of unbelief. This has been the author’s major historical point from
square one. Israel had tasted of all the power and blessings of God through
and beyond the Exodus, and still, she turned away from taking the
big step of faith. She failed to enter Canaan. (Scan all the way down to verse
19 at this time.)
Continue with 4:1-10. Once again, what has
our author been talking about just prior to his presentation of Christ as our
Priest? He has been warning the modern Hebrews that they too, are at great
risk.
Do you remember the touch of irony we
pointed out earlier? Forty years elapsed between Kadesh- Barnea, the tasting
of the fruits of the land, and the final death of that generation. Do you
remember how we explained that Hebrews was written roughly forty years after
Pentecost, where the Jews have, (according to Hebrews) been offered that
opportunity to enter into Christ’s rest?
So, then, who are these folks that our
author is addressing? It is as plain as the nose on their Jewish faces. These
are the folks who saw and knew of the crucifixion. These are the folks who had
both seen and heard of the miracles of Pentecost. They had witnessed this whole
transition to Christ. They had seen and heard it all, and still, 40 years
later, they are either superficial or super-rational about these facts. The
large body of Jews had not committed to Christ! What shall we do for these
superficial and super rational Jews? Shall we have another crucifixion? Shall
we have another Pentecost? Shall we bring down more signs and wonders from
heaven? Nothing else can be done to bring them to repentance, individually or
as a nation. It is either this or nothing. This whole generation will be
lost.
There is also an interpretive lesson.
There is only one interpretation to a passage of scripture, though there may
be many applications. When it appears that we cannot decide between two
interpretations, always look first at the context. In this case, we
have the biblical right and justification to paint this passage on the backdrop
of Kadesh-Barnea, because our author has been doing exactly this. Clearly,
he is warning a whole group of folks, Jews who have been either ignoring or
toying with the gospel. There will be no more. There will be no future
washings, “repentance’s”, crucifixions, or anything else.
There is a spiritual lesson.
We must not presume on the light which God has already given us. We must not expect
more when He has already revealed His will. We must act now. Act today
on what we know to be right, be it acting on the gospel or on some other issue
of obedience.
And after all, isn’t that exactly what the
author of Hebrews has been trying to do all along?
[Heb 6:7ff]
A
Primer on Promises
Intro: Someone has said that there
are really only three answers available for any question, “Yes,” “No,”
and “Maybe”. I am not sure about that, but I am sure about this. There
are three possible responses to the Word of God every time it is preached.
There are those whose hearts are soft who say “Yes” to God. There are
those whose hearts are hard who say “No” to God. There are those whose
hearts are sluggish or dull of hearing. They are the ones who say “Maybe.”
In Hebrews 6 our author has been
focusing especially on this third group. He has been warning them that
when a man says “Maybe” to God it is tantamount to saying “No” to God! Those
who are sluggish in their response to the gospel are at the same great risk as
those Jews who failed to enter into the Promised Land. And so, we have in
verses 4-6 one of the most fearful warnings we find in all of the Word of God:
(Heb 6:4-6 KJV) For it is impossible for those who were
once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers
of the Holy Ghost, {5} And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of
the world to come, {6} If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto
repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put
him to an open shame.
These Hebrews who have been enlightened
concerning the gospel and have seen all of the signs and wonders produced by
the Spirit of God. These Hebrews who have tasted of the Word of God and had
the Old Testament scriptures expounded unto them, pointing always to Christ.
These Hebrews who have even tasted of the powers of the age to come, the day of
the Lord, will be hopelessly lost if they dare to hope for one more shred of
authentication or if they dare to look anywhere else for another Savior. And
what a terrible loss that will be. There comes a time to either fish or cut
bait.
But we have a problem. The author of
Hebrews had it, and every gospel preaching man of God has it. While we spend
half of our time instilling fear on the hearts of the “No"s
and the “Maybe"s around us we must be careful about the soft hearts.
These are the men and women and boys and girls who have already said “yes”
to the gospel. You see, if there is anything which this gospel teaches
us it is this: Once we are in Christ we are secure in Him. Without this
wonderful assurance, without this security, or to use the proper biblical
terms, without this wonderful confidence and hope, we have been
shortchanged of our rightful inheritance, our heritage. This heritage is the
natural joy that belongs to us in Christ.
This is why I am not a Pentecostal. This
is why I am not a charismatic, though I dearly love these brethren.
Those systems of theology rob me of my heritage in Christ and the full joy that
comes from my full confidence that I am in Christ, the safest place in the
entire universe. This is why I am not a Reformed Calvinist who extends the
doctrine of the perseverance of the saints to the place where one cannot know
for sure if he is one of God’s elect. Such a system robs me of the full joy
that comes from my full confidence that I am in Christ, the safest place in the
entire universe. This kind of Reformed Calvinist, (not all teach this) would
have you always wondering if you are truly saved. This is why Lordship
salvation must be rejected. Without the absolute assurance that you are
in Christ you will never rise to the place of claiming the promises associated
with your position. The Arminian would have you always working in order
to keep your salvation. (Galatians 3:3) Some Calvinists would have you
wondering if you are going to persevere.
And so, to avoid this difficulty, our
author offers some comfort and hope to the true believers who have also had to
listen to this fearful message of warning that he has just written. In other
words, it is time to focus on the soft hearts, those who truly want to
say yes to God. It is time to encourage those who, knowing their own
sinfulness, do desire to obey God. How do we comfort such people? How
do we build up their confidence, their full assurance, and their hope?
That is what our author is about to do.
The answer, concerning assurance, in a word
is: promise. The answer in a sentence is: We find our full
assurance of who we are in Christ when we understand the biblical dynamics of
God’s promises.
The subject of God and His promises is not
new in Hebrews. We have already had a big dose of it beginning in 4:1 where we
saw the backdrop set and learned that Israel’s true failure in entering the “promised
land” was a failure to claim God’s promise. But, while the subject
is not new, what we find here in Hebrews six is the biblical foundation
for the doctrine of promises. We understand what promises are and
exactly why God deals with men through His promises. So,
consider some great truths about God’s promises. First, we will see the
Greatest Parable that illustrates God’s promises. Secondly, we will see the
Greatest Precedent the Bible gives for applying God’s promises. Finally, we
will see the Greatest Proof that God’s promises are sure. And, as a result of
all this, we will find the greatest Peace that God’s promises provide. Let’s
examine:
No, this parable is not found in the
gospels, though it is alluded to there, and in the epistles. Let’s see if we
can discover it by reading verses 7 - 8. Remember, it will help if you can
make yourself a Jew, and read this through Jewish eyes:
(Heb 6:7-8 KJV) For the earth which drinketh in the rain
that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is
dressed, receiveth blessing from God: {8} But that which beareth thorns and
briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
While it is generally true that we
associate parables with stories, the Bible does not require this. A parable is
simply an earthly truth that is brought alongside to help teach a
heavenly meaning. And the very first picture that we have of man is in the garden.
Hughes comments:
The affinities of this
parable with the account of creation and the fall would not have been missed by
the Hebrew readers of this letter. God’s creation mandate for the earth was ‘Let
the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing
fruit in which is their seed, each according to his kind, upon the earth’
(Gen. 1:11); and this benificent productivity of the soil followed the sending
of rain upon the earth (Gen. 2:5,9). But with the entry of sin into the world
and the fall of man into apostasy from God, a curse is pronounced which extends
beyond Satan and man to the whole created order, including the ground and its
productivity: “Cursed is the ground because of you … thorns and thistles it
shall bring forth to you…” (Gen 3:17f).
A. Let’s talk about interpretation for a
moment.
These Hebrew readers would pick upon this
passage instantly. The very first spiritual information we have in the Bible
after the creation of man himself relates to the garden which was originally
paradise, and came under the curse. These Jewish readers would also remember
Isaiah 51 where the Lord accused Israel herself of being a well-tended vineyard
which produced wild grapes instead of sweet grapes and, consequently had a curse
pronounced upon it. So, what are we gleaning?
1. Originally, man’s duty was to tend to
the garden, a garden that was unfettered by the curse. From the time
of Adam’s fall the global ecosystem took on a reverse dynamic. It took
on the consequences of the curse. The natural state of nature is now
the thorns and thistles state.
A preacher walked up to a
farmer one day and said “My what a beautiful field that you and God have
there.” The farmer replied “You should have seen it when God just had
it!” That’s not sacrilegious. That is the way it is. Leave any
field, any building, any creation of man, and it will revert. It
is neither correct nor fair to say that everything reverts to nature.
Everything reverts to its cursed condition as a result of the fall.
We have learned that the natural state
of creation is the cursed state. Secondly,
2. We want to ask ourselves what
does the farmer do when he tills the earth? What is he actually
doing? In fact, in actuality, he is laying hold on the promise of God. He may
not know that he is doing that but he is. That promise is also
associated with the curse. The ground will bear fruit, but that fruit
will be borne by the sweat of our brows. Gen. 3:19. James uses the farmer’s
faith as an example of the patience we should exercise while waiting for
Christ’s return: 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the
Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and
hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye
also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
You see, when the arrogant man
sits at his table and says “There is no need to thank God. I worked to
produce this food," such a man is a fool. He is benefiting from the
promises of God. That is why there is a harvest.
But here is the point. The earth rotates
for all. The sun shines for all. The rain falls upon all. But the same rain
that produces thorns and thistles (bad fruit) for the wilderness produces good
fruit in the cultivated field. Why, because the promise of God has been
appropriated. The farmer’s works then are evidence of the farmer’s faith.
To repeat - the farmer does not produce the corn. God produces the corn. The
farmer simply lays hold on the promises of God.
B. The Application. We will not linger for
long on the interpretation. But let’s go to the application
which Hebrews make. We find it in verses 9 and 10.
(Heb 6:9-10 KJV) But, beloved, we are persuaded better
things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. {10}
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye
have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do
minister.
Unlike the more general term brethren,
the word beloved is a family word for God’s people only. It is never
once used of the unsaved in your Bible. God loves the unsaved, but only those
who are in the Beloved One are called the beloved in our
Bibles. We have already noted that we have the hard hearts who say no
to God, and the sluggish hearts who say maybe, and the soft hearts who
say, yes? Dear Christian, if you are one of those tender hearts
who have said yes to Christ, then stop worrying! Take comfort and learn
to rest in the promises of God instead of resting on your own feelings about salvation.
I am persuaded of better things concerning
you. But, you say, “How can I know in my experience that I am saved? I
know in my head I am. I know the promises of God. I know the Bible
verses which promise me salvation. I have claimed those verses, but how can I
know in my experience?” The answer is deceptively simple, but so very
helpful:
1. First, the evidence will come in the
fruit that God begins to produce in your life. There will be fruit if
you, like the farmer, are living and walking by faith. And you will notice
right here in this verse that this is exactly what our author points to. He
told these believers that the things that accompany salvation were
beginning to appear in their lives. Specifically, in their case, it was their
labor, their service to fellow Christians. But, notice secondly:
2. You need to be patient with yourself and
with God. You have begun your walk in Christ by claiming the promise of God
that He would save you. You must now continue claiming the promises of God.
But you must always remember, that the seed which is planted in one season
takes time to sprout, and time to grow, and even more time to produce fruit.
That is what verses 11 and 12 are all about:
(Heb 6:11-12 KJV) And we desire that every one of you do
show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: {12} That
ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises.
Do you remember when you received Christ?
Do you remember how desirous you were to apply the promise of God in your life?
Well, just continue with that same diligence – applying the promises of God to
your life and your full assurance in your experience will come. The
issue is not whether or not you feel you are saved or not. The question
is are you resting on the promise of God to save you? If you are, sooner or
later God will produce the things which accompany salvation in your life.
You say, if you really knew me! I have
such a hard time reading and praying. I have such a hard time avoiding temptation.
How can I possibly be saved? You are no different than any other Christian
who has ever come to Christ. But some Christians have learned the
secret and they are walking in joy. Others, sadly, are still living in fear
because they have not learned to rest on the promises of God. Our assurance is
based on His promises, not our performance.
That is the great parable. Move to the
next set of verses as we see:
Look at verses 13-15
(Heb 6:13-15 KJV) For when God made promise to Abraham,
because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, {14} Saying, Surely
blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. {15} And so,
after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Abraham, of course, is the Bible’s greatest
precedent when it comes to the walk of faith. We will learn more of him later
in Hebrews. The Bible tells us that Abraham believed God and it was credited
unto him for righteousness. The whole doctrine of salvation by grace
through faith in Christ alone is firmly founded on the Old Testament bedrock in
general, and on the life of Abraham in particular. Give yourself a real treat
and re-read Romans 4:1 through Romans 5:1 and immerse yourself once again in
this marvelous truth: Men are not justified by their works, but by claiming
the promises of God. We know these things are all true. But notice
specifically the argument that unfolds in these next few verses, specifically
13-15:
(Heb 6:13-15 KJV) For when God made promise to Abraham,
because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, {14} Saying, Surely
blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. {15} And so,
after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Notice that with the appropriation of a
promise, blessing is also multiplied, just as natural fruit is multiplied when
it is cultivated. God always uses the “times table” when he calculates His
blessings.
Before proceeding, I want to correct a misunderstanding
here which is created by the wording in our English Bibles. It surrounds verse
15:
{15} And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained
the promise
There are two elements of Abraham’s faith
that grab us. The first is that he believed God. He did not believe in
God, he believed God. But the second element is found in the words, “…after
he patiently endured, he obtained the promise.”
We are led to conclude, by that after a
period of patient endurance Abraham saw God’s promise completely fulfilled
in his life. But that is not the idea at all in the Greek. Wuest says it very
well:
The word ‘obtained’ is
the translation of epitugchano which means “to light or hit upon a
person or thing, to attain to, to obtain." The word here indicates that
Abraham did not personally receive the entire fulfillment of the promise, but
only the germ of that fulfillment. The promise was that Abraham was to become
a great nation, and that the earth was to be blessed through Abraham. Isaac,
born miraculously, was a partial fulfillment of the promise, and the Lord Jesus
as Savior and coming Messiah fulfills all that God promised Abraham. The fruit
of the promise had begun to multiply but it had not finished multiplying.
Why should we stress that? We stress it
because in this age of instant gratification we think we can lay hold on God
one day for an answer to prayer and have it delivered by UPS, barring the strike, on the second business day. Go read the great roll call of faith found
in Hebrews 11. Peruse that great list of giants and then read the most
shocking fact of all in verse 13:
(Heb 11:13 KJV) These all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of
them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
the earth.
Sometimes, claiming the promises of God
requires viewing the from afar off, and, afar off can really mean
a far way off! That brings us to the third and final point of our
consideration. For, while we have pointed out that Abraham is the great
precedent for claiming God’s promises, a closer look at the verses we just
read reveals they really do not focus on Abraham per se they focus on Abraham's
God.
III. The Greatest Proof that God’s Promises Are Sure
Read verses 13-18 in one final reading:
(Heb 6:13-18 KJV) For when God made promise to Abraham,
because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, {14} Saying, Surely
blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. {15} And so,
after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. {16} For men verily
swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all
strife. {17} Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of
promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: {18} That by
two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have
a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set
before us:
The real subject of these verses is
God. The real proof that the promises of God will come true is based
upon His person. Never, never, let the world play games with you on
this subject. Never let the world paint you as someone who gets your ideas
from the Bible, period. The greatness of this Bible is rooted in the greatness
of the god it portrays! He is a God like no other god.
A while back there was a
lot of fuss going on about Elvis and Graceland. One woman who was interviewed
made a comment like this. She said: “While no one can know for sure that
there is a supreme being we can be sure of one thing. If there is one, he is
just like Elvis”. What a babbling fool! What a simpleton! What a trifling
child! What a way to blaspheme the only true God!
How do we know the promises of God are
good? They are good because God’s promises are based on God’s character. And
for, our benefit, (I repeat for our benefit, not His) He condescends to swear
by an oath.
But there is one final twist in our study
as we consider this idea that God Himself is His own Proof that His Promises
are sure.
There is a fundamental question that
deserves our redress. It is the question, Why? Why does God deal in this
manner with men? Why does God’s economy require that men come to Him based
upon His promises? Why does God use promises as the vehicle for
working out His plan and program?
I suppose, if fifty pastors were
represented, there would be at least fifty variations on the full answer to
that question. But I offer to you only one curious thought, snuggled away in
verse 17.
(Heb 6:17 KJV) Wherein God, willing more abundantly to
show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by
an oath:
By requiring men to claim the promises of
God, and by requiring men to patiently hope for the fulfillment of those
promises God is teaching us a lesson about Himself, and a remarkable lesson it
is! Verse 17 says, specifically, that God is showing the heirs of
promise the immutability of His counsel.
Something that is immutable is something
that cannot change. Speaking of Himself, God says “For I am the LORD, I
change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” The Bible
says that, unlike the universe, there is no variation or shadow of turning in
God. He is absolutely changeless.
Consider the irony in this. From our
point of view the longer the interval between a promise made and a promise
fulfilled the more evidence it is that the promise cannot be kept.
From heaven’s point of view the longer the interval between the promise made
and the promise fulfilled the greater testimony there is to the consistency
and the unchangeableness of God. The long intervals, between the presentation
of God’s promises and their completion will one day stand as a testimony to the
absolute sureness, the absolute resolve, the absolute integrity of our God who
forgets no promise He has ever made.
Here's a promise to cling to!
(Heb 6:19 KJV) Which hope we have as an anchor of the
soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
God Himself is the hope we have and He is
the anchor of our soul. And where is that anchor fastened? It is fastened within
the veil at the mercy seat in heaven! Not on the earth! Your hope is not
based on your own works or your own goodness. It is based on the promises of
God and it is anchored in the finished work of Christ! No soul can ever
drift who is anchored to that Rock!
"We have an anchor that keeps the
soul, steadfast and sure, while the billows roll; fastened to the rock which
cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love!"
[6:20-7a]
The
Melchizedeken Order
Intro: In Hebrews 5:5-10, the Holy Spirit has begun
introducing one of the most pervasive and important truths we find in all of
Hebrews. He has initiated us into the truths concerning the priesthood of Jesus
Christ. He has begun the process of revealing to us some of the most shocking
truths concerning Jesus Christ revealed anywhere in the Word of God. He is
about to take us to the top of a mountain where we will peruse a truth so wide
and so expansive that it will forever change our worldview. The problem is,
are these Hebrews ready for this? Will they be like little children riding in
the back seat on vacation who really do not appreciate the wonderful beauties
which are passing by, or will they truly drink in this whole new experience?
Are they ready? Are you ready? Are you one of the dull of hearing in Hebrews 5:10 or are you one of those who by reason of use have exercised your senses to discern
these things? Well, we are back in class. The warnings of chapter six are
behind us. It is time to separate the men from the boys. It is time stand on
the top of this mountain. The very words of chapter six point the way.
(Heb 6:20 KJV) Whither the forerunner is for us entered,
even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. We
have a priest. A priest forever. A priest forever after the order of
Melchisedec.
The unthinking and dull of hearing pass by this verse,
hardly noticing it. The mature student of God's Word knows that he has just
happened upon the Grand Canyon of Biblical scenery. He has walked into a gold
mine. Consider some of the facts which astound and amaze us:
The first amazing fact is that Melchizedek should play such
an important role! When we go back to Genesis, we find only three verses
relating to him. They are in chapter 14, beginning with verse 18:
(Gen 14:18-20 KJV) And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. {19} And he
blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of
heaven and earth: {20} And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered
thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Then, one thousand years later we have one more verse in
Psalm 110:4.
The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
And that's it. Not another word - until we get to Hebrews
and find that these verses represent the whole foundation of the doctrine of
Christ's priesthood. And what a doctrine it is! Let's take a dip in the ocean
of truth which these four Old Testament verses reveal. Begin with chapter 7,
verse 1.
(Heb 7:1 KJV) For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest
of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the
kings, and blessed him;
A. Melchisedek
was his name.
We will discuss the meaning of his name shortly.
Most likely the city that is now called Jeru-salem. The word
Salem means peace. The word Jerusalem probably means founded peaceful. There
is a touch of irony in this because Jerusalem has certainly known no peace since
she rejected her Prince, her King of Peace, Jesus Ch
